ASP.NET 2.0 Unleashed

Finally I managed to go through this thick book, the thickest one I have ever read :)

This book contains over 1800 pages and it's packed with valuable information. This is a very advanced book, so I suggest reading a C#/VB book first before proceeding to this one.

Some readers (on Amazon.com) have complaint that the examples are in VB only, but the C# code listings are also available on the companion CD. I didn't find this bad at all and especially if you have another monitor, you can keep the code listing (C# or VB) open in another monitor while writing the code on another.

There is also room for improvement. I found the writing style to be bit bouncing. Author would mention a new term and then introducing the whole subject many pages later. This made the reading occasionally difficult since I couldn't be sure if there is further information provided later on. In some examples there is JavaScript used, so if you are not familiar with it, it may be difficult to understand all the code examples (this was the case especially in section Custom Control Building). Also putting all the code to a single file (instead of codebehind) does not promote good coding practices, but I believe that this was done because of the space constraints (thus the book would have been much thicker than what it is already).

However there is lot's of good information included in this book and also advanced stuff too (which is why this may not be the book for a beginner). This is definitely going to be a book that's on my desk for reference. After gaining more ASP.NET experience some of the contents of the book may open differently (as what happened with Asynchronous Http Handlers for instance).

Fantastic Book (0/0 people found this helpful)

Purchased this book on recommendation of a Web developer and wasn't disappointed - Top book and very helpful

How technical books should be done (11/11 people found this helpful)

If you only buy one book about ASP.NET.2, make sure it's this one. I have a couple of others and this one is far superior to them. I had not come across any of Stephen Walther's books before, so this was a revelation.

Its not for absolute beginners. I came to it knowing ASP, but not any of the NET technologies and I'm getting along fine. It covers everything you'd ever want to know. All the examples are built using Visual Web Developer 2005 Express, which is on the CD which comes with the book, so there's everything you need to get started with ASP.NET.2

Its also a very well made book, unlike many. Hard back, clear printing on quality paper and it lies flat on the desk even though its got nearly 2000 pages.

Do yourself a favour - buy it !

The beast unleashed (7/7 people found this helpful)

This is a huge book on ASP.NET 2.0 (over 1800 pages). I used it to update my knowledge from the previous version of ASP.NET, and for that it was superb. I now have a good understanding of all the new features of ASP.NET (despite it taking me 10 whole days to read). Code is in VB.NET, but the samples on the CD are in VB.NET and C# (so don't be put off by the VB if you are are a C# programmer).

Once you have read this book you will understand how ASP.NET works and what all of the new features are. I recommend then reading Marco Bellinaso's book "ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming: Problem - Design - Solution". The two books complement each other really well, as ASP.NET 2.0 Unleashed shows you what the features of ASP.NET 2.0 are, and ASP.NET Website Programming shows how to apply decent architectural principles using a layered approach.

Buy no other ASP.Net Book. This is the best! (8/9 people found this helpful)

Stephen Walther is an absolute legend. I had the previous ASP.Net 1.1 Unleashed and it was a fantastic book, one which I used to teach myself the technology. I was not let down by this new edition, the new controls in .Net 2.0 are so useful they could cut development time in half and this book explains them brilliantly. All the code samples are well written and most importantly work every time, many books contain example code which just doesnt work.

Without doubt if your new to ASP.Net or even if you want to upgrade your knowledge to take advantage of the new .Net 2.0 features this is the book for you.

This book will pay for itself!

Stephen Walther

Reader Reviews:

Advanced stuff (0/0 people found this helpful)

Fantastic Book (0/0 people found this helpful)

How technical books should be done (11/11 people found this helpful)

The beast unleashed (7/7 people found this helpful)

Buy no other ASP.Net Book. This is the best! (8/9 people found this helpful)

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