Best book on Infopath

[nitin]

Hi all,

Can anyone please recommend a good book on Infopath. I am a .NET C#
developer.

Has anyone bought any of these.

1) Introducing Microsoft Office 2003 by Roger Jennings (MS Press)
2) Developing Solutions with Microsoft InfoPath (Ms Press)
3) Visual studio tools for Office using C# (Eric Carter)

Please share your reviews.

Regards
Nitin

 

[Andrew Watt [MVP - InfoPath]]

Nitin,

I think the first thing to say is that no InfoPath book can "cover it
all". InfoPath has too many uses to make that realistic.

So you, and others, need to look for books that meet your needs -
think about what you already know, whether you want to use script or
..NET languages. And so on.

Having said that, a couple of specific comments:

Book 2 on your list was written by Patrick Halstead and Matthew Blain.
They know their InfoPath stuff.

Another couple of books worth considering are Professional InfoPath
2003 and Beginning InfoPath 2003, both from Wrox.

For non-programmers, my own Microsoft InfoPath 2003 Kick Start is
still an option, although it was the first or one of the first books
out, so focuses on the original release of InfoPath.

Think through what you need to know. You may need to buy an InfoPath
book or two, and also buy a book that tells you about, say, Visual
Studio ... or C# ... or SharePoint ... or BizTalk. It all depends on
your current knowledge and what you need to do.

Andrew Watt
MVP - InfoPath

 

[nitin]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your input. I am quite comfortable with C# and .NET but NOT
very strong in XML and I prefer to do programming in C# rather than
using Vbscript or Jscript. I have installed Infopath with SP1 and also
VSTools for Infopath.

As you suggested I was thinking to buy 2 books one that concentrates
mainly on Infopath without coding and other that is mainly using C#.

For development in C# and Infopath I was planning to buy "Visual studio
tools for Office using C# by Eric Carter" but online I saw that it
covers only one Chapter in Infopath with Managed Code/c# . May be thats
enough if it covers all we can do with Infopath and C#. Have you seen
or heard review about this book? What is your view point?

If I buy the above mentioned book, then other I would like to buy
which concentrates mainly Infopath and not Programming. Here I am
confused? May be you can limit my choice to 2 books here.

Looking forward to your vital suggestions.

Cheers
Nitin

 

[Franck Dauché]

Hi,

Then, if you already built up some skills in C#, I would go with the first 2
books on your list. C# behind InfoPath is not exactly hard core and you have
plenty of on-line resources for pure C# syntax. What may be tricky is to
master the IP Object Model and how to use C# applied to InfoPath.
If you buy a C# book, you will learn all about manipulating xml using
System.Xml, well, InfoPath is using
Microsoft.Office.Interop.InfoPath.SemiTrust instead....quite different.

Good luck.

Regards,

Franck Dauché

 

[Andrew Watt [MVP - InfoPath]]

Nitin,

If you are buying two books I think you might be best to go for two
"InfoPath for programmers" books, since you are already comfortable
with C#.

I suggest you evaluate in detail the Halstead/Blain book and the Wrox
Pro InfoPath 2003.

I suspected that the VSTO book would have limited InfoPath coverage.
So, if it's only one chapter, it's probably not your best bet.

Go to a good computer bookshop and browse the books. Look at the TOC
and look at whether the level of the chapters suits you. It's the only
way to avoid that "Oh I knew that" feeling after you get the book.

Andrew Watt
MVP - InfoPath

 

[nitin]

Hi Andrew and Franck

Thanks a lot for taking out time and replying. I truly appreciate your
input. I am happy to be a member of this group

Cheers
Nitin