ASP.NET 2.0 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

Chapter . Introduction

Welcome to ASP.NET 2.0 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, the one ASP.NET programming book that’s designed to replace an entire shelf full of the dull and tedious ASP.NET books you’d otherwise have to buy. This book contains all the basic and not-so-basic information you need to know to get going with ASP.NET Web programming, including the basics of working with Visual Studio or Visual Web Developer Express, using Web controls, working with databases, and learning the basics of both C# and Visual Basic .NET.

Of course, you can — and probably should — eventually buy separate books on each of these topics. It won’t take long before your bookshelf is bulging with 10,000 or more pages of detailed information about every imaginable nuance of ASP.NET programming. But before you’re ready to tackle each of those topics in depth, you need a birds-eye picture. That’s what this book is about.

And if you already own 10,000 pages or more of ASP.NET information, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of detail and wonder, do I really need to read 1,200 pages about the .NET Framework classes just to create a simple Web page? And do I really need a five pound book on ADO.NET?

Truth is, most 1,200 page programming books have about 200 pages of really useful information — the kind you use every day — and about 1,000 pages of excruciating details that apply mostly if you’re writing guidance-control programs for nuclear missiles or trading systems for the New York Stock Exchange. ...