Understanding the .NET Framework [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Tony Baer (Author), Chandu Thota (Author), Kent Tegels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002 | Series: Programmer to Programmer

With the .NET Framework, Microsoft have significantly changed the nature of developing applications for Windows and the Web. .NET represents a step-change for developer productivity and efficiency as well as introducing increased functionality and scalability to their applications. This books provides a real-world overview of the changes that Microsoft have implemented, an analysis of the new functions and capabilities of .NET, and an insight into the motivations and reasoning that has gone into this revolutionary development platform.

This book covers:

.NET in Perspective
Developing applications for .NET
Rich-Client Development in .NET
Web Development in .NET
The .NET Data Model
Enterprise Development in .NET
Web Services in .NET
Next Steps in .NET Understanding

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Suitable for most any .NET developer or IT professional who works with Windows, Understanding the .NET Framework largely cuts through the marketing hype and confusion to explain what Microsoft's new .NET platform really is and what it means for the future of software development.

While many titles on .NET succumb to cheerleading for Microsoft's newest platform, this book largely avoids this, instead presenting a worthwhile perspective on what .NET means for IT professionals, including a notably fair-minded comparison with Java, arguably the established player in enterprise computing today.

The book examines essential features of .NET (including its built-in run-time virtual machine, a rich array of standard APIs, and garbage collection). Sample code drawn from C# is supplemented with Visual Basic .NET (and several other languages) to give a broad comparison of the support for multilanguage programming available on this platform.

A real strength of this text is the overview of what .NET means for both "traditional" applications and Web development. (The team of authors argue that "thick clients" are not at all dead, and they explore Windows Forms for building standalone applications.) There's plenty of coverage of Web-based applications, too, including a solid tour of ASP.NET and its advantages over the earlier ASP standard for performance and code maintainability. Sections on the new ADO.NET explore new ways to access data beyond relational databases, including built-in XML support.

As it winds down, this text zeros in on Web services from top to bottom (including a solid explanation of SOAP and other relevant standards), plus how Web services are implemented in .NET. Better yet, the authors offer their perspective on the future of software development based on the Web service model.

Overall, Understanding the .NET Framework can be read profitably by both hands-on developers and IT managers (and anyone else in the enterprise who must come to grips with .NET). This often tough-minded and smart look offers plenty of nuts-and-bolts information on the .NET platform, as well as a wider perspective on the future of software built with Microsoft's latest technology. --Richard Dragan

From the Publisher

This book is for experienced developers of any background who want to understand how their existing skillsets can be transformed to .NET and why they should make such a journey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Wrox Press; 1st edition (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861007094
• ISBN-13: 978-1861007094
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,289,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid introduction to .NET concepts., August 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Understanding the .NET Framework (Paperback)

This is a good book. As usual for Wrox titles, there are numerous misspellings and the editing is a bit sloppy. Also, the nature of Wrox books with their multiple authors lends to a somewhat inconsistent flow from chapter to chapter. However, these traits of Wrox books can be forgiven for the solid content "Understanding the .NET Framework" provides.

The book provides a breakdown of the major .NET topics including Web forms, Windows Forms, Data access, COM integration and Web services. Each of these topics is covered in its own chapter with helpful examples to illustrate the points covered. I found myself coding each of the examples in Visual Studio.NET and learning from each of them.

The examples are mostly complete, though the biggest challenge I had was getting the "Remoting" example in Chapter 6 to work. This was because of the need to associate a strong name with the assembly as well as register the assemnbly with the "sn" and "regsvcs" utilities. These required steps weren't obvious to me at first and weren't documented. Also, the authors state the examples could be built without VS.NET. In theory this is true, but impractical because of the associated files VS.NET creates on your behalf in projects.

Some of the highlights include the COM/.NET integration example, the Web Services example, the data type information from Chapter 2 and the excellent breakdown of the WDSL XML format in Chapter 7.

This book is not as high-level as some people might expect from the title. While "Understanding the .NET Framework" is an overview, it is still quite technical. Overall I found the book to be a great value for the purchase price.