Programming WCF Services (Programming)

Book Description

Written by Microsoft software legend Juval Lowy, Programming WCF Services is the authoritative introduction to Microsoft's new, and some say revolutionary, unified platform for developing service-oriented applications (SOA) on Windows. Relentlessly practical, the book delivers insight, not documentation, to teach developers what they need to know to build the next generation of SOAs.

After explaining the advantages of service-orientation for application design and teaching the basics of how to develop SOAs using WCF, the book shows how you can take advantage of built-in features such as service hosting, instance management, asynchronous calls, synchronization, reliability, transaction management, disconnected queued calls and security to build best in class applications. Programming WCF Services focuses on the rationale behind particular design decisions, often shedding light on poorly-documented and little-understood aspects of SOA development. Developers and architects will learn not only the "how" of WCF programming, but also relevant design guidelines, best practices, and pitfalls. Original techniques and utilities provided by the author throughout the book go well beyond anything that can be found in conventional sources.

Based on experience and insight gained while taking part in the strategic design of WCF and working with the team that implemented it, Programming WCF Services provides experienced working professionals with the definitive work on WCF. Not only will this book make you a WCF expert, it will make you a better software engineer. It's the Rosetta Stone of WCF.

Customer Reviews:

I'm buying a second copy...........2007-10-09

So that I can have a copy on my desk at home. :)

I'm a developer by trade and read technical books quite a bit to stay up to speed with our evolving industry. Rarely do you find a one that`s hard to put down, typically they're just too dry and uneventful. Juvals Programming WCF Services is an exception to this rule, period. At first, I thought it was my hunger to figure out the new programming model coming out of Redmond that kept me glued to this book, but after a few chapters I realized it was the author's vast knowledge of WCF and his style of delivery that was keeping the pages turning. I had to actually stop working the examples because it was keeping me from reading and bookmarking the pages.

I have recommended this book to a number of my colleagues, and feel that if you're going to do enterprise-level design then this book needs to be within arms reach at all times.

A Must Have!.......2007-10-01

Excellent book, it covers every thing you need to know about WCF. Have in mid that this book is not for begginers

Great book on a big subject.......2007-09-05

Arguably, WCF is the most revolutionary development in current software trends. It may change completely technological landscape developers live and work in since the appearance of .NET platform.
Juval Lowy (once again!) has written an extraordinary book. Seemingly he has an absolute and complete knowledge on the subject.
What strikes me even more, is how carefull and lovingly Juval leads the reader through the forest of technical details to the deep and solid understanding of both underlying technology and practical implementation of WCF.
If after hours of reading you suddenly feel lost, all you have to do is go back half a page and you are on track again.
I just wish I had such a wonderfull teacher every time I have to learn something new.

Easy to understand.......2007-09-03

Juval writes like a real educator. Where other books fails to explain in simple terms, Juval Löwy is very easy to understand. His book has a wonderful layout, which makes it easy to find what your are looking for.
Thank Juval.

A "Must-Have" Book for Programming WCF.......2007-08-30

If you are going to use WCF in your enterprise applications, then this is the book you want to buy. We are converting our .NET 1.1 web services over to WCF and find this book to be absolutely essential. This is the stuff you can't glean from Internet posts. A truly irreplaceable knowledge builder and reference tool.

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-528): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Web-Based Client Development (Pro Certification)

Average customer rating:

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-528): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Web-Based Client Development (Pro Certification)
Glenn Johnson , and Tony Northrup
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-549): Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Framework (Certification Series)
Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Core Reference

ASIN: 0735623341

Book Description

Get in-depth preparation for Exam 70-526, an exam for the new MCTS: .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Application certificationand build real-world job skills. Includes test questions, reviews, troubleshooting labs, an exam discount, and more.

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-526): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Windows-Based Client Development

Average customer rating:

not as good as I hoped
Excellent tool
Surprisingly Easy to understand
Excellent tool for 70-526 exam preparation
Good way to prepare for the exam

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-526): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Windows-Based Client Development
Matthew A. Stoecker , Steven J. Stein , and Tony Northrup
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-528): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Web-Based Client Development (Pro Certification)
MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-549): Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Framework (Certification Series)
MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-536, 70-528, 70-547): Microsoft .NET Framework Web Developer Core Requirements

ASIN: 0735623333

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

not as good as I hoped.......2007-07-22

This book is an easy read, but I found 3 errors in the first 50 pages :(.
Not very good in my opinion

Excellent tool.......2007-07-07

Excellent tool for your exam 70-526 but in the real world you will need more.

Surprisingly Easy to understand.......2007-03-17

This book was very thorough which is what I expected for a certification book. However, I also found it very easy to understand with nice easy to follow labs.

Excellent tool for 70-526 exam preparation.......2007-02-08

I purchased this kit (book and sample tests) primarily as a study guide to prepare for the 70-526 exam. After studying the book and taking numerous practice tests, I was able to pass the exam on my first attempt, with room to spare. I recommend this product to anyone preparing for the 70-526 exam.

Good way to prepare for the exam.......2007-01-15

This is an excellent study guide for the 70-526 exam; between the discussion in the text and the hands-on labs, you will definitely be prepared for the test. Highly recommended!

Programming Microsoft ADO.NET 2.0 Core Reference

Average customer rating:

Awesome book - great detail
Breath of fresh air
Absolutely superb
Very good, but not as good as his former book
Accessing a Database from the .NET Environment

Programming Microsoft ADO.NET 2.0 Core Reference
David Sceppa
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Core Reference
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Programming Microsoft ADO.NET 2.0 Applications: Advanced Topics

ASIN: 073562206X

Book Description

Get a practical introduction to the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 libraries (ADO.NET 2.0) that communicate, access, sort, and interact with data from .NET-connected applications. Includes coverage of XML data and Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book - great detail.......2007-02-23

This book does a great job at explaining each concept it covers. I started the book with many misconceptions of disconnected data and other ADO.NET items. The book has many great code examples that are kept short and to the point. I definitely recommend this book to my team and anyone else wanting a stronger understanding of how to effectively use ADO.NET. Some of the performance tips it provides will suprise you.

Breath of fresh air.......2007-01-07

I normally buy Wrox books and up until .NET I was very happy with them, but their .NET books (ASP.NET 2.0 and VB.NET particularly) were poorly organized with massive numbers of errors in them. I wanted an ADO.NET book but the customer reviews of the Wrox title were poor so I kept looking and found this book that has much better reviews. I'd not bought a Microsoft Press book recently because I didn't like the last one I tried so this was an act of faith for me.

I have to say, thought, that this book is an order of magnitude better than the recent Wrox books I have bought. I don't know if the single author approach simply results in a better book or if the particular author (David Sceppa) can take the credit. Either way, I think Wrox needs to stop publishing books with multiple authors.

The problem with ADO.NET is that everything is intermingled and it's hard to discuss, say, DataSets without mentioning DataTables or DataAdapters. David (or someone) say down and very carefully figured out the sequence to explain stuff with the minimum of forward referencing. This means there are only a few unresolved references I have to hold in my brain at a time for which I am very grateful. On the down-side, this means there is some repetition as he discusses the same class relationship from different perspectives in different chapters. At first I found this annoying until I realized that this was actually making my life as the reader much easier.

I have yet to find a single error and the sample code in particalar seems to be error free which is in stark contrast to the Wrox .NET books. The samples themselves are compact and clean and writen in both VB and C# which is a handy way for a VB programmer like me to learn a little C# on the cheap. I certainly never found myself thinking 'The purpose of this sample is to add 10 unncecessary pages to this book' unlike other books *cough*XML Bible*cough*.

I'm only about one third of the way through right now but I am very impressed.

I really hope someone from Wrox reads this because I'd like the old Wrox back that published great technical books.

Absolutely superb.......2006-10-06

I am a huge ADO.NET nut and David's first book was absolutely priceless. After his last book, he set a very high bar that was going to be hard to meet, yet that's exactly what he did.

Pros:

- He discusses every facet of the ADO.NET library and does it well
- He doesn't shy away from difficult topics and in particular, goes straight at them in his Advanced Update section
- Excellent flow
- Won't leave you hanging if you don't know the 1.x framework but doesn't bog itself down in it either.
- Stellar writing style. David is interesting and always keeps you wanting to read more. He's concise, to the point yet does both without ever leaving you wanting for more.

CONS
-Calling this a con is probably a bit unfair but if there's one thing I didn't like was the coverage to TableAdapters. This has nothing to do with Sceppa's coverage and everything to do with the objects themselves. Since I never use them I have a bias against them. With that said, I doubt you could do a Core Reference without covering them so this doesn't really count.

The specific areas that this book really does a great job in is Transactions, Advanced Updates and client side data manipulation. Items like the syntax for DataTable.Select are covered in such stellar detail there's probably no situation that you will be unprepared for. Transactions are another complex area and this section alone makes the book worth its price. Advanced updates are a must in any ADO.NET book and history repeated itself here.

Pure Gold plain and simple.

Very good, but not as good as his former book.......2006-10-04

I was just a tad bit disappointed because his former book was so helpful to me because he was showing examples exactly in a manner in which I needed them. This book is still very helpful, don't get me wrong.

Those who develop WinForm apps and who use Access will find it less helpful than his other books because he works mostly with SQL whereas before he was dealing a lot with OLE. (Mostly they have the same commands, however, it is a mistake to assume everyone uses SQL Server. Not every programmer is a web developer, some develop WinForms. I like SQL Server, but in most small apps for what I do it is highly unnecessary.

Also, some of the new features in ADO.NET such as the TableAdapter is really for beginners, and it uses tons of memory. But heh, that is just my opinion.

Still I like David Sceppa, in fact he is probably the best when it comes to ADO.NET

Accessing a Database from the .NET Environment.......2006-09-30

This book is intended for people writing data access code in a Microsoft .NET application. ADO (Active Data Object) .NET is a set of libraries within the Microsoft .NET framework that helps you to communicate with various data sources from .NET applications.

The newest version of ADO.NET which comes with Visual Studio 2005 is the first major release that does not introduce a new object model. This implies that the fundamental technology is reaching a point of stability in spite of several problems that users are requesting such as better support for XML.

Most of the illustrations in the book use the SQL Server Express Edition which is free, and redistributable. As such, it is helpful if you have at least a bit of knowledge about programming in SQL. The more work you can get done in SQL, the faster your application will run. I would recommend the purchase of an additional book on T-SQL, the specific version of the SQL language used with SQL Server. This book is more concerned with connecting to your database with a program that you might write.

Illustrator CS2 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Average customer rating:

Perfect
Great book
An up to date Illustrator guide
Best Illustrator Book for the Money!
Great Book

Illustrator CS2 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Elaine Weinmann , and Peter Lourekas
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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QuarkXPress 6 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)

ASIN: 0321336569

Book Description

If you're looking forward to using cool new tools like Illustrator CS2's Live Trace or Live Paint in your vector artwork, or eager to take advantage of its more than 200 professionally designed templates, you'll need to get up to speed on every aspect of Illustrator CS2 now with this Visual QuickStart Guide! As the standard Illustrator text in many design schools, this popular, task-based best seller has taught a generation of users how to make the most out of Adobe's vector-graphics powerhouse. Now it’s back--revised and updated--to teach the next. Using simple step-by-step instructions, loads of screen shots, and an array of time-saving tips and tricks, this volume represents the quickest route to Illustrator CS2 proficiency. Clearly marked locators indicate new and improved features (such as enhanced type capabilities, powerful 3D graphics tools, enhanced PDF support, and more), a 24-page color section, and highly readable text create a winning combination for every level of Illustrator user.

Customer Reviews:

Perfect.......2007-10-12

This book was delivered in a timely manner and was exactly the quality I expected.

Great book.......2007-10-09

This book I found was a great reference book. It gives you good explainations of how to do different stuff. I would have liked it to have a bit more colour and a few more diagrams, but other than that I think it's a great book!

An up to date Illustrator guide.......2007-07-23

I was a new user of Adobe Illustrator and this book had all the answers and ways to use Illustrator software. You can just go on reading and get a hands on the software or you can find the solutions when you face problems. Its just worth buying.

Best Illustrator Book for the Money!.......2007-05-09

This is just a great book! It gives you simple ways to learn the program, excellent exercises, and explains everything you'd need to have to make Illustrator spin for you.

Great Book.......2007-03-18

I own quite a few of the Visual Quickstart Guide series and this one is no exception. It is a great book. The format this follows allows for quickly finding exactly the help you need. The instructions are precise and clear telling you exactly what to do. Anyone that is pressed for time but needs a bit more know-how should consider this book.

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-529): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Application Development (Pro-Certification)

Average customer rating:

Doesn't Relate Well to the Exam Priorities
Well Structured, but samples has too many errors
Overall Good Preparation for Exam
Useful Reference for the Workplace
Pretty decent book that covers distributed technologies in .NET environment

MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-529): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Application Development (Pro-Certification)
Sara Morgan , Bill Ryan , Shannon Horn , and Mark Blomsma
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-549): Designing and Developing Enterprise Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Framework (Certification Series)
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536): Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation
MCPD Self-Paced Training Kit (Exams 70-536, 70-528, 70-547): Microsoft .NET Framework Web Developer Core Requirements

ASIN: 0735623325

Book Description

Get in-depth exam prep for Exam 70-529, an exam for the new MCTS: .NET Framework 2.0 Distributed Applications certificationand build real-world job skills. Includes test questions, reviews, case studies, code samples, an exam discount, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't Relate Well to the Exam Priorities.......2007-09-03

If you are planning on taking the exam related to this book, you'll need some supplemental materials. It's a little light in some areas that the exam covers closely. There are too many to mention specifically. I'm still in the process of looking for supplemental material to help me pass this exam and learn the material.

Well Structured, but samples has too many errors.......2007-07-29

A good book for help to know what is necessary to achieve a good result in microsoft test. But, samples has a lot of sintaxial errors and explanation about each topic is very superficial.

Overall Good Preparation for Exam.......2007-06-15

This kit is designed for a developer that plans to take the MCTS exam 70-529. The book assumes that you are comfortable working with the Visual Studio IDE, are familiar with object oriented programming, and have worked with SQL Server. The book is well laid out for someone studying for the MCTS exam. At the time of the writing of this review, this is the only book designed for the purpose of preparing you for the the 70-529 exam.

The book is broken up into the following areas. Each area coincides with a main learning objective.
* Creating and accessing XML web services
* Configuring and customizing an XML web service application
* Creating, configuring, and deploying remoting applications
* Implementing asynchronous calls and remoting events
* Implementing WSE3
* Creating and accessing serviced components and message queuing

As well as the book, the kit consists of a practice test engine with a pool of 300 realistic test questions. The CD that the test software is on also includes an e-book version of this book in case you need to travel light.

There are 13 chapters with 739 pages of information laid out in a very usable manner. This layout follows the best teaching practice of "tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell it to them. And then tell them what you just told them." This repetitive approach is very good for reinforcing the important concepts.

Each chapter starts with the exam objectives and is broken up into lessons which should typically take from 20 to 45 minutes to accomplish. Each lesson develops a topic and usually includes a thorough walkthrough of how you would accomplish a task. At the end of each lesson is a summary, which is an overview of the main points of the lesson. This is followed by a lesson review which includes questions for you to think about and answer.

At the end of each chapter is the chapter review, the chapter summary, key terms, case scenarios, and suggested practices. As you can see, the chapters tend to thoroughly cover the material.

I had never created and used a web service before, yet I was able to follow the instructions in the first lesson and have one created and configured in less than a half hour. I even learned a few good lessons such as what can happen if you don't change the default namespace before deploying the service.

As with any technology book covering a topic this broad with rapidly evolving technologies there were a few inaccuracies. I think most of these issues were changes between versions of WSE and .NET. All in all, this was a well written book that covers a lot of material in an easy to understand manner. If you are planning to take the 70-529 MCTS exam, then you need to get this Training Kit.

Useful Reference for the Workplace.......2007-05-07

This is the only book available (at the time of this writing) for the MCTS 70-529 exam. So far I have taken exam 70-536 using the MS Press books and am preparing to take the exam for this one.

I have found the MS Press books to be effective reference books in the work place. I have opened them up many times. The material in this one, like in the 70-536 book cover much of the day-to-day tasks that a .NET developer would need to do at work.

The electronic version of the book on the CD-ROM is great! I also thinks that the MeasureUp practice questions were very helpful.

The reason for the 4 star rating is that the book is not exactly going to cover the types of things you will be asked on the exam.

My suggestion, if you are planning to take the exam, would be to study much of the tasks that it only covers in brief. Do ALL of the examples! Using this book in conjunction with the MSDN website, and the MeasureUp practice exams will be solid preparation for the exam.

Pretty decent book that covers distributed technologies in .NET environment.......2007-03-25

Having worked in distributed technologies in mostly Unix based environment for about 15 years and about 2 years in .NET, I thought it is a good idea to see how the technologies compare in both the cross-platform environments. So that was my original motivation to buy this book so I could gain/reinforce my knowledge in .NET based distributed technologies and compare it to Unix cousins.

As I kept reading the book, I was bit intrigued and figured may be I should appear for exam for the kicks.

I must say they did a very good job of it though there are multiple errors in the book and also in the question bank (for e.g., most of WSE related questions were based on WSE 2.0 as opposed to WSE 3.0). And some of questions were even duplicate. Though at times it was irritating, it did not stop me from making progress, however. Basically, it forced me to refer to MSDN articles and .NET 2.0 documentation.

If one wants to be knowledgeable in these technologies, one needs to supplement the information in this book with the following material:

1. Programming .NET Components, 2nd Edition by Juval Lowy -- an excellent book for asynchronous calls, delegates, remoting and security

2. Expert Service-Oriented Architecture in C# 2005 -- excellent book for Web services and WSE 3.0

3. Pro MSMQ (Microsoft message Queue Programming) by Arohi Redkar et al. -- Excellent book for MSMQ 3.0

Of course, nothing to beat hands-on experience as mastering these technologies is not a trivial effort at all.

Anways, the exam had 40 questions and about 160 minutes to finish it. Passing score was 700 (I have no clue how they calculate this score). I got a score of 858 though I must admit it was lot of hard work and patience.

Yes, I recommend this book as it is the only game in town. I could have rated it 5 stars if they QA'ed the contents a bit more and that is a shame.

Good luck with it.

Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)

Average customer rating:

You can have a web site up in as long as it takes you to read this book!
I'm lost with this book
Not for novices
Better suited for experienced Dreamweaver users.
Not intended for the web design novice

Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 for Windows & Macintosh (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Tom Negrino , and Dori Smith
Manufacturer: Peachpit Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0321350278

Book Description

Even if you've never used Macromedia Dreamweaver before, this Visual QuickStart Guide will have you up and running with Macromedia's popular Web authoring program in no time. In this completely updated edition of our best-selling guide to Macromedia Dreamweaver, leading technology authors Tom Negrino and Dori Smith use their trademark crystal-clear instructions and friendly prose to introduce you everything that’s new in Dreamweaver 8. Filled with step-by-step, task-based instructions and loads of visual aids, this book explains how to use all of the program's visual layout tools, application development features, and code editing support to create stunning, accessible Web sites. Along the way, you'll find extensive coverage of all the program's new features: drag-and-drop integration of XML data feeds, improved CSS support, advanced style rendering toolbar, the industry’s first integrated Web accessibility evaluation tool for Section 508 and WCAG 2 checkpoints, and more!

Customer Reviews:

You can have a web site up in as long as it takes you to read this book!.......2007-10-06

I read SAMS teach yourself Web Publishing with HTML 4 and learned basic html. I was told that I would have to take a class in order to comprehend dreamweaver. I didn't have to, after learning basic html and reading Macromedia Dreamweaver for Windows, I was able to build my website in as long as it took me to finish the book, which wasn't long. Dreamweaver is now so easy for me to navigate. Take a look at my website, www.thechildrenofthephoenix.com and you will see what I mean.

I'm lost with this book.......2007-03-30

This book is not totally disappointing. It has some good sides. However, my overall experience is not very positive. You get the impression this book targets about 1 percent of DW users, the heavy-duty coders. If you are like me, more design-oriented and interested in Flash, web images and other stuff, you'll be lost with this book.

Not for novices.......2007-02-28

I am very computer savy. I have used Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, and In Design almost from the get go, yet, I have been very frustrated in trying to get web pages up and going by following this book and toying with Dreamweaver on my own. Very frustrating!

Better suited for experienced Dreamweaver users........2007-01-24

I recently switched to Dreamweaver after using Golive a few years back. Therefore I'm a total novice when it comes to Dreamweaver. I felt I needed to start from scratch and the cover of this book reads " Learn Dreamweaver the Quick and Easy Way." Well, it started off easy enough but then quickly progressed to advanced techniques. It seems that the section on CSS should have appeared later were this truly a book for new users. I feel the need to purchase a book which flows better from basic to advanced. Perhaps this book will then serve as a reference.

Not intended for the web design novice.......2006-09-17

I am completely new to web design and found this book extremely overwhelming. The series title, "Visual Quickstart Guide", appears to be aimed towards beginners such as myself, however it is probably aimed at people with experience with older versions of Dreamweaver looking to upgrade their knowledge. There is so much talk about the old dreamweaver, new ways of doing things etc. and I'm not really interested in that. Other clues that this book is not designed for a beginner is the lack of glossary (mentioned in another review) and the amount of space devoted to setting one's preferences of Dreamweaver. As a novice, how am I supposed to know what I prefer when I don't even know where to begin?

Programming ASP.NET, 3rd Edition (Programming)

Average customer rating:

Subpar Liberty book
Clearing up misconceptions
VB.NET code gone
Pretty darn good
Programming ASP.NET (3rd edition)

Programming ASP.NET, 3rd Edition (Programming)
Jesse Liberty , and Dan Hurwitz
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Programming Visual Basic 2005

ASIN: 059600916X
Release Date: 2005-10-01

Amazon.com

Suitable for most any programmer who wants to master ASP.NET with an eye toward real-world development, Programming ASP.NET is an excellent resource that mixes good coverage of APIs with actual programming techniques and advice using Visual Basic .NET and C#. The combination places it in the forefront of currently available titles on ASP.NET.

Written in part by veteran computer author Jesse Liberty, this book offers an excellent mix of coverage of important ASP.NET features that you will absolutely need to use for real-world programming. Readers with previous ASP experience will appreciate early sections that compare an older ASP sample with the new ASP.NET to highlight what's new and improved, with good explanation of the ASP.NET event model. The pace of this book is just excellent. The authors first move through the essentials, like basic ASP Web controls and data binding, before delving into data-driven applications using the (slightly complicated) ASP.NET database APIs. It also helps that the authors let you use Notepad (or another text editor) to create your ASP.NET programs first. (Later, they cover the details of Visual Studio .NET, pointing out how this tool can sometimes make it difficult to see where your code is generated.) There's also coverage of debugging and tracing techniques.

Standout sections on the calendar, Repeater, DataList, and DataGrid controls (all presented in good detail) will help you master these important controls. Coverage of techniques and support for validating user input in Web pages will also help you use these essential features.

The author's well-measured tutorial on Web services (much touted by Microsoft) is as good as any. Their demos (using a well-traveled example of a stock ticker server) will show you what all the fuss is about. They cut through the hype here and manage to show why Web services are a potentially better way toward distributed computing. Later sections look at deployment, configuration, and performance (as well as caching) options that you'll need to deploy and run your ASP.NET programs successfully. Coverage of security options in .NET rounds out the tour of what you'll need to create real applications.

Illustrated throughout with samples from VB .NET and C#, Programming ASP.NET is a worthy addition to the O'Reilly lineup and one of the best available titles for learning ASP.NET. The authors have achieved an excellent balance of practical, hands-on examples and essential programming techniques with the most important APIs and features, all without getting bogged down in the richness and complexity of .NET itself. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to the .NET platform and ASP.NET; basic programs in HTML; ASP and ASP.NET compared; events in ASP.NET (application, session, page, and control events); HTML and ASP controls compared; basic ASP controls APIs (including in-depth coverage of calendar support); code behind forms; using the Visual Studio .NET IDE; tracing, debugging, and error handling; validation controls in ASP.NET (including built-in and custom validators, plus regular expression support); basic data-binding techniques; list and DataGrid controls; ADO.NET tutorial (basic APIs and programming techniques); calling stored procedures; updating database records; Repeater and DataList controls used with ADO.NET; custom ASP.NET controls (including derived, composite, and full custom controls); overview of Web services (including SOAP, WSDL, and other standards); creating and consuming a sample Web service for a stock ticker; ASP.NET caching techniques explained (including fragment and object caching); security options in ASP.NET for authentication, authorization, and impersonation; configuration and deployment options in ASP.NET (including XCOPY deployment); and an appendix with a quick tutorial on database design.

Product Description

O'Reilly has once again updated its bestselling tutorial on ASP.NET, the world's leading web development tool from Microsoft. In Programming ASP.NET, Third Edition, authors Jesse Liberty and Dan Hurwitz give you the lowdown on the technology's latest version, ASP.NET 2.0, as well as Visual Studio 2005.

Among the most significant improvements to ASP.NET 2.0 are new server controls and services that make you dramatically more productive. In fact, when compared to its predecessor, ASP.NET 2.0 reduces the amount of code you have to write by about 75%. Creating interactive web applications has never been easier-but that still doesn't mean it's hassle-free! The difficulty in ASP.NET 2.0 is that it's so complete and flexible that there are many pieces that must be woven together to build a robust, scalable, and efficient application.

Fortunately, Programming ASP.NET, Third Edition is on the case, dispensing all the information you need to be effective with this dynamic tool. For starters, the book features a comprehensive tutorial on Web Forms, the user interface that gives web applications their look and feel. It then offers detailed explanations of all new controls, including web server controls, HTML controls, and custom controls. Used properly, these controls are able to take care of nearly all the foundation work-security, data access, layout, etc.-that you would normally have to write yourself. Free of these burdensome tasks, you can instead focus on your specific application.

Other new material found in this updated edition even shows you how to create ASP.NET 2.0 pages for mobile devices. With Programming ASP.NET, Third Edition at your side, there's virtually no end to the programming possibilities.

Customer Reviews:

Subpar Liberty book.......2007-06-09

I am a big fan of Jesse Liberty books and rate him as one of the best and more experienced tech writers around, but this book is definitely not up to his excellent standard. To be more precise, the book starts out very well, with and introduction to the basic control of ASP.NET illustrated by many clear examples, and the only complaint I have about the first part of the book is that I would have loved to see the two chapters that he devote to webapp structure and configuration right at the start of the book. I think it would have given a clear picture of what one is doing with all those pages and controls and why things are the way they are. The second part of the book is where I was expecting to find more complete and advanced examples on how to build and configure a "real - life " web application, but here is where the book fails miserably. The chapters on ADO can be defined as confusing at best, and the remaining chapters are either a sequence of instructions fitter more to a "build a website visually for dummies" title, or missing crucial information. I have been also very annoyed by the organization of the example code. Every, and I say every example is in the format of a single website, and to make things worse these websites are not organized by chapter number but just by name.
It really looks like the kind of book a smart and experienced tech author could write after studying the documentation throughly but having no real experience with the subject in practice. I think I understand why.. even I find myself more interested in the foundations of a technology on language structure and on general CS subjects than in the structure of the Nth API or Framwork, but still I don't go about writing books on them!
So, a somewhat decent book, especially considering the low general quality standard of ASP books, but nothing to be enthusiastic about.

Clearing up misconceptions.......2007-03-10

This book is a C# book. The reviews here, along with Amazon's own review, are referring to one of the previous editions where VB.NET code samples were included.

When deciding to buy this book, or not, be wary of the reviews that were posted before the publication date. I can see that this situation has already caused others some grief.

VB.NET code gone.......2007-02-07

[...]This edition has no VB.NET code and assumes knowledge of C#. All the examples are in that language.

I bought it because of positive reviews and publishers description that stated the book had all examples in both languages,[...].

It may be a fine book for those who know C#

Pretty darn good.......2006-11-04

A good book to use both as a learning guide, and as a reference. Though some of the code examples could have been tightened up a little bit, they do a nice job of starting at the very bottom/core of ASP and working their way up -- teaching you how to use ASP to create quality applications instead of glue and popsickle stick nightmares.

Programming ASP.NET (3rd edition).......2006-04-25

I was reading this book as a sequel to "Programming C#" by Jesse
Liberty. . I come from a Java/ColdFusion (mainly web applications)
background and wanted to venture out onto the .Net platform for web
application development.

The book is divided into 19 chapters (over 900 pages) of detailed
and valuable information on the ASP.Net 2.0, as described below;
01. ASP.NET 2.0 Overview
02. Visual Studio 2005 examination
03. Controls in ASP.NET
04. Basic Controls
05. Advanced Controls
06. Web Site Basics
07. Tracing, Debugging, Error Handling
08. Validation in ASP.NET
09. Data Access
10. ADO.NET
11. Forms-Based Security
12. Master Pages
13. Personalizing in ASP.NET
14. Custom & User Controls
15. Creating Web Services
16. Using Web Services
17. Caching & Performance
18. Application Configuration
19. Deploying your site

The chapters and content is laid out logically with plenty of
textual and graphical information (charts, screenshots, e.t.c.)
which makes it very easy to follow for a novice to intermediate
user. For a user who is already experienced in other languages or
even the C# language, I felt it a bit of an overkill to explain each
component in 2.0 frameworks in detail. Each control that a .Net
programmer has heard of (or not) is explained with relevant control
properties in a tabular format and a small example to back it up.
The authors also point out several differences between 1.1 and 2.0
versions of this framework along the way. As with most O'Reilly
books, this one is extremely informative and comprehensive. At
times, however, it does feel overly informative.

Once you get past chapter 05, the conceptual information about
state, error handling, directives is presented. The chapters on data
access present exhaustive information on grids, data lists, repeater
controls, etc while the one on ADO.Net provides information on
establishing database connections, creating data relations (foreign
and primary keys). The chapters 12 and 13 cover the new feature in
2.0 like the Master Pages, Personalization, Themes, Web-Parts, etc.
Though the domain of this book is extraordinarily large, I did not
find anything on email objects (System.mail). I have known some
people who complained about not being able to see any Visual Basic
code. For me, however, I have been working with coldfusion,
javascripts, java and action scripts 2.0, so the C# syntax looks
familiar and more understandable.

In conclusion, this book is an excellent reference to anyone
experienced with ASP.Net 1.1 and a great learning guide to someone
new to ASP.net 2.0. If the [experienced] reader gets past the first
five chapters, then he/she should have no problem in mastering the
latest and greatest of the Microsoft framework in a short time. I
have definitely learned an incredible amount from this book, and I
can say with confidence that I have added ASP.Net to my repertoire.

Average customer rating:

no source code
A must read book for learning COM
Buy this book FIRST when you want to learn Microsoft's Common Object Model
[in, unique] IBindCtx *pbc
good COM book

Essential COM
Don Box
Manufacturer: Addison-Wesley Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0201634465

Amazon.com

The Component Object Model (COM) is deep and extremely difficult, making it impossible to grasp the ideas behind this specification quickly or easily. Don Box, the author of Essential COM concedes that it took him six months of reading documentation, writing programs, and experiencing general puzzlement before he had his personal COM epiphany. Nonetheless, if you're a C++ programmer and you want your skills to continue to be relevant in a PC market dominated by Windows 95 and Windows NT, you need to get going down the path toward your own COM enlightenment. COM is the tool of choice for creating distributed and concurrent systems for modern Microsoft operating systems. If there's a book that will help you get a handle on the COM phenomenon, Essential COM is it.

Endorsed by object-orientation guru Grady Booch and Microsoft COM expert Charlie Kindel, Box's book takes the reader from an elucidating discussion of why a demand exists for COM and how it fits into the progression of C++ technology to a cool exhibition of some COM programs he's written. Along the way, Box covers the four corners of COM interfaces, classes, apartments, and security--all explained in developer's detail. He also gives attention to access control, marshaling, and Distributed COM (DCOM). Essential COM isn't an application programming interface (API) reference; it is an exploration of the Tao of COM. As the author says in his preface, you will figure out the how of COM programming quickly, as soon as you grasp the why.

Book Description

Written by a leading COM authority, this unique book reveals the essence of COM, helping developers to truly understand the why, not just the how, of COM. Understanding the motivation for the design of COM and its distributed aspects is critical for developers who wish to go beyond simplistic applications of COM and become truly effective COM programmers. As the COM programming model continues to evolve, such insight also becomes essential to remaining current with extensions, such as Microsoft Transaction Server and COM+. By showing you why Distributed COM works as it does, Don Box enables you to apply the model creatively and effectively to everyday programming problems.

This book examines COM from the perspective of a C++ developer, offering a familiar frame of reference to ease you into the topic. You will also find comprehensive coverage of the core concepts of Distributed COM (interfaces, classes, apartments, and applications), including detailed descriptions of COM theory, the C++ language mapping, COM IDL (Interface Definition Language), the remoting architecture, IUnknown, monikers, threads, marshalers, security, and more. In addition, the book offers a thorough explanation of COM's basic vocabulary, provides a complete Distributed COM application to illustrate programming techniques, and includes the author's tested library of COM utility code.

Customer Reviews:

no source code.......2007-07-27

I read Essential COM almost 10 years ago, and revisited it recently, out of curiosity. It's tough sledding, but if you *must* know this stuff, this is probably it.

However, throughout the book the phrase "the source code that accompanies this book" occurs repeatedly. As far as I could ascertain after an hour or so of googling and searching, there *is* no such source. I assume it stopped working 5 years ago or something, and rather than continuing to provide it somewhere on the web with a disclaimer -- which I assume would be embarrassing to Mr. Box -- it has been silently "disappeared". I consider this mildly unethical, and certainly annoying, since many perhaps minor points are supposedly demonstrated by this non-existent source.

A must read book for learning COM.......2007-06-16

I have learned a lot with this book. I would not qualify the book an introduction book because unless you have some background knowledge and practice, you are going to find the last chapters hard to digest. What the book does is to covers the essential principles of COM with great details. This will make the first reading very interesting and it will make you come back from time to time to seek back specific detail.

Buy this book FIRST when you want to learn Microsoft's Common Object Model.......2007-03-21

All vetran C++ programmers should learn this along side MFC, it assumes a minimal knowledge of COM so it is easy to pick up, and gets you familiar with the common elements of this widely used standard (CLSIDs, IIDs, COM Functions, etc) Shell programmers will want to read this first. See my other reviews for more good books in COM.

[in, unique] IBindCtx *pbc.......2007-01-12

The basic idea of COM as a binary standard that supports querying for supported interfaces and object lifetime through reference counting could hardly be simpler: five pages, End of book! So why does it turn out to be so complicated in practice? Evil enters in various ways and threatens to become overwhelming: the need to work efficiently with remote servers across a long wire, to implement effective security, handle various threading models (those wretched apartments!), marshaling (ugh!), proxies and stubs (yuck!), the need to just plain find things such as class ID's in the registry (another palpable evil), global interface tables, problems of COM identity, and so on and so on. Control of object lifetime through reference counting turns out to be a quagmire -- which references should be counted, external or internal or both, or does it just depend? Thanks to smart pointers retrofitted to legacy applications, aggregation, and the niceties of internal and external QI, it can be a nightmare to find and remove reference counting bugs. To top it all off, COM doesn't even accurately report reference counts -- only zero and nonzero can be trusted. Because of all this, no hard and fast rules for good COM programming can be given, just general guidelines that won't always apply.

What started out as simple and elegant gets twisted all out of shape. Nevertheless, although what we have now is truly disgusting, it either works or can be made to work, more or less. It's not Box's fault that modern software development has become a can of worms, and although it would be an interesting exercise to reexamine Windows, say, -- or Unix, or whatever -- from the ground up and rebuild it "optimally" with no regard for back-compatibility, no one is likely to do this.

Box starts out with a beautiful discussion, the best I have seen, of the underlying rationale behind COM. You can think
of Chapter One as COM before the Fall. The rest of the book deals with COM after the Fall -- that is, how COM is forced to deal with the actual world into which it was born through no fault of its own. He gives an advanced, top-down view of the subject. To understand the book you will need a solid grasp of multiple inheritance and of C++ in general and should have had some prior experience with COM, otherwise you'll find the more advanced topics unmotivated and undigestible. As with any nontrivial programming paradigm, if you already have the kind of first-hand experience that's been gained the hard way by running afoul of a variety of pitfalls, you will be ripe and ready for a treatment at the level of Box's book.

If you are not ready for this book there are other places to start, such as Grimes' book called DCOM Programming (Wrox Press). For instance, Box assumes the reader knows what marshaling does; he never explains what goes on inside the wire. The closest he comes is in the listing on p. 222 for the IRpcChannelBuffer, where the comment "payload goes here" appears after a void *Buffer. Yes! Yes! We want to see the payload! Grimes' book will fill these gaps. But Box is very strong on programming techniques and strategies that may save your butt in certain urgent, if limited, circumstances.

This is a book for advanced programmers that describes COM in the real world, probably as well as it can be described, warts and all. Given that programmers, not excluding the best ones, are known for their struggles with their native language ("so that the user can click *their* mouse on ..."), the excellence of the writing comes as a pleasant surprise. Probably the editors at Addison-Wesley did a really crack job cleaning up Box's manuscript and making everything shipshape. But conceivably Box was able to do this on his own, too. That would be really impressive given his superb job in organizing and explaining the technical material.

good COM book.......2006-11-08

If you have good understanding of C++ concepts and Windows programming, this is a great book for learning COM technology. Currently, I am on Chapter 3 and I liked the approach with which Don teaches you all the pieces of COM.

Average customer rating:

Great Resource for Ideas
Mainly Classic Designs
Great source of ideas for elaborate window treatments
The Curtain Sketchbbok 2 by Wendy Baker
Curtain Sketchbook 2

The Curtain Sketchbook 2
Wendy Baker
Manufacturer: Shoestring Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0953293920

Book Description

An extensive, up-to-date guide to curtain design, from Renaissance to Victorian. 300 sketches of curtain treatments, ranging from valances, tieback and pole designs.

Customer Reviews:

Great Resource for Ideas.......2007-10-11

This book of only sketches is a great resource to jumpstart the creative process. I believe it is intentionally black and white so as not to distract with color and pattern. There are a wealth of ideas categorized so that you can mix and match within a particular category. It is a good inspiration piece from which you can proceed to either commission or design and create your own personal window treatment.

Mainly Classic Designs.......2003-06-17

This book will not teach you how to sew curtains but it will give you loads of ideas for your window treatment.However, it is only ideal for those looking for classical designs since no modern styles are shown.

It also lacks new creative designs, I always felt that each design is familiar to me.

Great source of ideas for elaborate window treatments.......2003-04-20

The book contains line drawings of styles for all the various elements of a window treatment as well as ideas for dealing with different kinds of windows. The book decomposes window treatments into pelmets, valences, etc., etc., etc., with pages of line drawings of styles for each element. Then, it pulls the various elements together into a total look.

I was leant this book, but I found it so helpful I bought my own. It has drawbacks. If you want something simple and/or you plan to make them yourself, this probably isn't the book for you. There are no instructions or measurements of any kind, just the drawings. But if you're working with a decorator who knows a professional, or are a decorator yourself, then this book will help your imagination run wild.

The Curtain Sketchbbok 2 by Wendy Baker.......2002-06-13

This book is really great for any windows. Mostly if you are a interior designer. It gaves you lot of good examples which curtains will good in what rooms with different types of furnitures. This book gaves you something that no one esle has. You will be the first one to have that design in your room before someone esle does

Curtain Sketchbook 2.......2000-03-28

This is a great book if you're looking for unique window treatments. I wanted something everyone else didn't have. It is not a how-to book but the illustrations are very detailed.

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