internet applications

As a serious developer, nothing is more valuable than nicely annotated code samples. This 878-page book is packed with code, with server-side code in VB. I bought this book together with Programming Data-Driver Web Applications With ASP.NET by Mack and Seven. (These two are among the authors of this book, Tips, Tutorials, etc.) Between the two I have a nice library to draw on for help on my current .NET development project.

I have found the SAMS Teach Yourself series very useful in spite of their beginner level content. This book is part of a newer series from SAMS (blue spines with glossy photos of the galaxy) that are intended as in-depth resources for professionals. SO far the six that I have rank with the very best professional series from Apress and seem a bit beyond the always timely and usually useful WROX books.

I have read quite a few of the books out there right now on ASP.NET. There are those that are good reference books like the Wrox Press Professional ASP.NET one, but there are not a lot of books (programming in general) that actually read well and leave you feeling like you could actually implement the ideas after one pass of the material. This is one of those rare books that does that really well. Even if you own some other ASP.NET books, you might want to look at this one. The presentation is fast enough to not be boring, and it has a nice overall flow to it. If you like books that get right into the code, this would make for a good choice. The book does not get extremely deep into all areas, but it would be a bit much to expect one book to do that anyway. If you have programmed in ASP before, I think you will really appreciate the book's perspective.

You must have it on top of your desktop... It will HELP you when you most need it.