ADO.NET Examples and Best Practices for C# Programmers

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.