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For anyone who programs with databases in the new .NET in C#, ADO.NET Examples and Best Practices for C# Programmers shows you what works and what doesn't when it comes to Microsoft's latest APIs for working with databases. Filled with practical advice and recommended "best practices," this concise and useful book offers some valuable advice for anyone working with ADO.NET.

While many C# titles cover Microsoft's .NET Framework in its entirety, the focus on the APIs and programming strategies for databases makes this one a standout. This edition of the book is actually a rewrite of William Vaughn's older title, ADO Examples and Best Practices, but it adopts the same focus in showing how to do the job right when it comes to databases. The authors are clear about relating what's new and improved with ADO.NET compared to the earlier COM-based standard (referred to here as "ADOc"). Early sections delve into connecting to ADO.NET data sources (using SQL Server and ODBC).

The focus on "best practices" for fast, correct code begins with a full tour of using Command objects in ADO.NET, with hints for getting to parameters in SQL code (including stored procedures). A winning feature here is the information on Visual Studio .NET wizards for programming with database objects. (The wizard support is surprisingly powerful, and the authors show you how to start with wizard-generated code and then customize it yourself.)

The fastest way to get to data in ADO.NET is arguably using a DataReader class. Coverage here is followed by a richer tour of the options using DataTable and DataSet, which allow you to define new table structures, including relational data and disconnected data sets. Good features in this text are the authors' benchmarks for determining how to dig into ADO.NET collections to quickly find individual column data within a record. (Certain coding conventions here can really ruin performance, and you'll learn what to avoid.)

The book rounds out with a tour of XML support available in ADO.NET, including how to pass data in and out of databases through XML. A useful example that shows a Web service exposing a bit of ADO.NET database code will let you extend your ADO.NET programs across servers. A brief introduction to the relevant standards in Web services like SOAP will help you understand what goes into Web services.

Databases are a part of most every business application, so .NET developers will need to master new APIs and programming strategies in a hurry. This title fits the bill, with a handy and fast-moving tutorial that will get you going confidently with .NET and databases. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: COM-based ActiveX Data Objects (ADOc) and ADO.NET compared; overview of ADO.NET classes and features (including XML support, data providers, disconnected data sets); connecting to data with SQL, ODBC, and ADOc data providers; using ADO.NET command objects in detail (including stored procedures and IDE support); using the ADO.NET DataReader object for fast, read-only queries; using the DataTable and DataSet objects (including building tables on the fly); filtering, sorting, and searching techniques with ADO.NET (including the DataView object); updating data with ADO.NET (adding, editing and deleting rows, validation, update strategies, using identity fields); using .NET constraints (including unique and foreign key constraints; DataRelation objects); structured exception handling with ADO.NET; XML support in ADO.NET (including DataSet XML features, DiffGrams, XML Schema); a Web service example with XML and a data set; SOAP explained; benchmark data for best practices with ADO.NET; using the DataAdapter Configuration Wizard (DACW) and other Visual Studio .NET wizards.
Book Description

Written specifically for COM-based ADO developers retooling for ADO.NET using the C# language, this book brings fresh insights and tips on the ADO.NET technology. Veteran authors William Vaughn and Peter Blackburn have packed this formative guide with practical advice on how to write code that is both faster running and easier to understand.

The onset of the new .NET technology is forcing developers to completely rethink their data access strategies. This book helps you to do this through working examples and numerous discussions of what works and what doesn't. Derived from years of experience working with data access developers, Vaughn's Best Practices are a set of techniques proven to drastically reduce overhead, problems, and confusion--for the devleoper, the system, and the entire team. While some are quite simple to implement, others require considerable forethought to enable. This is a developer's book--full of hints, tips and notes passed on from those who've spent significant time in the .NET and C# trenches.
Download Description

The onset of the new .NET technology forces developers to completely rethink their data access strategies. All at once there is an entirely new language and a new set of data access interfaces to learn and incorporate into their designs. The purpose of this book is to make the choice and implementation of the best of those technologies far easier. It does this through working examples and numerous discussions of what works and what doesn't. Vaughn's Best Practices are the techniques that developers need to know because they cause the least amount of overhead, problems and confusion-for the developer, the system and the team. While some are quite simple to implement, other Best Practices require considerable thought and forethought to enable. This is a developer's book—full of hints, tips and notes passed on from those who show the medals and scars of battles won and lost.

1. Working with ADO
2. Introduction to ADO
3. Creating ADO Objects
4. Getting Connected
5. ADO Command Strategies
6. Recordset Strategies
7. Manipulating Your Recordset
8. Understanding Record and Stream Objects
9. Passing Resultsets Between Layers
10. Getting Your Data into Shape
11. Data Access Tips and Techniques
12. ADO and The Visual Database Tools
Part Two - ADO.NET and the .NET Frameworks

13. Introducing ADO.NET
14. ADO.NET-Getting Connected
15. ADO.NET Command Strategies
16. ADO.NET DataReader Strategies
17. Using the DataTable and DataSet
18. Filtering, Sorting, and Finding
19. ADO.NET Update Strategies
20. ADO.NET Constraint Strategies
21. ADO.NET Error Management Strategies
22. ADO.NET and XML