Visual InterDev 6 Unleashed (Paperback)

by Paul Thurrott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Visual InterDev 6 Unleashed provides an almost invaluable field guide to using Visual InterDev 6 in the real world. With its mix of short, useful case studies and expert programming tips, this practical guide can let the working Web developer take full advantage of today's VI for projects.

Most computing books claim to use real programming examples, but in the case of Visual InterDev 6 Unleashed, its focus on real-world Web development makes all the difference. First, the book pulls no punches when it comes to determining what niches Visual InterDev fills, with recommendations pointed at sticking to HTML or DHMTL and generally skipping Internet Explorer-specific solutions.

The book opens with a great tour of what cross-browser compatibility really means. There's full coverage of Web applications done "the Microsoft way" on the server side, with good coverage of database programming (with ADO, DTCs, and SQL Server) as well as the latest in business objects done in Visual Basic and Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS). Yet the focus of cross-browser compatibility means that your ASP Web applications created with VI will run on most of today's Web browsers. The book's advice and tips on deploying Web pages (and particularly business objects) can save you hours of frustration.

Short, effective case studies are the rule here. These are neither just demoware nor overly complex examples of entire Web sites. Instead, focused examples on such crucial topics as Web registration, cookies, security, and even basic e-commerce (with an online catalog and shopping basket) are included here. In short, Visual InterDev 6 Unleashed provides an excellent guide to essential Microsoft Web technologies with a real-world eye for problems to avoid and overcome. Provided you know the basics of HTML and ASP already, this book can let you get a lot more out of Visual InterDev and the Microsoft Web platform for real-world development. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to Visual InterDev 6, JavaScript/VBScript basics, DHMTL and CSS, transition and filter effects, Scripting Object Model (SOM), debugging, team development, deployment, security with Windows NT, firewalls and digital certificates, Microsoft Universal Data Access (UDA) and ADO 2.x, SQL Server and TSQL, Design-Time Controls (DTC), Web database programming, personalization and cookies, Visual Basic components using MTS, e-mail and Collaboration Data Object (CDONTS), index server, online catalog, and e-commerce basics.

Product Description
Using Visual InterDev 6 Unleashed, the reader will learn to take their Visual InterDev development to the next level. The book is designed so it can either be read a chapter at a time or from front to back. Each chapter will present a topic along with tips, cautions, and other notes. Additionally each chapter will contain coding examples that the reader can adapt to their own Visual InterDev projects. The topics will include the following: Part I: Programming with Visual InterDev- Writing cross-browser compatible Web applications, DHTML, OOP w/ HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, data binding, debugging, Scriptlets, and more; Part II: Building Dynamic Web Applications- Universal Data Access, ODBC access, ADO programming, data connections, using the Query designer, stored procedures, security, and more; Part III: Integrating Visual InterDev- Building ASP components, writing IIS applications, creating Visual Basic front-ends, MTS, CDO, using Index Server, workign with e-commerce; Part IV: Server Administration- IIS performance tuning, ASP performance tuning, deployment, team development, site security, and more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1120 pages
• Publisher: Sams (April 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067231262X
• ISBN-13: 978-0672312625
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #244,671 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, but excellent for an intermediate user, May 12, 2000

By	Dr. Robert C.A. Goff, MCSD, MCSE, MCDBA "Coun... (Blacksburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Considering the importance of Visual InterDev 6, and the marketability of VI6 certification, I am puzzled by the scarcity of good books on the subject. Thurrott, et al., have produced one of the better ones. It is a compendium of VI6 topics that cover all the necessary aspects of VI6 development. Rather than introducing the reader to the mechanics of the interface, the book is true to its stated assumption that readers already "have a basic understanding of the product." Perhaps the authors took this too much to heart in their chapter layout. For example, in the very beginning of the book are the topics "Creating Cross-Browser Web Applications", "Using Dynamic HTML" and "Programming the Scripting Object Model". Now, these are certainly important subjects, but if you are attempting to learn VI6 from scratch, these topics seem to come out of nowhere. If, on the other hand, you have been using VI6 for a short time, and have already read an introductory book, such as Microsoft's "Using Visual Interdev 6" or Sams' "Teach Yourself Visual Interdev 6 in 24 Hours", then Thorrott's book seems to start in just about the right place.

WEAKNESSES: First of all, I must state that when I read a developer book such as this, I use the concepts discussed in the text to create my own sample code to test those concepts. I seldom copy the text examples onto my system, and seldom test the sample code on the accompanying CD. (Most CD's that are shipped with books contain very little that might interest me. I would prefer that the publisher keep the CD, and lower the book price. Besides, placing the examples on a publisher's web site, rather than on a CD, allows them to be corrected dynamically.) So, I can not comment on the issue of the examples working as is. My own examples, created using the text as a guide, worked fine. So, speaking of the book alone, its greatest weakness is in chapter to chapter flow. Each chapter seems to work well in covering its designated topic. I did not find this to be a significant distraction. Another area of weakness was in the amorphous arena of browser support for specific features. While I realize that this is a moving target, simply stating that Netscape and IE interpret stylesheets differently is inadequate.

STRENGTHS: I loved the simple example of creating a VB component for Web data access, then running it within Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS). Since all component discussion emphasized the importance of custom marshalling of parameters, rather than utilizing class properties in DCOM, the component examples were already suitable for MTS, which prefers stateless objects. VB old-timers, who are accustomed to programming object classes will appreciate this.

A great strength in the text is the frequent clarification of particular techniques that work and those that don't -- based entirely on the experience of the authors. And there are wise and bold assertions of which technologies to avoid. I was particularly pleased with the inclusion, in the appendixes (I guess they're not 'appendices' any more.) of over 300 pages of quick references (7 in all) covering HTML, JavaScript, VBScript, Active Server Objects, ActiveX Data Objects, T-SQL, and the Scripting Object Model. Although none is in great depth, they usually provide all the necessary info to jog the memory of someone who is already familiar with their subjects.

For experienced VB developers, this book provides the essential guidance needed for breaking old habits when making the transition to web application development. And since many intro books on Active Server Pages (ASP) tend to encourage the intermingling of VBScript and HTML, Thurrott, et al., provide the antidote, and the reasons why. There is a lot of wisdom here.

CONCLUSION: While this is not a particularly good choice for a complete beginner at VI6, it is an excellent book for an experienced VB developer who needs to sort out the plethora of options and approaches available in VI6, or for the novice who has already made it through one of the beginner books and needs to move on. For the most advanced VI6 gurus... you're in virgin territory.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a book you can learn from., August 4, 1999

By	Steven Meade (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

This book is a gold mine for anyone trying to use Visual InterDev. It covers all of the related technologies that most other books simply ignore. There are quality examples about DHTML, CSS, debugging, security, data access, JavaScript, VBScript, MTS, Index Server. There are chapters dedicated to building real life web sites with catalogs and e-commerce being the focus. It also contains a complete reference section for HTML, JavaScript, VBScript, ASP, T-SQL and the Scripting Object Model. This book is an InterDev Bible!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start from Part II, then it's in excellent flow, November 27, 1999

By	"penli" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Read chapter 10 to 18 rather than from beginning, Then, this book is in very good flow - Even for beginner. If you do not have a SQL server to run the sample code, just create an Access DSN instead of.