A Preview of Active Server Pages+ [ASP+] Book

Microsoft's new Active Server Pages+ (ASP+) standard promises a lot more for Web developers who work on the Windows platform. A Preview of Active Server Pages+ surveys the new features and APIs that you'll need to know to develop effectively with ASP+. Stressing practical e-commerce examples, this book will be a welcome resource to anyone who programs in ASP already and wants a look at what's next from Microsoft. This text gives you an excellent comparison of the old ASP with the new ASP+. (Many examples show both ways of coding by using a side-by-side comparison.) The book makes the case that ASP+ is a better way to program with easier scripting (by using the new Visual Basic 7 or the new C# [pronounced c-sharp], available with the next version of Visual C++) and easier access to components. Based on Microsoft's grandly named Next Generation Web Services (NGWS), ASP+ promises a new era of more maintainable code. Prominent sections showcase the various controls available in ASP+, from HTML controls to intrinsic controls to more advanced ("rich") controls. How to add data validation by using built-in ASP+ objects is explained, too, as is how to create custom components. Later chapters look at the improved abilities of ASP+, such as easier configuration, authentication and deployment. The book ends by showing you a nicely functional e-commerce application that's written in ASP+. By listing ASP+ objects and APIs from Microsoft in a handy appendix, programmers can get a sample of what's available. (There's also a useful section that details the most important differences for developers who are moving from ASP to ASP+.) Although some of this material might change as ASP+ moves to its final form, A Preview of Active Server Pages+ sets the stage with a valuable tour of what to expect in what surely will be a better way to create dynamic Web content on the Windows platform. --Richard Dragan, Amazon.comRead More