Have you ever gone to a great Web site and said to yourself, “I sure wish I could do that?” This hands-on book shows you exactly how. It’s a task-oriented, no-frills introduction, specifically for programming novices, to the cool world of programming the Web by using the power of Microsoft ASP.NET Web Matrix—an easy-to-use WYSISYG development tool for ASP.NET. You’ll go from merely posting text and graphics on a site to creating dynamic slideshows, reading and writing cookies, building interactive guestbooks and calendars, and developing other exciting Web features, all with intuitive yet powerful tools. Along the way, you’ll discover how to create programmed, data-driven Web pages for your home, hobby, or business in practically no time at all.

Topics covered include:

Getting started: Introduction to server-based Web programming, Microsoft ASP.NET, Microsoft Visual Basic .NET, and ASP.NET Web Matrix; and configuring ASP.NET, ASP.NET Web Matrix, and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)
Basic techniques: Your first Web Forms page, creating a simple slideshow, getting and applying user preferences, creating a random notes page, and displaying a hit counter
More advanced techniques: Introduction to programming Web pages with data using ASP.NET Web Matrix, creating a guestbook and displaying formatted guestbook listings, creating a database-driven slideshow, updating master-details tables, creating a calendar application, and sending e-mail notices automatically from a Web page
Appendixes: Security vulnerabilities, good security practices, and deploying your application to a Web server