Rating: 
Summary: The Definitive ADO.NET Guide
Review: Pragmatic ADO.NET is an excellent introduction to database programming using ADO.NET. The author uses very easy to understand language an code that even a beginner could understand, yet still manages to cover the material in enough depth to make the book still useful to intermediate programmers. The book starts with an introduction to database connections and ends with XML Datasets and database programming best practices. Everything in between is covered with great attention paid to detail. The one thing I would have liked to see in the book was a brief introduction to database system setup. Since it is a beginner book, a brief overview would help those inexperienced, which would make the book even better. This was one of the few programming book I have read in a long time where the code examples very clearly demonstrated the concepts being explained. Far too often, I have to sit scratching my head trying to understand code examples in books. This book is not like that at all. Shawn Wildermuth does a fantastic job making fairly complex ideas easy to understand and engaging. I found the book to be a wonderful, easy read, which left me feeling I really learned a lot.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive ADO.NET Guide
Review: Pragmatic ADO.NET is an excellent introduction to database programming using ADO.NET. The author uses very easy to understand language an code that even a beginner could understand, yet still manages to cover the material in enough depth to make the book still useful to intermediate programmers. The book starts with an introduction to database connections and ends with XML Datasets and database programming best practices. Everything in between is covered with great attention paid to detail. The one thing I would have liked to see in the book was a brief introduction to database system setup. Since it is a beginner book, a brief overview would help those inexperienced, which would make the book even better. This was one of the few programming book I have read in a long time where the code examples very clearly demonstrated the concepts being explained. Far too often, I have to sit scratching my head trying to understand code examples in books. This book is not like that at all. Shawn Wildermuth does a fantastic job making fairly complex ideas easy to understand and engaging. I found the book to be a wonderful, easy read, which left me feeling I really learned a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Pragmatic ADO.NET is an AWESOME BOOK!!!
Review: Pragmatic ADO.NET: Data Access for the Internet World
by Shawn Wildermuth
Addison-Wesley Pub Co The world of ADO.NET can be confusing to someone who is used to the
old versions of ADO. I remember the frustration of trying to wrap my
mind around the new concepts of the "disconnected data"
world. I read a couple of books that had information on ADO.NET and some
decent examples. Even though the examples helped me grasp some of
the "how to do" questions in my mind, none of them really
explained how the new version of ADO.NET worked, why it was designed
the way it is, or gave any best practices. Luckily, I was able to
review this book and a million pieces of the puzzle came flying into
place. Pragmatic ADO.NET is an excellent teacher of what ADO.NET is, how it
works, and how the everyday developer can use it. This is THE book to
read if you want to understand how ADO.NET works, and learn best
practices of how to use it. This book has many examples, but is not over laden with them. They
are shared in a very clear and precise manner, which is always
straight to the point. The examples will help you put into play the
best practices that are discussed in the book. One thing I would have
liked to see were more examples in VB.NET. 99% are in C#. The book is very well written, and flowed very smoothly from one
topic to the next. Shawn has a way of explaining things very clearly,
and in such a way that anyone can understand. That being said, this
is not a beginner's book. But, is a "Must Read" book for
anyone who knows ADO and wants to go to the world of ADO.NET. More
seasoned developers would also greatly benefit from this book. The
best practices that Shawn shares are priceless, and come from his
real world experiences. Summary: Chapter 1: Why ADO.NET
This chapter gives a short history of Universal Data Access, and then
gives a primer on ADO.NET. It discusses why the new ADO.NET is better
than the old ADO, and also goes into things like ADO.NET data
structures and managed providers. Chapter 2: Getting Connected with ADO.NET.
This chapter deals with connections in the ADO.NET world. SQL Server,
OLE DB, Oracle, and ODBC connections are discussed. Connection
pooling for all these connection types are discussed. Returning OLE
DB database schema information and ADO.NET exception handling are
also covered. Chapter 3: Commanding the Database.
ADO.NET command types are discussed, as well as how to execute them.
Some other topics include, wrapping stored procedures, using
parameters, and parameterized queries. The chapter ends by covering
Transactions and Batch Queries. Chapter 4: Reading Data.
All about the world of DataReaders. How they are made, how they work,
etc. Dealing with Database locks, multiple result sets, and working
with datareader Meta Data are some of the other topics covered. Chapter 5: Constructing DataSets.
This is one of my favorite chapters. It helped put a lot of
my "missing puzzle pieces" in place. DataSets are thoroughly
discussed, and topics include TableMappings, multiple DataTables,
DataAdapters, creating DataSets from XML, etc. The chapter also
covers defining the DataSet schema, which includes how to work with
primary keys, relationships, constraints, triggers, and many other
things. Chapter 6: Typed DataSets.
This chapter discusses Typed DataSets. What they are, how you make them, and how to use them. The chapter ends with a discussion on
simplifying Business Object Layers with Typed DataSets. Chapter 7: Working with DataSets.
Now that we know what DataSets are, this chapter begins working with
them. Topics covered include changing, navigating, searching, and
merging Data in DataSets. Chapter 8: Updating the Database.
Disconnected data is great, but it "comes at a cost" as Shawn
puts it. This chapter teaches the ins and outs of concurrency in the
ADO.NET world. Inserts, updates, deletes, and the different
concurrency types are covered. It is a great chapter and you will
finish with a great understanding of how to get the DataSet changes
back into the actual Database. Chapter 9: ADO.NET and XML.
This chapter is all about the DataSet and XML. Getting the data into
XML, saving it as XML, and getting XML to fill a DataSet are a few of
the topics discussed. Chapter 10: Data Binding with ADO.NET.
This chapter discusses the different types of ADO.NET data binding
for Windows forms and ASP.NET. Chapter 11: Scalability and Performance.
This is another one of my most favorite chapters from the book.
Shawn's real world experience shines light on to the world of
performance and scalability. When to worry, why to worry, and how to
avoid problems are all discussed. The last section of the chapter is
all about best practices, and is a great read. Appendix: ADO Migration Strategies
Broad overview of migrating to ADO.NET from ADO. How to migrate ADO
recordsets, connections, and a few other related topics are covered. In conclusion, I give this book a 10 out of 10. It is an excellent
book, and one that is worth your while to read. I would highly
recommend this book to anyone who knows ADO and wants to move to
ADO.NET, or any .Net developer who wants to know more about ADO.NET.
I wouldn't really change much about it, except I would tell Shawn
not to use Atlanta Braves players in his examples... He should use a
better team, like the Arizona Diamondbacks. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Great KJob Shawn
Review: Shawn has given me a lot of good advise on different LISTSERVS. So, I figured it was time I purchased his book and read it.
I guess you could call me the ADO.NET guru at our shop. We all try to specialize in something and this is what I chose 3 years ago. I have read a lot of books and white papers on ADO.NET.
That said, Shawn's book was a quick read for me (about a week, 1-2 hours a night). The book's content is invaluable though if you are learning ADO.NET.
Shawn writes with personality and a little humor. It makes the book fun to read and it flows well. He does not regurgitate the SDK. He introduces a topic, explains it well with a sample or two and a small amount of code (C#) and then moves on. He does not throw volumes of code samples or flow chart\grids at you. One of my pet peeves with tech books is too much code and too many fluffy pictures. There is nothing worst than reading and coming to 10-15 pages of copied\pasted code or 2-3 pages of pretty\fluffy flow charts. Boring IMHO. Stick it on a cd or web site and refer me to it.
Shawn does a nice job covering the things you will need to know and most likely use everyday. He does not waste time covering some cool and neat, that, though it's cool and neat, has little daily value to you as a developer. He covers design techniques very well to.
I did not read the chapter 6, as I am not a fan of typed datasets.
I can honestly state I learned something from every chapter. Most was review, some was "oh yeah, I forgot about that". I especially like the Best Practices section in chapter 11.
My only complaint: he is obviously an Atlanta Braves fan ;-(
I would give the book at least a 4, maybe a 4.5 on a 5 scale. Nice job Shawn and thanks for all the tips.
Rating:
Summary: Aptly named and very timely
Review: Shawn Wildermuth has done a great job of explaining ADO.NET's role and capabilities. This book is an invaluable resource for any developer seeking to learn or master ADO.NET. It goes far beyond the basics, providing best-practices insights and historical context (e.g., explaining how ADO.NET differs from ADO and other earlier Microsoft database interface models) as well as clear examples. ...
Rating:
Summary: ADO.NET best practices
Review: There are so many books about .NET now, so it's very difficult to make a right choice. You can't go wrong with this one - it provides very systematic coverage of .NET database programming and guide you through DOs and DONTs of it.
This was my second ADO.NET book. After I read (and in fact reviewed) an excellent Bob Beauchemin's "Essential ADO.NET", I thought I wouldn't need another ADO.NET book. But actually I did. There are plenty of ways to solve a database task using .NET, and Shawn Wildermuth carefully guides you through alternatives, not only identifying the best approach but also explaining his reasoning. Here is a brief example: data scalability (chapter 11). Shawn explains different caching scenarios (per user, per application, per server), its drawbacks, discusses how to scale out a DataSet, and if you should duplication or segmentation. Then he gives the following advices (again, with explanations):
1. Use DataSet schema
2. User typed DataSets to create business rule layers
3. Reduce roundtrips to the database
4. Cache data early and often
5. Use the DataReader
6. Use connection factories
7. Do not hard code connection strings
This is just one example of in how this book can help .NET database developer. It helped to get cleaner understanding of .NET database interfaces and its best use.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but there are better books on ADO.NET
Review: This book is okay, but I was more interested in C#. I also have the Mastering C# Database Programming book from Sybex, which is much better in my opinion - but check it out for yourself :)
Rating:
Summary: Clear pragmatic guidelines and insight on ADO.NET
Review: This book provides an excellent coverage of all essential issues regarding ADO.NET. It tells you not only how to use ADO.NET but also, and more importantly, how to think through the issues regarding its use depending on the architectural quality you are trying to achieve. The book reads easily with examples building on prior examples or in contrast to prior examples. The examples are complete; not loaded with application fluff that distracts from the point, nor snippets taken out of context. While a lot of deep functionality is covered, it is always in the context of clear pragmatic guidelines that make the difference between success and failure. Disconnected DataSets are a totally new paradigm and the book shows exactly why and how Microsoft moved to this model and how you can benefit from it use.
Rating: 
Summary: Must Have, No beginners!
Review: This isn't a beginner's book on ADO.NET. There are plenty of "getting started" books already. Shawn has a clean, concise almost conversational approach geared for experienced developers. He tackles the question "How do I need to think about ADO.Net?" with clear, progressive examples and logical explanations. It's a "Must Have" on my book shelf although it spends more time open, on my computer desk. Pat Tormey PE
New England C# User Group
Rating:
Summary: Good, but could use more depth
Review: While this is an excellently written book and a very easy read, I find that it doesn't really have the depth for the really sticky problems. It's a great overview, but not a reference work.
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