Book Review: ASP.NET Data Presentation Controls Essentials
ASP.NET offers many convenient controls but some of the most-used controls are those related to data presentation. Let's face it; most web applications out there are data driven and data presentation controls make life easier for the developer. So, it is fitting to see a book dedicated to covering essentials on using the ASP.NET data presentation controls. The book I'm referring to is ASP.NET Data Presentation Controls Essentials by Joydip Kanjilal.
The book is about 240 pages thick but it does pack enough material to help developers get a good grip of the required skills. As with most programming books, there are code examples and screenshots but the code examples in this book are only in C#. The book covers data presentation controls in ASP.NET 2.0 and ASP.NET 3.5.
There are eight concisely-written chapters in this book. Chapter 1 covers the ASP.NET data binding model, the new data source controls in ASP.NET 2.0, paging and sorting using UI and data source, and filtering data using the ObjectDataSource control. The interesting bit here is the coverage on paging on the server. For implementing efficient data paging, the sample code snippet provided in the book qualify as a useful reference.
Chapter 2 covers the various ASP.NET list controls like the ListBox, DropDownList, CheckBoxList, BulletedList, and RadioButtonList controls. There's even a section on creating a user control derived from the CheckBoxList control.
Chapter 3 deals with the Repeater control and how to perform data paging, sorting and filtering operations using this control. As I was going through the code samples, I just wonder why the Repeater control template samples (and ensuing control samples in the following chapters) were not presented using the simpler ASP.NET 2.0 Eval() syntax as discussed in Chapter 1. Anyway, the rest of the code should provide a good basis for learning how to use the Repeater in real-life scenarios.
Chapter 4 covers the DataList control. There's a nice sample on binding images dynamically using the DataList.
Chapter 5 discusses how to use the DataGrid control to display, edit, delete, and format data for customized display. Paging and sorting data with the DataGrid control are also discussed.
Chapter 6 explores the GridView control. It has examples on displaying the DropDownList control and CheckBox control in a GridView. There are also discussions on changing a row color, displaying tooltips, and paging in the GridView. In addition, the book offers an approach on implementing a hierarchical GridView involving Javascript. Like the chapter on DataGrid, there's also discussion on sorting, inserting, updating and deleting data using the GridView control. This is followed by interesting code samples on exporting GridView data to Excel and Word which I think should be useful (as well as educational) to readers. The chapter closes off with formatting and sorting tricks that can be implemented on the GridView.
Chapter 7 covers the DetailsView, FormView, and TreeView controls. There's a nice practical example on implementing a directory structure in a TreeView at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 8 steps into realm of ASP.NET 3.5 with an introduction of LINQ as well as the new ListView and DataPager controls. I noticed the usage of itemContainer instead of itemPlaceholder within the ListView. Obviously, the examples were written during the ASP.NET 3.5 beta days. Fortunately, the RTM version presents only a naming change and readers should be able to compile the examples after a few minor adjustments. Also discussed in this chapter is data binding using the new LinqDataSource control.
All in all, the book gives a decent jumpstart on using and manipulating ASP.NET data presentation controls in various rich ways. While the book did have some typographical issues (particularly in the code samples), they're minor enough that developers should be able to breeze through them. Beginning ASP.NET web developers should benefit much from this book.
- Jason Ong
February 2008
Author: Joydip Kanjilal
Publisher: Packt Publishing
ISBN: 978-1847193957