Beginning Visual Web Programming in VB .NET:
From Novice to Professional
Book Review

By Dale Farris, Reviews Coordinator Golden Triangle PC Club April 2007 General Overview Beginning Web Programming in VB .NET: From Novice to Professional will teach you the fundamentals of the web environment and how Visual Studio .NET (VS .NET) makes it accessible to VB programmers. You'll build a working website that demonstrates all the elements of a VB web application. Authors Daniel Cazzulino, et al take a step-by-step approach to each example to explore the essential technologies and how VS .NET helps to integrate them into a highly interactive, attractive web application. In this super tutorial guide you’ll learn how to: Create dynamic web pages with ASP .NET web forms and web server controls Display and manipulate data using ADO. NET and VS .NET components Persist state in different ways, within the "stateless" web environment Create XML files and XML schema, and use them for data transfer Integrate your web applications with others through web services Make your application more secure via the security features in ASP .NET and IIS Eliminate bugs and unexpected failures through effective debugging and exception-handling techniques Improve the performance of your application and prepare it for release Table of Contents The thirteen (13) chapters include the following: CHAPTER 1 Environment and Architecture CHAPTER 2 Web Development in .NET CHAPTER 3 User Interfaces and Server Controls CHAPTER 4 ADO. NET CHAPTER 5 Data Binding CHAPTER 6 ASP .NET State Management CHAPTER 7 Markup Languages and XML CHAPTER 8 XML and Web Development CHAPTER 9 Web Services in Web Applications CHAPTER 10 ASP .NET Authentication, Authorization, and Security CHAPTER 11 Debugging and Exception Handling CHAPTER 12 Caching and Performance Tuning CHAPTER 13 Publishing Web Applications in .NET APPENDIX A The Friends Reunion Application APPENDIX B Management of IIS and MSDE INDEX Target Readers Web applications are taking over the world. ASP .NET is the leading technology for developing them, because it is so outrageously revolutionary and light-years ahead of its competition. The authors have written this book to give you a jump start in using this fascinating product. The authors feel their book addresses what other books on ASP .NET fail to cover, namely the huge productivity enhancement that comes from its integration with Visual Studio .NET. This book will provide a foundation in the basics of ASP .NET, but at the same time, show you how to unleash the full power of the most versatile IDE Microsoft has ever produced. You will not find examples written in Notepad or compiled with vbc.exe here. The book has also been peer reviewed by a dozen reviewers and has been in six iterations. The case study application, which started as a simple example for the early chapters, has grown into a production-quality example developed throughout the entire book. The material and the case study are driven the concrete experience by the authors after years of working with ASP .NET since its earliest beta versions. The book is predominantly targeted at developers who have some experience in the VB .NET language. These developers fall into one of 2 groups: Readers who have little or no web development experience, have gained their VB .NET experience mostly in the context of desktop applications, and are seeking to apply this VB .NET expertise in web development in .NET Readers who have gained some web development experience using ASP, PHP, or other technologies, and are seeking to move into web development using .NET and VB .NET The book does not assume that you have programmed for the web environment before, but it does assume that you have some familiarity with VB .NET. Previous experience with the VS .NET integrated development environment (IDE) is not essential, but it is helpful. Similarly, the authors assume no previous experience with HTML, XML, databases, or any of the other technologies mentioned in the book. What You Need to Use This Book The authors recommend the following system configuration for running the code in the book: A suitable OS - server version, such as Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, or professional versions, such as Windows 2000 or Windows XP Pro Internet Information Server (IIS), which is shipped with the suitable OS (the version will depend on the OS, but all are suitable for ASP .NET development) Visual Studio .NET (or Visual Basic .NET) Standard Edition or higher Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) or Microsoft SQL Server Note that Windows XP Home does not come with IIS and cannot run IIS. For ASP .NET web development on Windows XP Home you may consider the ASP .NET Web Matrix tool, available for free from www.asp.net. This tool offers limited ASP .NET web server functionality, and you will not be able to run web pages in VS .NET with this version. Book Contents 648 pages; about the authors; acknowledgments; introduction; figures; sample code; index Authors Daniel Cazzulino Victor Garcia Aprea James Greenewood Chris Hart About the Authors Daniel Cazzulino (a.k.a. kzu) lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is a senior architect, developer, and cofounder of Clarius Consulting S.A. He has co-authored several books on web development and server controls with ASP .NET, written and reviewed many articles for ASP Today and C# Today, and currently enjoys sharing his .NET and XML experiences through his blog, kzu:dotnet. Daniel works closely with Microsoft in key projects from the Patterns and Practices group. Microsoft rewarded him as Most Valuable Professional (MVP) on XML Technologies for his contributions to the community, mainly through the XML-savvy open source project, NMatrix, that he cofounded. He also started the promising MVP.XML project with fellow XML MVP experts worldwide. Surprisingly enough, Daniel is a lawyer who found a more exciting career as a developer and .NET/XML geek. Victor Garcia Aprea Victor Garcia Aprea is founder of Clarius Consulting, which provides training, consulting and development in Microsoft .NET technologies. Aprea has been involved with ASP .NET since its beginning, and he was named Microsoft MVP for ASP .NET in 2002 and 2003 (the 2004 awards aren’t due yet!). Aprea has written books and articles and reviewed for numerous publishers. He is a regular speaker at Microsoft Argentina (MSDN DevDays, Ask the Experts panel, etc.) and .NET local user groups. Please read Victor's own blogs, or check out his Apress blogs. Or you may email him at vga@aspnet2.com. James Greenwood is a technical architect and author based in West Yorkshire, England. He spends his days designing and implementing .NET solutions - from government knowledge-management systems to mobile integration platforms - all the while waxing lyrical on the latest Microsoft technologies. His professional interests include research into distributed interfaces, the automation of application development, and human-machine convergence. When he can be pried away from the keyboard, James can be found out and about, indulging in his other great loves: British sports cars and Egyptology. You can reach James at jsg@altervisitor.com. Chris Hart is a full-time developer, part-time author based in Birmingham (UK). Chris took the long route into development, having originally studied Mechanical Engineering. She is currently working at Trinity Expert Systems and her most recent project has involved developing a heavily customized Microsoft CMS Server application. In her spare time, she enjoys writing about ASP .NET, and she has contributed chapters to many books, published both by Apress and Wrox Press. In the remaining hours of the day, she enjoys cooking, going to the gym, and relaxing with her extremely supportive husband, James. ISBN February 2005 - First Edition ISBN-10: 1-59059-359-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-59059-359-2   List Price $39.99 Retail $20.00 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