Any college instructor using this reference book instead of a proper TextBook to teach this material is doing a great disservice to his or her students. I have had to learn ASP.NET from this book and have found it to be a VERY painful experience. The information offered is "CONCISE." TOO BRIEF and concise for those who have yet to learn the principles or structure behind the examples given. No concepts are adequately explained. The first Cart example is too complex for a first example. The material needs to be broken down into digestible amounts. Any professor attempting to cover every chapter in this REFERENCE book during one semester is doomed to failure. It is more important to be certain that students are absorbing the material in an introductory ASP.NET class than than to cover every aspect of ASP.NET in one semester. This book is for those who have already covered ASP.NET and want to use it as a quick reference book-- NOT as an intro to ASP.NET.

I had this book for my Web development class; even though as promised it does teach you how to start up a web-site development quickly, it doesn't explain all the features it uses. I had to go constantly to MSDN web-site to find out more about the classes and methods are used.
I also suggest mastering ADO.Net and C#.Net first--not just basic level--to be able fully appreciate the book.
I also agree with other reviews that say that the book is disjoint in its structure, and having too many assumptions on what you know about Web developing; even though there is a crash-course in the book, it doesn't fill up the gap between the beginner's level of knowledge and the book's one.

I've never used asp or c#. This is a good book for beginners. After 4 chapters, you learn to use a database, session, etc. I already have a solid understanding of web programming because I'm a php developer for work. But these concepts were super easy to understand, and laid out clearly. Every left side page reads like a novel. Every right hand page demonstrates whatever the left hand page was talking about (either in a diagram, bulleted list, or some other way.)

I'm new to .net and also C# and I bought this book in hopes to learn the basics as well as more complicated applications as I get further into the book.

But it appears this book assumes you already have experience with both so you feel lost at times. For example, one of the very first exercises says to create a checkout page. It has 7 or so items they want you to do, but don't really give you any tips on how to accomplish them? If you get stuck you have no where to go, to look for help on the exercise. It wants you to add code to your pages, but I have no idea what the code will be!

As I've been reading this book, I feel like I jumped into an already started project and being asked to complete someone else work, and not sure how to do it.

it's a good book, don't get me wrong, but it felt really disjointed. normally these kinds of books follow a website constructed from start to finish, illustrating code and practices a long the way. this book, however, felt like I got thrown into the middle of a project that was half finished, and in my opinion it used theory as a filler rather then move from example to example as you would build a website. anyone starting out with C#... this isn't the book for you. It's well written, but for a specific audience.

Though I am a big fan of Murach's programming books, they are certainly the best ones to give you a good start and are useful in the real world programming. However, same cannot be said about their ASP.NET title, it tries to cover too many things and in the process doesn't cover them well. Through the book I get feel as the author is mentioning what are the tools of ASP.NET but doesn't show how to use them properly. It is a good book to get a quick enough knowledge about ASP.NET but I would recommend if you are planning to do this professionally, also get the Apress Title by Mathew McDonald and Programming ASP.NET by Jesse Liberty. Or if you have only $30 to spend on a book and you are a beginner,then go with the Apress one.

This book delivers what the author claims: to get you up and running with ASP.NET 3.5 in as short a time as possible. After the 4th chapter you know who to build simple apps.

I've been using Murach books from as far back as my mainframe days, and this book fulfills what I require in a technical how-to book in both standard and character.

This book is practical in that it systematically and progressively guides you along every phase required to develop a fully working ASP.NET application. The book is excellent at instructing you on WHAT you need to know, and for the most part WHY you need to know it and it actually shows you HOW to perform every step necessary to complete an ASP.NET project. If you're in a situation whereby you just need to learn how to get something in particular done without regard to the step by step method that this book uses, it will show you how to do it with practical working examples of how to make it happen. It is also a good how-to source for those who may already have either extensive or some web development background but want to know how to do it in ASP.NET. If you're already an ASP.NET programmer but not proficient in Language Integrated Query or rich internet applications(RIA) then the AJAX and LINQ sections will prove to be extremely helpful.

I had a problem getting some of the sample applications into Visual Studio at first but later saw what they were doing as far as also teaching the reader how to add items to a project. For me it could have been clearer if it was stated that that is what they were trying to do in the beginning. Ergo, I found that the exercise on page 30 didn't quite seem to work as it was indicated. I would have rather downloaded the entire solution, opened it with Visual Studio, compiled it and then have taken it from there doing the IIS stuff at different juncture.

The bottom line is if you need to learn and do ASP quickly, particularly in or for a professional environment then this is definitely a resource you need to have in your tool bag. It'll be good if you know C# but if you don't know it that well, then you can also learn a whole lot of "how to's" by looking at all the code and code-behind that accompany each chapter - not at a level for Microsoft certification but for everyday practical programming in the language. I found it also to be a more than casual introduction into using IIS as well. The book also demonstrates how to exploit more of the 3.5 features including ListView and DataPager.

Although I haven't read all of the books available on ASP.NET I do have a few. So far, this one is emerging as the only one I apparently need.

Murach's new book covering ASP.NET 3.5 with C# 2008 is an excellent resource for newcomers to ASP.net and a nice quick reference for junior ASP.net programmers, but it won't satisfy midlevel or experienced programmers.

The book is a perfect introduction to ASP.NET and provides an extensive foundation for aspiring ASP.NET developers, but they will quickly find themselves moving beyond the examples offered in the book. I wouldn't recommend the book for programmers moving from ASP.NET 2.0 to 3.5, because it doesn't point out new features and a ton of the material will be old news for those programmers already familiar with ASP.NET.

Murach has a unique style of dividing tasks over two pages with the first page a text description while the facing page shows examples and code implementing the task. The technique offers a great reference, but it is restrictive in providing only a shallow introduction to many complex topics.

Of course, with the overwhelming amount of material the book has to cover it simply can't offer more than an introduction to ASP.NET. For that task, it does an excellent job and will get any newcomer or beginning programmer up and running quickly with a solid foundation of knowledge.

It also shows newcomers how to maneuver around Visual Studio and set up webs sites, giving them a solid foundation of best practices to build their skills. Within the first 100 pages, the book has the reader set up a basic web site with core features like forms with validation controls and session state. It gives the reader solid examples and practical information, while rewarding the reader with measurable progress. Other massive introductory books don't give the reader the immediate, practical results that Murach provides.

It does cover a huge swath of ASP.NET technology including securing, deploying and configuring a web site, as well as AJAX, developing custom server controls, LINQ and web services. With so much ground to cover, it can only skim most of the topics even with 970 pages of content.

It does carry you through building a web site with session state and a shopping cart, so a newcomer to ASP.NET will find this an invaluable resource that offers the fastest way to get started, but a seasoned programmer will only find a few pages of the massive book worthwhile.

It should be pointed out that Murach has the exact same book for Visual Basic programmers and back-end developers will find "Murach's ADO.NET 3.5 Linq and the Entity Framework" books a much more in-depth resource. They also come in separate versions for C# and VB.

Originally published by the Denver Visual Studio User Group at [...]

I tried so many books, articles, tutorials, etc.
This is the first time I'm getting somewhere.
I'm not a pro, I don't intend to be, but I got practical ASP.Net C# knowladge.

I can't help writing the comments for this book after I read it. This book is the best reference book in ASP.NET I have ever seen.

First, if you have NO knowledge of ASP.NET or C# programming, it might be difficult for you to understand some of the concepts in the book. I think that is the reason some people give it a rating in 4.

THEREFORE, if you have NO knowledge of ASP.NET or C# programming, I highly recommend you to read some books like or , or .

HOWEVER, if you have read preliminary knowledge of ASP.NET and start to build your own website, NO BOOK IN THE MARKET right now can surpass the quality of this book when you use it as the reference. IT IS CONCISE, EASY TO READ, CLEAR TO THE DETAIL. IT can guarantee you to have a very good understanding of ASP.NET applications.

FINALLY, this book is also THE BEST REFERENCE book for people who may not read ENGLISH very well. English is not my first language. I can't master programming in ASP.NET without the help of THIS book. For Non-native speakers, DON'T BUY those RED COVER WILLEY BOOKS. I spend a lot of time reading them and doesn't help me a lot. TRY to buy a reference book also in your own language.

i've used this book for an internet programming course. it teaches the concepts with examples and code and you can learn a lot from this.

modifying the code to your requirements also helps. all the concepts are organised so well that it reads like a guide.

This tutorial approach to learning the latest version of ASP.NET will get you up to speed in a hurry. The two-page text and graphical tactic which uses a two-pronged approach to learning from both auditory and visual channels - helps both types of learners absorb the material and each approach reinforces the other.

did not require contacting the seller. Product was shipped promptly and in good condition. Thanks

I recently completed this book and I was quite impressed. I have been using asp.net for sometime and wanted to see the new features of VS 2008. What I consider the strongest points of this book are:
1. The book explains the basics so that a beginner can follow along and learn.
2. At the same time the book gives in depth 'why's' for various things (not just how's) so that the reader will finish the book with a reasonably deep understanding.
3. The book is replete with solid code samples, that all work as written (not always the case with all computer books)


I highly recomend this book.

For an experience programmer these books are the best. I don't need to know all the little details but they're there if I do.

Programming for the Web is very different from programming for an offline application. "Murach's ASP.NET 3.5: Web Programming with C# 2008" is the famous Murach series entry on internet programming with the popular ASP.NET 3.5 software. With chapters on minimizing the size of one's application for streamlined usage to fundamental skills to building databases and much more than that, it gives a full expert education in what one needs to maximize their ability with the program for professional use and to maximize their business. A complete and comprehensive reference on ASP.NET 3.5 Web Programming, "Murach's ASP.NET 3.5: Web Programming with C# 2008" is a must have for any potential user of the program or business who wants to train their employees.

In the past year and a half I have purchased several Murach books on various programming subjects, and I find them to be quite helpful and I refer to them often. The format makes it easy to look up concise information and code snippets on specific topics. This book is no exception.

To remain a concise reference, there are bound to be omissions. For example, the text gives good information on the HTML structure of tables, but does not mention that a table may be added to a web form by using the drop-down menu in the Visual Studio IDE. On a positve note, the one page summary of regular expressions is the most helpful and useful summary of regular expressions that I have seen.

For professional programmers, this will not be the only book on ASP.NET that you will want in your library, but it is a very good concise reference.

For someone totally new to ASP.NET I would recommend reading
Beginning ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer) before moving on to the Murach book.