All ASP Beginner Book Suggestions Solicited

S

sleepin

I am brand new to ASP and would like to get all suggestions I can for a
beginners book. For instance, I don't know whether to get an ASP book only
or go straight to ASP.NET. Please help!
 
J

Jim Buyens

-----Original Message-----
I am brand new to ASP and would like to get all
suggestions I can for a beginners book. For instance, I
don't know whether to get an ASP book only or go straight
to ASP.NET. Please help!
Click to expand...

This depends largely on your existing level of expertise,
and what your host supports.

ASP is probably easier for a non-programmer to learn, but
the larger your site and the more code you add to your
pages, the more awkward it becomes. Think of it as
the "quick and dirty" approach.

ASP.NET is a real programming environment. It provides
built-in features for handling many requirements that
ASP ignores completely, such as uploading files, sending
mail, displaying data in tables, and securing parts of a
Web site. Forms are easier to program because you don't
have to write code that propagates form values from one
submission to the next.

Of course, all these features come at the price of some
complexity. As a result, ASP.NET is harder to learn than
ASP.

ASP.NET is a couple of years old now, but even so, some
hosts don't support it yet. That might be a factor.

Microsoft has announced that ASP is a deprecated
technology, which means they won't be enhancing it any
more. The future is ASP.NET, but ASP will be around a long
time so that existing applications will continue to work.

As to books, I recommend mine. (What did you expect?)

Jim Buyens
Microsoft FrontPage MVP
http://www.interlacken.com
Author of:
*----------------------------------------------------
|\---------------------------------------------------
|| Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 Inside Out
||---------------------------------------------------
|| Web Database Development Step by Step .NET Edition
|| Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002 Inside Out
|| Faster Smarter Beginning Programming
|| (All from Microsoft Press)
|/---------------------------------------------------
*----------------------------------------------------
 
S

sleepin

Thanks for your reply. I have your FP 2002 book and I like it. But I really
am talking beginner here. Would you still recommend: Web Database
Development Step by Step .NET Edition or do I need a primer first?
 
J

Jim Buyens

-----Original Message-----
Thanks for your reply. I have your FP 2002 book and I
like it. But I really am talking beginner here. Would
you still recommend: Web Database Development Step by
Step .NET Edition or do I need a primer first?
Click to expand...

If you're undecided, you should probably visit your local
bookstore and browse. Look for something that doesn't look
too hard or too easy, and with examples that match the
kind of work you want to do.

FYI, most people developing ASP.NET use some form of
Microsoft Visual Studio to do it. For beginners who
already know some Visual Basic, I usually recommend Visual
Basic .NET Standard Edition. For those more comfortable
with semicolons and curly braces (ala JavaScript, Java,
and C++) C# Standard Edition is probably the best choice.
In either case, the cost of the software is about $100.

Jim Buyens
Microsoft FrontPage MVP
http://www.interlacken.com
Author of:
*----------------------------------------------------
|\---------------------------------------------------
|| Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 Inside Out
||---------------------------------------------------
|| Web Database Development Step by Step .NET Edition
|| Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002 Inside Out
|| Faster Smarter Beginning Programming
|| (All from Microsoft Press)
|/---------------------------------------------------
*----------------------------------------------------
 
T

Tom Gahagan

Hi sleepin....

You might want to start off with one of the many online tutorials.

www.asp101.com

or something similar..... then move to some books if you get hooked.

Just a thought anyway......

Tom Gahagan
eThomaston.com

also.... go by www.4guysfromrolla.com for one of the best asp forum/info
sites.
 
S

sleepin

Jim, lets back up for just a second. You say "For beginners who
already know some Visual Basic". How about for beginners who haven't yet
discovered Visual Basic?
 
S

sleepin

Thanks Tom. It's the "Tell A Friend" script from the link you posted that
first got me started think about ASP!
 
D

Danny

The SAMS and Wrox Press beginning ASP.net books are pretty
good. You don't need to know ASP before going to ASP.net.
They are significantly different and it might cause
confusion if you study ASP first. I recomment going
straight to ASP.net.
 
T

Tom Gahagan

as my son would say.... coooool ! < g >

You can do it! There are TONS of learning materials ( of course some better
than others ) and forums, etc out there on asp... so have fun.


Best to you......
Tom Gahagan
 
S

sleepin

Thanks. I wondered if learning ASP and then going from there to ASP.net
might be confusing. Can you recommend a starter book? I'm leaning to either
Dummies or SAMS to help me get started but I am open to any suggestions.
 
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