Beginning ASP .NET 2.0 Databases:
From Novice to Professional
Book Review

By Dale Farris, Reviews Coordinator Golden Triangle PC Club April 2007 General Overview Beginning ASP .NET 2.0 Databases: From Novice to Professional is a comprehensive introduction to connecting a website to many different data sources—not just databases. You’ll learn how to build a relational database, use SQL to communicate with it, and leverage both in your web applications. You’ll also learn about the new features of ADO .NET and ASP .NET in .NET 2.0. The author covers mission-critical issues, such as design, transactions, error handling, optimization, and scalability. He examines SQL Server, Jet, and MySQL databases, and highlight the differences among them. This comprehensive resource is packed with information about 2.0 beta improvements and building database-driven websites. You will obtain practical solutions, learn multiple routes to achieve success, and examine a handy case study to wrap up core content. Table of Contents The thirteen (13) chapters include the following: CHAPTER 1 Data Sources and the Web CHAPTER 2 Introducing Relational Databases CHAPTER 3 Displaying Data on a Page CHAPTER 4 Database Access in Code CHAPTER 5 DataReader and DataSet CHAPTER 6 Inline and List Binding CHAPTER 7 Table Binding CHAPTER 8 Writing to the Database CHAPTER 9 The GridView Family CHAPTER 10 Stored Procedures CHAPTER 11 Modifying the Database Structure CHAPTER 12 Useful Techniques CHAPTER 13 Application Design and Implementation APPENDIX A Installation Instructions APPENDIX B SQL Data Types APPENDIX C SQL Primer APPENDIX D Sample Database Tables INDEX Target Readers This book is designed as an all-in-one introduction to the world of building data-driven Web sites using ASP .NET and ADO .NET. It is intended to be read from beginning to end, rather than by dipping in at random points. The book assumes you have been sitting at the bottom of a well for the past 5 years and know nothing at all about databases. It does assume that while you were in your well, you had a book teaching you some ASP .NET and a computer on which to first write your first ASP .NET pages. You can download all the code and sample databases for the book from the Source Code section of the Apress Web site, www.apress.com. Many of the examples are short enough that they can be typed in, and the author hopes you decide to do this because this will help you learn and remember the material. What You Will Need to Run the Code in the Book You will need a computer that runs Windows 2000, XP, or 2003 and has a fast enough connection to the Internet. You may need to download several items to work through the book. These include: .NET 2.0 Visual Web Developer Express Edition SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, along with SQL Server Management Studio Express MySQL 5.0, along with MySQL Query Browser, Connector/ODBC, and Connector/NET The book also covers using Microsoft Access as a database. Unless you have an MSDN subscription, you will need to buy this as part of Microsoft Office. Working through the book with just one database - SQL Server 2005, for example - is fine. The author covers all the bases by presenting 3 of the most commonly used databases. Book Contents 656 pages; about the author; acknowledgments; introduction; figures; sample code; appendixes; index Author Damien Foggon About the Author Damien is a freelance programmer and technical author based in Newcastle, England. He is technical director and lead developer for Thing-E Ltd., a company specializing in the development of dynamic web solutions for the education sector. He was responsible for the development of several ASP and ColdFusion websites, and he's now in the process of moving most of them to ASP .NET. Before coauthoring .NET XML Web Services, Damien was a regular technical reviewer for numerous .NET books. He has co-authored books for Microsoft Press and Apress and acted as technical reviewer for both Wrox and Apress. He can be reached at www.littlepond.co.uk. ISBN March 2006 - First Edition ISBN 10: 1-59059-577-7 ISBN-13: 978-1-59059-577-0   List Price $44.99 Retail $22.50 eBook Price About Apress Apress is a publishing company devoted to meeting the needs of programming professionals. Apress' unique approach to computer book publishing grew out of conversations between Dan Appleman and Gary Cornell, Apress' founders, who believe that too many programming books are of such low quality that they are a complete waste of time. Computer professionals need quality books that are not just rehashes of documentation. The "A" in Apress stands for The Author's Press, and their books have "The Expert's Voice." Apress acquires manuscripts of the highest quality by attracting the best authors and technical experts that the world has to offer. Apress makes authors partners in the publishing process, doesn't impose a "house style" on authors, and doesn't make them conform to a series that straightjacket's them. Apress also makes sure that authors are treated equitably. Another key feature of the Apress approach to publishing books is taken from the software industry. Apress treats the technical review process as seriously as the best software companies treat the quality assurance process. Apress is convinced that the innovations listed above make it possible for them to produce the highest quality books, recruit the highest quality authors, and publish titles that information technology professionals need and want. The Apress management team ensures that the distribution and fulfillment of Apress titles is second to none, and that the capital is available to move aggressively and take advantage of any publishing opportunities that arise. To accomplish this, Apress has entered into a partnership with Springer-Verlag, one of the world's most respected publishing houses. Springer-Verlag is convinced that Apress will be the publisher of quality trade computer paperbacks in the years to come. Apress will continue to publish titles of the highest quality, and has compiled a team of authors that reads like a veritable "Who's Who" list of the computing industry. The company founders have published over 200 software titles by leading software professionals, all of whom have "The Expert's Voice." Publisher Contact Cheryl Martinez Marketing Coordinator Apress 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 219 Berkeley, California 94710 510-549-5930 ext. 129 FAX 510-549-5939 cheryl@apress.com www.apress.com