I put another book in the Further Reading list that rotates in the right margin.

Whenever I have a client-side task, I always reach for this reference guide. Dynamic HTML: The Definitive Reference

Microsoft published sample chapters from a few Microsoft Press books:

• Windows SharePoint Services Inside Out
• Windows SharePoint Services Step by Step

I don't have the time for a full review, but the book Building ASP.Net Server Controls by Dale Michalk and Rob Cameron has been very helpful for a long time.

If you are interested in writing server controls (and remember, Web Parts are server controls) this book is for you. The authors start out with very basic "write" statements, but they progress into a sophisticated control -- one that includes templates, CSS styling and data binding.

I wrote before about the Apress eBookshop, focusing on the reduced price of the books. One other benefit: the PDF files are searchable! A perfect feature for a reference book or users guide.

I am reading the new book from Apress titled SharePoint 2003 Users Guide, written by Seth Bates and Tony Smith. So far, I have only made it thru the first 6 chapters, but I wanted to get my thoughts published as I go along.

The first half of the book covers the core SharePoint features and in my opinion covers them very well. The book provides step-by-step instructions for most tasks, as a Users Guide should. This book is also a good reference for users familiar with WSS who are transitioning to SPS. There are many places where the text takes the "pieces" from WSS and SPS and stitches them together.

Sprinkled throughout the chapters are tips. I found many of these to be very helpful. As an example:

"When filtering a paged view the filter is applied to the entire list, not just the items on the currently displayed page."

The best content that I have read so far is the coverage of lists. The introduction to the chapter on Custom Lists has the following quote:

"Lists in SharePoint also allow you to control how the information is displayed, who has the ability to alter or view the information, and whether new content must be approved before it appears in the list. The ability to customize lists allows SharePoint content structure and data to be maintained by business users rather than having to rely on your IT staff."

This is a very powerful idea, and every content manager should keep this in mind. In my experience, the best SharePoint installations occur when content managers understand this idea and exploit SharePoint's features. The rest of the chapter provides all of the information a user would need to follow this advice.

The chapter on the built-in lists (called Template Lists) is recommended for all WSS/SPS users. The authors cover each list type in detail and contain examples of common uses. In particular, I liked their coverage of the lists in a meeting workspace.

The second half of the book covers SharePoint-based solutions (Document collaboration, Meeting Managment, etc.). Look for another post when I complete those chapters.

From the press release:

Apress L.P. is pleased to announce the creation of the Apress eBookshop. Earlier in 2005, Apress launched the "Free eBook" series. This is a continually growing collection of essential titles, including "A Programmer's Introduction to PHP 4.0," that Apress offers its readers for free. With hundreds of copies of its books being downloaded on a daily basis, Apress is seizing the opportunity by offering IT professionals worldwide a variety of ways to stay at the forefront of technology.

To access the Apress eBookshop, visit http://eBookshop.apress.com or http://www.apress.com.

As you would expect, the prices are dramatically lower for eBooks, which are delivered as PDF files. So far, I am very impressed!

Also, they have a What's New RSS feed.

I (finally) got around to opening the new Scot Hillier book Advanced SharePoint Services Solutions. Right out of the gate, he describes CAML in great detail. Very nice.

He mentions in the introduction that this is not a beginners book, and rightly so. In the first two chapters, there is just a little introduction and then lots of detail. For example, the web services chapter dives right into create a SOAP request with spending time explaining SOAP. This is perfect for me!

The last half of the book discusses other related Microsoft products: IBF, BizTalk, MSMS. Since I've not used those too much, I haven't spent time in those chapters. But the first half of the book has been very helpful.

You can view the table of contents at the Apress site.