Description:
If you're new to Web development--or even new to programming in general--Beginning Active Server Pages 2.0 is good place to start for learning how to program with Active Server Pages (ASPs) using Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). In this accessible and clearly written text, the authors do a fine job of presenting the basics of using ASPs in digestible increments, including how to program with databases. The book starts with the basics of client-side technologies--using HTML with JavaScript and VBScript. Once these terms are introduced, the move toward server-side processing and ASPs begins. The authors include the basics of setting up Personal Web Server (with screen shots) and the fundamentals of using ASPs to process simple user requests on a server. Next, the authors look at some of the objects available in ASP programming (including Request, Response, Applications, Sessions, and Cookies objects). They present the basics of customizing Web content for particular browsers and managing indexes of pages. The sections on debugging ASPs--including how to use the Microsoft Script Debugger--are also useful. Some of the book's best material is in its coverage of the Microsoft databases, including ActiveX Data Object (ADO), open database connectivity (ODBC), and the newer object linking and embedding database (OLE-DB) standards. The authors describe the basic objects used to manipulate data with ASPs. The book rounds out with a sizeable example that uses live data for an online classified section, complete with user bidding for items. --Richard Dragan
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