Book Review: Microsoft Windows Azure Development Cookbook

Microsoft Windows Azure Development Cookbook is a book targeted at developers with at least some basic experience of Windows Azure. You won’t find long chapters explaining how the Cloud works so this should not be your first Azure book. Instead you’ll find 80 recipes covering a wide range of Azure technologies like: table storage, blobs, queues, roles, diagnostics and the management API, SQL Azure and the Azure AppFabric.

Each recipe starts with a goal, a description of the goal and how to reach that goal. If any preparation needs to be done, the author lists it a Getting Ready section. Then, an How to do it… section goes into detail explaining how to reach the goal with code. Lastly, each recipe ends with an How it works… section where the author explains how the code seen in the previous section works.

Sure you can find most of these recipes online by using your favourite search engine but what I like about this book is that each recipe has clear and detailed explanations. Basically, it adds meat into the bone and you end up getting a better understanding of the Azure API.

If you’re new to Azure, you should try to get a basic understanding of the platform before opening this book but once you get the basics, Microsoft Windows Azure Development Cookbook is a must to get you up to speed with the Azure platform. Highly recommended.

More info: http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-windows-azure-development-cookbook/book