Rating: 
Summary: Provides a good core text, solid examples.
Review: This book does what the author set out to do - whether or not that's what you want depends on your goals. The author obviously wanted to cover as much ground as possible related to web and database development. I haven't seen another book that took the time to talk about database normalization and used real SQL to build the applications. It's not meant to be a "one topic after another" reference. The chapters go through the available tools in DreamWeaver, then introduce database design, dynamic data, and finally it concludes with seven mini-project pages that hold a great deal of information. Even the more negative reviews have stated that the author knows what he's talking about. I guess it just comes down to if you like the approach to the topic and the writing style. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Great for me!
Review: What can I say, I liked this book!The book seems to be aimed at someone who is reasonably intelligent, has little to no web experience, and doesn't want to get their hands too dirty creating dynamic sites. I think part of the problem with the UltraDev product is that it really doesn't do that much without editing the code directly. This book could easily have broken down into an ASP programming guide, but it doesn't. The author seems to understand that NOT EVERYONE wants to use Microsoft products for their server deployment (even though ASP *is* used as the example). Personally, I'm thrilled to see something other than a book on Microsoft Access. I haven't tried MySQL in quite awhile, and, after installing it, I'm quite pleased with both the performance of the backend and the GUI on the front. For the drumbeat users, I'd say this isn't your book - when Macromedia integrated Dreamweaver into what *was* Drumbeat, they opened up web development to a whole new group of people - those who haven't ever seen or touched a development tool or language. This book is for those people. It does touch a bit on coding issues, but that's the only way anyone is ever going to do anything beyond simple lists in UltraDev.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not Great
Review: I'm working through the book and I find that it seems to cover the important topics but I find following the text to be difficult. I've seen other instructional books that were much clearer. With this book, I have to read and reread to make sure I understand what the author is saying and with better instructional books I can continue to read without as many stops and starts.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for a general overview.
Review: If you are a backend or middleware programmer writing ASP, JSP or CFML, you probably won't like this book too much. If you are a front-end designer/developer who wants to start activating your web pages with server-side logic, this book may give you a start. The author does an adequate job of explaining how to do things with UD4, but does not dive deeply into the depth of the technologies. As an ASP developer and long-time user of Drumbeat and UltraDev, I often found myself turning to UD4's help system or the Macromedia tech library for more in-depth information. I'm happy to see publishers getting UltraDev books out on the market but I question the timing of this publishing. It was in print and on the shelves before UD4 was even shipping. This timing issue shows up in the lack of depth in the text. Additionally, the author offers too many pointed opinions on related technologies instead of taking an unbiased approach at explaining the technologies. For example, he says it is better to use Java Applets then Flash movies because you don't need to worry about plug-ins (not mentioning the need to have the Java Virtual Machine on your system :0) - but ignores the fact that the Flash plug-in is on 96% of all computers connected to the Internet. I'd suggest waiting for Joseph Lowery's next edition of the Dreamweaver Bible.
Rating:
Summary: A VERY Helpful and Complete Book
Review: As an experienced Dreamweaver/HTML user with little knowledge of databases, I had planned to skim the early chapters to learn about new Dreamweaver features than dive into the "UltraDev" part, but when I began reading I found much more than the usual "how to use this program" list of features. There's a chapter on designing a website, an excellent one on database setup that includes detailed explanations of how to structure data, and a lot of practical advice for those of us who are new to dynamic web content. This author knows his stuff. Would I recommend it to someone who'd never even seen HTML? No. Would I recommend it to everyone else? -- Absolutely.
Rating:
Summary: Book is an outstanding way to get started with Ultradev
Review: I have used this book, and performed the exercises, to learn Dreamweaver Ultradev. I found the book to be extremely helpful--far more so than the Dreamweaver Ultradev documentation which came with the product. IMO, the book is more useful if you already understand some of the concepts related to web development---you don't need to be an expert by any means. I am now able to create web sites, and have a more full appreciation of the tool, because of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Well... love it or hate, it's better than the others.
Review: I found this book to be much better than the other available UltraDev books. As another reviewer said, however, there is just too much to cover, and, if done in a way that is all inclusive, it gets to be too much. I'd like to see UltraDev support PHP, and a book similar to this one be written about PHP/MySQL and UltraDev, but, for now, this will do. If you find this book too easy or too hard, just look at the rest of the available titles - ugh.
Rating: 
Summary: Look hard before you buy....
Review: I looked at the table of contents and thought "Wow, EXACTLY what I need." Too bad it didn't turn out that way. The problem that all UltraDev books face is that of platforms.
-What OS? PC or Mac (most go the PC route)
-What Server OS? (Too many to list)
-What Appliication language? (Asp/VBScript, Asp/JavaScript, JSP, Cold Fusion? you'll see more ASP than anything else. Ray West and Tom Muck side stepped this issue by including examples of all 4 coding languages, and that pushed thier very good book close to the edge of being tiresome. So the issue is that this book may work for you, but it might not. Take a good long look at this book before you buy it. If it is a good fit for you, then go for it. If not, pass and go to the next one. Until we get UD books on demand, you have to do the leg work or the work arounds to get books that are close to work for you.
Rating:
Summary: Good but!
Review: The book contains a lot of good Dreamweaver Ulta Dev (DWUD)information, but the author, in my opinion, places too much emphasis on databses, design, SQL, and normalization of tables. If you need a book with a good mix of DWUD, then this book may be for you. If you are looking for a book with examples and example code to go with it, this is not the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Cross-Platform Coverage At Last!
Review: I've waded my way through a number of ultradev and web database books, and haven't had any that offered truly detailed cross-platform coverage until this one. So many books start out with "Let's look at how to work with an Access database, of course you're using Windows." The pictures and examples for all aspects were clear and easy to follow, and the information on pitfalls and possibilities detailed enough to be actually useful. Congratulations! This one's definitely a keeper.
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