Book Review: ASP.NET MVC in Action

I've had the pleasure of being able to review ASP.NET MVC in Action in it's early access form.  If you've not heard of this program, Manning has a program called MEAP (Manning Early Access Program) which allows you to purchase the book before it's published and gain access to it in PDF form as the author makes the chapters available.  In this case, I've been reading parts of the book nearly a year before it will be physically published in Sept 2009.  I highly recommend checking that out, as I've participated a number of times.  In fact, I purchased C# in Depth, 2nd edition over the weekend in MEAP.  I have access to the 1st edition via PDF, access to the 2nd edition in PDF, and will receive a hard copy when the 2nd edition is published.  An excellent way to receive books in my opinion.  Anyway, on to my review of ASP.NET MVC in Action.

Being a book on a new technology, it's a given that the author took the time to discuss the details of the framework.  Every major difference between ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC is covered in detail.  The author presents the fundamentals of the framework in a very easy to understand format.  If you've never heard of the MVC pattern, you'll find comfort in this book.  In fact, the pattern is even discussed outside of the Microsoft .NET implementation.  These are common expectations with a book on new technology, and the author was able to deliver on all of them.

What makes this book standout to me, is the CodeCampServer project mentioned throughout this book.  The author created this open source project, using ASP.NET MVC and a host of best practices.  I had actually been following the project before I knew the book was being written.  Being able to read about the technology, then quickly download the source for the CodeCampServer project to see it in a real-world application, is a real treat.  It's rare to find a book that extends beyond the text, that provides a real application you can use to understand the points outside of the text.  How do I structure my ASP.NET MVC project in the real-world, outside of a book sample?  How does TDD apply to ASP.NET MVC?  How does Dependency Injection fit in the ASP.NET MVC framework?  These are real questions that you'll ask yourself, that most books wouldn't touch.  With this book and the CodeCampServer project, you'll find answers to those questions.

I'm very happy with this book.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in ASP.NET MVC.  Getting the "beyond the text" that comes with the CodeCampServer is just icing on the cake, truly.