Microsoft Silverlight Books

Bravo

You can find lots of tutorials throughout the net that give you the kind of thing you need - instant coding ideas for the busy developer to complete a task. If you find that you are doing this more than once or twice for a particular discipline, then its time to hunker down with a book and get some background.

This books filled that need for me - it's the perfect introductory text for marrying ajax concepts with those of ASP.NET. They spend just enough time on background information. The examples are plentiful and well explained. This is my first "In Action" book and I am definitely going to become a fan of the series.

Ronald A. Gray
06 February, 2010

Shamefully Priced Useless Textbook

I have no one but myself to blame for buying this horrendous book back in October 2009. You see, had I realized that the book is from August 2007, I would never have wasted my money.

Back in 2007, this book probably was a bit more relevant, as is often the case with *any* programming book. But to still charge over $30 for this useless garbage?

If this doesn't sum up the worthlessness of the book, I don't know what else could:

** There is an ENTIRE CHAPTER dedicated to XMLScript **

Avoid this book at all costs!!

The Kid
27 January, 2010

Poor Focus and Continuity

This book has some very good segments and the code examples are very well structured, with clever snippets of code, like 'hooking the key down event in chap 6'. However the presentation in some areas is a more a smattering of technology without a application as a basis. In this regard it is a little frustrating. The authors could have benefited with a good proof reader, if not an idea and continuity reader - assuming that there is such a thing. The book is littered with examples without consideration of how you would implement some of the code, for example on page 12 where there is a comment "The value 4 indicates that the request has completed. Well how about a table of the other values - is this all the user needs to implement this technology? This is a very naive and non methodical approach to a book. "Especially the Appendix which is an afterthought I think and leaves the reader hanging during the crucial installation phases of the tools.

I think you should use this book as a I gave up trying to follow it as a coherent narrative, but decided to download the source code and load them up in Visual Studio, and run through the ones that do work and then reference the book. It is unfortunate that where many of the interesting examples around chapter 9, 10, 11 and 12 occur is where things begin to fall apart due to the the need to have compatibility between .NET 2 and 3 even though the book clearly says that they will work with the .NET 2 extensions. It is all a bit of a mess really, with extensions, control kits and so on. One wonders whether you are not just better off grabbing a good book on Ajax Java script implementations and coding your own framework.

Apart from these frustration - buy it for the examples, but make sure you load VS2008 with .NET 3.5 if you are prone to tantrums and outbursts when you come across sample code does not work.

Alexander
27 June, 2009

Superb

This is a great learning tool for those in need of a way to quickly coming up to speed with Microsoft's ASP.NET AJAX framework. Although it could benefit those with little JavaScript experience, you will understand things much better and easier by having just a small amount of JavaScript under your belt before starting this book.

Ryan Pfister
26 June, 2009

The only ASP.NET AJAX book you will need

This book provides excellent coverage of ASP.NET AJAX and is geared towards the expert ASP.NET developer. Readers who are looking for a lighter introduction to AJAX will get plenty of value out of this book, but they may be better off buying a 24 hour reference book or similar title. But if you need to really use AJAX in the real world I highly recommend this book. The book is well organized, and the chapters build logically on the previous ones. The layout is accessible, so I can use this book as a reference or for in-depth review. I greatly appreciated their coverage of advanced topics thus saving me having to go online as I usually need to do once it's time to apply the technology to the real-world. The only chapter I skipped was on XML script, which is a futures technology that may not eventually be adopted. I would give this book 6 stars if I could because it represents everything that is done right in a technology book. Highly recommended.

JH
15 June, 2009

Very Helpful

This book provides the best general coverage for ASP.NET Ajax that I have found. It is easy to read and the content is thorough.

Mark Phillips
10 February, 2009

The best, if somewhat dated, book on the subject

The book is an excellent book because it really describes what exactly happens in the ASP and AJAX post back process, and details the application interface models. It also contains an excellent tutorial for working with Javascript in the context of the Microsoft AJAX implementation with ScriptManager.

While there is a book web site with some updates, I feel that an updated book would be helpful that includes information about working with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and JSON. Perhaps this is already in the works.






D. E. Karasek
30 December, 2008

Too many errors in the sample code - slapdash effort

I thought this was a nice book till I got to ch 5. It seems that the quality of the whole book goes downhill at this point. In ch 5 I found the sample code wouldnt run. After spending too much time trying to fix it, I went to the author forum and asked for help. Within a few days, one of the authors posted a revised version of the code with updated connection data. Well this code could now connect but it had a slew of new errors. All in all I spent over a day trying to get this sample app work!. When I buy a programming textbook, I expect that code toworking. Being an experienced programmer I can fix typos and small errors, though I shouldnt have to - but difficult errors coupled with the fact that I dont yet properly understand the material just make matters confusing and discouraging. Code problems aside, the book seems to become rather breezy and slapdash from ch 5 on.

There is useful material in this book and it has some value but, overall, its a disappointment

maddog
26 December, 2008

Very good book

This is an excellent book. It explains the intricate details of an [..] Ajax web application. The general misconception about [...] AJAX with most people is the extensive use of UpdatePanels but they never try to uncover the details. This book covers these in a very descriptive way.

Excellent read indeed.

Nabin Nepal
22 December, 2008

Thorough and intelligent

I really enjoyed this book. Not only does it explain things thoroughly but the author also gives very intelligent, practical examples to help flesh out the theory. It's really good.

C. Jones
03 June, 2008

Frustrating Examples

WARNING: Examples are in C#
I purchased this book due to the abundance of positive reviews. Unfortunately, the author/publisher fails to include in their description that the examples are based in C#. I was looking for VB. (Note to ALL publishers of technical books: Be VERY SPECIFIC in your Product Description as to what language your examples are based in. If you don't, then you are just pushing paper for the purpose of making a sale....) While I have some experience in C#, converting the examples to VB became a nightmare! And, even when I did try running the examples in their native C#, several failed.

During the first chapter the author provides some quick and dirty examples of Ajax as implemented by Microsoft. In doing so, he gives you the code in well explained fragments, but, leaves out some key points. Mainly, the fact that the JavaScript (your code) to be used with MS/Ajax MUST come AFTER the asp:ScriptManager declaration. Which means that you cannot include your .js code in the "header" section of a web page (as many experienced JavaScript programmers would do...). When MS compiles a page, it adds it's own .js code AFTER it encounters the asp:ScriptManager tag. Therefore, any .js code you add, MUST come AFTER the asp:ScriptManage tag. This is a CRUCIAL point the author left out. If the author had mentioned this, I wouldn't have wasted an hour trying to figure out why his example kept blowing up on me. There are a number of examples that required you to add or include something that wasn't mentioned. Generally trivial things, but annoying to troubleshoot none the less.

While the depth and coverage of the material is very good, giving plenty of under-the-hood information about AJAX and Microsoft's implementation of such, this is almost nullified by the fact that the code examples are continually presented out of order. A (very annoying) example of this is in chapter 5 where the author attempts to explain how to make cross domain calls to the Yahoo mapping API. The author provides the code to create a webservice (GeocodeService) that includes a reference to a class (Location) that isn't provided until later, which has a reference to another class (YahooProvider) that isn't explained until after that...(lather, frustrate, repeat, or should it be rinse, repeat, lather?) Had the examples been presented from inside-out it would have been easier to code and follow in a step-by-step manner. Instead, you are constantly required to read ahead, then code from back to front. Annoying to say the least.

Had the examples been better organized, and more explicit on including that button, the onclick event, the assembly reference, etc., it would have been a four or five star book. Instead, the frustration factor made the attempt to learn-by-example impractical.


Pen Name
27 May, 2008

MUST GET - If you want to get under the covers

Ok for me its a must have book.
Why because I want to know all about what the micrsoft javascipt injection is actually doing, how I debug applications with it, how I make it leaner (versa using CSSQuery,JQuery and MooTools), how I wire up events and become articulate with this tecnology. You can use the MS Ajax framework on its own in say PHP.
So this book is really all about the client side of MS Ajax. If you are familiar with javascript libs like prototype.js you can absorbe this book easy. If you are a UI/Frontend developer then this is a must have.
If you are a PHP developer then why not use it to pick up a robust framework.
If you are a C# UI developer this will allow you to go beyond stuff that all the other can only drag and drop from the toolbar.
Worth while looking at writing control extenders in 3.5 as this would be the place to put the results of your ajax efforts (write one - use many).

Douggy Fresh
25 May, 2008

Extraordinary Book on ASP.NET AJAX

Like many people who develop ASP.NET applications for a living, I was extremely interested in learning about ASP.NET AJAX. This is the only book I bought on the subject, and it has been extraordinary. I can't recommend it highly enough. Read this book and you'll be an expert.

Sarah Pabel
14 May, 2008

A great introductory read!

This book was a great introduction to the ASP.NET Ajax Extensions and Control Toolkit! Extremely well written. I especially appreciated the practical, real-world samples that were given throughout the book that actually worked.

If you are after further exploration and like to know how things work underneath the hood a bit more, I recommend Dino Esposito's book as a companion.

Aaron Hanusa
29 April, 2008

WOW. Amazing Clarity. Detailed Explanation. Easily Comprehendable. Comprehensive.

I have been reading this book for a while. While at Border's or B&N, I used to grab other ASP.NET AJAX books and used to read them too. But, no other bookes close to this books CLARITY and Detailed and Simple explanation. It starts from the absolute basics and chapter by chapter it brings the developers skill set at par with the pro's. Most ASP.NET developer's client-side scripting needs some work. This book understands it and addresses them in a very simple and elegant verbals.
I had been debating for a while which book to buy. After a lot of work, I decided to go for this book. And I am happy I made the right decision.
It also has the sneak peek of the CTP Futures too.
5+ Stars. Definite YES.

S. Devasundaram
24 April, 2008

Average Book, Embarrassing Framework

Update: It's been announced that jQuery will ship with ASP.NET AJAX and Visual Studio rendering this review and book out of date.

Original Review:

Take this book and the ASP.NET AJAX Framework with two grains of salt, if you're serious about AJAX then learn JavaScript and look into the alternative AJAX Libraries like: jQuery, Scriptaculous, Dojo, Mootools, and YUI.

This book lacks objectivity and often suffers from hype. The authors came across as lacking proficient experience with the JavaScript language, or exposure to other AJAX Frameworks / Libraries, or sufficient experience using the ASP.NET AJAX Framework in real world situations.

Comments like: "we recommend that...", "because it makes no sense...", "you must understand X,Y,Z to run complex client-side code without writing a single line of JavaScript" were discouraging, and left me hanging. Good books answer more than the "hows" - comments like "you must rely on a special..." are a cry for more research.

The book skims over the bigger picture of why the ASP.NET AJAX framework is implemented, or where it's going. Instead it presented many narrow examples of "how-to" apply ASP.NET AJAX centric constructs and patterns - design patterns are reusable in general software design, JavaScript, and AJAX; unfortunately the authors don't make these larger connections. It would have been nice to see some real world examples of why the ASP.NET AJAX client-side typing system is useful, or why the AJAX Framework's extended JavaScript objects are useful and how these contrast to what JavaScript already provides, or what happens behind the scenes when a class is registered through client-side code, or why the AJAX Framework prefers declarative syntax (XML) over imperative syntax, and to have some real in-depth discussions on performance implications.

In addition to these disappointments, the ASP.NET AJAX Framework itself has serious technical flaws, it's too heavy weighted (bloated) for practical use - aside from demos you won't see this framework used in the real world. It's a short lived framework, many of the other AJAX Libraries already offer superior performance and better user experience I was disappointed with the server-centric approach the ASP.NET AJAX Framework and this book take, and was disappointed to have JavaScript continually swept under the carpet as magic.

Adam Kahtava
20 April, 2008

Great Book!

Very well written. Great examples. In depth as well as plain spoken author. Much to learn and easy to learn. Recommended.

R. Callicotte
18 March, 2008

Outstanding Book!

I haven't even finished reading the book, I am only on chapter 5 and will give this book 5 stars. Before starting this books I only knew how to use the ASP.NET AJAX controls and thought I knew something about AJAX. Come to find I knew very little. This book does an outstanding job cover the client centric development of AJAX rather than concentrating stricly on server centric AJAX development. I say if you are thinking about buying another AJAX book consider this one at the top of your list.

Sheldon L. Sides
25 February, 2008

A Real Must Have!!

This is a real must have for anyone who wants to take their AJAX enabled web sites to the next level. It is written in such a way that even my wife (who is not a programmer) could understand...It really is a great book!

J. Bierman
22 February, 2008

So far so good....

Well I am only a few chapters in, but so far so good. I find its a pretty easy read with good examples in code and thorough explanations. I like the fact that it gives a good and quick over view of Javascript and JSON especially if you are someone like me who learned Javascript on the job.

John M. Kurywchak
27 January, 2008

A gem of a book

This book is really excellent.

It provides a detailed overview of how to write Ajax enabled OO javascript components using Ajax for ASP.Net.

What I like about this book is that it provides a detailed overview of the client and server model, and how they work together, in a very understandable and easy to read approach. It also provides a nice introduction to extenders and the control toolkit, as well as some CTP futures.

This is only one of two books out of my collection of 15 books that I have recently purchased in the last couple of years that I would consider excellent.

David Krinker
14 January, 2008

Excellent

Comprehensive and helpful information for novice to experienced users - well worth the time to read.

Thomas C. Hamilton
13 January, 2008

A book you can follow



I decided to purchase this book for two reasons.

1. Asp.net has it as highly recommended.
2. It was recommended to me by multiple colleagues.

To say the least, it's a great book. The writing style is easy to read and understand. The authors do not use the book as a vehicle to self promote their knowledge. The authors use the book to help teach you what they understand. I was really getting tired of purchasing books which were difficult to follow this book has won me back. If any of the authors read this review...Thank you.

Pete

P. Orologas
18 December, 2007

An Invaluable Resource!

An invaluable resource for serious web developers. After learning the concepts in ASP.NET AJAX In Action, AJAX technology will become part of your DNA. Working with Microsoft's ASP.NET AJAX and the AJAX Control Toolkit, there's no need for third-party tools like NETAdvantage and r.a.d Controls.

Eric C.
29 November, 2007

A clear guide to an often unclear subject

ASP.NET brought its own structure to the task of web development, formalizing some common practices and building a classical Visual/RAD development environment upon them. ASP.NET AJAX brings this into the realm of asynchronous communication, partial page updates, and client scripting. It's hardly the be-all, end-all of client-side development - but for the task of adding a faster, smoother, AJAX-style experience to an existing, postback-heavy ASP.NET site, it is well-developed set of tools.

This is not an AJAX book. It's a book on a framework, one which builds on another framework, and which uses AJAX techniques as a means to its ends. Frameworks change the game: as the name suggests, they're designed and used for the purpose of providing structure, but not necessarily easy access to a specific technology or techique. You will read this book to learn what that structure is, how to use it, and how to work around its limitations.

And you will learn it. This book is ruthless - everything an ASP.NET developer might need to know to move up to AJAX.NET gets pulled in, from a thorough Javascript chapter to basic authentication and cross-site-scripting security to the improvements coming in the forthcoming Orcas release, to common patters for use. I fully expected it to fall into the "tutorial-wrapped reference manual" trap that so many of these books do, but it never does. Nor does it spend too much time on any one topic. We get an introduction, discussion, example, further resources... and on to the next one.

The writing style is formal but not stiff, and relatively free of the sorts of scatter-shot proofing that seem all too common with first-edition technical books. Diagrams and code samples are clear, attractive, and plentiful.

I would recommend this book to anyone thinking about adopting ASP.NET AJAX for their site(s), and especially for anyone coming into a project already using it - I honestly cannot recommend a better resource for getting up to speed on the ins and outs of the framework quickly.


Joshua Heyer
14 October, 2007

A highly recommended book on a surprisingly useful library

I had written off ASP.NET AJAX as bloated and for beginners until I bought this excellent book. While I have done AJAX by hand in the past, I'm now a convert to the advantages of leveraging this powerful library. I highly recommend this book both for beginners who want to start with ASP.NET AJAX and those professionals looking to either leverage this library, or to be convinced that they need to.

The book is full of practical examples that I was able to apply immediately to my code, as well as thorough explanations that enabled me to expand on and understand the code provided


Christian Graus
01 October, 2007

Great Book

I just completed reading the book ASP.NET Ajax In Action and thought I would share my opinion of the book. While I have read various blogs and articles on AJAX, I am just now starting to implement it into our main enterprise level application, and wanted a book to really get me started in the right direction.

Overall I feel the content of the book is very good and the topics are delivered in an easy to read format. I really like the layout of the book, and feel the chapters were organized very nicely. I did not feel like the authors jumped around from topic to topic too much, and the flow of the book felt very natural.

Full detailed review:
http://devauthority.com/blogs/whoiskb/archive/2007/09/26/Book_Review_ASPNET_AJAX_In_Action_.aspx

Kevin Blakeley
26 September, 2007

Solid foundation + great examples

I don't normally give a rave review about books unless I was really satisfied with the book, but this book really is a great book.

First of all, apart from it being an ASP.NET AJAX book, one of things I consider when buying a book is the overall flow of the book - the flows between paragraphs and the flows between chapters. On that note, ASP.NET Ajax in Action has a great flow. Especially the transitions of the book and the divisions of the chapters were well put into the book, so it could feel like reading a novel in some cases.

On the technical side, I like technical books that have a lot of examples that make good sense. This book is full of examples, which is very imporant for understanding a new technology. Another thing I like about th book is the detailed examplanations of the ASP.NET Ajax foundations. For example, it doesn't talk about UpdatePanel until Chatper 6 and 7, which most of ASP.NET developers like to just use for quick development. However, this book does a good job of illustrating the overall architecure of the Ajax framework, and does not neglect that Javascript is also a big part in developing Ajax-enabled websites. Unlike other ASP.NET Ajax books, this book has a few chapters dedicated to client-centric ASP.NET Ajax development, which is necessary for building hard-core ajax sites and components.

To conclude, this book is a must-have for asp.net developers and you can use it as both a reference book and a learning material.

Jason Jung
04 September, 2007

Clearly the best ASP.NET AJAX Book - buy it NOW!

I do a lot of reading, and to the best of my knowledge my personal .NET book collection is bigger than anyone else's. The first thing I noticed about this book is the smooth and highly readable writing style - very rare to see in a technical book. As I read through the chapters it became clear to me that the content was no less stunning than the readability! The charts and tables are not merely a reprint of MSDN, and the authors dominated the subject without making it dry like a reference manual.

It was obviously their goal to ensure that readers already familiar with ASP.NET in general would become a subject expert on AJAX just by studying this book. The real world example code stands alone among the other books: this code works and it is highly relevant instead of being a bunch of contrived example snippets! There is no better book on ASP.NET AJAX.

I am looking for any other books from these authors - I'll order them without even thinking about it. There's a very short list of authors about whom I can make that statement. And I'll keep my eye on the Manning publishing company from now on. They know how to edit books well, and they selected the best authors available.

Eric W. Engler
28 August, 2007