Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 is an all new book written from scratch for ASP.NET 3.5 (part of the Visual Studio 2008 release previously known as "Orcas") that emphasizes the topics and techniques "Beginning" level readers need to know most. It is written by 1 author – Imar Spaanjaars - who is closely in touch with the beginner ASP.NET developer. This edition includes both C# and VB code for the ASP.NET examples in print and for download so readers with experience in either (or neither) can use the same book.

Beginning ASP.NET 3.5 helps readers learn to build dynamic database driven web sites using ASP.NET 3.5. Starting from scratch, the reader will progressively learn how to design and create web sites with interactive elements. After reading this book, the reader should be able to build a database driven web site on her own, using best practices and current standards.

The book follows the well-known Wrox Beginning approach where theory and demos are intermixed with exercises. Substantial pieces of theory are followed by an exercise that makes use of the things the reader just learned. The 3.5 version of this book is written from scratch with an emphasis on the beginner developer and the order in which they need to learn and work. Steps that are required to set up the development and web server environment are done carefully in sequence to make sure the reader gets off to a good start.

Imar is technical director and software designer for Design IT, an IT company in the Netherlands specializing in Internet and intranet applications built with Microsoft technologies. In addition to extensive ASP.NET writing on his blog and co-authoring a previous Wrox ASP.NET book, he is most well-known amongst the 500,000 monthly developers at p2p.wrox.com for his more than 7000 posts in the Wrox p2p.wrox.com reader discussion forums. He is by far the most well-known Wrox author and participant in this active Wrox discussion area. His answers in the forums have earned him extensive reader praise.

Some of the topics covered in this book include:

• Getting started with ASP.NET 3.5
• Creating Your First Web Site in Visual Web Developer (VWD) 3.5
• Creating Consistent Looking Web Sites
• Programming Your ASP.NET Pages
• Working with ASP.NET Controls
• Navigation
• Using User Controls
• Ajax
• Creating Data Driven Web Forms
• Introduction to Databases, Displaying, Updating, and working with Data
• Working with Data using LINQ
• Security in Your ASP.NET 3.5 Web site
• Personalizing Web Sites
• Debugging and Tracing Pages
• Compiling and Deployment

Customer Rating:
Summary: Web Developer
Comment: Recieved book in excellent condition! The book is very organized and very constructive in teaching me what I need to learn in a step-by-step manner. I very much recommend this book!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Start for ASP.NET
Comment: I think this is a great start for anyone looking to get into ASP.NET. The entire book takes you through creating a professional-looking website. The book was very well thought out and I have yet to see any errors. I've found the author to be very responsive on the WROX website, as well.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Finally, an ASP.NET book worth its cost
Comment: I've picked up copies of Beginning ASP.NET 2.0; Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB; Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 E-Commerce in C# 2005 From Novice to Professional; and Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 Step by Step (the only one I can recommend). With all of these, I struggled to read them and didn't feel as though I learned much, or in the case of the last, failed to get much more than an overview of ASP.NET (albeit a good one).

However, with Imar Spaanjaars' book, I finally feel comfortable with ASP.NET 3.5.

In this book Imar works through the steps of creating of an actual, fully-functional, ASP.NET 3.5 Web site, that's actually not that bad (ignoring some questionable design).

Unlike other books, Imar covers both the Express and commercial versions of Visual Studio, in a very unobtrusive way. In addition, Imar doesn't rely solely on the ASP.NET components, but gives a good deal of actual programming, in both C# and VB (in a very clean, comfortable, way).

While it's true that he references a number of other Wrox books, such as Professional ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer), there is very little that needs to be examined to get a site up and running, that would suit the majority of business needs.

Overall, my faith in the ability of Web developers to write good books has been restored by this tome (and at over 700 pages, tome it is). A Web developer Imar is, and to us, as equals, is to whom he speaks. This is clearly seen in his summaries and tips, at the end of each chapter.

I give this book 5 stars of 5. If you've read the other books and been left sad, confused, and/or angry, this is the volume to pick up.

Note: I will be reading this book twice, once I've finished with Professional ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer). There is so much in this book that bears repeating, and many things that I'm sure I missed in my first read, since it's so full of (valuable) information.

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