As regular readers are already aware, Im not too keen on books that supposedly teach complex and technical subjects in a short period of time. The reason is simple - 99 per cent of the time it isnt feasible for the average punter. E-commerce programming with ASP is such a subject, and perhaps not quite as daunting as learning Windows 2000 Server inside out in three weeks, but not far short. The front covers claims that youll learn the skills and concepts to master E-Commerce programming with ASP in just 21 days, and be able to apply your knowledge in the real world are also boasts that set my scepticism detector ringing.

So what does the core content of the book actually cover? Well, the good news is that it kicks off in a logical manner by introducing the reader to the subject matter, looking at customer interaction processes, giving an overview of application and session objects, and working up a little sweat to arrive at building a product catalogue and enabling customers to search it. In the second week we dive into transaction database building and shopping cart technology, ending up with customer order-tracking and some useful hands-on advice about credit card transaction capabilities. The final week starts off strong, with secure transactions and the ever essential ASP application debugging, but you might as well take the end of week three off, unless you really want to be lectured about managing banner advertising.

So with minor complaints aside, as long as you discard the notion of becoming an ASP guru from scratch by next month, its not a bad book for getting a good grounding in how ASP can help enable your database-driven e-commerce solution. Thats with one proviso - its ideally suited for the small-scale e-commerce solution. The tone of the book is clear and concise, the foundations of the subject are covered well, and practical real-world examples help you grasp the more difficult areas. The only other disappointment was the appendices, consisting of just a brief FAQ and SQL reference.