A Preview of Active Server Pages+ (Paperback)

~ Alex Homer (Author), David Sussman (Author), Richard Anderson (Author), Robert Howard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Microsoft's new Active Server Pages+ (ASP+) standard promises a lot more for Web developers who work on the Windows platform. A Preview of Active Server Pages+ surveys the new features and APIs that you'll need to know to develop effectively with ASP+. Stressing practical e-commerce examples, this book will be a welcome resource to anyone who programs in ASP already and wants a look at what's next from Microsoft.

This text gives you an excellent comparison of the old ASP with the new ASP+. (Many examples show both ways of coding by using a side-by-side comparison.) The book makes the case that ASP+ is a better way to program with easier scripting (by using the new Visual Basic 7 or the new C# [pronounced c-sharp], available with the next version of Visual C++) and easier access to components. Based on Microsoft's grandly named Next Generation Web Services (NGWS), ASP+ promises a new era of more maintainable code. Prominent sections showcase the various controls available in ASP+, from HTML controls to intrinsic controls to more advanced ("rich") controls. How to add data validation by using built-in ASP+ objects is explained, too, as is how to create custom components. Later chapters look at the improved abilities of ASP+, such as easier configuration, authentication, and deployment. The book ends by showing you a nicely functional e-commerce application that's written in ASP+.

By listing ASP+ objects and APIs from Microsoft in a handy appendix, programmers can get a sample of what's available. (There's also a useful section that details the most important differences for developers who are moving from ASP to ASP+.) Although some of this material might change as ASP+ moves to its final form, A Preview of Active Server Pages+ sets the stage with a valuable tour of what to expect in what surely will be a better way to create dynamic Web content on the Windows platform. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Evolution of Active Server Pages (ASP)
• Overview of Microsoft's Next Generation Web Services (NGWS)
• Design goals and advantages of ASP+
• ASP+ controls: HTML, intrinsic, and rich controls
• ADO+ and data binding with ASP+
• The DataGrid control
• Validating data with ASP+
• Regular expressions
• Separating the UI from program logic code by using pagelets and custom components
• ASP+ caching and debugging support
• Web services
• XML support in ASP+
• Using global application settings
• ASP+ configuration and deployment
• Authentication and authorization
• Sample e-commerce application
• ASP+ for ASP programmers
• Visual Basic 7 for Visual Basic 6 programmers
• ASP+ object and API reference

Product Description

Microsoft's Active Server Pages technology is still a relatively new way to create dynamic Web sites and Web-based distributed applications. However, during its short life span, it has evolved to become the foremost tool in the Windows-oriented Web programmer's toolbox. This is probably due to the ease with which complex pages and applications can be created, combined with the ability to use home-grown custom components, and existing Microsoft and 3rd party commercial components, through the Component Object Model (COM/COM+) architecture. Microsoft is currently working on the next generation of ASP, provisionally called ASP+. While it still supports existing ASP pages and applications, ASP+ is actually a complete rewrite of the existing versions. It changes the way that you need to think about ASP and your Web-based applications and Web sites. 'A Preview of ASP+' is the first book to outline the changes and the new ways that you can use ASP in your applications.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 361 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1st edition (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861004753
• ISBN-13: 978-1861004758
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,239,798 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent preview, which is all it claims to be..., July 29, 2000

By	J. DEATS (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was hesitant to buy this. A book based upon beta technology didn't appeal to me at first and honestly it made me a bit upset that my favorite publisher of technical books (Wrox press) would put something like this out....

After reading though the first three chapters and skiming the rest of the book I can tell you this title lives up to the standards of Wrox press, it provides an excellent intorduction to this new technology and explains why we as ASP deveopers need to know about ASP+ now.

Here are some facts for you:

- Wrox didn't write this alone, Microsoft came to them asking them to write it, knowing Wrox's quality; Microsoft worked with the authors at Wrox to help create this book, because they want to prepare us for the changes coming.

- This book was handed out at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Orlando (early July 2000) along with the first tech preview of ASP+ & Visual Studio .NET, apparently Microsoft wanted to provide the attendies with some solid documentation on this tech preview and that was probably behind (at least it part) this books coming into existance at the time it did.

- This book covers ASP+ and not Visual Studio .NET. The two are tightly connected (as the book explans), but you will most likely not need Visual Studio .NET to code for ASP+ (just as you do not need Visual InterDev to code ASP). Visual Studio .NET is discussed, but it is not the primary focus of discussion and all the sample apps could just as easily be developed in Notepad.

- ASP+ is part of NGWS runtime (read the book to find out what this is) which will most likely first arrive in an upcomming service pack (or possibly option pack) for Windows 2000. This will most likely happen prior to the release of Visual Studio .NET, so the contents of this book may be useful a lot sooner than you think.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent intro to a powerful new framework, August 9, 2000

By A Customer

For those who work with ASP I think that this book is a must. You may want to wait for the second printing as they had some troubles with the images etc (see wrox.com/beta for details).

I don't know if it was the book or just the technology that impressed my but I found it difficult to put the book down. Clearly MS has a winner here and Wrox does a good job introducing it.

Serious ASP developer: This is a must buy now. Casual ASP developer: wait for second edition / public availability of .NET.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight to the point explanation of the ASP+ features, July 25, 2000

By	Maxime Bombardier (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

It's true that it's currently the only ASP+ book but it's great nonetheless. I was waiting with great expectation it's release at Amazon since I'm plugged to their ASPToday web site.

This book is worth 5 stars because of the following:

It came out barely after MS announced it but contains a lot of information about the subject.

MS has work with the writers to make sure the content will be right.

It is well-written by known ASP programmers (and writers).

The content is get-to-the-point on current ASP issues and how ASP+ will fix this.

Show ASP+ coding with both VB7 & C#.

There is a lot more information than the ASPToday's articles so that the book is more than handy.

Written well enough for newcomers to understand it, but I would strongly suggest having ASP experience before-hand. Remember it's a PREVIEW and it means that it's good for people who wants to know it advance where MS is going with ASP.