Murach's ASP.NET 2.0 Upgrader's Guide: C# Edition

By Joel Murach and Doug Lowe

Shows C# developers how to upgrade from ASP.NET 1.x to ASP.NET 2.0. This book uses applications to show how to use the 2.0 features, including data access, master pages, site navigation, login... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1890774359
• ISBN13: 9781890774356
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Mike Murach & Associates Inc
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 2.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.5" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Upgrader or New Learner - The Perfect Book

Murach ASP.Net Upgraders Review I just got Visual Studio 2005 and installed it. Equiped with Murach's ASP.Net 2.0 upgrader's guide I am ready to upgrade two existing websites and continue using a 1.1 application without upgrading. The Murach book has an entire chapter devoted to this process. The book is concise and to the point about your options in running these applications. You can run ASP.Net 2.0 only, ASP.Net 2.0 and 1.x on the same server or run ASP.Net 2.0 and ASP.Net 1.x under ASP.Net 2.0. I did find the depth here to not be sufficient to correct one of the problems I had; though the information allowed me to have a general idea of where the problem was and resolve it after a focused search on the internet. Overall I would rate this chapter an eight out of ten. Now with the sites upgraded they were still stuck using ASP.Net 1.1 controls and concepts. I now needed a firm understanding of what the new features were in ASP.Net 2.0 and C#. Chapter 1 made quick work of bringing me up to speed on the new code-behind model and several new features: - Partial classes - Master Pages - Login Controls - Themes - Web Parts It also introduced me to the changes in the IDE. It emphasized that the IDE would no longer make unwanted changes to hand coded HTML and that the grid layout was gone (hooray!). The first chapter also briefly introduced generics, iterators, nullable types and static classes. I was properly primed to forge ahead and learn more. The book covered the basics of creating a site. Solid coverage was given to the new method of accesing databases, using cross-page posting, creating master pages, and testing on the development server. The Murach "paired pages" format (how-to and general information on the left and code examples on the right) makes it exceptionially easy to learn once and later refer to the material. Despite being labeled as an upgrader's guide the book would not all short for someone new to ASP.Net and C#. The topics were covered with enough detail and plain talk to ensure that novice programmers would be able to follow the material. Murach has done it again and produced another book that will have a place on my small desktop bookshelf; now I just have to figure out which book will get pushed to the bookshelf across the room.

Excellent Format

I highly recommend this book to those upgrading to ASP.Net 2.0. I buy a lot of books and don't necessarily want to be tied to the computer while reading. I found the "paired pages" format (Extra explanation on the left page with figures and other essentials on the right) to be really helpful if I'm away from Visual Studio. (I take it to out with me for coffee for example.) I also liked the very fine grouping of topics and the organizational thoughtfulness that went into this volume. In other words it's very easy to skip around to new ASP 2.0 areas of interest. I downloaded the book files from the publisher web site and those that I've pulled up have worked perfectly. The only problem I had was when I didn't use the default directory and initially installed these files elsewhere. I had a problem attaching the database to SQL Server Express version. Using the default directory fixed it.

Excellent Upgrader's Guide

It's always a challenge to publish a meaningful upgrade guide. The reader needs to know the version differences in a quick, but meaningful manner. This book does exactly that. It continues the "paired pages" format: how-to on the left page and examples on the right. The new 2.0 code-behind-model, master pages, data access features, site navigation, login controls, profiles, themes, web parts, and other new 2.0 changes are covered. In addition, the new features of Visual Studio 2005 and new C# languages features are discussed. As a professional developer, I need information that is accurate and easy to understand. This book qualifies on both counts.

A must have for developers moving to ASP.NET 2.0

Murach's ASP.NET 2.0 upgraders guide C# is a must have for developers moving to ASP.NET 2.0. The book covers all the important new features of ASP.NET 2.0. The chapters do an excellent job at explaining exactly what has changed, and what this means for the developer. For example, the chapter about the GridView explains how this will replace the DataGrid. Although the DataGrid will still be available, the GridView is preferred and offers much more functionality. The book was very easy to understand especially since the material was broken down into very clear sections. After explaining a point such as Master Pages, the authors reinforced the ideas by including a summary of what they talked about. This was helpful because sometimes it made it much clearer seeing the concept in another manner. The code samples were easy to follow and will be helpful for any future code I write. The best feature of the book is the coverage of the new data sources. The authors cover XML, SQL, object, and Access data sources. In the object data source chapter the authors clearly illustrate how this new data source fits into a 3-tier design. This could be very helpful to developers looking to follow best practices. I would recommend this book for all developers, not just developers migrating to 2.0. After reading this book I can't think of any topics that the authors left out that I would like to see. I have seen a couple of books that have already come out for ASP.NET 2.0, and this one is by far the best one I have seen. After reading the book, I think this will be the only book I will need for ASP.NET 2.0 reference. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars!

An Excellent Book

I returned home from a long day at the office a few days ago, to find a shiny new copy of Murach's latest offering on my doorstep. I've got to say it, I like their books, and this one does not disappoint the reader. The same great layout of "paired pages" has been used, where the left hand page has an explanation of how to achieve certain goals, and the right hand side has guidelines, syntax and examples. These right hand pages make a great reference guide after you have initially read through the book. At 500+ pages, this book is aimed at the C# developer who wants to upgrade from ASP.NET 1.x to ASP.NET 2.0. This book is based on Microsoft's Beta 2 release of ASP.NET 2.0, and should be compatible with Visual Studio 2005 when it is released. What's Inside The book is split into four sections, each comprising of several chapters. One of the most helpful chapters, often missed out in other books, is the appendix, which walks you through installing the software you need to get you creating asp web pages. Section 1 - Introduction to ASP.NET 2.0 The book starts out by describing what is new in ASP.NET 2.0 both in the language and in Visual Studio 2005. Quickly you move on to develop a shopping cart application, which gives you hands-on experience with the new code-behind model, data sources, and cross-page posting. Finally this section covers the new master pages which make it easy for you to create web pages that have common elements. You can download chapter 3 - master pages for free from Murach's web site. Section 2 - ASP.NET 2.0 Data Access This section begins by covering SQL and XML. It then moves on to the new GridView control, that lets you display the data in rows and columns of a table, while making it easy to manipulate and maintain that data. Next, two new Views are introduced, the DetailsView and FormView controls. These are ideal for any application that displays bound data one record at a time. Finally this section shows you how to use object data sources to implement 3-layer applications in which the data access code is kept in data access classes and separates out the presentation code. Section 3 - New ASP.NET features This section begins by covering the new features that make it easy for users to navigate to the various pages in your site. It then moves on to the new Web Site Administration Tool and login controls. These control user access to a site without you having to write a single line of code. Next, you create user accounts with preferences in the shopping cart application. Next the new MultiView and Wizard controls are introduced, these let you divide a page into multiple views or steps that can handle data changes, and you can navigate between the views or steps without writing any C# code. The next chapter shows you how to use themes to give a consistent look and feel to a web site. Then Portals (web pages that display modular content that can be customized by the user) are discussed. Finally the last ch