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Developers need a way to interact with all data platforms in a uniform way, and Microsoft has attempted time and again to meet this need with its Universal Data Access strategy. In developing ADO.NET, Microsoft has made their additions of support for XML and disconnected data sets easier to use. This tutorial will guide the reader through ADO.NET from the top down, showing readers the hows and whys of using ADO.NET with lots of examples they can mold into their own projects right away. It is intended to be an introduction to ADO.NET for developers with some knowledge of data access. While it will show readers how ADO.NET follows on its predecessors, it will be written to avoid repeating any remedial instruction in databases and storage theory.
Create Your Own .NET Metadata with Attributes
Reviewed: Three ASP.NET DataGrid Components
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Chapter 6
(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with a Conclusion.)
Foreword.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
I. THE BASICS OF ADO.NET.
1. Why ADO.NET.A Short History of Universal Data Access.
Why ADO.NET Is a Better Data Access Layer.
A Short Course in ADO.NET.
2. Getting Connected with ADO.NET.First Impressions.
Connections.
Getting OLE DB Database Schema Information.
Error Handling in .NET.
3. Commanding the Database.Commands.
Executing Commands.
Database Transactions in ADO.NET.
Batch Queries.
4. Reading Data.Reading Data.
The DataReader.
Putting It All Together.
II. ALL ABOUT DATASETS.
5. Constructing DataSets.What is a Dataset.
Filling Datasets.
Defining DataSet Schema.
6. Typed DataSets.What Are Typed DataSets?
Generating Typed DataSets.
Using Typed DataSets.
Simplification of Business Object Layers.
7. Working with DataSets.Changing the Data.
Navigating the DataSet.
Searching the DataSet.
Merging DataSets.
8. Updating the Database.The Trouble with Disconnected Data.
Concurrency in ADO.NET.
Common Updating Issues.
III. ADO.NET IN ACTION.
9. ADO.NET and XML..NET and XML.
The DataSet and XML.
The XmlDataDocument Class.
10. Data Binding with ADO.NET.What is Data Binding in .NET?
Data Binding in Windows Forms.
Data Binding in ASP.NET.
11. Scalability and Performance.Should You Worry?
Before ADO.NET.
How ADO.NET Can Help.
Are DataReaders Scalable.
ADO.NET Performance.
Best Practices.
Appendix: ADO Migration StrategiesPlanning for Migration to ADO.NET.
ADO.NET Equivalents for ADO Objects.
Conclusion.
Index. 0201745682T10112002ADO.NET is not ADO. This is the most important fact that this book tries to convey. Understanding ADO.NET is not just about how to get database data or how to update the database. It requires an understanding of why it was built. ADO.NET takes a completely different approach in accessing databases than older Microsoft data access strategies. This is not your fatherUs ADO.
This book intends to be neither a reference nor an "Internals" book of how ADO.NET works. It is geared towards helping day-to-day developers get their jobs done. This book intends to give clear advice on how to use ADO.NET.
This book is squarely aimed at developers who have a basic understanding of .NET and of databases. It is intended to help day to day developers get their job done. It does not assume prior experience with ADO, though it does build somewhat on that knowledge if it exists.
Part one is intended to get you started with the basics.
Chapter 1 Why ADO.NETBefore the book explains how to work with ADO.NET, it explains why ADO.NET was written. Chapter one discusses the history of Microsoft Data Access to explain how we got to ADO.NET.
Chapter 2 Getting Connected with ADO.NETBefore we can do anything with a database, we must know how to connect to them. Chapter two is all about getting connected to databases through ADO.NET. This includes a discussion of how connection strings work, connection pooling in a variety of Managed Providers, patterns for connection creation and how to minimize connections to the database.
Chapter 3 Commanding the DatabaseOur only interface with the database is to issue commands and deal with the result of those commands. This chapter focuses on how to get the database to do work for us by using Command objects. This includes explanation of how to use the Command objects with simple SQL statements, parameterized queries, stored procedures and batch queries.
Chapter 4 Reading DataDataReaders are ADO.NETUs method for getting tables from the database. In chapter four, the book explains how to use DataReaders to access database information and shows an example of writing a class that uses the DataReader as its data source.
The DataSet is the heart of ADO.NET. To use the DataSet effectively, we must examine how it can be used to solve our day-to-day problems.
Chapter 5 Constructing DataSetsThis chapter explains exactly what DataSets are and why you should use them. It covers the many ways to make DataSets including using DataAdapters, XML and code to create them. A complete discussion of how to use DataSet schema is also included in this chapter.
Chapter 6 Typed DataSetsTyped DataSets are a useful tool to allow you to have code that adapts to changing schema. Chapter six explores this new programming model where we create Typed DataSets and use them as the basis for business logic layers that are typically all hand-written. This chapter also shows how to create Typed DataSets from within Visual Studio.NET as well as from the command-line.
Chapter 7 Working with DataSetsNow that we know how to create our DataSets, we need to understand how to use them to manipulate data and how the data is structured inside them. Chapter seven explains how the DataSet model works and how you can use it to get your job done.
Chapter 8 Updating the DatabaseOnce we have manipulated data within a DataSet, we have to have a way to update the database with those changes. Chapter eight walks you through how to plan for disconnected concurrency. It includes examples of using the built-in optimistic concurrency and how to implement pessimistic and destructive concurrency. In addition, the chapter discusses how to handle concurrency violations and gives concrete examples of one solution for dealing with concurrency violations.
Now that we know how to access data, manipulate it and update the database with the changes, we need to know how we can get ADO.NET to interact with the rest of the .NET framework.
Chapter 9 ADO.NET and XMLXML is just data. ADO.NET is the data framework for .NET. These two facts come together to show why ADO.NET is so tightly integrated with the XML framework to allow for database data to be commingled with database data. Chapter nine explores the way to treat each type of data like their brethren.
Chapter 10 Data Binding with ADO.NETIn .NET, there are two forms based technologies Windows Forms and Web Forms. Luckily, ADO.NET containers (DataReaders, DataSet, and DataTables) all support direct data binding. Chapter ten shows you how.
Chapter 11 Scalability & PerformanceThis chapter brings it all together with concrete design suggestions for how to build scalable, high performance systems. In addition, the chapter lists a set of best practices for using ADO.NET and database development in general.
We cannot pretend that all .NET code will be all new development. There are many developers out there who have code to migrate to .NET. This appendix lists a number of strategies for living in a mixed system where you need to have ADO.NET data structures reading ADO structures and vice versa.
I first met Shawn via email a number of years ago. He hung out at the same mailing lists that I did and had interesting things to say, so, when I needed some help on a project, he was on my list of potentials. I remember sending out an email late one evening, expecting a response sometime the next day. Forty-five minutes later as I was checking email one last time before going to bed, I already had a response from Shawn, who was three time zones later than I was. Not only was he willing, he was enthusiastic about the project and brimming with experience and ideas. That was the beginning of a relationship that brought us together daily for the next three years, and it's been fruitful for me ever since.
During the tail end of our project together, Shawn got another request for help on a project, this time from the Microsoft database community as a whole. The request was to fill a much-needed gap in the knowledge of Microsoft's latest database technology: ADO.NET. And once again, not only was Shawn willing, he was enthusiastic, setting up his own ADO.NET forum on the Web and jumping into DevelopMentor's new .NET mailing list, answering most of the deluge of database questions off the top of his head. The growing base of knowledge that Shawn was gathering about the importance of ADO.NET in a fully networked world, and the corresponding details that you need to make it actually work, eventually caused him to ask me whether he should write a book. I told him that if he could think of anything else to do in his free time, he should do that instead. Writing a good book (which I knew was what he was after) is too hard. The only way to make it through is if you've got a burning story in your heart that you can't not tell.
Thankfully for the rest of us, Shawn's story has burned its way onto the pages of the book you now hold in your hand. Whether Shawn has already helped you with your database problems online or whether this is your first exposure to his work, I'm quite confident that it will be, like mine, a very fruitful relationship indeed.
Chris Sells
www.sellsbrothers.com
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