Multi-tier applications have been written about and discussed for years. However, it also takes years for new technologies, approaches or methodologies to become commonplace. For those wishing to create (distributed) multi-tier applications using Microsoft technologies then this book has a lot to offer.

The author has logically structured the book with a good combination of clear text, useful screenshots and code snippets, with everything based on the proverbial video store example. The topics covered include architecture, deploying multi-tier applications, COM, the object model, ADO, OLE DB, MTS and ASP. Of course if you do not recognise all of these Microsoft acronyms then this is not likely to be for you. For a book of around four hundred pages covering this many acronyms is covering a lot of ground, but equally there is enough information and guidance to keep you following along with the sample application. The source code itself is contained on the accompanying CD and also a web site for corrections and questions.

There is a tremendous amount of information in this book, for example learning how to use the ATL trace, stateful or stateless objects, or what the difference is between a phantom and zombie (at least for record-sets!). There are other areas where you wonder if this is really useful or relevant, for example the discussion and code for using OLE DB when ADO provides a useful interface to it. However, overall there are plenty of areas that are covered in a style that is both engaging and informative. There is sufficient depth to the information that anyone interested in Microsoft technologies for multi-tier development would find this a useful book.