Reviews for Beginning ASP.NET 3.5: in C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer)

1. Great intro to asp.net 3.5

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, April 12rd, 2010

   I can honestly say this is the best computer book I've read (out of a dozen or so.) and possibly only the second Ive read from start to end. In the book, you build a data driven website for doing music reviews, with photos, and login details etc. Each topic begins with an intro to the theory, followed by an exercise, than an explanation of the exercise. It is very clear. All the code can be downloaded for any state of the project at the end of each chapter. The author is also an active participant in the publisher's forum, and is quick to answer questions. The only issue I would raise is that it says its suitable for beginners to web development. I believe a total newbie to web technologies would find it a lot to take in. I had a good knowledge of html and css, and a basic knowledge of asp /vbscript/sql and javascript and for me it was perfect. However, to build a .net 3.5 book for total beginners is nigh on impossible in my opinion. Anyway, on the basis of this book, I bought the "Professional" follow up to it as well as the Asp.net instant results book.

2. Much preferred the Sitepoint book as a tutorial

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, December 12th, 2009

   I tried ploughing through this book as a tutorial but found it to be hard work so I gave up after the first hundred pages or so. It seemed like hard work for a 'Beginning' book and although it is a thick book I think the information it covers is fairly basic with lots of mentions of how you should buy the next book and a lot of 'do this, then do this' without enough explanation. As always with Wrox books I am always a bit disappointed with the general production quality of the book such as the cheap paper, ugly typefaces, lack of editing, poor index etc.
   
   Instead I started reading the Sitepoint ASP.NET book and found it refreshingly shorter, more methodical and more user-friendly while also going into more detail.
   
   I also have the Pro ASP.NET (Apress) book and I think that is a really good 'professional' book and covers a lot of information, but the Sitepoint book is much better as a tutorial if you are completely new to ASP.NET.
   
   I think that this book falls between two stools - as a beginner book, it is too long-winded and too dry and as a professional book, it isn't comprehensive enough.

3. Best there is! (Role model for all self learning books).

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, November 12th, 2009

   Usually takes me a while to get into a book and start reading but this book got me straight into it only had it a few days but I'm already well into it. I've already made a few websites and programmed in four different programming languages so from my perspective it is very easy to follow. If you have never programmed or never built website before even in a design view this book is very easy to follow starts you off slowly and then builds up on chapters literally step by step. This book even tells you what to click on with screen shots in case you get stuck. I've used Visual Basic.net & C# so I could skip a few chapters. This book doesn't only teach you ASP.net but it also teaches you HTML, CSS, Visual Basic.net and C# as well with code comparisons between VB.net & C# so is very easy to pick up. If I was trying to find a fault with this book, honestly there isn't one that's why there are no review below 5 stars, Great book! Recommended for anyone.

4. Imar holds your hand

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2009

   This is an excellent beginner's book in web development. Absolutely exceptional. It's a cookbook that has fine attention to detail. I would say Imar holds your hands in all the steps of this recipe book. As cheesy as it may sound, it's like fine dining experience where Imar is a masterchef and I am hungry for more!
   
   He anticipated the problems you will run into so he has written the "Try it out" excercises like a compiler that has a comprehensive list of if then else statements and error handling. Having said that, you may think that it's a boring style. It's not at all. The cohesiveness of the chapters are well thought of and is well paced. The coverage of each key technologies are ample enough to get your site running and detailed enough for you to want to read more. I'm very happy to have read this book.
   
   My only criticism is the chapter on LINQ is a bit too short. It does not even cover update, insert or delete operations of data. I guess it's an advanced topic? The book does not cover ADO.NET nor Entity Framework either. I suppose it's a sign I am getting more advanced. But in retrospect, these topics are out of scope, since he only needs to explain one data provider.
   
   There is another excellent book by Christian Darie called "Build Your Own ASP.NET 3.5 Website Using C# & VB" ISBN-10: 0980455219. Looking at the table of contents, they are nearly actually identical. However, although I have read Christian Darie first, I thought to myself since I am a beginner in ASP.NET, I could do with more excercises just to make me more confident in the technology. Also there is such a big rave about Imar's book in the review forums that I have to read it too. No regrets reading these books. It took me roughly 3 weeks to read each. I know I'm a slow reader, but I take my time internalising what I've learnt and follow all the excercises to the letter. Now I am hosting my own little website based on these two books and I am at a stage that I have enough confidence in the technology I want to learn about ASP.NET MVC and Entity Frameworks. Joy!

5. Clear and concise. Well structured

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2009

   I am an experienced .Net developer for windows applications. I bought this book to learn the ASP.net side of dot net development. I was not disappointed. Not only has it clearly explained the ASP.net side of things, it has also filled missing gaps in other areas of my knowledge such as stylesheets and some features in the visual studio ide. I am sure this would help complete beginners aswell. Would fully recommend