Rating: 
Summary: Best of the bunch
Review: It's alittle bit pricier, but this book seems to be the best of the UltraDev "bunch". The pace is a bit slow to begin (it has to cover everything in the Dreamweaver portion of UltraDev) but it quickly picks up and demonstrates several very different applications that can be built with UltraDev. Its more than just "here's how to show your data on a webpage" - which seems to be the standare fare of other titles.
Rating:
Summary: Finally...
Review: Finally, a book that actually MAKES SENSE! I purchased the original UltraDev 1.0 back when it was released in May(?) and the included manual was next to impossible to follow.In fact, I had just about given up on the software until I was reading through this in a local bookstore. The book is written from the perspective I needed - ie. How does someone actually make the software do something USEFUL? Even though UltraDev 4.0 hasn't even hit the shelves of the software stores yet, this book made several things in the first version clear that previously left me dumbfounded. I guess I may purchase UltraDev 4.0 afterall.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Coverage!
Review: This book provides excellent coverage of the UltraDev feature set, and is truly written so you can start from scratch and build dynamic sites. While the author does use ASP, he makes the ASP specific code quite obvious and provides a chapter on JSP/CFML.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice "Build As You Go" Organization
Review: I'm a fan of series like the "in 21 days" books because they break topics into logic units, instead of using a listing format like reference series. This is a good one because it starts slow and builds, as it should, to somewhat ambitious projects. The author does a good job of explaining the building blocks before implementing them and of calling attention to potential problems -- this book is worth it alone for the trouble-shooting help it gives. There is a problem in the combination of Dreamweaver basics and UltraDev/Database set-up in the same book because the complexity of the 2 parts are far apart. Buying it for one part of the other is fine (I bought for the UltraDev help) but be aware that you may be bored or highly challenged when going sequentially through the book. I'd blame the software more than the book for this.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not Great
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: Look hard before you buy....
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: Book is good - Software is not
Review: Pros:
- If you're a beginner in web programming and would like to create dynamic websites, prepare for a little pain. This is not an easy development tool to learn and the author touches on things which would be useful to learn.
- Database design covered in great detail
- Usage of a FREE database system. Lets face it, NOT everybody may have MS Access installed on their computers
- Plenty of examples at the end if you want to create similar tools for your website. Cons:
- If you're an intermediate web programmer, stay far away from Ultradev. You'll save yourself more time by just using other editors to code your web applications.
- Most JSP developers would like to create WAR files for easy distribution and deployment. However, this application does not provide a tool for doing so and therefore is not best suited for JSP development.
- JSP development goes hand in hand with Servlet development. JSP development acts as a presentation layer whereas Servlets are a business layer. This is definitely overlooked by the creators of Ultradev.
- The author assumes you will remember how to do exactly what he wants you to do that was covered in 5+ chapters ago.
- The code developed is unbelievably disgusting. There is so much spaghetti code that debugging is a nightmare. Stay FAR FAR away from Ultradev. If you're a programmer and wanted to work with a WYSIWYG editor, then Ultradev might be good for developing ONLY the front-ends. It is not worth using if you can program in ASP/JSP/CFML. I found out that I spent more time correcting the mistakes that Ultradev created in the automatic code that was generated than if I recoded the entire thing by hand. My synopsis on this book and development tool is that the book shows you why Ultradev should not be used seriously by a serious web developer. Debugging is unbelievably horrible. KEEP IN MIND: I am looking from a web programmer's perspective. Not a web designer who wishes to learn a bit more about dynamic website generation.
Rating: 
Summary: Definately NOT as useful as I had hoped!!! VERY Disappointed
Review: I was very much looking forward to teaching myself UD in 21 days, but as soon as I opened the book I knew I had wasted my money! There are no clear instructions or step by steps....you don't know when you actually are supposed do what the book says or just read the information. I am not a beginner at Dreamweaver and I knew that if Day 1 and 2 were a little bit confusting for me, the real advanced stuff would be beyond comprehension. I got half way through with Day 2 and am already looking online for a different book.
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