Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Special Edition (Wrox Professional Guides)

Book Description

ASP.NET allows web sites to display unique pages for each visitor rather than show the same static HTML pages. The release of ASP.NET 2.0 is a revolutionary leap forward in the area of web application development. It brings with it a wealth of new and exciting built-in functions that reduce the amount of code you'll need to write for even the most common applications.

With more than 50 new server controls, the number of classes inside ASP.NET 2.0 has more than doubled, and in many cases, the changes in this new version are dramatic. This book will alert you to every new feature and capability that ASP.NET 2.0 provides so that you'll be prepared to put these new technologies into action. Greatly expanded from the original best-selling Professional ASP.NET 2.0, this new special edition adds hundreds of pages of new coverage of advanced and new techniques relating to data and data sources, the provider model, personalization, membership, role management, localization, configuration, migration, and Altas.

Bonus CD-ROM and DVD
* The bonus DVD includes a 180-day trial of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional
* The accompanying CD-ROM features a valuable library of chapters from other key Wrox books. It contains more than 1,000 pages from more than 15 Wrox ASP.NET 2.0, C# 2005, VB 2005, .NET 2.0, and SQL Server 2005 books.

What you will learn from this book
* The idea of the server control and its pivotal role in ASP.NET development
* How to create templated ASP.NET pages using the new master page feature
* Techniques for debugging and handling errors
* How to work with data from enterprise databases including SQL Server 2005 and Oracle(r)
* Ways to package and deploy ASP.NET applications
* How to retrieve, update, and delete data quickly and logically
* How to implement the cultures and regions features to localize your web site into multiple languages for different visitors
* How to use the new "Altas" add-in for ASP.NET 2.0 to add Ajax-style capabilities to your ASP.NET applications
* An understanding of how to use and extend the new pro?vider model for accessing data stores, processes, and more
* How to keep track of your application's performance and health with new monitoring tools
* When and how to migrate your ASP.NET 1.x applications to 2.0

Who this book is for

This book is for experienced programmers and developers who are looking to make the transition to ASP.NET 2.0.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

This book is also available as part of the 5-book ASP.NET 2.0 Wrox Box (ISBN: 0-470-11757-5). This 5-book set includes:

Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Special Edition (ISBN: 0-470-04178-1)
ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming: Problem - Design - Solution (ISBN: 0764584642 )
Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Security, Membership, and Role Management (ISBN: 0764596985)
Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Server Control and Component Development (ISBN: 0471793507)
ASP.NET 2.0 MVP Hacks and Tips (ISBN: 0764597663)
CD-ROM with more than 1000 pages of bonus chapters from 15 other .NET 2.0 and SQL Server(TM) 2005 Wrox books
DVD with 180-day trial version of Microsoft(r) Visual Studio(r) 2005 Professional Edition

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive but not in depth.......2007-03-09

This is a nice book for people who have the basic idea of ASP.NET. This Book covers almost all topics for .Net2.0 . It is a very good reference book for newbie.
Unfortunately, this book isn't in-depth for lots of topics, basically it just introduces most common cases, and you probably can't find what you want for some topics. (Eg implement Sorting and Pagation for ObjectDataSource, Crystal Report, memory management, ADO.NET in depth, .Net Virtual Machine etc). The source code is another down side for this book. Most of the code doesn't run, also the connection string wasn't right at the first place, I have to spend hours and hours to get it right.
In conclusion, it worth to buy, if you just want learn asp.net in a fast way. It will give you the solution for most tasks. Pretty good reference book.

Great ASP.NET 2.0 Reference.......2007-01-22

This is a great ASP.NET 2.0 reference book. It is absolutely packed with information covering all areas of the product. The book is also somewhat unique in that all code snippets are provided in both VB and C#, making it useful to all developers.

The authors are fantastic technical experts and speakers on .NET and ASP.NET. I think you can learn a lot from this book.

Encyclopedia of ASP.NET.......2007-01-21

Wrox is a great publisher of quick and massive volumes with multiple authors. I'm a teacher and look for good values that combine clear technical information and a broad range for a low cost. This is a good choice if you have experience with ASP.NET, know your web architecture (query strings, cookies, sessions, etc.), and don't want an extended tutorial. The reasoning for why you use these things wasn't clear but the details on how to use them exceeded most of the current fare which is why I chose to teach from the text recently. The quantity of code that was provided in VB and C# was excellent but the topics were out of order for classroom use. For the ASP.NET beginner, I feel it needs to be supplemented with a more tutorial based text and then this makes an excellent companion volume.

A Professional Level Book in Every Way.......2006-10-25

This is a monumental book. Almost sixteen hundred pages of hi-tech stuff. It is not for the faint of heart. It is intended for people who have at least a general understanding of how the web works with particular attention as to how a database driven web site is set up and works. Knowledge and experience with earlier versions of ASP (Active Server Pages) would be very helpful, but so would experience using other technologies such as Cold Fusion, PHP, or Java. Such knowledge is to provide you with the concepts of doing a dynamic web page consisting of a framework or template with the actual data being displayed coming from a database.

The book builds on this basic understanding to start with a very simple page and go on to much more complex tasks such as the building XML web services. Along the way every aspect of ASP.NET 2.0 is discussed.

ASP.NET 2.0 is the second major release of ASP.NET, Microsoft's main concept for programming dynamic web pages. The focus of the new release is on productivity. A major goal of the development team was to reduce the number of lines of code needed to program a page by two thirds. On the whole they suceeded.

In addition, the book contains two CD-ROMs. One is a 180 day trial version of Visual Studio 2005. The other has about a thousand pages from about 15 other WROX books that you may find helpful in looking up background information. The book is in reference format rather than tutorial. It will be very helpful for quite a long time.

Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition

Average customer rating:

Great Start to Learn OS X Programming
OK...
A good book, but not the best book
Indispensible Guide for Moving from C to Object Orientation
Good try, but needs a bit more work

Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition
James Duncan Davidson , and Inc. Apple Computer
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

MacOS | Operating Systems | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0596003013

Book Description

Learning Cocoa with Objective-C is the "must-have" book for people who want to develop applications for Mac OS X, and is the only book approved and reviewed by Apple engineers. Based on the Jaguar release of Mac OS X 10.2, this edition of Learning Cocoa includes examples that use the Address Book and Universal Access APIs. Also included is a handy quick reference card, charting Cocoa's Foundation and AppKit frameworks, along with an Appendix that includes a listing of resources essential to any Cocoa developer--beginning or advanced. Completely revised and updated, this 2nd edition begins with some simple examples to familiarize you with the basic elements of Cocoa programming as well Apple's Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder. After introducing you to Project Builder and Interface Builder, it brings you quickly up to speed on the concepts of object-oriented programming with Objective-C, the language of choice for building Cocoa applications. From there, each chapter presents a different sample program for you to build, with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to teach you the fundamentals of Cocoa programming. The techniques you will learn in each chapter lay the foundation for more advanced techniques and concepts presented in later chapters. You'll learn how to:

Effectively use Apple's suite of Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder
Build single- and multiple-window document-based applications
Manipulate text data using Cocoa's text handling capabilities
Draw with Cocoa
Add scripting functionality to your applications
Localize your application for multiple language support
Polish off your application by adding an icon for use in the Dock, provide Help, and package your program for distribution

Each chapter ends with a series of Examples, challenging you to test your newly-learned skills by tweaking the application you've just built, or to go back to an earlier example and add to it some new functionality. Solutions are provided in the Appendix, but you're encouraged to learn by trying. Extensive programming experience is not required to complete the examples in the book, though experience with the C programming language will be helpful. If you are familiar with an object-oriented programming language such as Java or Smalltalk, you will rapidly come up to speed with the Objective-C language. Otherwise, basic object-oriented and language concepts are covered where needed.

Customer Reviews:

Great Start to Learn OS X Programming.......2005-07-02

This book is a great start to learn the best OS X programming technology. As a professional developer. The title says it "Learning Cocoa with Objective C". Avoid the book "Cocoa in a Nutshell" until you know Cocoa and Objective C and want a good refeerence.

I also plan to read: "Programming in Objective C" and "Cocoa Programming", but only after mastering the material in this book.

OK..........2005-02-25

While this book is very detailed and has a lot of information in it about Cocoa programming, it starts off too quickly. You might be discouraged by the assumptions the author makes about how much C (and programming in general) you know. If you are experienced in computer programming, then you will find this book to be a blast and will learn objective -C in no time at all. However, if you aren't too good with programming, start off with some online tutorials or other books, as you will get lost after reading the first two chapters or so.

A good book, but not the best book.......2004-05-10

A very popular book, and greatly improved in its second edition. Very example and tutorial oriented; somewhat out of date at this point, however. Helps the user learn Interface Builder, ProjectBuilder and Objective-C, too. Possibly a bit shallow to get the reader writing their own Cocoa programs from scratch, but a good introduction. Ultimately, probably not as recommended for a first purchase as Cocoa Programming by Scott Anguish or Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X by Aaron Hillegass.

Indispensible Guide for Moving from C to Object Orientation.......2004-02-23

Being an old Pascal and C programer from the earlier Mac OS (systems 6 and 7) I was finding 1) that Carbon documentation was a mess, and 2) that Cocoa's object orientation was incomprehensible. So, in deciding which environment to work in to upgrade my old scientific apps, I felt stuck between two impossible choices. I wanted the power of quartz and the familiarity of C in a format I could learn. This book provides the indispensible introduction to object orientation that is a prerequisite for Cocoa and ultimately Apple's latest and greatest stuff under the hood. From there, the developer documentation and Garfinkel's or Hillegrass' books can take you the rest of the way. But, this is the place to start if you're conversant in c but not objects.

Good try, but needs a bit more work.......2004-01-16

This book needed one more pass by the proofreaders. There are an annoyingly large number of typographical errors and other mistakes. What surprised me is that after introducing a number of features of Interface Builder, the author tends to manually write code (e.g., outlet declarations) then load the results into Interface Builder to make the various object connections. It would have been better in my view to simply use Interface Builder to perform these tasks (certainly less error prone).

Book Description

PDA Connections is a text-PDA learning system designed specifically for nursing and health professions students, to show them how to incorporate a PDA into their course and clinical work. Filled with step-by-step instructions and screen shots, the text walks novice users through the basics students need to master Palm or Pocket PC devices. Classroom and clinical applications covered include notes, point-of-care data entry and access, clinical decision-making tools, and skill development tools. Each chapter includes learning activities in which students use actual PDA clinical software on their PDAs.

Connection-Oriented Networks: SONET/SDH, ATM, MPLS and Optical Networks

Average customer rating:

Connection-Oriented Networks: SONET/SDH, ATM, MPLS and Optical Networks
Harry G. Perros
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0470021632

Book Description

A thorough knowledge of modern connection-oriented networks is essential to understanding the current and near-future state of networking.
This book provides a complete overview of connection-oriented networks, discussing both packet-switched and circuit-switched networks, which, though seemingly different, share common networking principles. It details the history and development of such networks, and defines their terminology and architecture, before progressing to aspects such as signaling and standards. There is inclusive coverage of SONET/SDH, ATM networks, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), optical networks, access networks and voice over ATM and MPLS.
Connection-oriented Networks:
* Provides in-depth, systematic coverage of several connection-oriented networks in a single volume
* Explains topics such as the Generic Framing Procedure, Label Distribution Protocols, Wavelength Routing Optical Networks, Optical Burst Switching, and Access Networks in detail
* Illustrates all concepts with problems and simulation projects to test and deepen your understanding
* Includes an accompanying website with solutions manual and complete set of PowerPoint presentations for each chapter
Senior undergraduate and graduate students in telecommunication and networking courses, as well as networking engineers, will find this comprehensive guide to connection-oriented packet-switched and circuit-switched networks useful for their training. The book presents tried and tested material based on an existing, successful course.

Download Description

A thorough knowledge of modern connection-oriented networks is essential to understanding the current and near-future state of networking. This book provides a complete overview of connection-oriented networks, discussing both packet-switched and circuit-switched networks, which, though seemingly different, share common networking principles. It details the history and development of such networks, and defines their terminology and architecture, before progressing to aspects such as signaling and standards. There is inclusive coverage of SONET/SDH, ATM networks, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), optical networks, access networks and voice over ATM and MPLS. Connection-oriented Networks: * Provides in-depth, systematic coverage of several connection-oriented networks in a single volume * Explains topics such as the Generic Framing Procedure, Label Distribution Protocols, Wavelength Routing Optical Networks, Optical Burst Switching, and Access Networks in detail * Illustrates all concepts with problems and simulation projects to test and deepen your understanding * Includes an accompanying website with solutions manual and complete set of PowerPoint presentations for each chapter Senior undergraduate and graduate students in telecommunication and networking courses, as well as networking engineers, will find this comprehensive guide to connection-oriented packet-switched and circuit-switched networks useful for their training. The book presents tried and tested material based on an existing, successful course.

Average customer rating:

This Book is really good for iSCSI beginners
About the protocol not applications
Good Starting Point on iSCSI
Highly Recommended iSCSI Source for Technical Reader
The future of storage networking

iSCSI: The Universal Storage Connection
John L. Hufferd
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 020178419X

Customer Reviews:

This Book is really good for iSCSI beginners.......2007-03-13

This book gives very good information about iSCSI, it is well organized and with simple explanation. I recommend this book for people who just start reading iSCSI.

About the protocol not applications.......2006-03-22

The author writes detai about the iSCSI protocol but doesn't talk about applcations. Get it if you're into theory but not really useful for how to use iSCSI or manage a SAN.

Good Starting Point on iSCSI.......2003-07-03

John has done a very good job of covering the basics of the iSCSI protocol. This is a good book for someone who is trying to get an introduction to this protocol. However, the material is presented from the viewpoint of someone who has NEVER actually built a storage system. For those people who are trying to either build an iSCSI system or want to get a comparison of this protocol with either Fibre Channel or Infiniband, this is not the right place to start. This is an excellent book for starters but is not good for serious iSCSI implementors.

Highly Recommended iSCSI Source for Technical Reader.......2003-04-06

iSCSI is a new SAN architecture that combines two popular network and storage technologies into one. Many technical people found the IETF technical specifications hard to read, since it requires backgrounds from both the networking world and the storage world to fully understand them.

As one of the iSCSI authorities in the IETF, the author has done a very good job in describing the technologies and the ratioale of the specifications one step at a time in a very detailed and organized way. This makes them much easier to understand by the technical people from two different worlds.

I fully appreciate John's efforts for creating such a great works that will be highly recommended for the time to come.

The future of storage networking.......2003-01-17

This work is a thorough and insightful review of the iSCSI protocol by someone who has been a major contributor to the standard and knows the protocol parameters inside out. I highly recommend this work to anyone who wants to understand the future direction of storage area networking. Over the next few years we will see the convergence of SANs with mainstream IP networking, with iSCSI and IP SANs paving the way for much tighter integration of applications, operating systems, storage and networks. As stated in the book's title, iSCSI will be the universal connection for bringing storage into this synthesis.

Average customer rating:

Harley Hahn's Student Guide To Unix
Perfect for someone who never even knew what UNIX was
Ideal book for getting started
Detailed, understandable, thorough and fun!
As said, a student's guide

Harley Hahn's Student Guide To Unix
Harley Hahn
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Operating Systems | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0070254923

Book Description

With its easy-to-read, coaching style and well-designed plan, A Student's Guide to Unix, 2/e is the best way to introduce students to the complex world of Unix. This edition is a comprehensive revision of the first Unix textbook specifically developed for the university environment. Designed to be a reference and an educational resource, the book describes all the basic skills involved, as well as countless tips, hints and techniques. This edition includes chapters on the Emacs editor, Job Control and the Korn Shell. It has also been improved as a reference text.

Customer Reviews:

Harley Hahn's Student Guide To Unix .......2006-11-10

I liked it and it is easy to understand.

Perfect for someone who never even knew what UNIX was.......2002-10-18

Having been using the UNIX system for six years, I'm still referencing from this absolute beginner book from time to time because the language is so non-technical, yet the information contained within is more than enough to get you started on using UNIX operating system and learn to love it.

The author did a very good job particularly in describing and tutoring the reader how to do common tasks such as using email systems, doing text editing, issuing commands from the CLI, etc. Not very in-depth but the point is, it is enough to get you interested to look for MORE, which is the most important thing. There is no point in explaining something in-depth only to discourage the reader to look for more information, and only to leave the subject untouched because it looks "hard". If you are a UNIX veteran/advanced user/system administrator, this book is not for you, as you have probably known way more than what this book contains.

I highly recommend this book as the very first book on UNIX to read on, if you have never even heard of UNIX before, and only experienced in Windows/MacOS environments.

Ideal book for getting started.......2000-03-01

I found this book to be excellent. I feel it teaches you all that you need to be a comfortable UNIX user. This may not be the ideal book if you are looking for a quick reference for commands etc. Great job by the author.

Detailed, understandable, thorough and fun!.......1998-11-05

I think this must be one of the best UNIX-manuals ever written. Mr. Hahn shows skills and knows how to teach even a beginner everything from basics to the more advanced. I would highly recommend this book to everybody who would like to learn a bit or eight about Unix- The most interesting and powerful MUOS there is!

As said, a student's guide.......1998-08-04

For a Windows 95 user like myself, Unix looked liked a dark and mysterious night, unpenetrable and unfathomable. This book came like a guiding light and saw me through.

Gaming Lives in the Twenty-First Century: Literate Connections

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Gaming Lives in the Twenty-First Century: Literate Connections

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Video & Electronic Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1403972206
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Book Description

Gaming Lives explores the complexly rendered relationship between computer gaming environments and literacy development by focusing on in-depth case studies of computer gamers in the United States at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This volume examines the claim that computer games can provide better literacy and learning environments than U.S. schools. Using the words and observations of individual gamers, this book offers historical and cultural analyses of their literacy development, practices, and values.

Average customer rating:

How I Stopped Wanting to be a Writer.
Wackiness
Psychedelic Screwball Comedy
Pure SF, Pure Action, Pure Fun!
Fun, Fast and Far Ahead of Its Time

The Computer Connection
Alfred Bester
Manufacturer: I Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adventure | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0671039016

Book Description

Alfred Bester's first science fiction novel since The Stars My Destination was a major event-a fast-moving adventure story set in Earth's future. A band of immortal-as charming a bunch of eccentrics as you'll ever come across-recruit a new member, the brilliant Cherokee physicist Sequoya Guess. Dr. Guess, with group's help, gain control of Extro, the supercomputer that controls all mechanical activity on Earth. They plan to rid Earth of political repression and to further Guess's researches-which may lead to a great leap in human evolution to produce a race of supermen. But Extro takes over Guess instead and turns malevolent. The task of the merry band suddenly becomes a fight in deadly earnest for the future of Earth. .

Sequoya Guess, whom they love, must be killed. And how do you kill an immortal? .

Download Description

Alfred Bester's first science fiction novel since The Stars My Destination was a major event - a fast-moving adventure story set in Earth's future. A band of immortals - as charming a bunch of eccentrics as you'll ever coem across - recruit a new member, the briliant Cherokee physicit Sequoya Guess. Dr. Guess, with the group's help, gains control of Extro, the super-computer that controls all mechanical activity on Earth. They plan to rid Earth of political repression and to further Guess's researches - which may lead to a great leap in human evolution to produce a race of supermen. But Extro takes over Guess instead and turns malevolent. The task of the merry band suddenly becomes a fight in deadly earnest for the guture of Earth.

Customer Reviews:

How I Stopped Wanting to be a Writer........2007-02-03

After reading this book, I threw in the towel as far as dreaming about becoming a SF writer. This book is Perfect, there is no way it can be beaten or even approached by any other SF writing (except, perhaps, TSMD and TDM). (Well, TSMD)
I loved mostly the cultural bits, the language, the in your face advertising (we are halfway there now) the drugs, firewater and all the inevitable extrapolations of 20th century lifestyles.
I can not really say much more without spoiling a bit. I'm going to get a copy and rerereread it now.
Oh, by the way, there IS an immortal caveman, a nicety I think few authors of 'immortal people' tales would have thought of.

Wackiness.......2005-05-27

Between them, the other reviewers have covered the plot, so I'll just leave you with my opinion. This novel is the best example of a type of SF novel that emerged in the sixties and seventies, characterized by extravagant, psychedelic concepts, madcap dashing to and fro, and flamboyant, over the top characters. Bester's primary motivation, apart from telling the story, of course, is to drag the reader to as many absurd and wacky locations and situations as possible; to do this, the characters must be as impulsive and capricious as possible, acting fully on even the slightest of whims (who marries a woman within minutes of meeting her, really?). Great fun, and it was a pleasure to be taken along for the ride.

Psychedelic Screwball Comedy.......2002-07-15

Though the always over-the-top Harlan Ellison does a fantastic job in the introduction of convincing you that this boook is the equal of Bester's greats, 'The Demolished Man' and 'The Stars My Destination', it isn't quite in that class.

Don't let that put you off, however. The Computer Connection packs in more wacky offbeat ideas in a single book than most writers have in a lifetime, and it is all done at a breakneck velocity fast enough to pass the likes of Michael Marshall Smith in the slow lane (and that's no insult to Smith).

The plot revolves around a small and select group of people made immortal through a particularly traumatic death - the narrator was roasted in a volcano, for example. The immortals take identities based on historical figures, which reflect their abilities and interests - there is a Christ, an Indian rajah and so on. Bester's depiction of immortals has only been bettered by Michael Moorcock in 'Dancers at the End of Time'. In seeking to expand their number, they accidently enable a powerful computer, Extro, to take over the candidate, the brilliant Cherokee physicist, Sequoya Guess. Extro then proceeds to use Guess to carry out its plans to rid the world of humans. Not only that, but there appear to be a traitor amongst the immortals themselves.

This review can hardly do any sort of justice to the utterly bizarre world that Bester has created, a world where giant pogo-sticks appear to be a major form of transport. As Ellison says, it's like a classic Hollywood screwball commedy (only forced through a giant psychedelic sieve). The only problem with this kind of commedy is that it is difficult to sustain over novel length, and Bester doesn't quite manage it; the book runs out of steam some time before the end. Still a must-read for any fan of New Wave (or any other) SF.

Pure SF, Pure Action, Pure Fun!.......2002-03-14

It's a wonder nobody ever thought of filming Bester's books, for they have an effect much similar to that of a good movie - they rock you in your chair. Decades before anyone thought of the term "Cyberpunk", Bester already had his own view of the future, which happens to be very similar to the present - our present, the future present, even Bester's present. That is, of course, no accident, for Bester never forgets he's dealing with people, not machines - a fact which doesn't prevent the book from being filled with action, fun, (weird) technology, immortal people (among them an original neanderthal), an eccentric alien, and even some more conventional SF elements, such as The Mad Professor and a Time Machine.
Brilliant dialogues, thrilling action, unforgettable characters... In short - don't forget to get your hands on that one as soon as possible. I'm sure you won't forget to thank me for that advice...

Fun, Fast and Far Ahead of Its Time.......2002-02-09

This is a great piece of SF adventure. It presages cyberpunk and does a better job of creating an underground society of eccentric immortals that The Highlander ever hoped to.

The novel is fast-paced, full of satirical gems, and funny as all get-out. But at the same time, it manages to support themes about technology, human evolution, and love and loyalty that are handled with as much thought and heft as any "serious" work.

The only gripe I've ever had with this book is that it ends way too soon, and in fact is screaming out for sequels that have never come. Not that the plot isn't fully wrapped up-- it's just that you hate to leave the company of these people who are so funny, profound, and warmly human.

Book Description

In this book, for the first time, national data is used to measure technology's effectiveness on student academic performance in three subjects—mathematics, science, and reading. To uncover key implications for policy and practice, the author links the test scores of more than 40,000 students who took the National Assessment of Educational Progress with reports by their teachers of various aspects of technology use.

Book Description

A tutorial for novices and a reference for experienced users, featuring step-by-step guidelines for using Web Connection in a day-to-day manner as a developer, this book offers several development alternatives based on the user's style. Demonstrated are the building of two different applications, one easy and one more complex, and nearly two dozen trouble-shooting steps in case of problems. Also explained is the infrastructure of the Internet and, specifically, web applications. Once developers are comfortable building and deploying an application they are then shown how to take advantage of more complex framework features such as file-based versus COM configuration, extending the framework, data entry using object-oriented techniques, and asynchronous applications.

Download Description

A tutorial for novices and a reference for experienced users, featuring step-by-step guidelines for using Web Connection in a day-to-day manner as a developer, this book offers several development alternatives based on the users style. Demonstrated are the building of two different applications, one easy and one more complex, and nearly two dozen trouble-shooting steps in case of problems. Also explained is the infrastructure of the Internet and, specifically, web applications. Once developers are comfortable building and deploying an application they are then shown how to take advantage of more complex framework features such as file-based versus COM configuration, extending the framework, data entry using object-oriented techniques, and asynchronous applications.

Customer Reviews:

This book is amazing.......2002-10-31

I purchased Web Connection from west-wind.com and was very excited about the possibilities, however I knew very little about how the web worked, and I made many mistakes.

I was truely amazed and very very pleased when I got my copy of WebRAD - this book is very complete and well thought out. It takes you step by step through creating a web application with WC and VFP, and even how to set up your web server properly. All the details and common errors are covered, as well as the best way to do things for different circumstances. I would have saved many days research if I had had this book from the beginning.

For example: when you set up a project in Web Connection, the wizards do many things for you automatically - this book tells you step by step how to set up these things properly (manually if you want to), so you know how _and_ why, and how to deploy your application to your production server. And there is so much more!

Up and Running In the First 4 Chapters!.......2002-07-18

This book is extremely timely for me. I have a WC web site for my business, and the SSL appendix alone is worth the price of the book. I really liked how the entire development process was summarized in the first 4 chapters so developers can get an immediate sense of accomplishment before they get into the details in the later chapters.

For chapters that had references to other resources, a complete summary of those resources was provided at the end of the chapters. This makes it quite convenient to find additional help without having to search through the chapters.

The chapters on troubleshooting are very well organized as well. One of these chapters categorizes common problems, then lists each symptom followed by a cause and solution.

How To Write A Good Technical Book: Get WebRad.......2002-07-13

The new WebRad book from [website] is everything a good technical book should be. It shows the common pitfalls, in text and graphics; relates concepts to what is already known; and shows an organic progression from specific to broad to specific.

Confused by what the Web is? HTML? CSS? It's all here.

Need to know about NT/Win2K permissions on IIS? Deployment of COM servers? Comparison of .prg-based class libraries? It's all here.

What it's really about ... is almost irrelevant to whether you should buy this book. If you plan to edit or write a technical book, this one is worth having as an example of the task being done right.

As Whil Hentzen, the namesake of Hentzenwerke, can attest, this is not my reaction to all the Hentzenwerke collection. Congratulations to the authors (Harold Chattaway, Randy Pearson, and Whil Hentzen) and the editor. I mention the editor (Barbara Peisch) not just to make nice: no author is capable of putting together a totally coherent book. It always takes two points of view, in order for the reader to become the focus of the book, rather than the author. A strong editor makes the difference between an interesting author and a good book. This is a good book.

Thoughtful, meticulous coverage.......2002-07-05

Web Connection is a difficult environment to work in particularly if you are new to working with a) a local server and b) a framework for interfacing the VFP language with HTML.

It took me almost a year to complete my first Web Connection project because I had to get most of my answers from the Web Connection forum from people like Randy Person.

Now there are real examples to follow and clear explanations of how each feature works.

Web Connection is a powerful framework for developing VFP applications for the Web. This book will make the learning curve so much better for users of the Web Connection framework.

Congratulations to Randy, Harold and Whil for their thoughtful, meticulous documentation to explain how to set up and use this wonderful product.

Mike Smith

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