Microsoft ADO.NET 3.5 is the latest data access technology from Microsoft. It’s a collection of classes that are part of the .NET Framework, and is designed to provide consistent access to data in loosely coupled n-tier application architectures such as web services. “Data access is a key part of all business and other application development,” says Bill Hamilton, author of ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook (O’Reilly, US $54.99).”Since the first edition of this book, the .NET platform and SQL Server have become serious competitors to technologies such as J2EE and products like Oracle,” Hamilton says. “Understanding and using ADO.NET correctly is critical to the construction of .NET Windows and Web forms applications that consume, use data, and update data. ADO.NET is simply the most robust and easiest to use data access technology.”

Updated for Visual Studio 2008, .NET Framework 3.5, and SQL Server 2008, the book demonstrates how you can work with LINQ and other new .NET technologies to make data access easier and more efficient. ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook offers time-saving recipes for:

• Connecting to data
• Working with disconnected data objects
• Querying, retrieving, searching, analyzing, adding, modifying, copying, and transferring data
• Maintaining database integrity
• Programmatically working with data in .NET Windows and Web Forms user interfaces
• Working with XML data
• Optimizing data access
• Enumerating and maintaining database objects
• SQL Server CLR integration

ADO.NET 3.5 Cookbook is designed to solve a wide variety of real-world data access problems. Clearly organized, the book makes it easy to locate and use the recipes presented, offering more than 200 coding solutions and best practices for problems that developers will encounter every day with ADO.NET. The recipes not only address immediate needs, but also help readers learn the underlying concepts of this technology.

“This is my favorite type of technical book to write–one that presents real world problems and accompanying solutions–rather than the typical tutorials that often leave the reader without an ability to do that,” says Hamilton. “As a consultant who designs large-scale, I believe that I understand the data access problem domain and its importance.”

Murach’s C# 2008 is the latest edition of best-selling C# book. The content continues to evolve with the language, of course, but one thing has stayed the same over the years: We still call this “the C# book you’ll wish you’d bought first” because it gets you developing professional Windows Forms applications without any wasted time or effort.

Why we say this is the C# book you’ll wish you’d bought first

#1: A FAST start, coupled with Visual Studio productivity
This book starts you off using all the best features of Visual Studio 2008 so you can begin productive work almost immediately. In fact, it has you create a simple business application in chapters 2 and 3 so you can see right away how the core features of C# and of Visual Studio work. Download these chapters for free, and see for yourself.

#2: Object-oriented programming made clear
When it comes to object-oriented programming, too many C# books resort to whimsical but useless metaphors, like illustrating objects by creating animal classes such as mammals, cats, and dogs. Then they leave it up to you to figure out how to transfer these concepts to business applications.

In contrast, we present business objects such as customers, invoices, and products so you can see how OOP is used to create multi-tiered applications in the real world.

#3: Confidence in handling business requirements
Learning to use C# classes and OOP techniques isn’t enough. You also have to know how to code for the tasks that are required in most business applications. So this book builds on your skills in incremental steps to teach you how to validate data, handle numeric, date, and string data, work with loops, arrays, and collections, code methods and event handlers, handle exceptions, and work with text, binary, and XML data.

#4: A solid grounding in database programming
You can’t create business applications without handling databases. So this book teaches you how to use C# 2008′s tools for rapid application development, like the data sources feature and data handling controls. It also includes introductions to ADO.NET coding and to LINQ, a 2008 feature that lets you query almost any data source…not just databases…using the C# language.

Powerful stuff that’s glossed over in a chapter or two in most other C# books.

#5: No side-stepping of business requirements
This book presents complete, non-trivial applications that illustrate what you need to know on the job. Studying applications like these is the key to mastering C# development, but you won’t find them in many other C# books.

#6: Practice exercises solidify your skills
The exercises at the end of each chapter let you apply what you’ve learned, giving you valuable, hands-on experience. And because we provide the starting points for these exercises here at our site, you get the maximum amount of practice in a minimum of time.

#7: Paired pages make learning a breeze
If you haven’t ever used one of our books before, you may want to download a sample chapter before you buy. If you do, you’ll discover why programmers are so impressed by our “paired pages” format and why college students ask their instructors for Murach books. Not only does this format make learning easier and faster, but it also makes this the ideal reference book when you’re on the job.

#8: 100% guarantee
Like all our books, this one is backed by our 90-day trial period and 100% guarantee. It must teach you C# 2008 the way the best professionals use it, or send it back for a prompt refund.

So please don’t delay. Get your copy, and let this book turn you into a top C# developer starting today!