Mastering Visual Basic .NET Database Programming [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Evangelos Petroutsos (Author), Asli Bilgin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 2002 | Series: Mastering

Enter a New World of Database Programming

Visual Basic .NET and ADO.NET facilitate the development of a new generation of database applications, including disconnected applications that run on the Web. Mastering Visual Basic .NET Database Programming is the resource you need to thrive in this new world. Assuming no prior experience with database programming, this book teaches you every aspect of the craft, from GUI design to server development to middle-tier implementation. If you’re familiar with earlier versions of ADO, you’ll master the many new features of ADO.NET all the more quickly. You'll also learn the importance of XML within the new .NET paradigm. Coverage includes:

• Getting familiar with the ADO.NET object model
• Using the data access wizards
• Taking advantage of new SQL Server 2000 features
• Carrying out XSL Transformations and XPath queries
• Generating XML using the T-SQL FOR XML statement
• Binding controls to ADO.NET result sets
• Arriving at a sound database design
• Tuning your SQL Server 2000 database
• Using the XML Designer in Visual Studio .NET
• Leveraging the data access tools available in the Visual Studio .NET IDE
• Working with .NET data providers
• Choosing between streaming data and caching data
• Working with the Data Form Wizard in Visual Studio .NET
• Using advanced ADO.NET techniques
• Building a threaded application
• Using .NET’s advanced exception handling capabilities
• Using the .NET Deployment Project Template

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Enter a New World of Database Programming

Visual Basic .NET and ADO.NET facilitate the development of a new generation of database applications, including disconnected applications that run on the Web. Mastering Visual Basic .NET Database Programming is the resource you need to thrive in this new world. Assuming no prior experience with database programming, this book teaches you every aspect of the craft, from GUI design to server development to middle-tier implementation. If you're familiar with earlier versions of ADO, you'll master the many new features of ADO.NET all the more quickly. You'll also learn the importance of XML within the new .NET paradigm. Coverage includes:

Getting familiar with the ADO.NET object model

Using the data access wizards

Taking advantage of new SQL Server 2000 features

Carrying out XSL Transformations and XPath queries

Generating XML using the T-SQL FOR XML statement

Binding controls to ADO.NET result sets

Arriving at a sound database design

Tuning your SQL Server 2000 database

Using the XML Designer in Visual Studio .NET

Leveraging the data access tools available in the Visual Studio .NET IDE

Working with .NET data providers

Choosing between streaming data and caching data

Working with the Data Form Wizard in Visual Studio .NET

Using advanced ADO.NET techniques

Building a threaded application

Using .NET's advanced exception handling capabilities

Using the .NET Deployment Project Template

From the Author

When writing this book, I wanted to avoid regurgitating the information that you could find anywhere on the web or online help. Therefore, you won’t find pages and pages of syntactical reference material. All you have to do is hit F1 to get that. Instead, I wanted to provide a conceptual foundation for architecting distributed systems using the .NET paradigm. Once this foundation is in place, I superimpose both the logical and physical layers that create a database driven system. This way, you’ll get more than a “type-what-where” approach, you’ll understand how .NET database systems should be architected, as well as the reasons behind these design decisions.

The role of data is different in a distributed environment. Most often, you must rely on outdated snapshots. Yes, outdated, because as soon as the data leaves the database, it gets old quickly. Disconnected users are more common, not merely because of the prevalence of the Internet (which users browse from their desktop), but also because of the spread of wireless devices, such as cell phones and PDAs. Because of this, you’ll have to understand how to work with data caching, streams, and synchronization.

On a technical level, how you design and write your data access code has changed. The VB runtime has been replaced by a unified CLR. More than likely, you’ll be working with the .NET base classes and .NET data providers, rather than ADO or OLE DB. You’ll need to understand how to program with XML and its satellite technologies, such as XPath and XSLT. Relational data is not the only way to store your data; both relational and hierarchical data schemas play a vital role. You’ll cover all these concepts and technologies within Mastering Visual Basic.NET Database Programming.

--- Asli Bilgin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (January 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782128785
• ISBN-13: 978-0782128789
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the XML chapters alone, April 2, 2002

By 

Patricia Martins (South Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Visual Basic .NET Database Programming (Paperback)

When I picked up the book, I thought I would just be learning about how to design a database. As a seasoned programmer, I am not interested in information I can grab off the web. I was delighted to find so much un-documented information in this book. Instead of a dry, design your database manual, you get an around the world tour of almost every flavor of technology that surrounds data access. Chapters 10 and 12 are my all-around favorites - X/Path, XSL/T XML and the related technologies. I would like the authors to write a book just on XML alone. Another favorite topic of mine (which was again, very clearly explained): SQL Server access over HTTP. This was great information that I can definitely use in my systems today. A terrific book overall.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on .NET, April 2, 2002

By 

MartyMoose "Martymoose" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Visual Basic .NET Database Programming (Paperback)

Although the title indicates that this is a book purely about database programming, don't let it fool you. This book is filled with much more information than just database programming. You learn how to build ASP.NET applications, work with customized user controls in VB.NET. XML also gets a lot of coverage in this book and you learn, step-by-step how to build a custom XSL stylesheet. The authors walk you through building the template and XPath queries. XPath isn't an easy language, by any means, but the examples step you through from the simple to the complex, giving you indepth information along the way. Another thing that I was really surprised with was the fact that all the examples I've tried so far work. This is really surprising in a programming book, especially one that's written in time to be published right when .NET launched. I'm very impressed with the quality of the code, as well as the way this book is written.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mastering? What, exactly?, July 26, 2002

By 

Stephen Oriold "Stephen Lone Wolf" (Baldwin Park, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Visual Basic .NET Database Programming (Paperback)

First of all, the title is a bit pretentious.
Going through this book, you won't find much about as much as connecting to an Oracle, Sybase or db2 database. I guess, they are minor players in the eyes of the authors/publisher.

Secondly, coverage of development for the "Windows Forms" environment is very limited, compared to development for the browser and, generally, Net. You might not find out, how to map and bind fields in an Access database to a textbox on a "Windows Forms" form, but you will be able to create a shopping cart application.

Thirdly, a lot of space is dedicated to general notions, database theory and normalization (which, by the way, is much better covered in books dedicated to relational database theory), while a lot of info dedicated to XML was squeezed out of the book, to the CD only, or just completely missing (like hardcore info on working with Access).

If your database is SQL Server, and your playground is the Net, buy the book. Otherwise, check it out in the bookstore, and JUDGE FOR YOURSELF ...

The book itself, in material and workmanship, is somewhat flimsy, has a cheap feel to it, and is falling apart after about a month of casual use on a programmer's desk.