I need recommendations on a book for developing websites
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
Slow Eddie wrote:
It's hell getting old.
It's better than the alternative! :-D
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
You are probably going to have to go back to the book, Amazon.com: Pro ASP.NET 4.5 in C# eBook: Freeman, Adam[^] That's a great book which contains an ecommerce solution and walks you through all the steps. However, if you could download Visual Studio Community 2017 or later you can do ASP.NET Core and you'll be happier. It'll be easier to support in future and easier to get going. Adam Freeman is a fantastic author who sticks to the point. Here's his latest which is fantastic. Pro ASP.NET Core 3 (Develop Cloud-Ready Web Applications Using MVC 3, Blazor, and Razor Pages): Freeman, Adam: 9781484254394: Amazon.com: Books[^]
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
If it is serious stuff, you might want to hire someone skilled in the art. You could ask for recommendations here.
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
If it is to sell inventory, rather you could do proper research and get something done on the cloud using azure or aws (or look for a it solution provider to do it for your company). There are eCommerce solutions you could deploy onto the cloud.Considering that what ever you make should be secure enough and properly tested.
Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
Just one initial alarm bell (out of several) that rang for me - I was working a year or so ago with a client who was running Server2008; that OS doesn't support TLS1.2 and as a result, very few browsers can talk to his server any more over HTTPS. Support for TLS1.0 (and 1.1?) was pulled from Chrome, for instance, many months ago. At the same time browsers, and AV systems etc, are flagging sites that don't support HTTPS so his clients (businesses, not even the general public) couldn't reach his site. For various reasons I won't go into here, the client couldn't upgrade. A workaround I made clear was a short-term kludge was to point his domain at one of my servers, and run a proxy server on that using plain HTTP to his aging server. Clients happy, communications restored. (Needless to say, it's still up and running now and no news on any move away from that setup). In summary, you may find that Windows Server 2008 is not a viable system to run a website on in 2021.
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
To what extent do you think you'll update the site? I recently went through a similar process updating a 2003 website to current standards and also developed an API version, all with VB. I started with a hosted VM then went to a dedicated server, keeping the VM for development. I bought books on VB in ASP.Net 4.5 but found that they weren't as basic as I needed them to be - it was easier to use my old books on v2.0 and v3.5 to get started and then move on as I developed new features, finally swapping to an API basis for the most advanced versions of the site. I would recommend you get VS2019 as a start - is there any reason why you can't move from VS2015?
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
I think you and I are very similar. We're the multitaskers that can "hack" something together to make it work. As you can see from the other replies, there's a lot of variables that go into an external facing e-commerce website. If you're not on top of them, it could be disastrous to say the least. Maybe someone could recommend a skinnable e-commerce service in the cloud or something prepackaged to minimize your risk. Disclaimer: I apologize if I've read too far into your question.
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
I would first say to my self "what are we actually trying to accomplish?" A lot had changed in 7 years and there may be other ways to get the job done. For example I have a client that had a full e-commerce site that switched to etsy, her sales have only gone up. I would suspect your SQL Server tables and procedures etc should be just fine on new hardware. For all the excitement of the past 10 years the basics of web development are still the same. POST and GET still do the same things.
works the same. What do these programs do? Who will be using them? A few internal users or public website?
-
Slow Eddie wrote:
It's hell getting old.
It's better than the alternative! :-D
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Sometimes, I wonder.
I just don't know
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
I would consider converting Ecom to something like Shopify, etc. With security, ssl transactions and other at your age(like me) I’d let someone else carry that load. I’d continue company VB programs with 2015. Not a lot has changed with DB hookups. You can solve most questions/problems with stack overflow.
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
-
I am an old guy. In 2013 I created a 2 websites on 2 separate servers, hosted by a provider, one for eCommerce(running on IIS) and the other to run the company's programs, which are written in VB. There was a third server, to handle the MSSqlServer databases, reachable only by the other 2 servers. The eCommerce app was developed with ASP.net on a Windows XP box. (Please don't laugh or make fun, it was 7 years ago.) :sigh: Th boss never pulled the trigger to start using it. :( :sigh: :( :sigh: :sigh: Now he wants it up and running. The data Servers are VM machines. the data server is MS Server 2016, and the eCommerce server and the application server are MS Server 2008 R2. The languages and technologies have changed so much I do not know where to begin. Can you recommend a simple book for a Newbie( Which I am for all practical purposes ) on creating and maintaining websites? I am limited to a Visual Studio 2015 community edition if that makes any difference. Also, a book that explains VM's and how to manage them would be great. Your help would be sincerely appreciated.
It's hell getting old.
I'm an old guy, too. One thing I've learned is to throw away my books. Every framework or language has tutorials on the web. That's where I would start. My most recent preference is ASP.NET MVC in C# with Entity Framework 4.8. I would recommend Core, but it is subject to so many frequent, breaking changes, and there is no Microsoft Reporting Services version that supports RDLC under Core, yet.