Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Days

by Chris Payne, Scott Mitchell

Paperback: 1024 pages
Publisher: Sams
ISBN: 0672321688; 1st edition (July 20, 2001)

Ideal for anyone new to Web programming on Windows and for anyone making the leap from the older ASP to the new ASP.NET, Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Days offers an approachable guide to the latest in Microsoft .NET technologies. The author's example-packed and accessible presentation style help make this title a success.

In a three-week lesson plan (actually this book has 23 lessons, plus three extra "bonus" weekly sample programs), this text walks the reader through the essential APIs and programming techniques needed to use ASP.NET effectively. For those with some previous ASP experience, this book shows what's different (and better) in ASP.NET. (In fact, every chapter has a section marked "But That's Not ASP!" where the author points out gotchas and tips for navigating the richness and complexity of the new ASP.NET.)

After covering basic Web Forms and controls, the author looks at database support and ADO.NET, then XML, in subsequent sections. He uses an online banking application, which is enhanced after each full week, to show off techniques from each group of lessons. (His final, fanciful "BananaMobile" online application, however, might be a bit off the mark for some business readers.) Along the way, there's good coverage here of Web services and the basics of configuring and deploying ASP.NET applications on live servers. A late section on mobile controls glances at Mobile Web controls.

Like other titles in the Teach Yourself series, every lesson presents the reader with a handful of questions (usually about a half dozen), with thorough answers provided in a reference appendix. In all, this title will make ASP.NET accessible for just about anyone, with or without exposure to the older ASP standard. Clearly written and well organized, the author covers a lot of material but doesn't get bogged down with the somewhat daunting details of .NET.

From the Back Cover: Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Days will strive to introduce readers to ASP.NET through individual lessons contained in chapters. These lessons will begin with a thorough overview of the technology and framework involved, and gradually expand to more difficult lessons requiring deeper engineering skills and knowledge. Although each chapter will be self-contained, each subsequent chapter will build upon previous lessons to ensure that each topic is not only taught, but also used.

The book will introduce the ASP.NET Framework, Visual Basic .NET, and C#, the new COM framework. The book will cover applications of these technologies.

Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Days is the perfect book to introduce beginner and intermediate readers to the new technologies and frameworks presented by ASP.NET. By guiding readers through short but increasingly complex lessons, this book will give readers a strong foundation in ASP.NET, and the knowledge to develop their own creative solutions. Readers will delve into the new framework, the C# and Visual Basic programming languages, and techniques to approach difficult problems.

About the Author: Chris Payne has had a passion for computers and writing since a young age. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University. Chris supported himself through college by working as an independent consultant and by writing technical articles focused on Web development.

Currently making his home in Orlando, Florida with his fiancée, Chris is working as a Web developer and continuing his career as an author of both technical and fictional material.

Customer Reviews
ASP to ASP.NET conversion made easy!, November 23, 2001
Reviewer: Carl Mercier from Granby, QC Canada
This book is awesome and Chris Payne's writing is simple and concise. While not always refering to "classic" ASP, he points out what the differences are. New techniques are also very well explained, making this thick book a reading pleasure. If you want to learn ASP.NET quickly, this is the book for you. The seven first days are way enough to get you started and code some basic web applictions. Very recommended. 5 stars, hands down.

Easy and fast, January 5, 2002
Reviewer: Zegoi from North QLD Australia
This really is a 'Learn it in 21 Days' book. I read 2 other ASP.NET books before this,( both of which took considerabely longer than 21 days) and had already written a fair bit of ASP.NET code. But this book really put it all into place. Its a good way to get the overall concept of the .NET 'thing?' as it applies in ASP. And its well written. You can read it, then do it, and doing it is what its all about. I already knew classic ASP and was comfortable with oop, but this basic book helped me more than the more detailed (reference) books. I learnt fast and easy, and thats pretty rare. (at least for me)

OK but not the best, April 8, 2002
Reviewer: Mark Christiansen from Concord, NH United States
Get ASP.NET Unleashed by Sams Publishing instead of this book. Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Days was the first ASP.NET book I bought and I did learn a lot from it. However, the code examples do not all work. I tried the example to add a button programmatically, but could not get it to work. A line was missing from the code (it's not enough to declare the button object, you have to do a New() also). The author does know a lot about the subject, but I think this book was rushed to market. Also, it's now almost a year old.

I do refer to this book from time to time, but the ASP.NET Unleashed by Sams is the book that usually answers my questions.

Some writers know how to get the job done, March 5, 2002
Reviewer: Daniel Cardenas from Chandler, Az USA
The writer has an excellent style. He starts by explaining the web programming world at a high level and then moves into ASP.Net specifics. I'm an experienced ASP classic programmer. I have two other books on ASP.Net. Actually this book isn't mine, I borrowed it from a co-worker. I recommended it to him, but not to myself, because I thought I would need a faster paced book. I was wrong. Other books don't explain the important paradigm shift that .Net brings.

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