MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft (2nd Edition) .NET Core Requirements, Exams 70-305, 70-315, 70-306, 70-316, 70-310, 70-320, and 70-300 box vol. set Review

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MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft (2nd Edition) .NET Core Requirements, Exams 70-305, 70-315, 70-306, 70-316, 70-310, 70-320, and 70-300 box vol. set ReviewThree things struck me about this set as soon as I received it and started working through the material. First, these books can be used for both learning and preparing for the certification exams. Second, if you buy the set from Amazon and you intend to take the exams, your cost will be a fraction of the published cost. This is because of the four 15% off exam fee vouchers that are included in the set. In the end, you will get almost 75% off the published price! Be careful when you buy this set as a used set from someone as the vouchers have discount codes that can only be utilized once. Third, these same books can be used whether you are interested in the VB.NET track or VC#.NET track.
This set is best suited for basic and intermediate level users of the .NET technologies. The four books in the set are focused on helping you learn - windows based programming, web based programming, XML web services and server components, and solution architectures. Each book takes a lesson style approach by splitting each chapter into multiple lessons. Each lesson focuses on teaching a unique skill and can be worked through individually. But I found that you need to stay with the sequence of lessons in order to get the maximum benefit.
I am new to taking Microsoft certifications so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the way the material is presented. Each lesson has an estimated time of completion which I found to be a bit too optimistic but not too far off. The relevant concepts are explained first and these are followed by step by step instructions on how to perform a specific task. Example code related to the task being described is included. At the end of each chapter (not lesson), there is a lab section that contains several exercises for the reader to perform to ensure proper learning. The completed labs are on the CD-ROM that comes with the set. This is very helpful in identifying by comparison anything wrong that you might have done on these exercises.
The CD-ROM that comes with the set has the entire set in electronic form, completed labs, practice files, and exam questions. The set also comes with a DVD that has a 60 day trial version of Visual Studio.NET 2003 Professional. The paper is very thin and these are paperbacks and not hardcover editions. I personally like the thinner paper as it is easier to carry the individual books around.
The prerequisites for using this set are a knowledge of controls & events, SQL, and other basic programming concepts. I think this set is aimed at users that are at a beginner or intermediate level. One advanced user I talked to wasn't as impressed with this set as I was.
The only downside to the set that I found was the intermingling of VB.NET and VC#.NET code throughout the books. I found this very annoying as I am interested in only the VB.NET portions. But I guess this could be a positive if you haven't decided which path to take or are planning on mixing the exams that you take.
The best part about these books is that there are so many practice questions for each exam! After researching other preparatory material online, I found that most vendors are not including that many practice questions. So getting these many questions (550 total in the set) for such a low price made it really worthwhile for me.
I would recommend getting the training guides by Mike Gunderloy (Que Certification series) that I am finding to be the best tools for exam preparation. But it doesn't hurt to get this Microsoft set considering the exam fee discount reduces the price of the set and the number of questions included is great!
Overall, don't hesitate to get this set if you are sure that you are going to take the exams. But use the set as a secondary and not a primary preparation tool. Good luck learning .NET and passing the exams!
Update on 5/5/2005: This review is old so please check with Amazon if the kit still comes with the vouchers before purchasing. I remember seeing an expiration date on those vouchers so it's quite possible they don't include the vouchers with the kit anymore.MCAD/MCSD Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft (2nd Edition) .NET Core Requirements, Exams 70-305, 70-315, 70-306, 70-316, 70-310, 70-320, and 70-300 box vol. set Overview
Great resources, excellent value. Get in-depth training and practice with the skills measured by the core exams for MCAD or MCSD certification-all in one box. Covering Exams 70-300, 70-305/70-315, 70-306/70-316, and 70-310/70-320, these four official Microsoft study guides encompass both language specialties-Microsoft Visual Basic® .NET and Microsoft Visual C#™ .NET-for both the MCAD and MCSD exam tracks. Work at your own pace through each book's lessons and hands-on exercises and apply your new expertise to an evaluation version of Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET Professional software, included free with this set. You can assess your progress and sharpen your test-taking skills using the enhanced practice exams on CD. As you gain practical experience defining solution architecture, building Microsoft Windows® applications, and developing XML Web services and applications for Microsoft .NET, you're also preparing for MCAD and MCSD certification.


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Microsoft® Windows® Command-Line Administrator's Pocket Consultant (Pro - Administrator's PC) Review

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Microsoft® Windows® Command-Line Administrator's Pocket Consultant (Pro - Administrator's PC) ReviewThis is a very well written book with every page being very useful and consise. Each page is a treasure, which is a far cry to a lot of tech books filled with fluff and opinion these days.
I am both a Solaris and Windows system administrator, and though I dearly love GUI interface to access complex things, I would not like to repeat these tasks on hundreds of desktops. With this book, I found that I could automate chores and remotely configure desktops. There are so many gems in this book, this is a MUST have for any PowerUser, Admin, or anyone simply wanting to use command-line alternatives.
In the beginning Stanek covers the differences between Windows and MS-DOS command shells (cmd vs command) and environments, Win2k3 Reskit, and Cmd Shell fundamentals (similar but slightly different that ol' DOS Batch files). He then jumps into (Chap 4) one of the most important topics, task scheduling from the command line, which is essential for automation, especially for backups, virus updates, etc. The following chapters, he covers topics like registry maintence, process management, event logging, disk maintences (RAID, partitioning, formatting, etc.). The process management part can be useful in killing spyware processes, especially for spyware that blocks out such functionality through the GUI.
My favorite sections that have the most impact for me is Active Directory tools (account creation, groups, etc.), printer management, and network management. I tried to figure out, for instance, the enigma of "netsh" command before without success, and this book helped me on that powerful tool. Now armed with this knowledge, I can remotely configure desktops IP addresses, and monitor the health of printers, without even getting out of my seat.
All in all, this book is excellent. Very well organized chapters and flow of information, and very well written. It's works both for general reading and also as a reference.Microsoft® Windows® Command-Line Administrator's Pocket Consultant (Pro - Administrator's PC) Overview
Portable and precise, this pocket-sized guide delivers ready answers for managing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP from the command line. Zero in on core command-line tools and techniques-learning timesaving ways to extend your operational efficiency and reach over multiple domains and networks. With its quick-reference tables, lists, and step-by-step instructions, this book delivers the fast, accurate information you need to get the job done-whether you're at your desk or in the field!

Get fast facts to:

Create and use command-line scripts
Perform multiple, complex operations by grouping commands
Run commands, scripts, and programs on a scheduled basis
Use event-logging tools to monitor and fine-tune system performance
Gain control over disks beyond what you can do from the GUI
Administer Active Directory users and groups, computer accounts, and domains
Maintain network printers and print services
Configure, manage, and troubleshoot TCP/IP networking services
Get tips for using command-line related Resource Kit tools


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Microsoft Visual Basic Professional 6.0 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) Review

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Microsoft Visual Basic Professional 6.0 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) ReviewLet me state that I have been through many, many books on how to learn Visual Basic 6.0. I've done the Dummies Book, the Sams 21 Day and 24 hour route, and the John Smiley 'By examples' book, and lastly the Peter Norton VB book. I've spent some serious money on books and Im still a rookie programmer (ok, so Im modest...).
Since I started with the Dummies book, it gave me the basics of how and why VB works. But, what I found it lacking was any real examples to play with. The Sams books were redundant of the dummies guides. And the Peter Norton book was just pathetic. It would bore a Vulcan to sleep. I can't tell you how many times I caught myself reading the same paragraph over and over to try to capture the meaning. The book by John Smiley was fantastic, but his follow up one, the "By Examples", had a Talk Show tone that left me confused. The book just had too much going on asides VB...and after a chapter or two, I just couldnt take it any longer (the book is now a lovely speaker holder).
Enough on those. To you that have tried a book or two and are thirsty for a book that will bring you across the finish line, this is it. No, this is not an ideal first book for the newbie. But, if you understand a wee bit about VB, this book will pick you up and carry you though. The examples (and there are lots) are the heart of each lesson. Most books are very wordy and defining the process, then an example. Not this one. This guy must have pilot blood in him. You get a heads up of what you are going to do, make an example and try it out, then after you've "landed", the author discusses with you what you just did, the dynamics, and how to go a step beyond. Ok, this is getting really wordy, so let me wrap up here....Im not a good reader...I get distracted too easy. I found myself able to get absorbed into this book and LEARN. Its concise and to the point. So, to those of you that didnt like the book, well...perhaps you like those War & peace sized ones...or like books that read like Latin 101 and put anyone that dares read over your shoulder to sleep. Good book, good examples...I tended to stay away from the Microsoft Press books since they were much more expensive then the other entry-level guides. Not any more...looking forwad to his next book on the next version of VB
Thanks for allowing me to commentMicrosoft Visual Basic Professional 6.0 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) Overview
This information-packed Step by Step course is the easiest and fastest way to teach yourself to write 32-bit Microsoft Windows®–based programs using the latest version of Microsoft Visual Basic. Work through every lesson to complete the full course, or do individual lessons to learn just the skills you need. Either way, you gain the skills you need at your own pace.

With MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC PROFESSIONAL 6.0 STEP BY STEP, you'll learn to:

Work with ActiveX® controls, compiler options,and the new development tools
Master programming fundamentals, including variables, decision structures, loops, and functions
Create custom dialog boxes, clocks, menus, and animation effects
Manage text files and use encryption and sorting algorithms
Use Automation to integrate Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Outlook™ features into your applications
Explore Professional Edition ActiveX controls that process RTF files, run videos, display progress information, and play audio CD-ROMs
Call the memory management functions in the Windows API
Download FTP and HTML files from the Internet and design DHTML pages
Exploit corporate data resources with advanced database tools and the new ActiveX Data Objects

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to booktech@oreilly.com.


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Building Content Type Solutions in SharePoint 2007 Review

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Building Content Type Solutions in SharePoint 2007 ReviewThis is a good book for someone trying to customize sharepoint without doing a lot of programming. It does provide some concepts while walking one through actually creating a sample application. I would have perferred a bit more on concepts but it it gets the job done.Building Content Type Solutions in SharePoint 2007 OverviewContent types are a core concept used throughout the functionality and services offered in SharePoint 2007, and are designed to help users organize their SharePoint content in a more meaningful manner. A content type is a reusable collection of settings users apply to a certain category of content in order to manage the metadata and behaviors of a document or item type in a centralized, reusable way. If you have ever created or thought about creating document-centric SharePoint solutions, then this book is for you. It teaches power users, administrators, and developers how to use SharePoint content types and walks them through the process of creating one in a sample scenario. The first two chapters provide an overview of content types and can be read by anyone who has had experience with SharePoint. Chapters 3 through 8 are targeted at SharePoint power users and administrators, offering details about the components of document content types and walking readers through the process of creating a sample performance appraisal solution. The last two chapters are geared toward developers and describe how to programmatically manipulate the sample performance appraisal solution with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008. Topics covered include creating columns, associating document templates, customizing the Document Information Panel, adding workflows, defining an information management policy, reusing content types within a site collection, and programmatically manipulating a content type.

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration Review

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration ReviewProduction database administrators have to know at least a little about a lot of things:
* How to install or upgrade SQL Servers
* How to build clusters
* How to plan for disaster recovery and high availability
* How to do performance tuning
* How to secure and protect databases
The production role revolves around management, not creation. Sure, they do need to know T-SQL and be able to debug problem code, but the majority of their day is making the trains run on time - not designing the seats inside the train cars.
Windows administrators who are forced into the SQL Server DBA role need this same type of information. They get handed a database server to manage, often with a database from a third party vendor like Citrix or Blackberry. They have to manage the server, make sure it performs as needed, and back it up safely - but they'll never touch a line of T-SQL code that runs on the server.
Ross Mistry and Hilary Cotter's book Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration is a great companion for production DBAs and accidental DBAs. It covers this wide variety of topics in a good depth, and leaves topics like beginning T-SQL or how to write stored procedures out to other books.Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration OverviewIf you need to deploy, manage, or secure Microsoft SQL Server 2008, this is the complete, fast-paced, task-based reference you've been searching for. Authored by a world-class expert on SQL Server in the enterprise, this book goes far beyond the basics, taking on the complex tasks that DBAs need to make the most of Microsoft's flagship database platform. SQL Server MVP, Ross Mistry presents proven techniques for SQL Server 2008 installation, upgrades, backup/restore, data transfer, indexing, high availability, security, and much more. He draws on extensive testing in high-profile production environments to offer step-by-step solutions and powerful tips you won't find anywhere else. Every chapter begins with a section identifying SQL Server 2008's most significant new improvements, and concludes with a convenient summary of best practices. Each chapter also outlines the benefits of leveraging Windows Server 2008.

Understand how to:
Master DBA tips, tricks, and best practices proven in actual enterprise environments

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SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Review

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SQL Server MVP Deep Dives ReviewI bought this book for full price at the SQL PASS conference in 2009 and I didn't even feel bad about paying full price because of the cause. After reading through a number of the chapters, I still don't feel bad for paying full price :-)
This book contains 59 golden nuggets. You name the topic and there is likely a white paper quality or beyond chapter for your interest. From Database Design, to development best practices to complex administrative or BI issues, it covers it.
I could not put the book down on my flights back and still have managed to find the time to leaf throw more. I will be suggesting all of the developers and system administrators (part reluctant DBA) purchase their own copy (primarily because I don't want to share my copy :-P) and get learning.
Some great approaches to common problems, some great forays into areas I have, unfortunately, not forced myself to get into (like Power Shell for my administrative tasks). I will be taking some of the tips, like the Tools database and Aaron Bertrand's version of a great utility script to easily show the important info on active tasks, and putting them to use as early as I find the time next week.
I am also going to force my SSIS developers to read Andy Leonard's chapter on Incremental loads and other SSIS chapters while re-reading Erin Welker's chapter on BI For the relational guy (that's me) a few times myself.
Every chapter is top quality and I really liked the in depth approach. This is a good reference to add to a library with some of the great internals books or in depth books on a single topic. Also nice knowing that these top notch MVPs, mostly all great speakers and authors, gave up their time and royalties to give to a worthy cause.SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Overview
This is not an ordinary SQL Server Book. SQL Server MVP Deep Dives brings together the world's most highly-regarded SQL Server experts to create a masterful collection of tips, techniques, and experience-driven best practices for SQL Server development and administration. These SQL Server MVPs-53 in all-each selected a topic of great interest to them, and in this unique book, they share their knowledge and passion with you.

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives is organized into five parts: Design and Architecture, Development, Administration, Performance Tuning and Optimization, and Business Intelligence. Within each part, you'll find a collection of brilliantly concise and focused chapters that take on key topics like mobile data strategies, Dynamic Management Views, or query performance. The range of subjects covered is comprehensive, from database design tips to data profiling strategies for BI.

Additionally, the authors of this book have generously donated 100% of their royalties to support War Child International. War Child International is a network of independent organizations, working across the world to help children affected by war. War Child was founded upon a fundamental goal: to advance the cause of peace through investing hope in the lives of children caught up in the horrors of war. War Child works in many different conflict areas around the world, helping hundreds of thousands of children every year. Visit www.warchild.org for more information.


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Visual Basic 6 Complete Review

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Visual Basic 6 Complete ReviewFirst off, being an IT graduate w/out any knowledge of VB6 but with C++/Java knowledge, I wanted to learn VB6 with little fuss. Secondly, when I saw this book, I was very amazed at the book's thickness at a very affordable price. I immediately got it with minimal page flipping. Btw, its also my first VB6 book.
I went back to have a read. It starts off pretty well with basic intro of the IDE, explainations of the toolbox and so on. The code examples presented were good and easy to understand from a intermediate's point of view. Now, being a complete book, I read it halfway thru, and you would've assume they'd explain some code they used in later chapters.
This isn't the case. HOWEVER it does provide a COMPLETE language reference at the back, so some exploring is required though it shouldn't be hard. Also, this book doesn't exactly flow in the way you would want it to, mainly because its a compilation of different VB6 books of varying difficulty levels.
At times, it skips to different topics too fast, leaving many holes in between.... so be careful. On the plus side, this book does cover many topics, including the Win API, VBSCript, VBA and DB programming. So, it's definitely complete in that sense, but they're NOT completely explained.
So what's the conclusion? JUST GET IT! Regardless of your VB level, you will benefit in some form or another from this book, considering the ridiculous price it offers.Visual Basic 6 Complete OverviewVisual Basic 6 Complete is a one-of-a-kind computer book-valuable both for its broad content and its low price. This book contains the essentials you need to know about programming with Visual Basic and VBA, for use in building Windows applications, scripting, and extending and integrating Office applications.With Visual Basic 6 Complete, you'll learn all about building Visual Basic applications - from working with forms and controls to using the Windows API and debugging Web applications -- and you'll quickly take advantage of all that Visual Basic has to offer. Get up to speed with Visual Basic, then move on to scripting objects, VBA, and building internet applications and interactive Web sites.As you become more proficient with Visual Basic, you'll find the Visual Basic 6 Language Reference to be an invaluable daily tool. This comprehensive reference quickly puts every built-in function and statement at your fingertips.Visual Basic 6 Complete introduces you to the work of some of the finest Sybex authors, so you'll know where to go to learn even more about what's possible with Visual Basic.Inside:Introduction to Visual Basic* Mastering the Integrated Development Environment (IDE)* Working with forms and controls* Understanding object-oriented programming* Building sample VB applicationsPractical Visual Basic* Debugging Visual Basic applications* Extending VB with the Windows API* Accessing the Windows Registry* Building screen savers, and displaying an icon in the system tray with VBVisual Basic Scripting and the Internet* Adding scripting support to your application* Scripting objects* Building Web-based applications with VBVisual Basic for Applications* An Introduction to VBA* The Word Object model* The Access Object model revisited* Professional development with VBAVisual Basic References* Complete Visual Basic 6 Language Reference* Visual Basic 6 Function Reference

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Review

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services ReviewWhat a life saver!
I'm a software developer in a small shop and our biggest client is a large law firm with LOTS of data and users hungry for easy to read reports reflecting said data. None of us have much experience with SQL Reporting Services as most of our experience for reporting is in Crystal Reports.
I've heard of SSRS but until recently I didn't have much experience using it. Our client was in great need of a simple report so I went ahead and setup a report server and decided to give SSRS a whirl. Thankfully Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) was easy for me to grasp as I am a C# developer and I was already in comfortable territory (BIDS is really just a reporting solution in Visual Studio afterall).
I was able to create their report in a very short time and the users were comfortable using the Report Manager Website. Of course what happened next is predictable to anyone that has been in a similar situation - I became "The Report Guy" - for better or worse.
Of course our client started demanding more and more reports - increasing in complexity. I only scratched the surface of what SSRS was capable of and during that time I thought a lot of their report specs may be impossible to realize using SSRS. I began to worry. They wanted graphs, complex groupings, drill down style reports... I needed someone to throw me a life raft. Thank you Brian for throwing me that raft!
This book saved me. Even though this book is rather big weighing in at over 860 pages (including index) it was a breeze to work through. Brian has a clean, easy to read writing style and he injects a bit of humor throughout. I thought this book was going to take forever to work through but because Brian is such a good Author it really became a page turner. This book is one of the easier books to absorb. This book starts very simple and increases in complexity. Parts of the book were so relevant to my business needs that it almost seemed like he was right there telling me how to write my reports!
If there was ever a book that may have really saved my job then this is it. I now don't mind being the "Report Guy" - I feel like I can tackle just about any report spec they throw at me - all thanks to Brian Larson.
If you need to learn about SSRS then I don't see how you can do much better then this book.Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services OverviewThe Definitive Guide to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
Create and deliver data-rich reports across the enterprise using this complete server-based reporting solution. Written by a member of the original Reporting Services development team, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services covers the entire report-building and distribution process, including data extraction, integration with desktop and Web applications, and end-user access. The book explains how to maximize all of the powerful features, including the new Tablix data format, as well as enhanced performance, scalability, and visualization capabilities.

Install, configure, and customize SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

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Professional ASP.NET 4 in C# and VB Review

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Professional ASP.NET 4 in C# and VB ReviewWhen this book was delivered I was in shock at the 1400+ pages, I've been reading on the book since and am several chapters in but I feel I know the book enough to give a fairly decent overview of how it was written and how it will hold up.
This book takes a great in-depth look at every aspect of ASP.NET 4 and gives clear and clean examples in both VB and C# (the authors seem to favor VB however.) Therein comes a warning, if you're new to ASP.NET, C#, or programing in general I strongly suggest you take a different book, this one is more to expand your existing knowledge not to build you from scratch. This book primarily covers the api of ASP.NET and how to effectively use it, it also covers topics such as LINQ, it does not cover language semantics or System Architecture. However, it does make up for neglecting those two subjects in covering Visual Studio 2010 in-depth, including diagramming.
Overall some of the content is a bit dry, this is a professional level book after all, but should be easy enough to read through once you get into your own pace. Don't let the 1400+ pages fool you or dissuade you from picking up this book, the length is partially due to screen shots and also because all code in the book is duplicated between VB to C# also the appendices take up quite a large section, however also keep in mind this book has 36 chapters covering Server and Client Controls to Deployment.
Summary:
Pros- Complete, direct, covers multiple languages (VB and C#,) easy enough to read.
Cons- Paperback only, can be overwhelming if you just open the book, alot of duplication between C# and VB that not everyone may be interested in.
Sideline - If you are new to C#/VB and .NET I would recommend using a language primer and probably the Beginning ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer) book by Wrox (Note the ASP.NET 4 version is due out soon.) Afterwards attacking this book will most likely get you where you need to be to compete for jobs/contracts/etc in .NET space.Professional ASP.NET 4 in C# and VB OverviewThis book was written to introduce you to the features and capabilities that ASP.NET 4 offers, as well as to give you an explanation of the foundation that ASP.NET provides. We assume you have a general understanding of Web technologies, such as previous versions of ASP.NET, Active Server Pages 2.0/3.0, or JavaServer Pages. If you understand the basics of Web programming, you should not have much trouble following along with this book's content.
If you are brand new to ASP.NET, be sure to check out Beginning ASP.NET 4: In C# and VB by Imar Spaanjaars (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2010) to help you understand the basics.
In addition to working with Web technologies, we also assume that you understand basic programming constructs, such as variables, For Each loops, and object-oriented programming.
You may also be wondering whether this book is for the Visual Basic developer or the C# developer. We are happy to say that it is for both! When the code differs substantially, this book provides examples in both VB and C#.
This book explores the 4 release of ASP.NET. It covers each major new feature included in ASP.NET 4 in detail. The following list tells you something about the content of each chapter.

Chapter 1, ″Application and Page Frameworks.″ The first chapter covers the frameworks of ASP.NET applications as well as the structure and frameworks provided for single ASP.NET pages. This chapter shows you how to build ASP.NET applications using IIS or the built-in Web server that comes with Visual Studio 2010. This chapter also shows you the folders and files that are part of ASP.NET. It discusses ways to compile code and shows you how to perform cross-page posting. This chapter ends by showing you easy ways to deal with your classes from within Visual Studio 2010.

Chapters 2, 3, and 4. These three chapters are grouped together because they all deal with server controls. This batch of chapters starts by examining the idea of the server control and its pivotal role in ASP.NET development. In addition to looking at the server control framework, these chapters delve into the plethora of server controls that are at your disposal for ASP.NET development projects. Chapter 2, ″ASP.NET Server Controls and Client-Side Scripts,″ looks at the basics of working with server controls. Chapter 3, ″ASP.NET Web Server Controls,″ covers the controls that have been part of the ASP.NET technology since its initial release and the controls that have been added in each of the ASP.NET releases. Chapter 4, ″Validation Server Controls,″ describes a special group of server controls: those for validation.

Chapter 5, ″Working with Master Pages.″ Master pages provide a means of creating templated pages that enable you to work with the entire application, as opposed to single pages. This chapter examines the creation of these templates and how to apply them to your content pages throughout an ASP.NET application.

Chapter 6, ″Themes and Skins.″ The Cascading Style Sheet files you are allowed to use in ASP.NET 1.0/1.1 are simply not adequate in many regards, especially in the area of server controls. This chapter looks at how to deal with the styles that your applications require and shows you how to create a centrally managed look-and-feel for all the pages of your application by using themes and the skin files that are part of a theme.

Chapter 7, ″Data Binding.″ One of the more important tasks of ASP.NET is presenting data, and this chapter looks at the underlying capabilities that enable you to work with the data programmatically before issuing the data to a control.

Chapter 8, ″Data Management with ADO.NET.″ This chapter presents the ADO.NET data model provided by ASP.NET, which allows you to handle the retrieval, updating, and deleting of data quickly and logically.

Chapter 9, ″Querying with LINQ.″ The.NET Framework 4 includes a nice access model language called LINQ. LINQ is a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that encompass language-integrated query, set, and transform operations. This chapter introduces you to LINQ and how to effectively use this feature in your Web applications today.

Chapter 10, ″Working with XML and LINQ to XML.″ The .NET Framework and ASP.NET 4 have many capabilities built into their frameworks that enable you to easily extract, create, manipulate, and store XML. This chapter takes a close look at the XML technologies built into ASP.NET and the underlying .NET Framework.

Chapter 11, ″Introduction to the Provider Model.″ The provider model is built into ASP.NET to make the lives of developers so much easier and more productive than ever before. This chapter gives an overview of this provider model and how it is used throughout ASP.NET 4.

Chapter 12, ″Extending the Provider Model.″ After an introduction of the provider model, this chapter looks at some of the ways to extend the provider model found in ASP.NET 4. This chapter also reviews a couple of sample extensions to the provider model.

Chapter 13, ″Site Navigation.″ Most developers do not simply develop single pages—they build applications. One of the application capabilities provided by ASP.NET 4 is the site navigation system covered in this chapter.

Chapter 14, ″Personalization.″ Developers are always looking for ways to store information pertinent to the end user. After it is stored, this personalization data has to be persisted for future visits or for grabbing other pages within the same application. The ASP.NET team developed a way to store this information—the ASP.NET personalization system. The great thing about this system is that you configure the entire behavior of the system from the web.config file.

Chapter 15, ″Membership and Role Management.″ This chapter covers the membership and role management system developed to simplify adding authentication and authorization to your ASP.NET applications. This chapter focuses on using the web.config file for controlling how these systems are applied, as well as on the server controls that work with the underlying systems.

Chapter 16, ″Portal Frameworks and Web Parts.″ This chapter explains Web Parts—a way of encapsulating pages into smaller and more manageable objects.

Chapter 17, ″HTML and CSS Design with ASP.NET.″ Visual Studio 2010 places a lot of focus on building a CSS-based Web. This chapter takes a close look at how you can effectively work with HTML and CSS design for your ASP.NET applications.

Chapter 18, ″ASP.NET AJAX.″ AJAX is an acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. In Web application development, it signifies the capability to build applications that make use of the XMLHttpRequest object. Visual Studio 2010 contains the ability to build AJAX-enabled ASP.NET applications from the default install of the IDE. This chapter takes a look at this way to build your applications.

Chapter 19, ″ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit.″ Along with the capabilities to build ASP.NET applications that make use of the AJAX technology, a series of controls is available to make the task rather simple. This chapter takes a good look at the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit and how to use this toolkit with your applications today.

Chapter 20, ″Security.″ This chapter discusses security beyond the membership and role management features provided by ASP.NET 4. This chapter provides an in-depth look at the authentication and authorization mechanics inherent in the ASP.NET technology, as well as HTTP access types and impersonations.

Chapter 21, ″State Management.″ Because ASP.NET is a request-response–based technology, state management and the performance of requests and responses take on significant importance. This chapter introduces these two separate but important areas of ASP.NET development.

Chapter 22, ″Caching.″ Because of the request-response nature of ASP.NET, caching (storing previous generated results, images, and pages) on the server becomes rather important to the performance of your ASP.NET applications. This chapter looks at some of the advanced caching capabilities provided by ASP.NET, including the SQL cache invalidation feature which is part of ASP.NET 4. This chapter also takes a look at object caching and object caching extensibility.

Chapter 23, ″Debugging and Error Handling.″ This chapter tells you how to properly structure error handling within your applications. It also shows you how to use various debugging techniques to find errors that your applications might contain.

Chapter 24, ″File I/O and Streams.″ This chapter takes a close look at working with various file types and streams that might come into your ASP.NET applications.

Chapter 25, ″User and Server Controls.″ Not only can you use the plethora of server controls that come with ASP.NET, but you can also use the same framework these controls use and build your own. This chapter describes building your own server controls and how to use them within your applications.

Chapter 26, ″Modules and Handlers.″ This chapter looks at two methods of manipulating the way ASP.NET processes HTTP requests: HttpModule and HttpHandler. Each method provides a unique level of access to the underlying processing of ASP.NET, and each can be a powerful tool for creating Web applications.

Chapter 27, "ASP.NET MVC." ASP.NET MVC is the latest major addition to ASP.NET and has generated a lot of excitement from the development community. ASP.NET MVC supplies you with the means to create ASP.NET using the Model-View-Controller models that many developers expect. ASP.NET MVC provides developers with the testability, flexibility, an...

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Professional SharePoint 2007 Development (Programmer to Programmer) Review

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Professional SharePoint 2007 Development (Programmer to Programmer) ReviewMost of the SharePoint books out there focus on the basic features of WSS, including lists, document libraries, views, blogs, wikis, etc. Although these are integral parts of SharePoint, they don't begin to scratch the surface of what it has to offer.
This book begins to cover these details. Topics such as building a true development/production environment, designing an enterprise portal application, creating custom field types (not just creating custom columns), creating web parts, building custom features and solutions, and programming through the object model are important to SharePoint developers creating SharePoint content in Visual Studio.
This book also takes great aim as documenting that which hasn't been documented yet, especially the XML schemas of features, elements, and solutions.
Finally, the book focuses on the enterprise portal features of MOSS, including Excel services, the Business Data Catalog, Enterprise Search, and Document Management.
Because this book focuses heavily on development, Content Managers will be better off choosing another book from the many out there for creating lists, customizing master pages, creating style sheets, and other content topics.
But for SharePoint portal architects and development programmers, this is your book. There's a wealth of information in this book and deserves to be in your library.Professional SharePoint 2007 Development (Programmer to Programmer) OverviewIf you're a .NET or Microsoft Office developer, this book will give you the tools and the techniques you need to build great solutions for the SharePoint platform. It offers practical insights that will help you take advantage of this powerful new integrated suite of server-based collaboration software tools along with specific examples that show you how to implement your own custom solutions. You'll then be able to apply this information to create collaborative web-based applications that enhance user productivity and deliver rich user experiences.
You'll start by building a strong foundation based on a thorough understanding of the technologies that come with the SharePoint platform, while also drilling into specific implementation areas. Next, you'll dive into seven key SharePoint development areas: the base collaboration platform, portal and composite application frameworks, enterprise search, ECM, business process automation and workflow, electronic forms, and business intelligence.
This book is for ASP.NET developers who want to add collaboration support to their existing applications, Windows/Office client developers who want to move their solutions from the desktop to the web, and experienced SharePoint version 2.0 developers who want to take advantage of the new capabilities available in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
You will learn all about Windows SharePoint Services and MOSS 2007, including the following:

Ways to enhance collaboration using calendars, tasks, issues, and email alerts

Techniques for developing applications with integrated RSS, blogs and Wikis

How to build, configure, and manage portal solutions

Strategies for using enterprise search, XML, and XSLT

Methods for improving enterprise content management and business intelligence

Ways to take advantage of built-in support for regulatory compliance and web publishing

How to create custom workflows and integrate them into your solutions

This book is also available as part of the 4-book SharePoint 2007 Wrox Box (ISBN: 0470431946) with these 4 books:
Professional SharePoint 2007 Development (ISBN: 0470117567)
Real World SharePoint 2007 (ISBN: 0470168358)
Professional Microsoft SharePoint 2007 Design (ISBN: 047028580X)
Professional SharePoint 2007 Web Content Management Development (ISBN: 0470224754)


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Microsoft ASP.NET Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) Review

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Microsoft ASP.NET Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) ReviewMost of Microsoft's Step by Step books suffer from the same basic problem - they explain the really easy stuff in tedious depth, while skipping over and assuming you already understand the difficult stuff. This book is one of the worst examples of this. Tedious chapters on very basic "security" or "configuration" is given but nothing is really explained when it counts. The configuration chapter has endless tables of parameters and possible values, but all too often says things like "a valid encoding string" without explaining what that is. While really dumb basics like "how to create a virtual directory" are covered (twice, with the same step by step graphics) terms like "you must use free-threaded objects" are thrown into the text very early on with no explanation for the poor novice as to what the heck this means. Screenshots are from beta 2 rather than release candidate so basic screenshots or references to "select Web Class" are incorrect (it's now called "ASP.NET web class"). Easy to figure out, but is this series aimed at novices or not?
Worse than all of this is the fact that apart from a very brief introduction to VS.Net in an early chapter (the quick overview of the different panels all books give) you get half way through the book without ever having opened VS.Net or typed in/written any code. Isn't this series supposed to be aimed at developers? Shouldn't we be getting into "doing" something instead of endless guff about "Notepad.Net" (it wasn't funny the first time) or how passwords should be a certain length if you want to be secure or... well you get my drift.
The other book in this series that I've seen (the OOP Step-by-Step) book is not great (lots of complex material presented in a "type this in" fashion without any real explanation of what's being typed in and why) but at least gets the developer doing something and has some pretty solid code and concepts behind it. This volume just comes across as tedious, repetitive and unsatisfactory for both new developers and experienced ones who want to get up to speed.Microsoft ASP.NET Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft)) OverviewThere is no book that we are aware of, either current, or in the pipeline, which matches this book. There are books already available that touch on ASP.NET performance topics, such as Microsoft ASP.NET Step-by-Step Guide. However, the difference with our book is that (1) it is focused exclusively on ASP.NET performance and optimization and (2) it will go much further in depth than any book currently on the market. The current ASP.NET books all focus on how-to, with performance issues tossed in for good measure. Performance Tuning and Optimization for ASP.NET Applications tackles performance issues head on, and makes them the central topic.

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Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Review

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Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 ReviewMaybe my first review was too technical, so I'm trying again.
It is clear from the positive reviews that this book is a success for an audience of fairly advanced VB programmers. Those of us that are less advanced (I'm a beginner) might question whether the book will suit our needs, or if we are going to have the " two-star review" experience.
An example might help you decide. On p. 178 the author describes an example of an "array of arrays" using an appointment calendar with appointments stored in the array of arrays named "apps(day)". As part of the code, the statement appears:
If IsEmpty(apps(day)) Then
According to the on-line help, the IsEmpty function will always evaluate as false unless apps(day) is an empty variant. (Do you know this? If not, you won't understand how the If-statement works. The author doesn't explain, so you'll have to figure it out.) But apps(day) is an array of arrays; can it be an empty variant? The above If-statement works if:
apps(day) = Empty
which you might deduce as what the author is thinking, but if instead the reader imagines that
apps(day) = Array(Empty)
then the "IsEmpty" line must be changed to
If IsEmpty(apps(day)(0)) Then
(What do you know about array notation? The author mentions it, but not in the context of this code.) The author never spells out the constituent elements of apps(day), so the specifics are the reader's guess.
What does all this have to do with evaluating the book? The above example is not unusual. If you are happy to read at an abstract level, the gist of the examples is interesting and clear. However, if you want to implement the author's ideas using his code, his elliptical approach has gaps and ambiguities. He doesn't dwell on VB details. Depending on your background in VB, this fill-in and clarification can require a lot of head-scratching.
Bottom line: as a stimulus to imagination, definitely go ahead. As practical coding advice, be prepared to fuss.Programming Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Overview
Create professional-quality applications, components, and user interfaces faster and more efficiently than ever with the powerful object-oriented programming capabilities in the Visual Basic 6.0 development system. From Windows® common controls to data access, Internet, and ActiveX® programming, this book covers core development topics for version 6.0-providing insightful explanations and expertly rendered examples for rapid acceleration of your Win32® productivity.

Expedite development with the object-oriented capabilities in Visual Basic 6.0-including events, polymorphism, and object hierarchies
Develop great user interfaces that use the full range of controls in Visual Basic and take advantage of OLE drag and drop, data-driven forms, and advanced Windows API techniques
Build datacentric solutions using ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) 2.0 and 2.1, the DataEnvironment designer, and RDS components for remote activation over the Internet
Master ActiveX technology to create controls, learning advanced techniques such as COM callbacks, multithreaded components and applications, and windowless ActiveX controls
Deploy rich, Web-ready components and applications with Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and Microsoft Internet Information Server

An electronic version of this book is available on the companion CD.

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to booktech@oreilly.com.


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Programming Windows with MFC, Second Edition Review

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Programming Windows with MFC, Second Edition ReviewIf I were a practising MFC programmer at the junior or intermediate level, I'd definitely want to have this book as a reference. It is one of the most complete MFC books around, and I like the author's approach of starting off with MFC basics and wrapper classes before moving onto application framework stuff and wizards. This is one of the few books that tells you what's behind some of those macros like DECLARE_DYNCREATE and tells you where to look for it in the source code of MFC itself.
However, if you are new to Visual C++ or have never heard of MFC, this is not the book I would recommend. I would suggest picking up Ivor Horton's Beginning Visual C++ 6 instead. Real beginners need a book that tells them how to use the IDE, debug programs, and use the wizards. So what if after reading it, all that wizard generated code becomes a blur to you. That's what Prosise and other more advanced books are for.
I'm an experienced C++ developer and I had read two MFC books (Beginning Visual C++ 6, MFC Programming by Alan Feuer) and Petzold 5th ed before reading Prosise and I still found it a little difficult reading, mostly because it starts off kind of slow (as someone else mentioned too). The chapter I found most difficult was the one on OLE clipboard/drag & drop.
I really recommend reading Petzold 5th ed before reading this or any other intermediate/advanced MFC book. Petzold is more of a beginner's book for Win32 SDK-style GUI programming.Programming Windows with MFC, Second Edition OverviewA definitive book for developers who want to understand and profit from the advances inherent in C++ and the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) library, this book explores the basics and, for the first time, gives authoritative coverage of OLE and ActiveX.

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Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices) Review

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Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices) ReviewI was disappointed in this book - perhaps it was a problem with expectations. McConnell's previous books - Code Complete and Rapid Development -were very well written and provided valuable insights into best practices in the computer industry. By attempting to do the same thing here, the author missed the mark. The Software Project Survival Guide presents a road map marked with good practice applied in a mature organization that understands the nature of software and responds rationally, providing the resources and time required to do the job right. The overwhelming majority of people who are taking on their first project management job will have few, if any, of the benefits that this book takes for granted.
Don't get me wrong. This is a great collection of really good ideas and it's really well written, but it doesn't give much guidance to the first-time project manager who needs to deal with misdirection and misunderstanding from those who he or she reports to. The book presents a fine set of suggestions on "Techniques for Really Good Project Management," but there isn't much on "Survival."Software Project Survival Guide (Pro -- Best Practices) Overview
Equip yourself with SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE. It's for everyone with a stake in the outcome of a development project--and especially for those without formal software project management training. That includes top managers, executives, clients, investors, end-user representatives, project managers, and technical leads.

Here you'll find guidance from the acclaimed author of the classics CODE COMPLETE and RAPID DEVELOPMENT. Steve McConnell draws on solid research and a career's worth of hard-won experience to map the surest path to your goal--what he calls "one specific approach to software development that works pretty well most of the time for most projects." Nineteen chapters in four sections cover the concepts and strategies you need for mastering the development process, including planning, design, management, quality assurance, testing, and archiving. For newcomers and seasoned project managers alike, SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE draws on a vast store of techniques to create an elegantly simplified and reliable framework for project management success.

So don't worry about wandering among complex sets of project management techniques that require years to sort out and master. SOFTWARE PROJECT SURVIVAL GUIDE goes straight to the heart of the matter to help your projects succeed. And that makes it a required addition to every professional's bookshelf.


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LINQ to Objects Using C# 4.0: Using and Extending LINQ to Objects and Parallel LINQ (PLINQ) (Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series) Review

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LINQ to Objects Using C# 4.0: Using and Extending LINQ to Objects and Parallel LINQ (PLINQ) (Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series) ReviewI found this book to be most useful of all the Linq books I have come across. It provides great practical examples of how to use Linq effectively on data objects and save hundreds of lines of code. At the same time, the author explains the performance implications so that you can make the right decision for your application. This book was a great find for me as I had a hard time last year when I tried to use Linq in some complex manipulation of objects involving joins.
The only disappointment for me was the fact that when I first I read the book online on Safari Books, the examples were in color and syntax highlighted. I decided to purchase the printed book to have it as a reference. The print edition is not in color and seems a step backwards.
I highly recommend this book to any developer that uses Linq. Not just for objects. It is well thought out and brilliantly written with real life examples.LINQ to Objects Using C# 4.0: Using and Extending LINQ to Objects and Parallel LINQ (PLINQ) (Addison-Wesley Microsoft Technology Series) Overview"For several years, Troy has been one of the key figures in the LINQ community. This comprehensive and well-written book serves as a compendium of the important wisdom and experience that he has accumulated through his years of studying LINQ and its uses." –Charlie Calvert, Microsoft C# Community Program Manager"LINQ is changing the way we think about working with data and, in many ways, also about programming in general. LINQ to Objects Using C# 4.0 is a thorough reference that teaches how to simplify many day-to-day tasks with data. It also gives you the foundations that are necessary to understand a wide range of fascinating applications of LINQ that will, no doubt, continue to appear over the next few years." –Tomas Petricek, Microsoft MVP and author of Real-World Functional ProgrammingYour Complete Example-Rich Guide to Using and Extending LINQ to Objects and PLINQUsing LINQ to Objects, .NET developers can write queries over object collections with the same deep functionality that was once available only with SQL and relational databases. Now, for the first time, developers have a comprehensive and authoritative guide to applying LINQ to Objects in real-world software. Microsoft MVP Troy Magennis introduces state-of-the-art techniques for working with in-memory collections more elegantly and efficiently—and writing code that is exceptionally powerful, robust, and flexible. Drawing on his unsurpassed experience coding software using LINQ and hosting the popular HookedOnLINQ.com site, Magennis presents timely, realistic solutions to a wide spectrum of development challenges, such as combining data from multiple sources, and achieving optimal performance with extremely large sets of data. You'll begin with brief quick-starts that walk you through LINQ to Objects' key features and query syntax. Next, you'll drill down to detailed techniques for applying and extending these features with C# 4.0 and C# 3.0—including code examples that reflect the realities of production development.Coverage includes • Writing basic LINQ queries with C#: filtering, projecting, and sorting data from in-memory collections• Mastering advanced techniques for grouping and joining data and understanding the performance implications of each technique• Taking full advantage of LINQ's standard query operators • Creating custom query operators that follow best practices for coding patterns and error handling• Writing more fluent, readable LINQ queries with C# 4.0's language enhancements, including the new dynamic features• Combining LINQ with COM-Interop to access data sources such as Microsoft Excel• Using Parallel LINQ to Objects (PLINQ) to optimize queries for multi-core processors, and how to build custom parallel query operators• Integrating the best LINQ to Objects patterns into your day-to-day coding

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Programming Windows Azure: Programming the Microsoft Cloud Review

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Programming Windows Azure: Programming the Microsoft Cloud ReviewThe author does little more than recap information that is readily available in the SDK documentation, and has added hardly any thought about the practicalities of Azure development. (In fact, I could find NO evidence of such thought, but I've written "hardly any," in case I missed an iota.) For example, if you want to use an Azure Worker Role, you might create one from the template provided by the Azure SDK add-in to Microsoft Visual Studio. You will peruse the automatically-generated code and think to yourself, perhaps, "okay: what are the implications of the different alternatives for sleeping on the thread in the Run() method." You won't find that question or any others answered in Krishnan's book, though. What you will find is text that simply restates what you will read in the generated template. So save yourself $49.99 and just download the SDK and read the templates. Perhaps you want to use SQL Azure in your solution? The author devotes 9 pages to that subject. Here are a couple of things you might want to do if you actually want to use SQL Azure:
(1) Take a definition of an existing database and deploy that into Azure. There is nothing at all on how one might accomplish that ... not so much as a hand-wave in the direction of the Visual Studio Database Edition facilities that would allow you to generate a complete definition of your database for deployment to SQL Azure.
(2) Connect to a SQL Azure database from an Azure Web or Worker role. Krishnan has a code snippet showing how to accomplish that (which one could have found in the Azure SDK documentation easily enough) but not a word about how one might not HARD CODE the connection parameters, but instead get them from configuration, and, in that case, how best to secure the configuration information.
Questions like these would arise for anyone who is actually trying to write anything more than a "Hello, World" application, and who develops software professionally. There are no answers to any of those sorts of questions here. I believe I have read all of the books on Azure published to date, and among those, Tejaswi Redkar's "Windows Azure Platform," is by far the best.Programming Windows Azure: Programming the Microsoft Cloud Overview
Learn the nuts and bolts of cloud computing with Windows Azure, Microsoft's new Internet services platform. Written by a key member of the product development team, this book shows you how to build, deploy, host, and manage applications using Windows Azure's programming model and essential storage services.

Chapters in Programming Windows Azure are organized to reflect the platform's buffet of services. The book's first half focuses on how to write and host application code on Windows Azure, while the second half explains all of the options you have for storing and accessing data on the platform with high scalability and reliability. Lots of code samples and screenshots are available to help you along the way.

Learn how to build applications using the Windows Azure toolset
Discover how Windows Azure works under the hood, and learn the how and the why behind several features
Choose to write application code in .NET or other languages such as C/C++, PHP, or Ruby
Understand the various options for managing your service
Get up to speed on Azure's storage services, including blobs, queues, and tables
Build a secure backup system, and learn about cloud application security, cryptography, and performance


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Amazon.com Mashups Review

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Amazon.com Mashups ReviewIf you want to learn the various ways in which you can use Amazon's Web Services, this is an excellent starting point. Shanahan goes beyond "mashups" in the strict Web 2.0 sense of the term; he looks at the various ways of supporting wireless devices, and the use of the S3 storage service. The only nits (so far - I'm still working through some of the material) are that he assumes the use of Microsoft tools, and he identifies the term "JSON" with one particular style of mashup using script retrieval. (JSON is a serialization scheme which can be used for many different use cases, including RESTful interactions.) But these are minor points; this is an excellent book - and a lot of fun, too.Amazon.com Mashups Overview"This book will not only demonstrate how developers can utilize Amazon Web services to create cool mashups but will also help them convert it to money-making mashups - 'cashups.'"—Jinesh Varia, Amazon Web Services Developer Relations Team
Amazon.com is advancing the boundaries of the Internet through their powerful suite of web services. Innovative developers are combining Amazon data with other freely available sources to create new and interesting applications known as Mashups. This book teaches you the techniques behind mashup applications and for the first time shows you how to build them yourself.
The examples in this book show you how to integrate Amazon web services with APIs from Yahoo!, eBay, Google and YouTube. You'll learn how to combine data from disparate sources to create new applications using next generation browser techniques such as AJAX, JSON and Dynamic Scripting. You will learn how to re-purpose web service data so that it can be consumed from mobile devices such as a cell phone or PDA. Because both the theory and code are explained, you'll be able to easily take the lessons in this book to build your own killer mashup applications.
Expert web services developer Francis Shanahan guides you through the basics of web service consumption using XML, SOAP and REST. Next generation browser techniques such as AJAX are illustrated in easy to follow step by step examples. He also completes the picture by introducing advanced techniques to enhance performance such as the multi-threading web service features of ASP.NET 2.0.
With this book, you'll discover how to:
Build a generic AJAX library from the ground up
Consume publicly available APIs such as Yahoo!(r) Search, Google(r), eBay(r) and YouTube
Use SOAP to expose Amazon data as RSS
Convert Amazon data directly into JSON using XSLT
Plot Amazon.com customers on Yahoo Maps
Use the OpenSearch API to build your own search service
Access Amazon data from your cell phone using WML

Who this book is for
This book is for developers who have some prior experience with web technologies such as Javascript(r) and ASP.NET. This book covers a wide range of technologies and techniques including ASP.NET 2.0, WML, REST, RSS, SOAP, XML, XSLT, AJAX and JSON. Everything in the book is built using free tools and explained in detail, along with the source code which makes this a useful resource regardless of experience level.

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The MFC Answer Book: Solutions for Effective Visual C++ Applications Review

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The MFC Answer Book: Solutions for Effective Visual C++ Applications ReviewI now own four Visual C++ books, and after a year or so of programming with MFC, this is often the book I turn to first. When you've used MFC for a while, you realize that if your application fits exactly into the mold forseen by the MFC programmers, your job is a snap. But I've never had an application quite like that. There is always something that has to be different from the straight-and-narrow path. This book is the first line of defence for how to deal with those tweaks.
Many of the questions that this book answers cannot be answered by reading Microsoft's documentation (this is not particularly a slam at Microsoft: the system is just too huge to document everything to the last detail), and the only real way to answer them is to read the source code for MFC. Luckily for us, Eugene Kain has done this. A great feature of the book is that he gives both cookbook recipes to achieve a required tweak, AND an explanation of the relevant source code, so that you gain an understanding of how you might do something similar-but-not-quite-the-same.
My only complaint is that I want volume II, volume III, ...!
I recommend this book to all the (Unix background) programmers in my center that are starting to use Visual C++.The MFC Answer Book: Solutions for Effective Visual C++ Applications Overview

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Professional K2 blackpearl (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Review

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Professional K2 blackpearl (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) ReviewThis book is a great resource for those new to Business Process Management (BPM) and for those that have had years of experience. It starts off with a primer for those that are unfamiliar with the terms and jargon of the BPM industry and quickly jumps into the usage and applicability of K2 blackpearl to address real-world BPM challenges.
Anyone looking to include or enhance workflow & BPM efforts to their new or existing projects should buy this book. Anyone working with Microsoft products and technologies --- especially SharePoint Server (MOSS), BizTalk, and notably InfoPath will find that the design, development, and deployment of workflow / BPM solutions are significantly improved. Some of the tips & tricks in the book include sections for including Line-of-Business (LOB) data from other applications like SAP, MS-CRM, and the methodology to include LOB information to create enterprise-wide workflow & BPM solutions.
The book also addresses the perennial question of Build or Buy. I think after reading this book you will know the answer. The answer makes perfects sense, but will surprise many.
I have had the privilege of working with many of these authors in my career. I'm glad to see they put their collective knowledge together in one easy to use compendium. Well done!
Professional K2 blackpearl (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) OverviewK2 blackpearl and the K2 platform is a large, powerful, "game-changing" application platform built on Microsoft technologies. Understanding it from top to bottom would be a great task for a single person, which is why we have gathered more than a dozen authors to supply you with the information to successfully transform your company into a process-oriented, efficient business that can grow with the K2 platform.
Since this is the first book on K2 blackpearl, you will find a broad range of topics in this book, from the market in which K2 blackpearl is aimed to the architecture of the platform, from how to approach process design to developing your own custom user manager.
The first part of the book is meant for everyone and provides an understanding of K2 blackpearl and where it fits in the marketplace. It is included to provide a framework for thinking about various aspects of process-driven applications, including how they differ from business process management techniques; identifying processes in your company to automate, the different pieces that make up a process; measuring the success of your efforts; and finally shifting your company's culture in the direction of process efficiency. This section may be the only section you need to read if you are sponsoring a process improvement effort in your company. If you are responsible for leading the effort, make sure to read Chapters 3 and 4.
The other parts are meant to provide details on how to effectively deploy and use K2 blackpearl and include a broad range of topics. Read what you are most interested in, but also make sure to read Chapter 8, which will give you a great foundation to start designing processes with K2 blackpearl. Chapter 14 is also recommended for everyone because it provides an overview of the available K2 Designers and how you can share projects among them.
If you are a developer, you may be tempted to flip through the book looking for code, and you will find some, but we also recommend reading much of the rest of the book to learn how the API and the K2 platform extensions fit within the overall process-driven application environment. Pay particular attention to Chapter 22 and the Appendix, which may save you hours of coding or give you a no-code solution to something that you may have thought would take hundreds of lines of code to accomplish.
If you are an administrators, focus on Parts II and IV, but also take a look at the other chapters to gain an understanding of how your users will be using K2.
K2 blackpearl is the main subject of this book, although we devote an entire chapter, Chapter 23, to the add-on product K2 connect to give you an understanding of how to bring SAP data into your processes. We also talk a bit about K2 blackpoint, particularly in the SharePoint chapters. Since K2 blackpoint is built on the K2 blackpearl foundation, many of the same concepts apply to that product as well, but we do not point out the differences between K2 blackpearl and K2 blackpoint. For that information browse to www.k2.com.
We recommend that you approach this book in parts and perhaps read or reference each part differently. If you are working on a team, each member of the team may find one part more interesting to them than the other sections; that is expected and is how we designed the book.
Part I, "Introduction to K2 blackpearl and Process-Driven Applications": The first four chapters discuss what K2 blackpearl is, how the applications you can design may or may not fit the business process management (BPM) model, how to go about identifying and designing processes, and last how to measure results and shift the culture of your company to a more process-oriented business.
Part II, "Architecture and Installation Options for K2 blackpearl": Chapters 5 and 6 will get you started. Installing the K2 blackpearl components is a necessary step before you can start designing processes, so in these two chapters you will gain an understanding of all of the pieces of the platform, the architecture, and the supporting technology, as well as ideas on how to plan out your development, QA/staging, and production environments.
Part III, "K2 blackpearl Process Planning and Design Essentials": Chapters 7 through 14 give you a ton of information about how to design, build, extend, and generally work with the main pieces of the platform. From a step-by-step tutorial on building your first process to how to share processes across the different K2 Designers, you'll learn all of what you need to really get ramped up. Pay particular attention to Chapters 8 and 11, which cover the basic things you need to know about process planning and the various concepts of process design with K2 blackpearl and then provide an in-depth view of the available forms technologies that you can use for user interaction with your processes. If you are particularly interested in SharePoint, make sure to read Chapters 12 and 13.
Part IV, "Administration of K2 blackpearl": Chapters 15 through 20 offer an administrator's view into the platform. Things like disaster recovery, logging, security, and using the K2 Workspace for notifications, reports, assigning process permissions, and recovering from errors are all key aspects of the platform that you or someone in your company will have to understand. This section gives you everything you need to know and probably more, including how to build your own user manager to plug into the K2 platform.
Part V, "Advanced K2 blackpearl Concepts and Platform Extensions": The last part includes Chapters 21 through 23, and these chapters are there to round out the discussion of the platform. You'll find information about using the Event Bus to surface outside events to the K2 server and a discussion of tailoring the platform and your processes to your particular needs by going beyond the default settings of the components that you learned about in Chapter 8. Finally you'll learn about the K2 connect platform extension, which allows data from SAP (and eventually any system for which a WCF LOB adapter is released) to be used within your processes.

There are some pieces of this book that you can sit down and read without needing a computer or access to K2 blackpearl at all, but much of this book requires you to have access to K2 blackpearl and the supporting applications as well. Whenever we talk about designing processes, we do so in the context of the K2 Designer for Visual Studio. To install this component you will need Visual Studio 2005. Support for Visual Studio 2008 may be available by the time this book is published, so look for that on www.k2.com.
For the server pieces of the platform, you will need a Windows Server 2003 environment (virtual or otherwise) and the additional components required by the K2 server.

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