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Murach's ADO.NET 4 Database Programming with C# 2010 (Murach: Training & Reference) Review(5/11/11: Update for 4.0 version at bottom.)
The introduction to this book says that knowledge of C# is assumed, but no database knowledge is necessary. What that really means is that she starts at the beginning, but she moves quickly into advanced material.
I like this approach. Too many books skip or gloss over the basics, giving a reader nowhere to look if he doesn't fully understand the code examples (except additional books).
Murach books use a "paired page" layout. On the left page is text, with the right page showing diagrams, bullet points and code samples. The right page is almost like a PowerPoint presentation, and you can quickly get through material you already know by skimming the pages on the right. The paired pages generally help you read at your own appropriate pace, especially if you're familiar with many of the points. In places, I found myself reading both pages and seeing the same material, or reading only one side and missing something. Each chapter ends with a summary and a list of terms, so you can check that you understood all of it. The layout makes it easy to go back and find something later.
These books contain good, complete and realistic code examples, and step-by-step instructions for creating them using Visual Studio tools. However, all of the ADO chapters discuss WinForms, not ASP. Many of the LINQ techniques are applicable to either platform, but the first half of the book is of minimal help to the ASP developer. (The LINQ and EF sections do dedicate their last chapters to ASP.)
LINQ (Language Integrated Query) was added with .NET 3.0 and enhanced in 3.5. Briefly, LINQ allows you to perform SQL-like selection over collections of data, whether in databases, XML, or program Objects. It lets you use a list to return another list, filtered and/or sorted. In the introductory LINQ chapter, she briefly introduces Lambda expressions, which offer a shorter, alternative syntax to many LINQ queries. Lambdas are missing from the rest of the book.
The Entity Framework, added in .NET 3.5 SP1, allows you to program to conceptualized objects instead of a specific database structure. Both LINQ and EF simplify working with data, by adding IntelliSense and a terse, flexible syntax to replace what would formerly have been much more code, tied to a specific implementation.
Murach's website has all the code examples available for free download, and there are exercises at the end of chapters using suggested changes to the examples. To me, this is the best part of the book. The downloaded code saves you from having to type along, but the exercises test your knowledge of both programming concepts and the hidden features of the Visual Studio IDE.
The code samples use SQL Server Express. An appendix explains how to download it from Microsoft if you don't already have it.
I learned a lot from this book. It introduced me to areas of Visual Studio that I had never seen before, as well as LINQ and EF. There's a lot of material here, well presented. It mostly lives up to the Murach claim that their books are "several books in one", replacing what would otherwise be a book on ADO, a book on LINQ and possibly a third book on EF.
SIDE NOTE: Microsoft has hinted that they will deprecate LINQ to SQL Server, in favor of LINQ to Entity Framework. The jury may be out on this, however.
UPDATE, 5/11/11: I just read the 4.0 version of this book. The new edition is an evolutionary change with some nice readability improvements. New sections were added on ASP.NET and XML, and the LINQ chapters are leaner and less redundant. Entity Framework is removed from the title and gets less coverage than in the earlier version, but there is a good introduction.
Murach's ADO.NET 4 Database Programming with C# 2010 (Murach: Training & Reference) OverviewNow in its 4th Edition, this book shows C# developers how to use Visual Studio and ADO.NET to develop database applications the way the best professionals do. You'll learn how to:
quickly create Windows and web applications by dragging-and-dropping data controls in Visual Studio 2010
code your own presentation, business, and database classes with ADO.NET 4 to build 3-layer applications...the route the professionals take for flexibility and control
display and manipulate data in web applications by using ASP.NET data controls designed specifically for that purpose, like GridView and DetailsView
work with XML-specific features of ADO.NET to read, write, and manipulate XML data in your applications
use Visual Studio's Report Designer and ReportViewer control to create and display reports in both Windows and web applications
use LINQ to SQL instead of standard SQL so you can query databases using C# constructs
create Entity Data Models so you can use LINQ to Entities to work with business objects, like invoices, while the Entity Framework handles the database details
Practice exercises at the end of every chapter and complete database applications throughout help you master every skill along the way. And Murach's distinctive "paired-pages" format...where each skill is presented with examples and advice in a single 2-page spread...is great for both targeted learning and reference.
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