ASP.NET Cookbook -- ASP.NET brings rapid drag-and-drop productivity to web applications and web services. There are many benefits to using ASP.NET, and one major drawback: the time developers must devote to mastering this new web application technology. ASP.NET Cookbook provides a wealth of solutions to problems commonly encountered when developing in ASP.NET. Appealing to a wide range of developers, each recipe provides an immediate solution to a pressing problem, followed by discussion so developers can learn to adapt techniques to similar situations. Sample Chapter 12, Dynamic Images, is available free online.

ONDotnet Survey -- We're asking ONDotnet.com readers to participate in an online survey. It's your opportunity to help shape our online editorial direction and influence which book titles we pursue. You'll also have a chance to win some of our most popular .NET books. Take the survey.

Using Gtk with Mono -- Because it is cross-platform and object-oriented, the Mono team decided to use the Gimp Toolkit (Gtk) as the basis for its UI framework. Gtk#, the C# wrapper for Gtk, is the result. Learn how to write a Gtk# program and how to deploy it in a Windows environment, from Niel M. Bornstein, a coauthor of Mono: A Developer's Notebook.

Rapid Application Development with VB.NET 2.0 -- Jesse Liberty has supported the idea that it really doesn't matter if you program in C# or in VB.NET, since both are just syntactic sugar layered on top of the Microsoft Intermediate Language--the true language of .NET. But that appears to be changing with Whidbey. Get a look at the new My object in VB.NET 2.0 in this article by Jesse, author of Programming Visual Basic .NET, 2nd Edition.

In Better, Faster, Lighter Java authors Bruce Tate and Justin Gehtland lay out five basic principles to combat the bloat that has built up over time in modern Java programming. Justin applies these same principles to programming in .NET in this article, Better, Faster, Lighter Programming in .NET and Java.

How to Write a Basic Gtk# Program with Mono -- Gtk#, the Mono API for the GTK+ UI toolkit, is the open source alternative to Windows.Forms. This article shows how to install Mono on Windows, how Gtk# works, and how to write a simple Gtk# program. This kind of mini-project is just the sort you'll find in O'Reilly's upcoming Mono: A Developer's Notebook.

O'Reilly Network Launches eDocuments -- Affordable, downloadable PDFs of premium O'Reilly Network content are now available covering topics such as digital media, Java versus .NET security, and Web services, with new titles to be added regularly. There are no restrictions on your ability to save, copy, or print these documents, and you can instantly download a PDF from your O'Reilly account management page once you've purchased it online. For a closer look at our first batch of offerings, visit edocuments.oreilly.com/.

ASP.NET Forms Security -- In his latest Whidbey column, Jesse Liberty shows how easy it is to provide forms-based security in ASP.NET 2.0 via login screens and authentication without writing a single line of code. Jesse is a coauthor of Programming ASP.NET, 2nd Edition.

What's New in Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition? -- What's new, what's hot, and what's not in Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition (SE)? Wei-Meng Lee gives you the rundown on everything from graphics support to new form factors and dual display modes. Wei-Meng is the author of .NET Compact Framework Pocket Guide.

A First Look at Longhorn -- Longhorn is still in pre-beta, but we've got the goods on it. Wei-Meng Lee gives you a guided tour through the new-generation operating system's interface and features. Wei-Meng is the author of Windows XP Unwired.

O'Reilly Distributes Pragmatic Bookshelf -- Books by developers, for developers: that's the pragmatic way, and it's nicely aligned with the O'Reilly approach to publishing. We're happy to help Pragmatic Programmers reach a wider audience by providing sales, distribution, and marketing support for Pragmatic Bookshelf, an imprint of Pragmatic Programmers, LLC. For a list of titles available on the Pragmatic Bookshelf, visit pragmatic.oreilly.com.

Liberty on Whidbey: C# Generics -- The single most anticipated (and dreaded?) feature of Visual C# 2.0 is the addition of Generics. Jesse Liberty shows you what problems Generics solve, how to use them to improve your code, and why you need not fear them. Jesse is a coauthor of Programming .NET Windows Applications.

DataGrids, Improved -- In this new ONDotnet column on Whidbey, Jesse Liberty shows how to use Whidbey's ASP.NET DataGrids. You can get the details on the ADO.NET object model, including DataAdapters, DataTables, DataSets, and DataReaders, from the book coauthored by Jesse, Programming ASP.NET.

Creating an FTP Client in .NET -- When it comes to FTP, .NET's plumbing has a bit of a gap in the pipes. Fortunately, the FTP protocol is very simple, and the .NET Framework does provide enough of the plumbing to make it easy to create an FTP application. Learn how to do it from Jesse Liberty, coauthor of Programming .NET Windows Applications.

New Features in VB.NET Whidbey -- Microsoft recently released the Community Preview of the next Visual Studio .NET, Whidbey, which includes a new and improved VB.NET language. Learn what's in store with the new language features from Wei-Meng Lee, author of the upcoming .NET Compact Framework Pocket Guide.