Review by Andrew Sutton for Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB
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This is the first Sitepoint book I have read and the second on ASP.NET.

The book requires that you have either Windows 2000, XP or 2003 installed and requires .NET Framework Redistributable (1.1 is the version the book is written for but most examples should work in v1.0), .NET Framework SDK, IIS (Or Cassini) Web Server, a modern web browser (e.g. IE v5.5+) and an editor. (Anything from notepad to Visual Studio will be sufficient). Access (JET), MSDE and SQL Server are the databases used in the examples. Instructions are included in the book on how to install and configure IIS and how to install MSDE and Access and how to attach the example database.

No previous knowledge of ASP.NET, C#, VB.NET, IIS nor databases is required. However you will need to be familiar with HTML before reading the book.

The format of each chapter is a brief, single paragraph introduction, then straight into the subject matter with a brief summary at the end. Throughout the chapters there is a liberal sprinkling of figures and tables and extensive code examples, nearly all of which are in both C# and VB.NET. During the course of the book a complete intranet application is developed which includes a helpdesk, employee store, newsletter archive, employee directory, address book and admin tools.

Pros

Extensive code samples

A complete intranet application is developed within the book.

Superb range of subject matter.

Liberal use of figures and tables.

Excellent layout.

A good tool for learning both C# & VB.NET.

Cons

Topics covered in each chapter are not listed at the beginning of each chapter.

If you are just a VB.NET or C# programmer the duplication of code examples in both VB.NET & C# may prove to be annoying and a waste of space.

Conclusion

My own opinion is that this is not the book for a casual hobbyist but aimed more towards at least a semi-professional developer. You will get more than a basic grounding in ASP.NET but will have to put in a fair bit of effort to extract everything the book has to offer. But what a lot it has to offer. The range of material covered is excellent. Of the many highlights the chapters on Datagrids & DataLists and Datasets were particularly impressive. The author’s enthusiasm for ASP.NET shines throughout the book and his narrative style kept many of the duller topics interesting. The pace of the book is never pedestrian and sometimes quite frantic but always leaving you wanting even more.

At the end of the book you should feel confident to develop your own ASP.NET web sites in either C# or VB.NET. This book is another welcome addition to my bookshelf.

Review by shopzy for Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB
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If you are looking at learning ASP.NET by hard coding then use this book. If you are looking at developing ASP.NET applications by using all the functionalities of VS.NET then go for ASP.NET KickStart by Stephen Walther.

For beginners I would suggest going for this book since it lets you get into the code which is very essential in understanding how things work in the .NET framework in general and ASP.NET programming in particular.

For intermediate developers (from other fields like Java, Classic ASP etc.) who already know the basics of Web programming and would like to know VS.NET in detail should go for Stephen Walther’s book.

This book scores a point more in my opinion since it walks you through building an Intranet application while teaching you to program in ASP.NET.

Review by Marty R. Milette for Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB
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As an experienced developer with dozens of web sites developed in traditional ASP, I was delighted finally find a decent ‘getting started’ book for ASP.NET, VB.NET and C# that I could use myself, and share with my Microsoft-oriented students.Anyone making the leap from ASP to .NET knows how difficult it is to find a resource that covers enough introductory information to get started, while still presenting more advanced and useful topics — but this is the one!Although this book won’t make you an ASP.NET guru overnight (NO book can!) — it will certainly get you far enough up the learning curve to start producing some useful and functional code which may be reused and enhanced later as you skills and competence grow.This new release — as for all other SitePoint books I’ve read — has proven a pleasure to read, and a joy to use in the real world. Great work!

Review by Chris Canal for Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB
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“Build Your Own ASP.NET Website” is a fantastic introduction to ASP.NET. I’ve read a good number of ASP.NET books over the years, and this is up there with the best. The writing is concise, easy to understand and the examples, especially the PayPal integration, are constructive and informative. One of the few books I’ve came across that have all the examples in VB.NET and C#, making it easy for someone to chose what language they would like to stick with, instead of what the author prefers

The appendix’s will keep this book on my desk. With the most common HTML and Server controls listed, it saves time from trawling through the MSDN documentation that comes with the .NET SDK.

I would strongly recommend this book to any one wanting to learn ASP.NET

Review by Matthew Griffith for Build Your Own ASP.NET 2.0 Web Site Using C# & VB
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I have been developing software for years. I have been programming in VB since 1991 and BASIC since 1978. I know many old languages like Assembly, Fortran and COBOL, but I have been hesitant to take the time to learn the new VB.NET and have figured C# would have been too hard. That is not the case and this book has made it easy. I read some reviews here on Amazon from other developers who thought the book had too much easy things in the first few chapters, but that is what makes it so good. By the end of the book, you are definitely wanting more meat and are ready to buy the next level of learning book, but you know the core of both languages. Although the accompanying website for the book has all of the code for download, I made sure I typed in all of the code. I did VB.NET first, then C#. By the second or third example, I was able to code the C# example without looking at the book from just seeing the VB.NET example. C# is very similar to VB.NET making it VERY EASY to learn. I definitely recommend this book! If you haven’t delved into .NET yet, this is absolutely the best first book you could buy. Thihnk of this as the 101 college intro class to .NET. All other books will become easy after you read this one. The book claims that it was written with both the developer and non-developer in mind. I would have to say that I definitely believe a non-developer could follow it and learn the languages.