<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book.
Review: Although this book has some great writing and is above average overall, I think the editing was downright awful. Throughout the book there are many syntax errors in examples, the formatting of examples change from page to page, the continuity stinks and naming conventions are all over the place. I'm a little surprised because I expected more from Wrox. They usually don't put out a product this bad. If you can correct all the errors in the examples and can understand the format changes, this is still a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Complain Complain Complain
Review: I almost didn't buy this book, because the reviews I had read of it here on Amazon were absolutely hideous. But, the price was right and it covers the subject(s) I need to know, and I had been satisfied with Wiley books before (see "Big Java"). Anyway, I'm on Chapter 5, and I would just like to state that, yes, there are mistakes, typos, you name it. Do they degrade the book's quality? Not in the slighest. This is already one of the best computer book purchases I have ever made. The only complaint I have about it is that it's a little dry--yes I know it's a Computer Science book, but still. But as far as the editing goes, it's not that bad. It's fairly easy to understand what they're saying, and in the few places there's a line that doesn't belong there, you can check on it, cross it out, move on with your life. This book is great, and despite what I have also read here, knows its target audience well--and its audience is old-school static HTML developers. The examples are great, the explinations thorough (sometimes too thorough). This is a great, inexpensive book for someone looking to learn both ASP.NET and VB.NET at the same time.
Rating: 
Summary: Does NOT use VB.NET 2003
Review: I am amazed that Wrox (AKA Wiley Publishing) would title a book in such a deceptive manner.Purchased the book and first thing I did was read "What you need to use this book?" - it clearly states "You do not need Visual Studio.NET in order to use this book." Instead - they expect you to download something called a Web Matrix... Sure - it uses the .NET framework 1.1 but to me, and I am sure the vast majority of developers, if one sees "with VB.NET 2003" they are not expecting to be taught how to write code in Notepad... Wrox - You have disappointed me
Rating:
Summary: Does NOT use VB.NET 2003
Review: I am amazed that Wrox (AKA Wiley Publishing) would title a book in such a deceptive manner. Purchased the book and first thing I did was read "What you need to use this book?" - it clearly states "You do not need Visual Studio.NET in order to use this book." Instead - they expect you to download something called a Web Matrix... Sure - it uses the .NET framework 1.1 but to me, and I am sure the vast majority of developers, if one sees "with VB.NET 2003" they are not expecting to be taught how to write code in Notepad... Wrox - You have disappointed me
Rating: 
Summary: Great if you don't have Visual Studio
Review: Not a bad book. I would recommend this tome to anyone who has not yet been exposed to Visual Studio, because the book assumes you don't own a copy and teaches you using Microsoft's Web Matrix. Although Web Matrix is a powerful tool, Visual Studio is far easier to work with in the long run (and promotes better coding practices as well). The general format and layout of the book is classic Wrox. I own many Wrox books and have substantially enhanced my IT career with these books and highly recommend most of them. This book is no exception and is definitely a beginner's book, covering all the basics and then going in-depth into a few nuts and bolts (but never getting too technical). I recommend this book to brand new programmers. Classic ASP programmers should pick up the MS Press book ASP.NET Programming with VB.NET, Step By Step.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book.
Review: The other reviewers stating there are many errors in this book are exaggerating the case. I found a few errors as is to be expected from any technical book but I also found a lively discussion at the Wrox web site forums where many other readers and the authors gladly helped each other answer questions about the book and even general ASP.NET questions that we not specific to the book. All in all, I learned a lot from these authors.
Rating: 
Summary: 1.0 Book is better for newbies
Review: This book and its predecessor that covers version 1.0 are my first foray into learning Asp.net. I began studying using the older, 1.0 version and planned to switch over to the new book when it arrived. Now I am finding that the new book is *much* more confusing and less educational about the basics of asp.net, as so many of the exercises use the Web Matrix editor. The new book is teaching the student how to use Web Matrix at the same time it is teaching how to use asp.net. I for one find the simultaneous attempt to be confusing. I also have a friend who has been teaching a university class with the 1.0 book and I have told him to start early on updating his class materials for the 1.1 book. This 'revision' is more aptly called a rewrite, with some material being omitted, and portions of chapters being removed or relocated to another chapter. Bottom line is: if you are just learning, I'd suggest using the older 1.0 book, which avoids the Web Matrix overhead. Other resources can help you understand what's new in version 1.1 and the 1.0 book IS a good tutorial. Also, if you have been teaching a class using the 1.0 book, don't count on being able to use the same class materials lightly refurbished. You will have to prepare anew.
Rating:
Summary: Wish It Explained ASP.NET From A Visual Studio Perspective
Review: This is a good book that taught the concepts of ASP.NET in an understandable manner. The book uses a freeware product called "Web Matrix" to perform the examples. I was using an academic copy of Visual Studio 2003 and was totally confused as I followed along for the first week. Being new to ASP.NET, I didn't know the method of coding an ASP.NET web form using "codebehind" until two days after purchasing the book. The book does not discuss this until you get to the appendix. For newbies, information like this should be upfront. So, I spent a few days using Visual Studio.NET like "notepad" until I realized that I could code a web form almost like a standard windows form in VB.NET. Since you don't need Visual Studio.NET to create ASP.NET pages explains why 99% of the books that I have encountered about ASP.NET don't teach from that perspective as well. Other than that, it is very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Visual studio users
Review: You'll find it extremely difficult to apply the examples in visual studio.net.
Some of the databases are missing from the downloaded code such as WroxDBAuth.mdb mentioned in chapter 17.
Many errors for example: the access database used in chapter 17 is missing the "SiteAdminLevel" field in the players table (mentioned in the example) and misnamed in the SQL version ("AdminLevel"). As a beginner such errors could take me hours to figure out, never mind the frustration associated with it. So why the four stars? You might ask? Because of the knowledge I gained. Regardless of the errors, this book is very valuable especially if you are intending to use Web matrix.
<< 1 >>
| 
