A Preview of Active Server Pages+ - Softcover

Richard Anderson; David Sussman

9781861004758: A Preview of Active Server Pages+

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1861004753 ISBN 13: 9781861004758

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2000

Microsoft's Active Server Pages technology is still a relatively new way to create dynamic Web sites and Web-based distributed applications. However, during its short life span, it has evolved to become the foremost tool in the Windows-oriented Web programmer's toolbox. This is probably due to the ease with which complex pages and applications can be created, combined with the ability to use home-grown custom components, and existing Microsoft and 3rd party commercial components, through the Component Object Model (COM/COM+) architecture. Microsoft is currently working on the next generation of ASP, provisionally called ASP+. While it still supports existing ASP pages and applications, ASP+ is actually a complete rewrite of the existing versions. It changes the way that you need to think about ASP and your Web-based applications and Web sites. 'A Preview of ASP+' is the first book to outline the changes and the new ways that you can use ASP in your applications.

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Review:

Microsoft's new Active Server Pages+ (ASP+) standard promises a lot more for Web developers who work on the Windows platform. A Preview of Active Server Pages+ surveys the new features and APIs that you'll need to know to develop effectively with ASP+. Stressing practical e-commerce examples, this book will be a welcome resource to anyone who programs in ASP already and wants a look at what's next from Microsoft.

This text gives you an excellent comparison of the old ASP with the new ASP+. (Many examples show both ways of coding by using a side-by-side comparison.) The book makes the case that ASP+ is a better way to program with easier scripting (by using the new Visual Basic 7 or the new C# [pronounced c-sharp], available with the next version of Visual C++) and easier access to components. Based on Microsoft's grandly named Next Generation Web Services (NGWS), ASP+ promises a new era of more maintainable code. Prominent sections showcase the various controls available in ASP+, from HTML controls to intrinsic controls to more advanced ("rich") controls. How to add data validation by using built-in ASP+ objects is explained, too, as is how to create custom components. Later chapters look at the improved abilities of ASP+, such as easier configuration, authentication, and deployment. The book ends by showing you a nicely functional e-commerce application that's written in ASP+.

By listing ASP+ objects and APIs from Microsoft in a handy appendix, programmers can get a sample of what's available. (There's also a useful section that details the most important differences for developers who are moving from ASP to ASP+.) Although some of this material might change as ASP+ moves to its final form, A Preview of Active Server Pages+ sets the stage with a valuable tour of what to expect in what surely will be a better way to create dynamic Web content on the Windows platform. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

Evolution of Active Server Pages (ASP)
Overview of Microsoft's Next Generation Web Services (NGWS)
Design goals and advantages of ASP+
ASP+ controls: HTML, intrinsic, and rich controls
ADO+ and data binding with ASP+
The DataGrid control
Validating data with ASP+
Regular expressions
Separating the UI from program logic code by using pagelets and custom components
ASP+ caching and debugging support
Web services
XML support in ASP+
Using global application settings
ASP+ configuration and deployment
Authentication and authorization
Sample e-commerce application
ASP+ for ASP programmers
Visual Basic 7 for Visual Basic 6 programmers
ASP+ object and API reference

From the Publisher:

'A Preview of ASP+' covers a product that is still under development, and as such it is aimed at experienced ASP developers who are working at the leading edge - rather than the casual ASP developer or beginner. However, the fact that the product is still a preview version does not mean that you can ignore it, the first public beta will be available for download from July 2000 and so any ASP programmer who needs to be one step ahead of the competition should start investigating this new version as soon as possible.

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