Product Description

Microsoft created Active Server Pages (ASP) to sew together a group of technologies for creating modern web sites, which can intelligently interact with the user at the front end and with servers and datastores at the back end. Among these technologies is ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), which allows easy, powerful and robust control of technologies that access datastores. This book explains the theory and practice of using ADO with ASP by presenting numerous examples, exercises, lists of common errors and quizzes. The emphasis is on the authors' proven teaching techniques and the presentation of the most commonly used features of ADO in ASP. If you read each chapter and do the exercises you will have a portfolio of several dozen data-intensive web pages of increasing complexity a fine return on your investment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #599819 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 825 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
As a tutorial, Beginning ASP Databases offers an entry point to one of the most crucial aspects of Microsoft oriented web development--database integration with Active Server Pages. In Beginning ASP Databases, a trio of authors covers the basics of working with databases from ASP--especially using ActiveX Database Objects (ADO).

The book is quite substantive in content but is written in a somewhat light-hearted style that makes readers new to the technology comfortable. The authors begin with a discussion of the benefits of ASP and ADO and then explain how to configure the technology on the various flavours of Windows. From there, they show how to access databases using ADO, demystify how it all works and focus on several key areas including debugging, SQL and stored procedures.

Plenty of code examples are included and each is captioned well with step-by-step explanations. Exercises and quizzes also complement the material. Throughout the book the authors identify some quite useful techniques to employ and traps to watch for--nuggets of knowledge that will set new ASP programmers on the right track. A lengthy case study ties it all together with a real world example.

If you're planning on building web sites on the Microsoft platform, ASP/ADO database access knowledge is essential. This fine guide offers a smooth way to get up to speed. --Stephen W Plain, Amazon.com

Topics covered: ADO/OLE DB architecture, SQL, record sets, databases and cookies, error handling, Command object, stored procedures, irregular data handling, performance testing and tuning.

From the Publisher
Online discussion of the topics in this book available at Wrox's P2P site.

The publication is well suited to the following groups Readers of Beginning Active Server Pages 2.0 who want to make the next logical step and connect web sites to datastores. Programmers from the database community who now want to implement their solutions with a Web interface. These folks have plenty of experience with database programming, but want to translate that knowledge into ADO solutions in ASP pages.

Web designers with an education in graphics design or word processing and some sense of programming. These people can benefit from the book by learning how to take their visually appealing sites and give them the business power of database connectivity.

About the Author
Kevin Spencer started programming in C in the early '90's before moving on to Microsoft Visual FoxPro and Access. As Internet Database Connectivity technologies began to emerge from Microsoft he recognised the potential and learned them aswell. This programming background led to the creation of "Site Design by TAKempis," a company which specializes in Internet Database application programming with ASP/ADO. Kevin was made an MVP in 1997 and now combines his work commitments with authorial duties including articles about Microsoft FrontPage and ASP/ADO for several online magazines, including Wrox's ASP Today.

Customer Reviews

Ok introduction to ASP databases, but very long winded
I bought this book after reading Wrox's "Beginning Active Server Pages 3.0" thinking it would expand on the three chapters on databases. After wading through a few chapters, I began to realise that I was learning very little more. "Beginning ASP Databases" doesn't go into much more depth but seems to explain things much less concisely. I may be mistaken, but it also uses wildly different programming conventions than other similar Wrox titles, making the example code more difficult to follow. I would recommend "Beginning Active Server Pages 3.0" as a clearer, more concise introduction to ASP databases, even though it only devotes three chapters to the subject.

Excellent resource book for ASP Databases
Taught me all I was looking for, i.e. how to link ASP pages to databases. The book recommends prior knowledge of ASP scripting, but it is so comprehensive that you don't need to know it beforehand (I didn't). It guides you through setting up Microsoft Personal Web Server, linking it to your Access Database, and constantly points out the main pitfalls encountered in each process. Overall, very good value, but it's a shame there was no CD with the source code included.

Excellent Primer, well written, ideal for the ASP rookie.
If you're relatively new to the world of ASP-ADO and looking for a launch pad for database work with this technology then BUY THIS BOOK. It starts off running you through the installation of ASP for Win95/98 and NT (something that is taken for granted in most books). On the front cover you'll notice the author says, "You'll find exactly what you need to start using databases in your ASP pages" - this is very true and the style in which it is written is very user-friendly and logical. Obviously you will want to graduate onto something a bit more advanced once you get the hang of ADO, but for starters, so long as you have a basic grasp of ASP, this is ideal. Bravo, Monsieur Kauffman, you da man.