Web Programming with ASP and COM (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Many books introduce Active Server Pages (ASP) programming and most include a few chapters on Component Object Model (COM) development. But Web Programming with ASP and COM offers an innovative mixture of content. Instead of covering COM component development with Visual Basic, like most ASP tutorials, this guide uses the more advanced Visual C++ language as a model.

The book is divided into two parts, with the ASP portion well suited to programmers new to VBScript coding. The text discusses both the VBScript language and the ASP platform in short, topical sections with brief, targeted code examples. This approach gets the reader up to speed on the basics of ASP scripting in no time; only then does it lead into the most advanced topic in the first part, ActiveX Data Object (ADO) programming and database integration.

As readers move to the second part of the book--an introduction to COM component programming with Visual C++--they might want to brush up on C++, since the previous part has them focusing on VBScript. To illustrate COM architecture, the book uses the Active Template Library (ATL) COM Wizard. Other key topics, such as MTS, ADSI, and MSMQ, are introduced very briefly.

Programmers have many reasons to code COM components in C++ for production use, so this ASP introduction is quite useful. But readers should be confident in their HTML and C++ programming skills before diving in. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered:

• Web client/server model
• Active Server Pages (ASP)
• Component Object Model (COM)
• VBScript
• ASP object model
• ActiveX Data Object (ADO) database programming
• Built-in scripting objects
• ATL COM Wizard
• COM interfaces
• COM automation
• Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS)
• Active Directory Services Interface (ADSI)
• Windows NT Web security

Product Description

Active Server Pages (ASP) and the Component Object Model (COM) are two exciting technologies that are quickly making the development of mission-critical Web applications easier than ever. ASP, with its simple scripting languages and well-designed Web object model, is easy to learn. COM is a bit more complex, but is the most widely used standard for distributed reusable software components. Together, ASP and COM provide programmers with the tools necessary to develop applications for e-commerce, messaging, and database front ends.

Web Programming with ASP and COM emphasizes the importance of both technologies in an easy-to-read tutorial format. This book covers the fundamental concepts of ASP and COM, and quickly gets the programmer up to speed building Web applications.

Key topics include:

* Basics of Active Web programming * The VBScript programming language * Fundamentals of ASP and the debugging of applications * Working with databases and ActiveX Data Objects * Introduction to COM objects and the Active Template Library (ATL) * Automation * Introduction to Microsoft(r) Transaction Server (MTS), Active Directory, and Microsoft Message Queues * Securing ASP applications

This thorough, approachable resource shows you the power and flexibility of using ASP and COM together. If you are a Web application developer looking for a down-to-earth introduction to the construction of ASP Web applications using COM components, you need this book.

The accompanying CD-ROM includes extensive code examples used in the book, along with compiled, ready-to-run COM components.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley Longman (December 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201604604
• ISBN-13: 978-0201604603
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,967,310 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to ASP and COM, March 16, 2000

By	Kurtis Miller (USA) - See all my reviews

This book is an excellent introduction to both COM and ASP. My questions were answered clearly and easily, and it didn't hurt my brain too much either. I was thrown into the situation of supporting a site (using ASP and some COM) without much background in either subject, and this book helped me to come up to speed quickly and make the site better in the process. The book not only introduces the various aspects of ASP and COM that you're likely to encounter in the real world, but also does a very good job of explaining how and why to use them, and the various options you've got at each step. Highly recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must buy for newbies, June 14, 2000

By	Mr. S. J. Payne (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you want a basic introduction to ASP, ATL, COM, MTS and ADO and how to put them together then this is the book for you.

When learning how to create an n-tier web application we must all start somewhere - and I would recommend you start here. Once you have experimented with the examples in this book then move onto the more focused books (ASP 3.0, Mastering COM and COM+, ATL Internals, etc).

The accompanying CD is ok, but does contain a mistake or two (which you will have to work out) and doesn't always exactly match the code shown in the book - but this should not cause you any problems if you have understood the written text.

As this is a basic introduction there are a number of topics it does not cover - OLEDB, threading for example.

For me though, this has been the clearest introduction to web programming for c++.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Web Programming with COM, January 28, 2000

By	Gerald Montgomery (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book covers a lot more ground than the title would indicate including VBScript, ADO, IIS, ATL and primers on MTS, Active Directory and MSMQ. Perhaps a more appropriate title would have been "Web Programming with COM".

A book covering this much ground is obviously doing it at a higher level. As the author states in the 'Advanced COM' chapter - "Among COM and ATL gurus, this is considered toddler-level material." But the material is very practical with sample code throughout allowing someone interested in learning Internet programming to get his or her feet wet without becoming overwhelmed by theory.

The appendixes had additional information on IIS and Personal Web Server setup as well as methods for debugging ASP components that I found very helpful.

If you're looking for an in depth focus on one of these technologies go elsewhere. But if you're a VB or C++ programmer looking for a good practical hands-on introduction to web programming using Microsoft technologies then this will definitely help you fill in the gaps.