I've done plenty of Windows programming, but very little Web programming, so I borrowed a copy of Beginning ASP.NET using C# from a coworker. I wanted an introduction to the basics of ASP.NET programming so that I could begin to feel comfortable with the technology. This book fulfilled my three primary requirements for such a book:

• First, it doesn't use Visual Studio .NET, so I never had the nagging feeling that the IDE was doing anything mysterious behind the scenes.
• Second, the samples are written in C#, which I'm quite comfortable with, rather than VB.NET, whose syntax remains a mystery to me.
• Third, it doesn't spend too much time with databases. One of these days I'll get some database development under my belt, but I'm not there yet.

I didn't need the introductions to C# and OOP, but those sections were easy to skim. All in all, the book served as a good introduction to ASP.NET. Of course, if I ever end up needing to write a serious ASP.NET application, I'll be looking for a book with a little more substance. Hopefully, now that I've read this book, I'll be ready.