In particular this involves the Windows operating system itself, including the new security features of Windows 2000, and the Internet server software that comes with Windows 2000 - Internet Information Server (IIS). On top of this are the other less obvious services, which also have a direct or indirect effect on the way that ASP works. These include COM+, the various Internet service administration tools, and (indirectly) the many other services and installed software packages that either provide additional functionality to ASP, or which have interfaces that are available for use in ASP.
So, as well as chapters all about the roots of ASP, the base object structure, and how it's used, you'll also see chapters that demonstrate the many different ways that ASP integrates seamlessly with other software and services in Windows. One of the most obvious of these is access to data in a relational database or other type of data store (such as Active Directory), and you'll see several chapters devoted to these topics.
We'll also explore the intimate relationship between Internet Information Server and COM and the new COM+, and see how ASP has changed the way that it hosts and executes external components to provide better performance and scalability. This also affects the way that components are designed and built, and we'll be exploring this topic in some depth as well.
I love Wrox. I started with their Beginning ASP 2.0 book (how I learned). This book, a bit more advanced but in the beginning level, is still all you need to get things going from single tiered applications to multi-tiered, database driven apps. It goes into COM objects and other MS Services like Index. Really a one-stop book.
With this book and Google you have all the reference you need.
Note: ASP 3.0 is in no way, shape, or form similar to ASP.net.
A small, tiny complaint about this book is that it can be a bit wordy...just a tad. And the index in the back could use a bit more improvement. The info's still in there.
My only experience has been a few intranets. And I always had bought the beginners series books because I didn't feel I was at the professional level. Well, this book showed me the reason I felt that way was because I didn't know the power of ASP.
If you have been playing around with ASP and really want to move forward, stop playing with the beginners and harness the power of ASP.
I have to admit that this is not a book that I would read on spare time. I don't know whether it's the flow of the structure or what. But I always get lost in the "too much" information supplied. Hence I cannot give it 5 stars.
For reference, this is a book to keep if you're developing ASP for one reason; as you become more comfortable with ASP, this book provides answers to your "no-more" beginner questions.
