ISBN: 0-7356-1856-9 
Pages: 400 
Disk: 1 Companion CD(s)
Stolin-Softwares Price: $24.99
Release: 01/22/2003 
Level: Beg/Int  

Have you ever gone to a great Web site and said to yourself, “I sure wish I could do that!” This hands-on book shows you exactly how. It’s a task-oriented, no-frills introduction, specifically for programming novices, to the cool world of programming the Web by using the power of Microsoft® ASP.NET Web Matrix—an easy-to-use WYSIWYG development tool for ASP.NET. You’ll go from merely posting text and graphics on a site to creating dynamic slideshows, reading and writing cookies, building interactive guestbooks and calendars, and developing other exciting Web features, all with intuitive yet powerful tools. Along the way, you’ll discover how to create programmed, data-driven Web pages for your home, hobby, or business in practically no time at all.

Topics covered include:

• Getting started: Introduction to server-based Web programming, Microsoft ASP.NET, Microsoft Visual Basic® .NET, and ASP.NET Web Matrix; and configuring ASP.NET, ASP.NET Web Matrix, and Microsoft SQL Server™ Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)

• Basic techniques: Your first Web Forms page, creating a simple slideshow, getting and applying user preferences, creating a random quotes page, and displaying a hit counter

• More advanced techniques: Introduction to programming Web pages with data using ASP.NET Web Matrix, creating a guestbook and displaying formatted guestbook listings, creating a database-driven slideshow, updating master-detail tables, creating a calendar application, and sending e-mail notices automatically from a Web page

• Appendixes: Security vulnerabilities, good security practices, and your Web application; and deploying your application to a server.

PART I   INTRODUCTION TO WEB MATRIX AND ASP.NET   

1   What Does Web Programming Mean, Anyway?  3 
    Server As Processor, Page as Program  4 
        Where Microsoft ASP.NET Fits In  6 
    Characteristics of Server-Based Web Programming  7 
        Postbacks and Round Trips  8 
        The Disconnected Web  8 
        Each Page Is New  9 
        Web Amnesia: Stateless Pages  9 
    Browser-Based Programming  10 
        Browser Compatibility  12 
2   Overview of Web Matrix, ASP.NET, and Visual Basic .NET  15 
    Web Programming and ASP.NET  15 
    A Peek Inside the .NET Framework  17 
    Web Matrix: Enabling Web Programming for the Rest of Us  18 
        Web Matrix and Community  19 
    Using Visual Basic .NET with Web Matrix  20 
    Basics of Visual Basic .NET  23 
        Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)  23 
3   Getting Ready to Program with ASP.NET and Web Matrix  29 
    Working with ASP.NET Web Pages  29 
    Options for Testing and Running ASP.NET Web Pages  30 
        Working with ISPs  30 
        Finding an ASP.NET-Friendly Hosting Site  31 
        Hosting the Site Yourself  31 
    Providing Data Access for Your Web Pages  33 
    Installing and Configuring the Required Software  33 
        Installing Windows  34 
        Setting Permissions for a Web Site  34 
        Installing IIS  35 
        Installing Internet Explorer  35 
        Installing the .NET Framework  36 
        Installing Web Matrix  37 
        Installing MSDE 2000  37 

PART II   LEARNING THE BASICS OF PROGRAMMED WEB PAGES 
 
4   Getting to Know Web Matrix  43 
    Before You Start  43 
    Looking Around the Web Matrix Development Environment  46 
    Adding Text and Controls to the Page  49 
    Working with Different Views of a Document  50 
    Positioning Text and Elements  51 
        Absolute Positioning  51 
        Controlling the Grid  53 
    Setting Properties for Controls  55 
    Programming the Button  57 
    Testing the Page  57 
    Examining How Event Handlers Work  59 
    Reviewing Round Trips and Postback  61 
    Rendering Controls  61 
5   Creating a Simple Slideshow  65 
    How the Slideshow Works  65 
    Got Pictures?  66 
    Creating the Page  66 
        Building the Slide List  68 
        Loading the Slide List and Initializing the Page  69 
    Testing the Page  70 
    Adding Slide Navigation  71 
        Maintaining the Slide Number in Viewstate  71 
        Programming the Next and Previous Buttons  74 
    Adding a Navigation Bar  77 
    Adding Captions to the Slideshow  80 
6   Maintaining User Preferences  85 
    Creating the Preferences Page  86 
        Populating the DropDownList Control  88 
    Programming the Preview Button  91 
        Turning Captions On and Off  91 
        Previewing the Current Color  92 
        Previewing the Font  93 
        Reviewing the Preview Handler  94 
        Testing the Preview Button  95 
    Saving the Preferences 95 
        About Cookies  95 
        Programming the Save Preferences Button  96 
    Displaying the Slideshow Page  97 
    Reading the Preferences  98 
        Reading the Cookie and Setting Values  98 
    Linking Back to the Preferences Page  100 
    Adding the Immediate Preview Feature  101 
7   Creating a Random Quotes Page  103 
    Creating the Quotations Text File  104 
    Creating the Quotations Page  105 
        Finding the Quotations File  107 
        Reading the Quotations File  107 
    Defensive Coding: Error Handling  109 
    Generating a Random Number  110 
    Getting and Displaying the Quotation  111 
    Testing the Page  113 
    Caching the Quotations When the Application Starts  114 
8   Creating a Page Hit Counter  117 
    Counting Visitors to Your Pages  117 
    What Is a Hit?  119 
    Tracking Unique Hits  120 
    Creating a Page That Counts Hits  121 
    Creating the Counter Logic  123 
        Getting the Current Counter  125 
        Checking the Cookie and Incrementing the Counter  126 
        Displaying the Counter  128 
    Testing the Counter  130 
    Creating Graphical Numbers  131 
        Creating the Graphics Files  132 
        Displaying the Graphical Numbers  134 

PART III   PROGRAMMING WEB PAGES WITH DATA   

9   Show Me the Data!  139 
    Using Databases with Your Web Applications  139 
    Getting Acquainted with ASP.NET Data Access Objects  141 
        Understanding the Connection Object  142 
        Understanding the Command Object  143 
        Understanding the Data Reader Object  144 
    Preserving Data During Round Trips  145 
        About Data Binding  146 
    Creating a Database in Web Matrix  146 
        Creating the Database  147 
    Creating a Simple Data-Display Page  153 
    Customizing the Data-Display Grid  155 
    Examining Data Components in the Page  156 
10   Creating a Guestbook  159 
    Creating the Guestbook Database Table  160 
    The Guestbook Page  163 
        Creating Code to Add a Guestbook Entry to the Database  164 
        Sending the Visitor's Input to the Database  167 
    Creating a Simple Guestbook Listing  170 
    Validating User Input  173 
        Understanding Validator Controls  174 
        Adding Validation to the Guestbook  176 
11   Creating a More Flexible Guestbook Listing  183 
    Overview of Templates and Data Binding  183 
    Creating a Second Guestbook Listing Page  187 
    Binding Controls  191 
    Defining Additional Templates  194 
    Programming the DataList Control  195 
    Testing the Page  196 
    Adding an Alternating Template  197 
        Examining Templates in HTML View  198 
        Examining Data Binding  199 
    Working with the Repeater Control  201 
12   Creating a Database-Driven Slideshow  205 
    Collecting Pictures for the Slideshow  206 
    The Slideshow Database Structure  207 
    Creating the Slideshow Tables  209 
    Creating a Slideshow Picker Page  212 
    Programming the Slideshow Picker Page  214 
    Data and State Management  216 
        Understanding Datasets  217 
        Caching Data in the Session Object  218 
    Creating the Slideshow Viewer Page  219 
    Programming the Slideshow Viewer Page  221 
        Programming the Dataset  222 
        Displaying the Current Slide  226 
        Navigating Between Slides  228 
        Testing the Slideshow Viewer Page  229 
13   Updating Master-Details Tables  231 
    Creating the Slideshows Master Page  232 
        Inserting Slideshow Records into the Database  235 
        Navigating to the Details Page  238 
    Creating the Slide Details Page  240 
        Reading the Slideshow Name from the Master Page  242 
        Inserting Individual Slides into the Database  243 
        Displaying Slides for the Current Slideshow  245 
        Deleting Existing Slides  248 
        Editing Existing Slides  250 
        Programming the Edit Buttons to Update the Database  252 
        Testing Editing Capabilities  255 
    Maintaining Master-Details Integrity  256 
14   Creating a Web-Based Calendar  259 
    Creating the Calendar Database Table  260 
    Creating a Calendar Entry Page  261 
        Programming Date Selection with the Calendar  264 
        Adding a Calendar Record to the Database  265 
    Creating a Page to View the Calendar  268 
        Highlighting Appointment Days in the Calendar  269 
        Displaying Appointment Details  272 
15   Sending E-Mail Messages from Your Web Application  277 
    Configuring an E-Mail Server  278 
        How the SMTP Virtual Server Works  278 
        Installing and Configuring the SMTP Virtual Server  279 
    Creating a Simple Page to Send E-Mail Messages  285 
        Creating Code to Send E-Mail Messages  288 
    Sending E-Mail Alerts from Your Guestbook  291 
    Allowing Users to E-Mail Pictures from Your Slideshows  294 
        Adding a Send This Picture Button to the Slideshow  295 
        Creating a Page for Sending the Picture  296 
        Adding Code to Display the Picture  298 
        Adding Code to Send the Picture as an E-Mail Attachment  299 
        Testing the Send Picture Page  300 

PART IV   APPENDIXES   

A   Security and ASP.NET Web Applications  305 
    Protecting Your Computer  307 
        Restricting Access to Your Computer  307 
        Restricting Access to Resources on the Computer  308 
        Staying on Top of Security  309 
        General Recommendations  310 
    Securing Your Web Applications  310 
        Understanding the ASPNET Account  310 
        Protecting Against Malicious User Input  312 
        Guarding Secrets  314 
        Authenticating Users  315 
        Accessing Databases Securely  317 
    Thinking Securely  320 
B   Deploying Web Matrix Applications  321 
    Deploying Web Pages on a Local Web Site  321 
        Configuring IIS for a Local Web Site  322 
        Configuring Database Access for a Local Web Site  324 
    Deploying Web Pages to a Hosting Site  325 
        Copying Web Pages to a Hosting Site  325 
        Copying Database Tables to a Hosting Site  328 
GLOSSARY 337 
INDEX 345