Amazon.co.uk Review
ASP.NET Unleashed is a chunky, detailed guide to Microsoft's Web development platform. Despite its similar name, ASP.Net is fundamentally different from older versions of Active Server Pages, which makes this in-depth handbook particularly welcome. A key feature of the book is that it does not use Visual Studio.Net, Microsoft's ASP.Net development tool. Instead, the author uses pure code for all examples, which means you can follow along with nothing more than the freely downloadable ASP.Net SDK (Software Development Kit). This approach is excellent for communicating how the technology really works, which can be obscured by slick visual editors. On the other hand, developers who need a guide to ASP.Net development with Visual Studio should look elsewhere. The language used is Visual Basic, although those who prefer C# should not have much trouble adapting the code.

The first part of the book is focused on controls, with a tour of built-in Web server controls, an introduction to creating custom controls and a quick look at third party products. Next comes ADO.Net, the database aspect of this technology, including an explanation of data binding. XML gets brief coverage. With the foundations in place, the second half of the book gets into more advanced topics, such as how to build a search page using SQL Server's full text indexing, form-based and Windows-based authentication, data encryption, session management and Web services. There is also an introduction to the .Net Framework and a helpful chapter on creating graphics on the fly with GDI+. It is not fully comprehensive, which given the scope of ASP.Net is not surprising, but there is a ton of excellent material here. --Tim Anderson

Product Description

A well-known expert in the ASP development community, best-selling Author Stephen Walther brings his experience as an ASP.NET trainer to ASP.NET Unleashed. With this valuable guide, readers learn the advanced features of ASP.NET, and how to apply them in their own Internet applications. This in-depth, code-intensive title covers a broad range of advanced ASP.NET topics that include:

Validating Form Data;
Programming Mobile Devices;
Using Code Behind;
Building Custom ASP.NET Controls;
Creating Graphics with GDI.NET;
Data Access with ADO.NET;
ASP.NET Security;
Using XML in ASP.NET Applications;
Building and Consuming Web Services.

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	88% buy the item featured on this page: ASP.NET Unleashed 4.4 out of 5 stars (16)
	12% buy ASP.NET 3.5 Unleashed 4.0 out of 5 stars (2) �30.02

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The new wrox... ?, 2 Feb 2002

By	A. Reid (London, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This should be called "ASP.NET Unleased with VB.NET", there is no coverage at all of C#; indeed, the language aspects of VB.NET including Object Orientation are really not touched on in any depth. That said, the book admirably covers all aspects of the ASP.NET features of the .NET framework, and weighing in at over 1400 pages, it is a sizable volume. If you are programming ASP.NET with VB.NET, this could be the book for you.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to ASP.NET with VB/VBScript, 26 Nov 2002

By	Mr. I. A. R. Pollard "ipollard77" (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

ASP.NET is big and appropriately this book is nearly 1,500 pages. Even considering its great length no topic is exhaustively covered - that would be impossible. The author gets you started quickly on just about all aspects of ASP.NET and gives a good, broad, overview of the concepts.

The way you work in .NET is fundamentally different to how most people have worked in ASP, I think the author does as good a job as possible in explaining these changes. You won't be an expert, even if you work through every chapter, but you will know where you're going.

No matter your reason for learning .NET or your end goal - intelligent web pages, mobile solutions or funky XML web services - you will find the entry point you need and gain the confidence to go off and purchase more specialised and advanced books on your particular area.

The only possible improvement would of been an accompanying CD with the .NET SDK on it for those poor people without broadband to download this monster.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but a long read, 23 Feb 2005

By A Customer

This review is from: ASP.NET Unleashed (Paperback)

This book is excellent. For those who lose interest when reading long reviews, that's the most important bit ;-)

I did have a couple of gripes with the book, but not enough to take it down to four stars...

First, despite proudly advertising that all code is available in VB and C#, the truth is that the book doesn't contain a single line of C#. You have to look on the CD to pull out the C# versions of the code. That's not a huge problem, but it would have been nice if he had alternated languages so you could get used to both.

Second, the book is very long. Yes he covers a lot of ground and explains it well, but many of the code samples just repeat previous samples with one line different. He would have been better just showing the line that had changed and leaving the full sample on the CD.

Having said that, the book is excellent. It actually explains it very well and gives you ideas that are useful in real life. Many of the ASP.NEt stuff I've seen gives you kid's samples that are cute, but leave you wondering how to develop them into something useful. This books helps you take the next step. That's not so say it's all clear, I still had loads of questions!!

Disclaimer: This is only the second ASP.NET book I've read (the other was Special Edition Using ASP.NET by Que which was one of the most badly written books I have ever read), so I can't really conpare with other books. I've seen quite a lot of the on-line resources, and this knocks them all out without a doubt.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive
I've been in web development in one form or another for longer than I can remember, I learnt and gained experience and was really comfortable developing classic ASP plodding along... Read more

Published on 13 Oct 2006 by Mr. C. S. Hewitt

4.0 out of 5 stars An easy to read foray into the world of .NET
I have been a (classic) VBScript ASP developer for a number of years and never fully made the switch to ASP.NET. Read more

Published on 19 Nov 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Beginer ASP.Net Developers
Having worked with asp for the last year i was keen to upgrade my knowledge to the new ASP.Net standard. Read more

Published on 22 Aug 2005 by Mr. M. Oconnell

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference
As an IT consultant thrown into a new technology a few years ago, ASP.Net Unleashed has been by far the best book for learning topics or fast reference. Read more

Published on 13 Dec 2004 by David Geran

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, easy to use book, but lacks codebehind.
I've used both the O'Reilly and SAMS books covering ASP.NET, but find Unleashed the one I use most frequently. Read more

Published on 17 Jan 2004 by CT

5.0 out of 5 stars You will not regret this purchase
I have had this book for a few months now and I have found it most useful in helping develop ASP.NET solutions. I feel this is a most useful book to have at one's side. Read more

Published on 7 Jan 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars ASP Rehashed - not ASP.Net
This book is a disgrace. The main feature of ASP.Net which distinguish it from ASP is the separation of presentation formats (forms) from program logic. Read more

Published on 11 Dec 2003 by Frank Yates

4.0 out of 5 stars ASP.NET Unleashed
Excellent book, sort of expands on the ASP.NET Kickstart book, also by Walther. recommend getting both as the Kickstart one has a barrage of nice workarounds that don't, appear... Read more

Published on 17 Oct 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars ASP.NET Unleashed
I have spent several months trying to get up to speed with ASP.net and the .net framework, this time has been made worse by the generally bad 'self help' books on the market. Read more

Published on 21 May 2003 by Count Black

4.0 out of 5 stars Good all rounder for ASP.NET with VB.NET
I purchased this book to aid me in my dissertation at univeristy. I had a lot of experience in ASP 3.0, but none in ASP. Read more

Published on 6 April 2003 by mojo_uk_

› See all 16 customer reviews...

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