Web Catalog Cookbook

I am just beginning on developing a site for a retail store. Hope is that this site can literally be another distribution avenue. I believe this book gets people going in the right direction. A series of reference books are helpful to have in addition as the provided information is a bit thin. I would have loved to seen more information on alternative sources/techniques and methods of achieving what the provided GT/Catalog software was designed to do, like: creating managing server databases, JavaScript coding, etc. I understand that they want to push their software, but sometimes it seems a bit excessive to the point that it neglects to mention or give specific examples of alternative methods for achieving the same features found in the provided software. I had the feeling at times that their software was the only solution and you'd have to pay $800 for a full version of it. Don't get me wrong, if you don't have the time or resources to program for yourself, this is a great alternative. It would have also been nice to have an html version of the book on the cd as well