XML and ASP.NET [Paperback]

Kirk Allen Evans (Author), Ashwin Kamanna (Author), Joel Mueller (Author)

Book Description

Series: Landmark | Publication Date: April 8, 2002

XML and ASP.NET begins with an overview of ASP.NET and XML, and then expands on the concepts by showing the reader how to work with XML using both client and server technologies. Related topics such as ADO.NET, message queuing, SOAP and Web services are also discussed in depth to complete the reader's perspective. The authors discuss the advantages and drawbacks of different approaches, while offering best practices and solutions to common real-world problems and explaining advanced concepts clearly and concisely. The source code presented in the chapters, organized by chapter is housed on http://www.vbdna.com and www.newriders.com.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

XML and ASP.NET is an excellent and comprehensive resource that provides serious ASP.NET developers the knowledge and tools needed to build XML applications and Web Services with ASP.NET. It covers a wide range of technologies including MSXML, WAP, WML, Schemas, ADO.NET, SQLXML, DOM, SAX, and XSLT. As an implementation book, the reader is provided with lots of practical source code and two very useful real-world case studies that tie together all of the lessons reinforcing everything the reader has learned. This book is a must have for any developer looking to leverage XML in their applications! Deborah Hittel-Shoaf, Acquisitions Editor

From the Author

Thanks for your interest in "XML and ASP.NET". I worked hard not to make this a rehash of available documentation, instead expanding on available information to provide a comprehensive overview of XML and how it can be applied to ASP.NET development.

My favorite chapters within the book are chapters 9, 10, and appendix C.

Chapter 9 covers SQL Server's XML capabilities, including the recently released SQLXML 3.0 add-on. This chapter shows not only how to use XML with SQL Server, but also when each technique is appropriate for different scenarios.

Chapter 10 covers serialization in .NET. While plenty of books cover serialization in passing, this is the first book I am familiar with to cover serialization to such depth and with such clarity.

Appendix C covers the XSLT 1.0 elements, demonstrating the use of each element with a real-world applicable stylesheet example. I worked very hard to develop an XSLT reference that was useful, demonstrating the potential use of each of the XSLT 1.0 elements within the W3C recommendation.

I hope you will enjoy reading XML and ASP.NET, it was a joy to write. -- Kirk Allen Evans

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Product Details

• Paperback: 848 pages
• Publisher: Sams (April 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073571200X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735712003
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,610,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Formed, Valid and Human-Readable., June 12, 2002

By 

"fgazi" - See all my reviews

This review is from: XML and ASP.NET (Paperback)

Coming up with a failsafe structure for a book on XML and ASP.NET must be a difficult undertaking given the number of essential questions that need to be asked: What level should the book be pitched at? How much background material should be covered and at what depth? Once you have devised a satisfactory tack to address these questions, then how should the XML material on ASP.NET be covered? Should we look at implementation or theory. And of course, what languages do we use to demonstrate implementation C# or VB.NET?

XML and ASP.NET by Kirk Allen Evans (et al) attempts to address these questions by deviding itself into3 sections. The first section is dedicated to XML on the client but is really 5 chapters worth of XML background from the ground up. Section two is about XML on the server and the third section serves as a Reference of two well annotated appendices.

The first 6 chapters deal with XML basics and a gloss of ASP.NET's involvement with this technology. These chapters are well-written on what can be regarded as background information. The chapters assume no XML knowledge, and wind through core concepts such as Push and Pull models, how XML and XSL work with each other, and a grounding on the intricacies of the MSXML and SAX parsers. An outstanding chapter here is one on XML Schemas, 'XML Schemas in .NET'. It can safely be said that this is one of best treatments of the subject that can be found in any book on the market. However it must be noted that the reader who comes to these chapters as an XML newbie will struggle. You must get a good grounding in the fundamentals of XML which are covered in other books.

It is in Section 2 that we get to the content as described by the title and where the book comes into its own. The writers have clearly taken pains to elaborate not only how to implement XML using ASP.NET, but also how XML is used in the ASP.NET layer of the .NET framework. So, for example, the chapter 'ASP.NET Extensibilty with XML' looks at the metabase and provides an invaluable lesson on the uses of web.config, and how to manipulate it using the System.Configuration classes. Another good chapter is the one on ADO.NET. The first 20 pages of this chapter (at 200+ pages, probably the meatiest in the book) deals with a very high-level view of ADO.NET. The remainder deals with XML and its useage with the DataSet class.

Throughout the remainder of the book, individual technologies are covered while giving glimpses on how to implement the technologies. Of all the advanced chapters, by far the most useful was the one on Serialization. The information contained on the use of XSD Schemas for strongly typed XML Serialization is worth its weight in gold. If there is one chapter that tips the scale on the decision whether to buy a book or not, it would be this one.

All in all this is a distinctly worthy book. Not to be taken lightly yet covers the heaviest material with a friendly and can-do approach. It also dovetails nicely as a complement to Dan Wahlin's (XML for ASP.NET Developers) book. There is probably no better candidate for a textbook for XML students who want a clear understanding of XML in ASP.NET.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of technology, poor writing, December 19, 2002

By 

W. Hart (CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: XML and ASP.NET (Paperback)

The book covers many aspects of XML on Windows platforms (.NET and MSXML). However, the writing is not very skillful, making it difficult to wade through such technical material. The progression through a topic often is non-linear: Within a chapter points are used before being introduced forcing much re-reading. Many times there are forward references to topics discussed much later in the book without any explaination. There are much more readable books out there (such as the excellent O'Reilly series) that make learning this kind of technology much more fun.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well organized and readable book on XML and APS.NET, August 28, 2002

By 

"peter-martin-ts" (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: XML and ASP.NET (Paperback)

The book XML and ASP.NET provides a wide coverage of this subject. This book's audience is for developers already using XML, as it covers advanced NET and ASP topics. It introduces XML technologies used in the .NET framework. Readers should download the project before reading each chapter.
These project files and examples are written in both C# and Visual Basic. The book covers XML on the client followed by the Server. On the server, it covers XML and ADO, XML and SQL 2000 Server, serialization and mobile applications for XML.

This book provides a clearer understanding of the concepts of XML within a .NET development environment and moves the developer to the next level.