Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) (Paperback)

~ Rob Conery (Author), Scott Hanselman (Author), Phil Haack (Author), Scott Guthrie (Author)
Key Phrases: protected mode, test driven development, web application, Web Forms, Visual Studio, Best of Both Worlds (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book begins with you working along as Scott Guthrie builds a complete ASP.NET MVC reference application. He begins NerdDinner by using the File->New Project menu command within Visual Studio to create a new ASP.NET MVC Application. You'll then incrementally add functionality and features. Along the way you’ll cover how to create a database, build a model layer with business rule validations, implement listing/details data browsing, provide CRUD (Create, Update, Delete) data form entry support, implement efficient data paging, reuse UI using master pages and partials, secure the application using authentication and authorization, use AJAX to deliver dynamic updates and interactive map support, and implement automated unit testing.

From there, the bulk of the rest of the book begins with the basic concepts around the model view controller pattern, including the little history and the state of the MVC on the web today. We'll then go into the ways that MVC is different from ASP.NET Web Forms. We'll explore the structure of a standard MVC application and see what you get out of the box. Next we dig deep into routing and see the role URLs play in your application. We'll deep dive into controllers and views and see what role the Ajax plays in your applications. The last third of the book focuses entirely on advanced techniques and extending the framework.

In some places, we assume that you're somewhat familiar with ASP.NET WebForms, at least peripherally. There are a lot of ASP.NET WebForms developers out there who are interested in ASP.NET MVC so there are a number of places in this book where we contrast the two technologies. Even if you're not already an ASP.NET developer, you might still find these sections interesting for context, as well as for your own edification as ASP.NET MVC may not be the web technology that you're looking for.

It’s worth noting, that ASP.NET MVC is not a replacement for ASP.NET Web Forms (aka just "ASP.NET"). Many web developers have been giving a lot of attention to other web frameworks out there (Ruby on Rails, Django) which have embraced the MVC (Model-View-Controller) application pattern, and if you’re one of those developers, or even if you’re just curious, this book is for you.

MVC allows for (buzzword alert!) a "greater separation of concerns" between components in your application. The book goes into the ramifications of this, but if it had to be said it in a quick sentence: ASP.NET MVC is ASP.NET Unplugged. ASP.NET MVC is a tinkerer’s framework that gives you very fine-grained control over your HTML and Javascript, as well as complete control over the programmatic flow of your application.

From the Back Cover

The ASP.NET MVC framework is designed from the ground up with certain core principles in mind-extensibility, testability, and separation of concerns. The framework adds various conventions into the mix to help drive developers into the "Pit of Success," providing for a streamlined development experience that fits the way the web works.

For developers who like to peel away layers of abstraction and get their hands closer to the metal, the ASP.NET MVC framework might be for you. For developers who are extremely particular about how their frameworks should be put together, ASP.NET MVC is also extremely extensible, allowing nearly any part of it to be customized or even swapped out entirely in favor of something that fits the developer's own tastes.

Written by members of the ASP.NET team, expert Scott Guthrie starts you out with an end-to-end walk-through, showing you how to build an application. You can even share Scott Guthrie's NerdDinner.com chapter with your friends at http://tinyurl.com/aspnetmvc. You'll then delve into basic concepts and the history of the Model-View-Controller (MVC), and quickly transition to learning how the ASP.NET MVC pattern implements those concepts.

You'll explore controllers and views and examine the roles that AJAX and URLs play in your applications while the book demonstrates the myriad ways in which you can extend ASP.NET MVC. As you go through the book, you'll come to understand the mind-shift that is required when making the change from traditional ASP.NET Web Forms development to ASP.NET MVC and the many benefits that exist once that change is made.

What you will learn from this book

• The various toolsets and technologies that complement MVC, such as SubSonic, LINQ, jQuery, and REST
• The structure of a standard ASP.NET MVC application
• Advanced routing strategies as well as advanced techniques for extending the framework
• The difference between ASP.NET MVC and ASP.NET Web Forms and how to share data between the two
• How to secure your ASP.NET MVC application

Who this book is for:
This book is for ASP.NET developers who want to employ separation of concerns, extensibility, and control over markup whenbuilding web applications. A firm understanding of ASP.NET development using C# is necessary.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Updates, source code, and Wrox technical support at www.wrox.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Wrox (April 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470384611
• ISBN-13: 978-0470384619
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,071 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Beginner Book, May 14, 2009

By	David Hayden "Developer" (Sarasota, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are looking for a gentle overview of the ASP.NET MVC Framework, this is a solid book. If you are looking for a "Pro" book, there are better books available.

Over a third of the book is the Nerddinner walkthrough which is an excellent introduction to the ASP.NET MVC Framework. There are plenty of pictures so you don't lose your way, and the step-by-step instructions really help the beginning ASP.NET MVC Developer better understand the code, how it works, and why it was coded as such. Nerddinner will always be that beginner example we talk about and I love having it in book form.

The rest of the book starts to systematically look at the various pieces of ASP.NET MVC - Routes, Controllers, Views, and Filters. You basically get a very nice overview of each with a deeper-dive now and then. As a beginner book, I think the deeper dives are nicely placed and fine for someone who wants to use the MVC Framework out-of-the-box. However, for those who want to become an expert, extend the framework, or create an opinionated MVC Framework, you will be disappointed that the book does not go deep enough.

There are some smaller chapters on AJAX, security, unit testing, Webforms vs. MVC, and using Webforms with MVC. Again, good beginner material that gets your feet wet for more advanced and challenging books. The chapters entitled, Webforms vs. MVC and Webforms with MVC, feel like Microsoft product positioning, but they are still useful in understanding their thoughts ( whether you agree or disagree ).

Lastly the book has some quotes and personal thoughts by various ASP.NET MVC team members sprinkled throughout. I personally love those little gems as it gives you insight here and there into the development process and the decisions that had to be made. Reminds me of the book, Framework Design Guidelines. It humanizes the book, making it fun.

In conclusion, I think Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0 is a solid beginner book. I think it would have been better named "Beginning ASP.NET MVC 1.0," but I have been using the ASP.NET MVC Framework for a long time, too.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book., April 30, 2009

By	Tyler Garlick "http://www.tylergarlick.com" (Clearfield, UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've now just completed the book from start to finish. What I loved about the book was how easy it was to read. It was very entertaining yet informative. It has great coding examples that actually work. It dug into some architectural concepts that I was looking for.

What I didn't like was I would like to go deeper into a few topics (I think that is just personal preference).

Other than that it was worth the money I spent.

Thanks guys for a good reference book!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Expected More, June 12, 2009

By	Craig E. Shea "fourpastmidnight" (Green Lane, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I want to start by saying that, generally speaking, I have great respect for the four authors of this book since they are the core developers behind ASP.NET MVC.

Having said that, I'm disppointed with this title, much as I am with many Wrox titles. I don't know why I keep buying Wrox books. I bought this book primarily because of all the good reviews here at Amazon.com, but sadly, these reviews were not reliable.

This book is for beginners. And, having said that, unfortunately, it doesn't go into much detail. Half the book (literally) is chapter 1 written by Scott Guthrie (his blog is AWESOME, however, hence the great respect), but it's a very trivial example with an equally trivial mashup, if you can even call it that.

The second half is the rest of the book. There were a few nuggets that I picked up that I hadn't gleaned from the equally trivial and scant tutorials at the asp.net website. Other than that, I can't say I learned much more than what I had already discovered through trial and error by working through the asp.net website tutorials. I was hoping that the asp.net tutorials were so trivial and light because all these guys were working on some great books. Sadly, this particular book did not live up to my expectations.

Sorry guys.

I should point out that these guys' blogs are great (particularly Scott Gu's and Phil Haack's).