ADO.NET Programming, Manning
Microsoft .NET Framework, ASP.NET, Visual C# (CSharp, C Sharp, C-Sharp) Developer Training, Visual Studio
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C# Online.NET Book Review
This is a great book for database developers with backgrounds in DAO, ODBC, OLE DB, or RDO who want to get up and running in a hurry on ADO.NET and to learn the features which are not present in older database software. If you do not bother to actually enter the examples, an experienced developer can quickly absorb the new material.
The author is pretty much self taught on the job: he is not an academic. So, the book is results oriented from start to finish. To profit from the examples in this book, the reader needs to be familiar with C# and basic SQL.
The author shows a preference for console applications and manual coding and gives short shrift to Visual Studio features and wizards. This could be a benefit or a drawback depending on the reader's orientation. But, I wish the author had given more instruction and examples on error handling, which can get pretty hairy with complex updates and transactions.
The book is pretty much for Microsoft-only shops. It uses C# and SQL Server for most examples. And, there is little mention of Oracle or MySQL. On the other hand, the book does instruct us on writing database-independent code which is, probably, the best approach in most situations. While the book touches on .NET Remoting with DataSets and XML, if you plan to do much in these areas, you will need supplemental material.
The book has one major drawback: it does not cover ADO.NET 2.0 or Visual Studio 2005; because, it was published before their releases. However, if you are a newcomer to ADO.NET or work in a shop without 2.0, this will not matter much. Personally, I am glad I own it even though I have several ADO.NET 2.0 books. For one reason, I still need to refer to the older version in support of clients—most of whom are not yet running ADO.NET 2.0. If you can get a good price on this book, it will still offer good value.
Bottom line
ADO.NET Programming is a good introduction to and reference for ADO.NET.
From the back cover
ADO.NET, Microsoft's new data access technology, provides all the standard data access capabilities you would expect. It also solves the unique problems associated with disconnected database access needed for robust n-tier and web applications.
This book covers database programming in .NET and illustrates important steps with nice examples. It shows you how you can achieve effortless separation of data presentation from data access; how to easily go from relational data to XML, and back; how to bind data directly to the Web and Windows Controls; how to write generic access code that talks to multiple databases without change; and much more. Along the way, it illuminates with well-focused examples, points out the "gotchas," and teaches best practices.
What's inside
- Examples in SQL Server, Oracle and MS Access
- Disconnected data with the DataSet
- Moving between relational data and XML
- Binding data to Window and web controls
- Benefits of connection pooling
- Building scalable, multi-tier applications
- Distributed transactions with COM+
- Handy references to core classes
About the author(s)
Arlen Feldman, the chief architect for FrontRange Solutions, collaborates with Microsoft on one of the largest .NET applications to date. He lives in Colorado Springs.
Table of Contents (abbreviated)
Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgements
What the Reader Should Know
Part 1 - ADO.NET Overview
Chapter 1 - Microsoft Database Technologies Past and Present
Chapter 2 -ADO.NET From Above
Chapter 3 - XML Aand ADO.NET
Chapter 4 - Setup for Examples
Part 2 - ADO.NET Basics
Chapter 5 - ADO.NET Data Providers
Chapter 6 - Basic Operations with the SQL Server Data Provider
Chapter 7 - Basic Operations with the OLE DB Data Provider
Chapter 8 - Writing Database Independent Code
Chapter 9 - Connection Objects
Chapter 10 - Command Objects
Chapter 11 - DataReader Objects
Chapter 12 - Binding Data
Chapter 13 - Working with Stored Procedures
Chapter 14 - Transactions
Chapter 15 - ADO.NET From the Web (ASP.NET)
Part 3 - The Dataset Class
Chapter 16 - What Are Datasets?
Chapter 17 - Using Datasets
Chapter 18 - The DATATABLE and DATAROW
Chapter 19 - Datarelations and Constraints
Chapter 20 - Custom Dataadapters
Chapter 21 - Querying the Dataset
Chapter 22 - Remoting Datasets
Part 4 - Datasets and Data Bound Controls
Chapter 23 - Data Bound Controls
Chapter 24 - The Datagrid Winform Control
Chapter 25 - The Datagrid Web Control
Chapter 26 - The Datalist Web Control
Chapter 27 - The Repeater Web Control
Chapter 28 - Dataviews
Part 5 - XML in ADO.NET
Chapter 29 - XML and ADO.NET
Chapter 30 - Relational Data as XML
Chapter 31 - XML as Relational Data
Chapter 32 - XPath Queries
Chapter 33 - SQL Server XML Features
Part 6 - Useful Extras
Chapter 34 - Connection Pooling
Chapter 35 - Reading Database Information
Chapter 36 - Prompting for Data Sources
Chapter 37 - Distributed Transactions
