I'm trying to decide to go with this book, Beginning ASP.NET 4.5: in C# and VB, or Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 4 in 24 Hours. I don't know a whole lot about either book but my friend gave me the 24 hr book to borrow.

I don't want a reference book. I want a book that will teach me some practical thing in each lesson--step-by-step. I have reference books that after reading them, I'm wondering "ok, now what can i do with this? How do i apply it?"

I'm more of a C# person than VB. That's a plus for this book.

Is each chapter a complete project? Of will i need to read from start to finish?

It probably best to read from start to finish but on the job that is not practical. I'm a newbie. I"m finishing my masters this semester but I only have a very basic understanding of C# and web forms. I can build an N-tier structure, but that is about it. I understand post backs but don't truly understand the concept or how it really works.

I want a book that after ever chapter I get the satisfaction of FEELING I"VE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING! that is why i like the 24 hrs books. I don't want a book that is more like a web and at the end I'm wondering ok... what did i learn? Did i gain a skill I can readily apply in a different situation? I've read books where the goal was to build a website but I didn't really feel I was learning skills.

I hope you follow me. Its a shame you can spend 1000s of dollars on a masters degree and still don't know what you are doing. lol I'm using a Step-by-step book for my directed study with WCF right now. So far i really like this book. I may not have time for another book, but it is something I'm considering.

Thx.

Go with Beg ASP.NET 4.5 and I GUARANTEE you will not regret it, u will even learn more than what u need and its a great book with step by step explanation :)

Thanks for the response. I looked at the other book before bed last night and it does seem too simplistic. I mean i know the basic stuff.

Yeah, I agree with Mark's observations, but then of course I am biased.... ;-)

To answer some of your questions:


That's what this book does. It gives you a bit of theory, then shows you step by step how to implement certain functionality, and then explains how the stuff you just built works.

My book uses both, so you can pick your favorite language ;-) The sample site comes in C# and in VB.NET and all code examples in the book are shown in both languages.

Nope; it's one site you work on during the complete book. However, the downloadable code has the end result of each chapter, so if you want to skip a chapter you can grab the source from the previous chapter and use that as your starting point.

Yes, that's indeed best. However, you could forward to some topics you like to learn more about and come back later. The postback architecture is explained with quite a bit of detail and exercises.

Read the comments for my book (and the previous 4.0 version) on Amazon.com and see how others like the book. I think you'll like it though.

Cheers,

Imar

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Imar Spaanjaars
http://Imar.Spaanjaars.Com
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Author of Beginning ASP.NET 4.5 : in C# and VB, Beginning ASP.NET Web Pages with WebMatrix
and Beginning ASP.NET 4 : in C# and VB.
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Yes, I'm familiar with your book and I love your style. You always offer other ways to do stuff. I like that. Now I wish you had a WCF book.