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ASP.NET Cookbook The Ultimate ASP.NET Code Sourcebook

By Michael A. Kittel, Geoffrey T. LeBlond
First Edition  August 2004 
Pages: 846
Series: Cookbooks
ISBN 10: 0-596-00378-1 | ISBN 13: 9780596003784
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Book description

This new book provides a wealth of solutions to problems commonly encountered when developing ASP.NET web applications in the popular problem-solution-discussion Cookbook format. For every problem, there's a worked-out solution or recipe a short, focused piece of code that web developers can insert directly into their applications. This ultimate ASP.NET code sourcebook will quickly earn the dog-eared corners and coffee rings that mark a web developer's most valued resource.
Full Description

Developers who want to create dynamic, data-driven web sites running on Microsoft web servers have long relied on Active Server Pages (ASP). ASP.NET is Microsoft's latest evolution of ASP. While ASP.NET has a lot in common with its predecessor, this new technology takes advantage of object-oriented programming to dramatically improve developer productivity and convenience. Using the .NET Framework and Microsoft's new object-oriented languages, ASP.NET brings the same rapid drag-and-drop productivity to web applications that the Visual Basic programming language brought to Windows applications. ASP.NET also introduces web services, which allow developers to expose the functionality of an application via HTTP and XML, so that clients on any platform can access it via the Internet. ASP.NET is not a simple upgrade of ASP. It s a quantum leap ahead. There are many benefits to using ASP.NET, and one major drawback: the time developers must devote to mastering this new Web application technology. The ASP.NET Cookbook provides a wealth of plug-and-play solutions to problems commonly encountered when developing ASP.NET web applications and services in the popular problem-solution-discussion Cookbook format. The coding solutions in ASP.NET Cookbook appeal to a wide range of developers, from the inexperienced to the expert. For every problem addressed in the book, there's a worked-out solution or recipe a short, focused piece of code that web developers can insert directly into their applications. Developers can save hours by using just a single one of over 100 recipes included in this invaluable cookbook. But the ASP.NET Cookbook provides far more than just a wide range of cut-and-paste code solutions. Each recipe is followed by a discussion including tips, tricks, and possible pitfalls--so developers can learn to adapt the problem-solving techniques to a myriad of similar situations. Each recipe provides an immediate solution to a pressing problem, while simultaneously allowing developers who prefer to a hands-on learning style with the experience they need to master ASP.NET. This ultimate ASP.NET code sourcebook will quickly earn the dog-eared corners and coffee rings that mark a web developer's most valued resource.

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excellent book,  November 12 2006
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
Submitted by motolep   [Respond | View]

very rich book , it contains very good notes , thanks for o'reilly team.



ASP.NET Cookbook,  November 02 2005
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
Submitted by medicaltechnologist2000   [Respond | View]

ASP.NET Cookbook
The Ultimate ASP.NET Code Sourcebook
By Michael A. Kittel, Geoffrey T. LeBlond
First Edition August 2004
ISBN: 0-596-00378-1
846 pages, $39.95 US, $57.95 CA, £28.50 UK
======== Above quoted from O’Reilly Site===========

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 ****

Review Summary: Even though this book is too advanced for me, I like the way the authors express their flow in this book.

This book is too advanced for me. But if you are developers who like to cook (using ASP.NET that is), then this is the book for you. If you want to create dynamic, data driven web sites running on Microsoft web servers, which have long relied on Active Server Pages (ASP), then again this book is for you.

Using the .NET framework and Microsoft’s new object oriented languages, ASP.NET brings the same rapid drag and drop productivity to web applications that the Visual Basic programming language brought to Windows applications. ASP.NET also introduces web services, which allow developers to expose the functionality of an application via HTTP and XML, so that clients on any platform can access it via the Internet. The ASP.NET Cookbook provides a lot of recipes to problems commonly encountered when developing ASP.NET web applications and services in the popular problem solution discussion Cookbook format. I think the coding discussed in this ASP.NET cookbook appeal to a wide range of developers, from the inexperienced to the expert.

From the chapters, I would say that the things I like about the book are:

This cookbook is well laid out in its basic approach to teaching going from the simpler to the more complicated data controls. I also like the way the authors expressing their flow in crafting their recipes. Another thing is that there are a lot of codes and examples in both VB and C#. Finally, the chapters that I have read are well covered with ASP.NET kudos and tricks.

So far, the only problem I have with the book is the frequent referencing to some other O’Reilly’s books. I would rather the author quoting the subject matter that are discussed and put them in the book.

As a beginner I would say that this cookbook was well worth the read and I plan on studying even more about the ASP.NET and some other .NET technologies.

This book review is prepared by Alex Soetjipto and was presented at the Saint Louis Visual Basic Users Group at the September 2005 meeting.

======== Below quoted from O’Reilly Site===========
Table of Contents
Preface

1. Tabular Data

1.1 Selecting the Right Tabular Control

1.2 Generating a Quick-and-Dirty Tabular Display

1.3 Enhancing the Output of a Tabular Display

1.4 Displaying Data from an XML File

1.5 Displaying an Array as a Group of Checkboxes

1.6 Displaying Data from a Hashtable

1.7 Adding Next/Previous Navigation to a DataGrid

1.8 Adding First/Last Navigation to a DataGrid

1.9 Adding Direct Page Navigation to a DataGrid

1.10 Paging Through a Record-Heavy DataGrid

1.11 Sorting Data Within a DataGrid

1.12 Sorting Data in Ascending/Descending Order Within a DataGrid

1.13 Combining Sorting and Paging in a DataGrid

1.14 Editing Data Within a DataGrid

1.15 Formatting Columnar Data in a DataGrid

1.16 Allowing Selection Anywhere Within a DataGrid Row

1.17 Adding a Delete Confirmation Pop Up

1.18 Displaying a Pop-Up Details Window

1.19 Adding a Totals Row to a DataGrid

2. Validation

2.1 Requiring that Data be Entered in a Field

2.2 Requiring Data to Be In a Range

2.3 Requiring that Two Data Input Fields Match

2.4 Requiring that Data Matches a Predefined Pattern

2.5 Requiring that a Drop-Down List Selection Be Made

2.6 Requiring Data to Match a Database Entry

3. Forms

3.1 Using the Enter Key to Submit a Form

3.2 Using the Enter Key to Submit a Form After Validation

3.3 Submitting a Form to a Different Page

3.4 Simulating Multipage Forms

3.5 Setting the Initial Focus to a Specific Control

3.6 Setting the Focus to a Control with a Validation Error

4. User Controls

4.1 Sharing a Page Header on Multiple Pages

4.2 Creating a Customizable Navigation Bar

4.3 Reusing Code-Behind Classes

4.4 Communicating Between User Controls

4.5 Adding User Controls Dynamically

5. Custom Controls

5.1 Combining HTML Controls in a Single Custom Control

5.2 Creating a Custom Control with Attributes

5.3 Creating a Custom Control with State

5.4 Customizing an ASP.NET TextBox Server Control

6. Maintaining State

6.1 Maintaining Information Needed by All Users of an Application

6.2 Maintaining Information about a User Throughout a Session

6.3 Preserving Information Between Postbacks

6.4 Preserving Information Across Multiple Requests for a Page

7. Error Handling

7.1 Handling Errors at the Method Level

7.2 Handling Errors at the Page Level

7.3 Handling Errors at the Application Level

7.4 Displaying User-Friendly Error Messages

8. Security

8.1 Restricting Access to All Application Pages

8.2 Restricting Access to Selected Application Pages

8.3 Restricting Access to Application Pages by Role

8.4 Using Windows Authentication

9. Configuration

9.1 Overriding Default HTTP Runtime Parameters in web.config

9.2 Adding Custom Application Settings in web.config

9.3 Displaying Custom Error Messages

9.4 Maintaining Session State Across Multiple Web Servers

9.5 Accessing Other web.config Configuration Elements

9.6 Adding Your Own Configuration Elements to web.config

10. Tracing and Debugging

10.1 Uncovering Page-Level Problems

10.2 Uncovering Problems Application Wide

10.3 Pinpointing the Cause of an Exception

10.4 Uncovering Problems Within Web Application Components

10.5 Uncovering Problems Within Dual-Use Components

10.6 Writing Trace Data to the Event Log with Controllable Levels

10.7 Using a Breakpoint to Stop Execution of an Application When a Condition Is Met

10.8 Stress Testing a Web Application or Service

11. Web Services

11.1 Creating a Web Service

11.2 Consuming a Web Service

11.3 Creating a Web Service That Returns a Custom Object

11.4 Setting the URL of a Web Service at Runtime

12. Dynamic Images

12.1 Drawing Button Images on the Fly

12.2 Creating Bar Charts on the Fly

12.3 Displaying Images Stored in a Database

12.4 Displaying Thumbnail Images

13. Caching

13.1 Caching Pages

13.2 Caching Pages Based on Query String Parameter Values

13.3 Caching Pages Based on Browser Type and Version

13.4 Caching Pages Based on Developer-Defined Custom Strings

13.5 Caching User Controls

13.6 Caching Application Data

14. Internationalization

14.1 Localizing Request/Response Encoding

14.2 Providing Multiple Language Support

14.3 Overriding Currency Formatting

15. File Operations

15.1 Downloading a File from the Web Server

15.2 Uploading a File to the Web Server

15.3 Processing an Uploaded File Without Storing It on the Filesystem

15.4 Storing the Contents of an Uploaded File in a Database

16. Performance

16.1 Reducing Page Size by Selectively Disabling the ViewState

16.2 Speeding up String Concatenation with a StringBuilder

16.3 Speeding Up Read-Only Data Access

16.4 Speeding Up Data Access to a SQL Server Database Using the SQL Provider

17. HTTP Handlers

17.1 Creating a Reusable Image Handler

17.2 Creating a File Download Handler

18. Assorted Tips

18.1 Accessing HTTP-Specific Information from Within a Class

18.2 Executing External Applications

18.3 Transforming XML to HTML

18.4 Determining the User's Browser Type

18.5 Dynamically Creating Browser-Specific Stylesheets

18.6 Saving and Reusing HTML Output

18.7 Sending Mail

18.8 Creating and Using Page Templates

Index




An exceptional book,  December 27 2004
Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
Submitted by Hari Kaimal   [Respond | View]

The ASP.NET Cookbook by Kittel and LeBlonde is an exceptional book. Such a book was badly required among the burgeoning ASP.NET titles, which, sadly, lacked practical code. Almost all the books repeat the same thing over and over, but in different styles. They all said the same thing.


As the other titles in the Cookbook series do, this book also addresses real world programming issues. The authors (thankfully) do not come from an academic background, so it is very easy to get right into the heart of the matter. The code highlights are very useful.


If there has been an option to give 4 1/2 stars, then I would have given that rating...but there were some specific problems for which I did not find a solution (had to retain Javascript). Maybe I was expecting too much from ASP.NET! Other than that, the book is flawless, and you couldn't ask for more. Considering its price here in India, it is pricey (about $15), but well worth it. I would recommend the Cookbook as a reference, with the main book being LIberty and Hurwitz' Programming ASP.NET.


It is evident that the book is the result of a lot of experience, and a lot of the solutions are what one would come around after a lot of tinkering with esoteric aspects of ASP.NET. The authors are right in asserting that this book would help in avoiding the same mistakes they made.


I congratulate the o'Reilly team for finally coming up with this wonderful book.



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Media reviews
"Some cookbooks present only the entrees while others present a full-course meal. This book falls into the latter category. It is chock-full of recipes that as the authors state, "help you quickly and efficiently solve many of the day-to-day problems you face developing Web applications with the .NET platform." ...The authors maintain that the code can not only teach you a lot about ASP.NET, but also about software techniques and methodology. After reviewing their code you will agree. "
-- Steven Mandel, .NET Developer's Journal



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