Rating:  - My Single Best Reference for ASP.NET
My copy of ASP.NET Unleashed, Second Edition is worn, I had to tape the back to the last page to keep the volume from falling apart; there was nothing wrong with the way the book was put together, it's just well used.
This is the one book I make sure I have with me when working on ASP.NET at a client's site - there are other very good books, some I plan to review shortly. Granted there have been times when I was unable to find the answer to a vexing problem within its pages - sometimes none of my books seemed to have the answer - in a few cases I resorted to the web with mixed results.
All of the examples in the text show VB code, the companion CD contains C# code also. Although I've added C# to my programming skills a while back, I haven't bothered to check the companion CD for the C# code.
On the back cover of the book, the "User Level" of Intermediate to Advanced is indicated, I agree. As a minimum, one should have a fair understanding of VB.NET, ADO.NET, HTML and some XML. Having that background under your belt, you may want to start with an introductory ASP.NET; for the brave-hearted, you can just dig in.
Although not designed as an exam review reference, looking back at the book's contents there's a great deal of information that is useful for the exam. I probably wouldn't have passed my exam on this book's contents alone since Microsoft is fond of focusing on certain arcane details that most official review guides address.
The explanations are generally clear and understandable, the examples are clear and useful - on several occasions it was easier just to copy & tweak the code from the book rather than re-inventing the wheel. For complex enterprise-sized applications, other references are clearly needed.
So many ASP.NET books have many examples with code in the .aspx files and this book is one of them. One of the strong selling points of ASP.NET is the separation of code (into a .vb or .cs file) and presentation (.aspx) - including them together in a text gives the reader a better sense of what's going on and is more concise; although it's not what should be done in the real world. Those who are advanced enough to understand the concepts in the book should be able to adjust accordingly.
If you're doing ASP.NET work, this is one book that is a must have!
Rating: - simply the best book
This is the best book I have on asp.net development, and on .net development at all. I have bought the book twice, once at my previous place of employment, and now again.
The know-how in the books is very very extensive, providing real examples to all problems.
The codes are not written in code behind, but you can just add the "script runat server" part in your code behind, that's how I have been using the book. (and in the first example change the DIM to PUBLIC)
The book is really meant for VB.NET writers, and NOT C#, even though the CD has all the C# code, one really wants to read the book.
The book goes over all different aspects you will encounter, but it must be said that after going over the main issues, it stops. The book does not go into very deep details, but gives you the tools to start. This can be very good if you don't want to get confused with irrelevant information.
Rating: - Great book, best so far
***Based on the 2nd edition***
I've read them all, from all the Murach books to the Microsoft Press books etc. This was the first book that actually seemed to make sense. I've read the complaints about the lack of code behind...who cares? It's pretty easy to take what's between the
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