ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0--The Beta Version (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Alex Homer (Author), Dave Sussman (Author), Mark Fussell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0321247124 | ISBN-13: 978-0321247124 | Edition: 2

“A highly readable and comprehensive reference to data access capabilities of the .NET Framework. Suitable for the newcomer and ‘guru’ alike.”

—Arpan Desai, program manager, System.Xml, Webdata XML Team, Microsoft Corporation

“This book goes beyond the typical API reference and goes in detail into why you would use each new feature, what scenarios they were designed for, and how things work from end to end. Great way of getting started with data access in .NET 2.0.”

—Pablo Castro, program manager, ADO.NET Team, Microsoft Corporation

“An insightful look at the XML features in version 2.0 of the .NET Framework v. 2.0 by one of the minds behind many of the innovations in the System.Xml namespace. Even though I was one of the Program Managers who worked on version 2.0 of System.Xml, Mark Fussell’s chapters still taught me a few things I didn’t know about working with XML in the .NET Framework. Truly an excellent work.”

—Dare Obasanjo, program manager, Communication Services Platform, Microsoft Corporation

ADO.NET 2.0 delivers dramatic improvements in relational data access and XML support, as well as outstanding integration with SQL Server 2005. Now’s the time to get a running start with ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0—The Beta Version, the one book that delivers all the insights, best practices, and sample code you’ll need.

Two renowned .NET and XML experts, along with a lead program manager at Microsoft, reveal everything that’s new in ADO.NET and System.Xml—including major changes since 2004’s “Technology Preview.” Using realistic code examples, the authors illuminate improvements to data access and management, the DataSet class, security, schema discovery, and much more. You’ll discover how SQL Server 2005’s in-process CLR hosting will help you build faster, more robust applications—and how to make the most of advances in XML performance, schema support, usability, querying, and serialization. Topics include

• Doing more with less code: asynchronous command execution, promotable transactions, batched update, bulk data copy, and other SqlClient class enhancements
• Leveraging ADO.NET improvements that work with any database platform, including provider factories and the Database Schema Discovery API
• Using the enhanced features of the DataSet class to increase flexibility, simplify coding, and improve erformance
• Integrating with SQL Server 2005, via Multiple Active Result Sets, query notifications, and user-defined types
• Utilizing SQL Server 2005 as an XML database: using, accessing, and updating the XML data type
• Mastering System.Xml v. 2.0 classes for reading/writing XML, document editing, validation, transformations, security, and more
• Discovering new techniques for customizing XML serialization and working with XML document stores
• Maximizing application and service performance with insider tips and tricks from ADO.NET’s creators

Already assessing ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0? Piloting them? Building production applications? Wherever you stand, wherever you’re headed with these technologies, this book will get you there.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“A highly readable and comprehensive reference to data access capabilities of the .NET Framework. Suitable for the newcomer and ‘guru’ alike.”

—Arpan Desai, program manager, System.Xml, Webdata XML Team, Microsoft Corporation

“This book goes beyond the typical API reference and goes in detail into why you would use each new feature, what scenarios they were designed for, and how things work from end to end. Great way of getting started with data access in .NET 2.0.”

—Pablo Castro, program manager, ADO.NET Team, Microsoft Corporation

“An insightful look at the XML features in version 2.0 of the .NET Framework v. 2.0 by one of the minds behind many of the innovations in the System.Xml namespace. Even though I was one of the Program Managers who worked on version 2.0 of System.Xml, Mark Fussell’s chapters still taught me a few things I didn’t know about working with XML in the .NET Framework. Truly an excellent work.”

—Dare Obasanjo, program manager, Communication Services Platform, Microsoft Corporation

ADO.NET 2.0 delivers dramatic improvements in relational data access and XML support, as well as outstanding integration with SQL Server 2005. Now’s the time to get a running start with ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0—The Beta Version, the one book that delivers all the insights, best practices, and sample code you’ll need.

Two renowned .NET and XML experts, along with a lead program manager at Microsoft, reveal everything that’s new in ADO.NET and System.Xml—including major changes since 2004’s “Technology Preview.” Using realistic code examples, the authors illuminate improvements to data access and management, the DataSet class, security, schema discovery, and much more. You’ll discover how SQL Server 2005’s in-process CLR hosting will help you build faster, more robust applications—and how to make the most of advances in XML performance, schema support, usability, querying, and serialization. Topics include

• Doing more with less code: asynchronous command execution, promotable transactions, batched update, bulk data copy, and other SqlClient class enhancements
• Leveraging ADO.NET improvements that work with any database platform, including provider factories and the Database Schema Discovery API
• Using the enhanced features of the DataSet class to increase flexibility, simplify coding, and improve erformance
• Integrating with SQL Server 2005, via Multiple Active Result Sets, query notifications, and user-defined types
• Utilizing SQL Server 2005 as an XML database: using, accessing, and updating the XML data type
• Mastering System.Xml v. 2.0 classes for reading/writing XML, document editing, validation, transformations, security, and more
• Discovering new techniques for customizing XML serialization and working with XML document stores
• Maximizing application and service performance with insider tips and tricks from ADO.NET’s creators

Already assessing ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0? Piloting them? Building production applications? Wherever you stand, wherever you’re headed with these technologies, this book will get you there.

About the Author

Alex Homer is a computer geek and Web developer with a passion for ASP.NET, who doubles as a consultant, trainer, and speaker. Together with Dave Sussman, he has written many books on Microsoft technologies, including ASP.NET v. 2.0--The Beta Version (Addison-Wesley, 2005). He and Dave are the only two Microsoft "Software Legends" from the UK.

Dave Sussman speaks frequently at Microsoft development conferences and has been writing about ASP since its earliest release. Together with Alex Homer, he has written many books on Microsoft technologies, including ASP.NET v. 2.0--The Beta Version (Addison-Wesley, 2005). He and Alex are the only two Microsoft "Software Legends" from the UK.

Mark Fussell is a lead program manager at Microsoft, working on XML and Web service technologies. He designed the XML APIs in version 1.0 release of System.Xml in the .NET Framework and worked on the design of version 2.0 until the end of 2004. In this role, he helped define the future direction of XML and data access in the .NET Framework and within SQL Server 2005. Mark is now the program manager for the Web Services Enhancements (WSE) product, which enables developers to build advanced, secure, service-oriented applications within Visual Studio, based around the WS-* specifications. Fortunately, this still allows him to work with developers and the XML APIs in .NET, and to remain passionate about current and emerging XML technologies to integrate data across platforms—XML came, it saw, it integrated. Mark speaks regularly at conferences and can be contacted via his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/mfussell.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 2 edition (March 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321247124
• ISBN-13: 978-0321247124
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,123,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Experts or people who want to become an Expert, July 15, 2005

By 

T. M. Bosley "Friends call me Mark" - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0--The Beta Version (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book is a worthy companion to Bob Beauchemin et al's First Look. And that is saying a lot.
David Sussman and Alex Homer have always written like they are trying to communicate rather than fill up another book. Mark Fussell joins the gang in an admirable way.
This book is not a fluffy introduction; it is a pretty dense explanation and reference of this new technology. There are plenty of detailed code examples that serve as a tutorial.
For a couple years now, Dare Obasanjo has been yelling from the mountain top - Use XPathNavigator! Use XPathNavigator. For that matter, so has Mark himself in his writings on the web.
Now with v.2 XPathNavigator is editable. And, as I now understand from reading this book, it is conceptually a `higher' object that the current Xml Dom. Now I get it! Few books will give the XPathNavigator its due as this one does.
Microsoft's Xml Schema objects are pretty complicated. This is so to a great extent because Microsoft sticks pretty close to modeling its objects after the w3 consortium's standards. Now, I understand this thanks to chapter 11. And I was able to do some things with schema that before I haven't known where to start.

There have been some changes to ADO.Net since the books release. Microsoft has wisely chosen do away with some new objects for connecting to the database in a stored procedure.
[...]
There have been other changes too where some new features were just too complicated (Table Value Functions).
This is a bummer, but still the value of this book's 528 pages far outweigh the 4 or 5 outdated pages.

SQL Server 2005 is an extraordinary product. Jump on board, get your seats! This book is your ticket.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars deep integration of XML into ADO, May 5, 2005

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0--The Beta Version (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This book shows how Microsoft supports XML as one of the core standards for interacting with its SQL Server database and with its entire .NET framework. The book divides into two parts. The first deals with pure ADO.NET improvements. Many of these. Perhaps the most tangible of which can lead to you writing less code, and hence [hopefully] more robust code.

It will depend a lot on the reader, but for me, I found the main thrust of the book to be in the second section. Which concentrates on showing how ADO.NET handles XML. You can see how it can publish relational data very naturally in an XML format. Indeed, the book shows how XML has the expressive power to also represent semistructured data that is inherently awkward to store in a relational database. (Except perhaps as a blob. But that just treats it as an opaque unitary entity, which is of limited use.)

A constant message in this part of the book is showing how System.XML is thoroughly integrated with ADO and with all of .NET. Professionally, if you are dealing with ADO or any other aspect of .NET, you need to bone up on System.XML.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Microsoft MVP 2005 - Visual C# recommended, September 11, 2005

By 

Robbe D. Morris "Robbe Morris" (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0--The Beta Version (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

There are numerous upgrades between .NET 1.1 and .NET 2.0. Thankfully, this book focuses strictly on ADO.NET and how System.Xml is utilized with it. Not only do you learn about new capabilities, the authors do a good job of comparing new techniques/capabilities with those from .NET 1.1.

You'll want to carefully review the more simplistic methods for asynchronous database calls, XPathNavigator, and notifications. .NET 2.0 is providing you with better and faster ways to work with data. You need to start getting familiar with them prior to the gold release this fall.