Professional ASP.NET Web Forms Techniques [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ Alex Homer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book examines the possibilities for developing user interfaces that are driven by ASP.NET. It discusses and explores a range of techniques and approaches predominantly for creating Web sites and Web pages that are:

- Intuitive and easy to use
- Attractive and full-featured
- Interactive where this is appropriate
- Based (loosely) on a real-world scenario
- Designed according to a predefined set of requirements
- Fun, memorable, and provide user satisfaction

The pages we build are, for the most part, elements of an overall application that - while being somewhat optimistic as regards consumer buying patterns - does form the basis for the kind of Web site/application that is becoming one of the basic ingredients of the World Wide Web today. We'll be building a site that allows the user to choose, customize and purchase a new car or truck from the world-famous "Wrox Car Company".

From the Publisher

We'll focus on the steps of requirements-analysis and design (though not in extreme detail), followed by planning and mapping out the site. While this seems like the natural way to get started, it's often skimped or even omitted, allowing the site to develop in a haphazard and unpredictable way. While this is not always categorically wrong, it does make development and maintenance that much more difficult.

Once the basic design in is place we'll look at the development of the various resources that make up the complete site. Of course, repetition is commonplace in a Web site, and so to make the book as useful as possible we've taken some liberties to try and cover as many useful topics as possible. It means that we can look at a range of things such as:

- Achieving the maximum of cross-browser support
- A central "Home page" that makes navigation of the whole site easy
- Displaying data about the products available from the site from a backend database
- Interactive content driven by either or both server-side and client-side code
- Creating graphics on the fly, and other animations to liven up the site
- A "login" feature that recognizes users and provides optional personalization
- An online order facility with order tracking and status reports via email
- Some ASP.NET development tools that are available now, or are on the way

All ASP.NET the code you see listed in the book, with the exception of simple abstract snippets that demonstrate a specific principle or just show the syntax, is available in both VB.NET and C#. The listings you see in the book are mostly written using VB.NET syntax, but avoid any language-specific features wherever possible, so that it can easily be converted to other languages by any reasonably capable developer who prefers to work in a different language. Where there is an obvious difference between VB.NET and C# in the way that a specific feature is implemented, we show the C# version as well. Meanwhile, the client-side code is predominantly written in JavaScript/JScript.

What This Book Is:
- It is a practical approach aimed at achieving useful goals without drowning in complexity
- It is a guide to many of the useful and powerful interface-oriented features of ASP.NET
- It is an exploration of a process for designing and building an interactive Web site
- It is a useful introduction to many peripheral techniques, such as drawing and email
- It is a demonstration of how easy ASP.NET makes building great Web sites
- It is, hopefully, informative, useful, and fun to read

What This Book Is Not:
- It's not a dry reference book on any particular area of the technologies
- It's not an academic text that follows every thread or aspect of any one technology
- It's not about hardware performance or software configuration for ASP.NET
- It's not about SQL programming, server optimization or data access theory
- It's not aimed at system or database administrators - it's aimed at developers

Product Details

• Paperback: 570 pages
• Publisher: Wrox Press; 1st edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861007868
• ISBN-13: 978-1861007865
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,538,906 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical and Helpful, February 10, 2003

By	Mark Phillips (NY, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I found this book very helpful. It covers in details some of the quirks of the ASP.NET server controls - namely, that these controls do not work the same in all browsers and provides solutions to working around this issue. The book also contains some very practical coverage of JavaScript integration, Sessions, Cookieless Sessions, IE Web Controls and Caching.

Because this book is focused on the user interface (Web Forms), the programming language of the reader is not extremely important. The book is written in VB.NET. I am a C# programmer and found no significant language barriers in the book. The book's code can also be downloaded in a C# version.

5.0 out of 5 stars Mission accomplished !, November 26, 2002

By	Kenneth E. Bagwell "Look2Jesus" (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love this book. This is a step-by-step account of how to build a real ASP.NET web page. No 'snippets' here. The author takes you through a real-world type project from design to code, with complete explanations of the techniques used.

My favorite aspect is that we are taught how to solve problems and create things - not just pieces of a language. This is not just about ASP.NET either. The author explains how and when to incorporate client-side Java script, when to use the HTML controls, when to use the .NET controls - we are learning how to use the best technique for the situation. And as I am learning, that 'best technique'(espcially with UI's) is not straight '.NET', but a combination of server-side and client-side technologies. The example project incorporates the IE Explorer web controls - providing a rare reference on their use.

My only qualm with the book (other than the picture of the author(?) at the begining of each chapter) is the ... retail price. We rapidly approaching the ... average price for a computer book, and I don't think that's a good thing. For over ..., I at least want a CD. But if you really use the book, of course it's money well-spent.

Therefore, I can heartly reccommend this those who know the basics of ASP.NET, and want sink their teeth into creating full-featured, interactive UI's.