ASP.NET Solutions — 23 Case Studies

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ASP.NETSolutions 23 Case Studies

Thetidal wave of ASP.NET tutorial books has subsided, leaving room for titlesfocusing on higher-level issues. One such title from Addison-Wesley is ASP.NETSolutions 23 Case Studies. This is one of the most accurately titled books I ve read.Addison-Wesley has made a serious commitment to publishing books on Microsoft.NET technologies, and this book reinforces their efforts.

Thisbook is intended for active ASP.NET developers who have already assembled a fewreal-world applications, and are looking for techniques to improve theirexisting and future projects. It isn t a tutorial; in fact, the first chapterorienting readers to .NET barely spends eight pages discussing C# and VB .NETconstructs (the two languages are employed interchangeably throughout thebook). Chapter 2 dives right in with a resume application, with each chapterprogressing into more complex topics. Readers will create survey, technicalsupport, scheduling, forum, classifieds, online store, guest book, ad bannermanagement, data mining, chart display, portal, training, speech, filerepository, and certificates applications throughout the course of executingthe case studies. Other examples include discussions on dynamically creatingcharts/graphs and animated banners, how to effectively use the .NET NetworkingClasses, how to create a server control, and how to implement an applicationperformance monitor.

Alongwith a thorough analysis of the code, the author interjects chapters with invaluablecaution, recommended practices, and tip callouts that collectively deliver thebest value of the book.

All thatsaid, the book is not without its shortcomings. The organization of ideas issomewhat disjointed. Although each chapter is prefaced with a bullet list oftopics to be covered, I would have preferred that the list focus on whyrather than what. It would have also made seeking answers to real-worlddesign issues easier. I would have also preferred one or two large ASP.NET casestudies in lieu of five smaller ones that delve into the complexitiesassociated with enterprise-class intranet ASP.NET applications. A greater focuson design patterns and the importance of modeling an application before codingit would have been a useful reminder chapter or appendix, as well. And althoughthe author provides a fair representation of both C# and VB .NET examples, herarely touches on when and why one language is more appropriate than the otherin each of the respective case studies. Perhaps another appendix that had achecklist of requirements to evaluate for language preference would have beenmeaningful.

Nearlyall the source code for each of the case studies can be downloaded from thebook s Web site (code and examples for Chapters 13, 17, 19, and 20 were missingwhen I wrote this review). Although a bit sparse on attractive page design, thesite nevertheless provides some live examples, chapter errata, and forums forreaders to exchange ideas with the author.

Overall,the book is a well-intentioned attempt toward expanding the .NET developer sunderstanding of how ASP.NET can be leveraged in real-world applications. Ifits shortcomings can be addressed in a future edition, it will be a book worthyof higher praise. As it stands in its current form, it best serves theintermediate .NET developer seeking to broaden their applied understanding ofMicrosoft s Web technologies.

Mike Riley

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Title: ASP.NET Solutions 23 CaseStudies

Author: Rick Leinecker

Publisher: Addison-Wesley

ISBN: 0-7645-2628-6

BookWeb Site: http://www.ASPNET-Solutions.com

Price: US$54.99

PageCount: 894 pages