Active Server Pages is easy. You've heard that said before, only to be overwhelmed with enough confusing gibberish to choke a camel. But with this guide, you can believe it.

Amazon.com Review
Active Server Pages (ASP) is the best way to create dynamic Web sites--that is, Web sites based on the contents of a database--under Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and other Microsoft Web platforms. Active Server Pages for Dummies proves that despite the initially intimidating appearance of some ASP code, the system isn't hard to learn and can be a lot of fun.

The book delivers a carefully structured introduction to ASP technology. The examples aren't all academic either--you'll find code (printed and on the companion CD-ROM) for a date-stamper, a banner-ad rotator, a guestbook, and even a near-real-time chat room and a system for managing classified ads.

Though this book includes sections on VBScript and JScript, you'll probably want to combine it with a language text if you lack familiarity with at least one of those languages. Still, the language material that's here serves as a good introduction to the basics and enables you to make sense of the scriptable ASP objects that make the technology so powerful.

Though this isn't an object reference, the author explains the capabilities of each major server component and provides example code that uses many of them. That's the strongest aspect of this book, in fact--the excellent example code you can learn from and adapt to your purposes. --David Wall

Topics covered: Basics of ASP, VBScript, JScript, the ASP object model, server components, database connectivity, Visual InterDev, and popular ASP applications.

Easy read for experienced programmers   July 2, 2004

The cheap shots at humor could make this book annoying at times, but it does put you at ease while you're learning. The style of this book may also be inadequate if you intend to use it for reference alone.


Get with the times   March 20, 2004
  1 out of 6 found this review helpful

For those who don't want to be dragged into the new .net world. There is still asp...however, 2.0 is the old version, at least get 3.0


good for beginners   February 1, 2004
A good book for beginners.

I bought this book without any previous knowledge of ASP and it has been a great help to me.
In the first part of the book, it discusses the code and gives examples for almost all of it.
In the second part, it uses nearly all the code discussed in real world examples - which is really necessary if you want to throughly understand how the code is used or could be used.

Once or twice I ran into a very minor piece of code that was not addressed.
The unexplained code was not very vital, although I still would have appreciated an explanation.
However, this was the only issue I can think of.

As a rule, the "For Dummies" books give a lighthearted approach to subjects and this book is no exception.
It presents its material with a great balance of instruction and humor.

Shortly - If you do not have any previous knowledge of ASP, then this is the book for you.
It is well worth it.


This is 'THE' Book   November 17, 2002
I think you can develop almost every type of web application using this book. It is perfect for starters and intermidiate level programmers. I run a software development house and this was in fact the book that opened different spectrums for me and I felt very easy with proramming after that.


Navigating & judging   October 11, 2002
Firstly, I needed to know what is involved with Active Server Pages. What do I buy? How do I use the computer? Etc. This book answered my questions, in a nice humourous style.

Secondly, I needed to know how to think about ASP. This book helped me there too - at least for beginners. If you are a Web technology pro, forget this book. And why are you looking at a Dummines book??

Thirdly, I'm a great believer in "having a go". This book provides examples apt for an appropriate exercise at the "dummies" level.

My complaint is more a recognition of the fact that I have progressed with ASP. There is much more involved with ASP than what this book touches on. I find this book assumes that I have some intelligence to work this out for myself.

If you are new to computers, I advise you get other books to help you with this topic. Successfully explaining Active Server Pages is reliant on the reader being relatively familiar with computers, the Net, and the development mindset and culture. The latter two are the keys to securing a measure of success with ASP.

I doubt I can write a review that is precision tuned with your situation. That said, if your gut instinct is that you need the treatment of the "Dummies" brand, buy this book. Here is a brainy reason why you'll likely need the "Dummines" book as well as another: It appears impossible to train yourself on ASP with one book alone.