SQL Server 2000 Web Application Developer's Guide

I am only through the first four chapters but I felt it was important to get this information out to people who have bought the book or are about to buy the book.This is a very good book but some of the sample apps are missing key points in preparing to use those apps. First off, I am using XP Pro, SQL Server 2000 and Visual Studio 6 on a Pentium IV 1.8GHz machine with 512MB of SDRAM (Dell Dimension 8200). Now for the problems:(1) On page 78 Craig explains the two ways one can connect to SQL Server quite well but a little more help could've been given about what you have to do if you are using NT authentication. He says, "you must go into SQL Server and give permissions for that specific database to a user on your system called IUSR_...". For us novices out there a few words on how to do that would've been helpful. I fumbled around with it but figured it out (open SQL Server Enterprise Manager, navigate to your SQL Server, expand it, expand the SECURITY folder, right click on LOGINS and select NEW LOGIN (take it from there)).(2) And if you do use NT authentication you need to modify the provider string that he shows on page 79. You will not need to use a User ID or password (just like he says) but you will need this at the front of the string, "Trusted_Connection=yes;" My connection string looks like this:"Trusted_Connection=yes;Provider=SQLOLEDB;User ID=;Initial Catalog=Northwind;Data Source=Jupiter;PASSWORD=;"'Jupiter' is my computer's (server's) name and 'Northwind' of course is the name of the dB in SQL Server.(3) I had HUGE problems with the app he calls 'RealApp' beginning on page 105. Here's what I did to get it to work: (a) If you have Norton Anti Virus (NAV) turn off SCRIPT BLOCKING. You do this by going to the OPTIONS menu in NAV. (b) The folder that you write the text file to on your server must have READ/WRITE permissions for the IUSR_ user name (if you're using NT authentication). That means you have to go to the SECURITY tab of the folder's properties; however, if you are using XP Pro you won't see a SECURITY tab anywhere! To expose the SECURITY tab, go to CONTROL PANEL, select APPEARANCE AND THEMES, and then click FOLDER OPTIONS, then on the VIEW tab, under ADVANCED SETTINGS, clear the "Use simple file sharing [Recommended]" checkbox. Now you will be able to see the SECURITY tab on all of your folders. (c) Tell IIS that this app is a Web app (if you don't then Global.asa will never get looked at). Navigate to the RealApp web page icon in IIS. Right click it. Choose PROPERTIES. In the DIRECTORY tab look for APPLICATION NAME (it will be grayed-out) then click the CREATE button next to it. While you are here go down to the APPLICATION PROTECTION line and set it to "LOW (IIS Process)"....

I reamed loads of useful insight from this book, great info on performance tuning and scaling. Has content I have never seen elsewhere about stuff like multi-dimensional recordsets that saved me hundreds of hours of slave labour! A great top to bottom reference for anyone doing ASP pages to a SQL backend.

This book is an excellent guide for web application developers. It is very useful for VB developers who are moving to the web development world. All of the information that you need to develop a data-driven web site is included in the book. Building solutions using the n-tier approach described in the book will save your company or customer time and money in the future. I used the book as a source for a university class that I am taking this semester that requires ASP coding. The book contains all of the topics that an ASP developer needs to build a site that interacts with SQL Server 2000 and the conversational writing style makes it an easy read.

As a DBA, my focus has traditionally been on the data tier. With N-tier architecture being the norm, coupled with COM+, ASP and ADO, I find I have to be more aware of how things are coming at my database. It's not sufficient to be "just a DBA". Craig's book was a welcome rescue from the barrage of three-letter acronyms, describing technology I have to get up to speed on - now. I needed something that could take me from top to bottom, covering all aspects of web-based application development. Well here it is, all in one tidy package. For me, the timing was excellent. SQL Server 2000 is my weapon of choice but it has to be put into the context of everything else. This is where Craig's book filled the bill. Now, I feel I understand what's going on and ADO is no longer a mystery. Before reading his book, I knew how to spell ASP. Now, I am quite comfortable in putting it to use. Craig also provides many tips and tricks on how to use Visual InterDev effectively. I would recommend this book for anyone who needs to build a web-based application the right way.

As someone who uses SQL Server, I needed to learn how to build some web applications. This book does a great job of taking you through the basics of how ASPs work and then building on that theme to build web sites that integrate with SQL Server data. The book spends short but quality time on SQL Server itself, instead focusing on ASPs and ADO. There are excellent chapters on ADO and building COM+ components. Utley's approach to teaching the basics and then progressing to the more complex topics is well done and logical, making the book easy to follow.Is the book perfect? No. I would have liked more on XML. But, overall, this is an excellent book that I would recommend for any SQL Server using building web apps with Active Server Pages. In fact, even if you aren't using SQL Server, this book has a lot to offer!