Rating: 
Summary: Code Impossible
Review: The code in this book is impossible to follow and does not work. This book is great if you like confusion and frustration.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Is No Bible
Review: The preface (page X) tells us that, as a minimum, (in Windows 95/98) we'll need Personal Web Server, a Web Browser, a text editor, and a db system such as MS Access. This is misleading (nothing about Server Extensions for fp98/2000 or MS IIS). The first sentence in Chapter 4 is outrageous: "As you learned in Chapter 1, the key difference between Active Server Pages code and HTML is that ASP code is always kept on the server." In fact, ASP is barely mentioned in the first three chapters of this book. It's mentioned ONLY on the second line of the first Chapter-a single line in 93 pages. There are many ambiguous references. Even the index is buggy (have a look under "Server object" on page 758). The jacket claims this book is for "Beginning to Advanced" level readers. I don't believe it was actually tested on beginners. Under "Credits" are listed two copy editors, a quality control specialist, and a proofreading and indexing service provider. Makes me wonder if this company (IDG) needs an ethics specialist.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many bugs
Review: There are too many problems with the code examples in this book. The concepts are explained fairly well, and there is an accompanying web site (asptechniques.com), but the downloaded chapter examples are missing some files.I wish that there had been more care in the editing of the book; I don't like having to debug in a coding language that I'm trying to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Code Impossible
Review: There have been many others here who have complained about the buggy code in the examples. I must agree with this sentiment. I've "spun my wheels" for several hours over the first example in Chapter 13 and still have not corrected all of the errors. Aside from the buggy code, Eric Smith persists setting out examples where the data source connections are ONLY made through the laborous "provider=Microsoft.jet.oledb.3.5.1" etc. vs. a simple dim statement similar to "const dblocation="DSN=Nwind"" (assuming you have rights to the server and can name your data source). I keep having to rewrite any connection statements, which is a real pain. The idea is good, but the execution lacks quality control. Some of the buggy code has been corrected on the web site ..., but only through page 87. The sample code zip files are incomplete. Maybe the publisher mixed up the first draft with the final copy!
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, bad code
Review: There have been many others here who have complained about the buggy code in the examples. I must agree with this sentiment. I've "spun my wheels" for several hours over the first example in Chapter 13 and still have not corrected all of the errors. Aside from the buggy code, Eric Smith persists setting out examples where the data source connections are ONLY made through the laborous "provider=Microsoft.jet.oledb.3.5.1" etc. vs. a simple dim statement similar to "const dblocation="DSN=Nwind"" (assuming you have rights to the server and can name your data source). I keep having to rewrite any connection statements, which is a real pain. The idea is good, but the execution lacks quality control. Some of the buggy code has been corrected on the web site ..., but only through page 87. The sample code zip files are incomplete. Maybe the publisher mixed up the first draft with the final copy!
Rating:
Summary: Not enough quality control
Review: This book follows in the grand tradition of books from companies like IDG and Macmillan: Not nearly enough quality control. Some examples of bloopers: (*) The author mentions that For Each ... Next is not supported in page 64. Voila! in page 91 he uses the same construct to show an example. (*) The description of PATH_INFO on page 142 is incorrect. (*) The last line of page 186 is a shoddy cut-and-paste job (*) ASP 3.0 is mentioned only in passing with the promise that the author will post new information as it becomes available. Obviously he did not have access to all the betas and release candidates of Windows 2000 put out by Microsoft. In sum, you can make this a usable book, provided that you try out the examples and ensure that they are bug free. In other words, you do the quality control. I wonder what the quality control editor for this book has to say...?
Rating: 
Summary: Best ASP book on the market
Review: This is an excellent resource for applying and learning the ASP craft and it smoothly moves from beginner to advanced concepts while covering the key ground. Four things make this book stand out from the crowd: (1) It's an excellent introduction to HTML, VBScript,ADO and ASP and more advanced topics. (2) It's clear and uses relevant examples (3) It's comprehensive in it's coverage (4) It smoothly moves from beginner to advanced material. This book was written by a seasoned and certified developer and a regular contributor to the ASP/ VB community. And it shows: in the quality of the examples and the clear structure and layout of the book and code. The section on ADO essentials (Chapter 10) is excellent, and I liked the section that discussed remotely connecting to a database and using DataLink files (pages 212 to 216 in my book). That's not mentioned in most books but it's vital if you intend to connect to a database such as SQL server over a LAN or external hosting service. The script in this book is well structured, and uses a style familiar to VB programmers. That's invaluable when you actually put a site together, and want to debug and maintain your code. This book is a good companion to 'Instant ASP Scripts' by McGrawHill. The latter is a 'cook book' with ready recipes for most of the core functions you'll need for a site. ASP Bible, helps structure the 'spaghetti code' of the former book, while rounding out the missing parts and providing the depth you'll need to enhance your site. The downloadable code samples from the book which are listed in the preface worked fine (after adjusting the code to reflect my local drive settings, DSN name etc). Despite a few glitches in the commentary, there is plenty of good content and examples in this book. For best results use this with a 'cook-book' or 'application-ready.' A good resource if you want a book that provides a practical walk through, and plenty of bite sized examples of what you'll need to know and use as a web developer.
Rating:
Summary: Best ASP book on the market
Review: Web Developer, UK This is an excellent resource for applying and learning the ASP craft and it smoothly moves from beginner to advanced concepts while covering the key ground. Four things make this book stand out from the crowd: (1) It's an excellent introduction to HTML, VBScript,ADO and ASP and more advanced topics. (2) It's clear and uses relevant examples (3) It's comprehensive in it's coverage (4) It smoothly moves from beginner to advanced material. This book was written by a seasoned and certified developer and a regular contributor to the ASP/ VB community. And it shows: in the quality of the examples and the clear structure and layout of the book and code. The section on ADO essentials (Chapter 10) is excellent, and I liked the section that discussed remotely connecting to a database and using DataLink files (pages 212 to 216 in my book). That's not mentioned in most books but it's vital if you intend to connect to a database such as SQL server over a LAN or external hosting service. The script in this book is well structured, and uses a style familiar to VB programmers. That's invaluable when you actually put a site together, and want to debug and maintain your code. This book is a good companion to 'Instant ASP Scripts' by McGrawHill. The latter is a 'cook book' with ready recipes for most of the core functions you'll need for a site. ASP Bible, helps structure the 'spaghetti code' of the former book, while rounding out the missing parts and providing the depth you'll need to enhance your site. The downloadable code samples from the book which are listed in the preface worked fine (after adjusting the code to reflect my local drive settings, DSN name etc). Despite a few glitches in the commentary, there is plenty of good content and examples in this book. For best results use this with a 'cook-book' or 'application-ready.' A good resource if you want a book that provides a practical walk through, and plenty of bite sized examples of what you'll need to know and use as a web developer.
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