ASP.NET 2.0 Revealed

Rating:
Summary: Great explanation of Whidbey concepts w/lots of code!
Review: ASP.NET 2.0 Revealed
By Patrick Lorenz
Published by APress
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This book is much more demonstrative and visual than some of the other titles currently on the market, making it the ultimate complement for books like "A First Look at ASP.NET v 2.0". Overall, the book's tone is very educational but not intimidating, complex but not complicated, making for a very friendly atmosphere that makes it quite easy to read.

The book tackles some of the more technical topics involved with developing and administering ASP.NET web sites, so it's an effective tool in lightly previewing what's coming on the horizon for us, as well as giving you the in-depth answers to allow you to start planning to solve problems and work more efficiently.

In each of the title's 13 hearty chapters, there's great examples that accompany most, if not all of the concepts presented. So, you don't get an empty, lost feeling after being drawn-into an idea - it's succeeded with a relevant, working C# example.

The book is definitely written for the web developer already primed with experience in ASP.NET 1.x, so familiarity with the concepts of Microsoft web development is a must. But assuming that, you'll be very pleased.

Specifically, there are several areas in this book I found to be outstanding. These include a fantastic introduction to generics, iterators, anonymous methods and other new features of both C# and Visual Basic .NET. Also, there's a great description of using the ObjectDataSource control for binding business objects to data controls, and an equally nice discussion of the Site Counter API and keeping tabs on the user currently on one's site. The book also has a good chunk of information about the improvements to working with dynamic imaging, and about the easy by which you can create and control client-side script.

Additionally, there's a great preview of the Whidbey version of Visual Studio .NET's features specifically for web developers. Provides constant tips and comments about what features are likely to be changed by the Whidbey Beta.

The sole bit of criticism I would have it that, the chapter on Web Parts chapter was interesting, but largely took from the documentation and samples you can find on MSDN and in the .NET Framework documentation.

But outside of that, the positive far outweigh the negatives, and if you're on the hunt for anything and everything you can get your hands on about the next big thing in web development, get your hands on this book today.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent ASP.NET V2 overview!
Review: ASP.NET v2 brings a lot of new stuff to the table and this book gives an excellent first overview about the topic. What I like most about it is the programmer's perspective (with lots of code examples) rather than a purely 'academic' text. It really answers the what's-in-it-for-me question. Also, the author's style is quite relaxed and easy and that makes it easy to read. I very much enjoyed it!!

Rating:
Summary: Meant for intermediate, expert.
Review: Excellent visual book meant for intermediate to expert level users. May not be suitable for a beginner.

Rating:
Summary: Not worth your money
Review: If you want useful information about ASP.NET 2.0, don't expect to find it here. This book is nothing more than a badly written brochoure. Additionally, the author's command of English, which to be fair he apologized for in the book I think, makes much of the already weak text even more confusing. The editor of this book should be given other work to do.

On the bright side, you can find a lot of value in ASP.NET v. 2.0-The Beta Version. That book was money well spent. My apologies to the author for telling the truth here, but he didn't do me any favors by selling me something this half-baked just so he could profit from the dearth of good material on this subject. This is my livelihood, not my hobby, so I expected better treatment from a fellow professional programmer selling this kind of material.

I repeat, do not waste your time and money. That's why you read these reviews, isn't it?