I wanted to create a simple web application with this book that would allow for authenticated users to add content and allow non-authenticated users to simply view content. The book was perfect for setting up the the database connections, and web forms. The book fell on its face with security. The concepts were included and some examples were included, but there was no information about user roles when using forms based authentication. One feature I think most ASP.Net applications are going to have is authentication so I found it distressing that it was given such incomplete coverage. To get more information you need to look at one of two other Wrox books - Beginning Web Programming with Visual Basic.Net and Visual Studio.Net, or ASP.Net Security. The first book covers mostly the same information as this book, but goes into more detail on security. It too though is not complete. With the inclusion of about five more pages in this book it would have been complete from my viewpoint.

Excellent introduction to ASP.NET 1.0

Rating: 5/5

I am one of the authors of Beginning ASP.NET 1.0 with Visual Basic .NET.

The book provides a solid introductory material to the beginner and helps those that know some of the basics to fill in the gaps. It was important for us to convey what ASP.NET is and why ASP.NET is important, how it's different from classic ASP and then delve into the details at a beginner's level. I think we've done that.

Throughout each chapter, we include step-by-step examples to serve as foundations for building more elaborate code, as well as accompanying explanations to help readers grasp the concepts. We believe you'll get up to speed quickly!

Let us know what you think about the book. We look forward to reading your reviews.

Outdated -- Poor Level Of Detail

Rating: 2/5

The book is well outdated (as of mid-2004).

I'm just finishing the Begining ASP.NET with VB.NET 2003. This was Wrox's suggestion as the follow-on book to really understand website database development. A real waste. The Begining ASP.NET provided the same level of detail.

The book did use SQL Server -- a plus -- which the Begining ASP.NET book lightly covered. But, not enough to justify the expense of buying the book and even more importantly the time to wade through it.