Rating:  - Great Concept in Teaching Programming
While I don't think this book is the one I'd pick for my first introduction to ASP.NET, I think it just might well be the second. It's a great concept that I haven't seen before. Basically the book consists of twelve web applications that are coded in ASP.NET, these include:
* Online diary and organizer
* File share
* Chat server
* Survey engine
* CMS
* Blog
* Photo album
* Customer support site * WebShop
* Appointment booking system
* Greeting cards
* Bug base
You can start by looking over these applications to pick up a bunch of programming techniques that these authors (who have a lot more experience in ASP.NET than I do) use in their coding. There is a pretty good chance that one of these applications might well serve as an ideal starting point for the next application you're starting on. Using this working application as a starting point you can start making changes a little at a time rather than having to start programming with a blank sheet of paper.
I'm sure that a purist programmer will say that you should start with a blank sheet, but remember that we are talking about beginning to intermediate users. The publisher calls this series of books 'Programmer to Programmer.' Here you have a trio of pros showing how it should be done. The pro programmers in your organization don't have the time to work with the beginners.
Of course there's a CD with all the code so you don't have to re-type it.
Rating: - How ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results has effected my business
Concepts
I operate a small yet dynamic web design/ development business where time is of the essence and sometimes we may not have the time to study new languages as they are released.
The approach we decided to take was to purchase a range of books based on languages that are currently in demand and in our own time self study or tackle the theory when needed. This has proved to be a key factor in our current success.
The only issue I had found was the majority of the books available teach you key principals but not necessarily an array of concepts in which these principals are applied. This is where ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results fell from the heavens into my book collection.
ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results puts the concepts first followed by key factors used to implement them.
Action Learning
Before starting my business I worked with an organisation based on a Philosophy called Action Learning which integrates learning with work rather than learning first and apply your new found skills afterwards. One of the key benefits of this philosophy is that the experience you gain through learning at work enables you to remember it for a lot longer... experiential learning!
I have found that the way in which I use ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results integrates with my style of learning as I use its concepts/ resources when appropriate plus its direct style of writing is effective in my approach. .. similar to reference material.
Enjoy!
Rating: - Great book - puts the pieces together!
I'm new to ASP programming and have read a number of ASP and ASP related books. In a nutshell, this book helped put all the pieces together. The other books showed me how to use all of the various features in isolation, but when I sat down to actually build a site I had trouble deciding which tool to use and how best to make everything work together.
This book contains 12 real-world examples demonstrating the most important features that I would like to incorporate in my sites. Each chapter of the book is an in depth explanation of each application. While I bought this book merely to serve as a reference for implementing features I was having trouble with, I've found it extremely profitable to go chapter-by-chapter reading the explanation of each application. Reading this book is like being able to pick the brain of an experienced developer regarding applications he has written.
Unless you are an experienced ASP developer you'll almost certainly want to purchase a traditional ASP book, but I highly recommend this book as an additional resource to help put all the pieces together!
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