Customer Reviews

Murach's VB.NET Database Programming with ADO.NET

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are very few publishers in the IT world that follow the approach taken by the Murach's series to teach. All the left hand side pages of this book are theory and explanations and all the right hand side pages of this book are code/explanations. It is a new and unique approach that seems to work. It is clear when you read the book that the authors are definitely geared towards teaching the subject and making it as easy as possible for you to learn. This is obvious even in the way things are explained where the authors make no assumptions and start from scratch in explaining everything in great detail. This is an excellent approach to teach beginners.

The book is split into two parts - using VB.NET to build desktop applications and using VB.NET to build web applications. But for both sections, it MAINLY addresses the issue of connecting to databases through ADO.NET. And if you are looking at learning how to develop just web applications, you are forced to learn how to build desktop applications first. The reason for this is that the book starts with the desktop applications before proceding to the web applications and it doesn't repeat the knowledge presented in the earlier chapters. So you can't start directly reading the web development chapters. But we found that it isn't that great an inconvenience.

If you are in a rush, you are better off looking at another book in the market - 'Programming the Web with Visual Basic.NET' by Torkelson, et al. This book only addresses how to develop web applications using VB.NET and it does an equally fantastic job at teaching if not better. It also goes a lot deeper into the subject. This other book does does claim to be only for Intermediate/Advanced users though we believe that if you are an experienced programmer but just new to VB.NET, you should be okay.

The book being reviewed here does have a website where you can download the sample code and we have been able to successfully use a lot of the code with very few problems in implementing the code. There are almost no negatives to this book with the exception that it isn't for an advanced user and it forces you to learn how to build desktop applications first. Everything it addresses, it does a fantastic job but it does leave out the very advanced topics.

We thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and wanted to share this valuable find with others (not just this book but also other books by the Murach's series). We hope you too enjoy learning from this book as much as we did. Our copy will continue to be used for a long time to come to give you an indication of how much we like this book. Good luck!

I took on the project of constructing a database application to track our customers since there was nothing out there off the shelf that would do exactly what we needed done. I had not programmed in 12 years and did not know a first thing about VB.NET or object-oriented programming. The book is so well structured that I managed to build a database application from the ground-up while learning to program all over again within 6 months - it would have taken shorter but the only times I could dedicate to the project was nights and weekends. And guess what; after I beta-tested the program and ironed out the bugs, the program never even crashed once! On average 15 concurrent users are on the program and enter about 200 transacions daily. This book helped make my project a success.

I was in several Oracle's training classes. In most classes, each takes approximately from two to five days. If you were in the class, you would get a handout book printing from Instructor's PowerPoint slide. The handout, in bullet format, covers only the closed-to-a-real application examples. It is concise. Instructor covers the slide for 30 mins. Then, he gave you many lab exercises to follow. With this method, I think you can understand the context in the short time. This book is using the same method. By pursuing this book, you do not need the real instructor. All instructor suggestions are already in the book.

At the end of each chapter, you will have a chance to modify the project that you already did in the chapter. For example, if the author shows you how to write create adapter, you will have a chance to enhance those statements to be more complex. You are also able to do extra projects that the author has not taught in the text. As a result, you can apply those skills to develop your own projects.

Another good thing about this book is that the screen captures are very clear. You can see what the points of the author. In many books, they fail to do so because readers cannot read words on those screens.

This is the best ADO.Net book I have read. It covers most everything you need to learn to develop an application using ADO.Net. The book is relevant for beginning all the way through expert level developers.

It starts out with the assumption that you know nothing about databases and database programming. There is a good primer on client server systems, relational databases, and SQL. After the intro, it goes into the basics of ADO.Net. It then builds on that foundation and provides in-depth details of the syntax and usage of .Net database programming.

The authors are clear, concise, and explain things very well without being verbose or chatty. There are also many useful and relevant tips throughout the lessons. After you have learned the syntax and functions of ADO.Net, they give you two sample applications, an order entry Windows program and a vendor maintenance web app, that apply the lessons learned in the previous chapters. My one problem with the book is that the code samples do not contain comments, which would be useful with the sample apps. All examples and code are available for download. I haven't done this yet so I can't speak to how well the code works.

Besides ADO.Net, there are excellent sections on ASP.Net and N-Tier applications, but what I especially like is the chapter on Crystal Reports. Most every application requires some type of reporting but almost none of the .Net books I read cover the subject. This book devotes 30 pages to Crystal. I wish I would have read this book before I wrote my first .Net app using Crystal; it would have saved me a lot of time.

If you need to quickly get up to speed with .Net database programming, this is the book. It covers most every aspect of database development in a little over 500 pages and despite the complexity and detail of the subject, it is very easy to read and understand. I wish they would write a C# version! I recently converted to C#. It is an excellent book. My compliments to authors Anne Prince and Doug Lowe.

I'm basically a Java programmer and I already own Murachs's JSP which is a class in itself. I had to involve in a project at my company which is totally developed using VB.NET. I came here to amazon to look for some books on Vb.NET and ADO.NET and I knew Murach should have written a title on this. My guess didn't go wrong and I just bought this book 2 days ago. I was able to master the basics of ADO.NET(first 6 chapters) in just 2 days which is really unbeleivable. This book is really amazing. This is truly geared towards a beginner and also serves as a reference for experienced.
Murach's idea of explaining the concept on the left hand side and examples for the explanation on the right hand side is really awesome. The topics are clearly illustrated with appropriate examples.
I'm now truly a fan of Murach's pen!

One thing that immediately hit me as I read the book is that the format. Basically every left hand page is a narrative and every right hand page contains diagrams and bullet points pertaining to the narrative. The first implication this has is that in a way the book appears twice as large as it actually is. A lot of information from the left hand side is repeated on the right hand side. Also there is a liberal sprinkling of white space. At first I thought this was unnecessary. However once I got into the book I found that this format generally worked for me. I discovered that after reading each left hand page I could then take stock by reading the bullet points on the right hand page. This was particularly useful once the first few chapters were left behind and the more involved issues started to get explained. So a thumbs up for this format and I think we may well see other publishers take it up in future.
I'd advise you to read Appendix A first and make sure you have the Web Server & MSDE installed ready on your PC for use as you make your way through the book. The book's example applications are written for the MSDE database (although they should work equally as well for SQL Server). The whole book is heavily biased towards MSDE/SQL Server. (Nearly all the example code uses the System.Data.SQLClient namespace) The applications and sample database used in the book are also available for download.
Section 1
As a long-term database programmer I found that I could speed-read through Chapter 1. For readers not very familiar to database programming this chapter is a must read as it covers a lot of concepts which are important later on. Chapter 2 was an excellent overview of ADO.NET. Chapter 3 was where the book really got going. The initial setting up of data adapters, connections and datasets I found a little heavy going but the example of binding data to a datagrid was excellent. By the end of this section you will have a small database application up and running using a datagrid to display your data.
Section 2
Chapter 4 shows you how to set up a simple databound application using a form with databound controls on that allow the example Vendors database to be maintained. It also contained useful information about handling ADO.NET errors. Chapter 5 moves on to using unbound controls and shows how an unbound application can be more flexible. Chapter 6 covers untyped datasets, which are more closely related to how the old ADO works. Finally in Chapter 7 you learn how use data views to filter and sort data in datasets, how to use parameterized queries to restrict the data retrieved from the database and also how to work with multiple tables in a dataset.
Section 3
In chapter 8 you get to learn about working with data commands, i.e. queries that return datasets using data readers, queries that don't return a dataset (either scalar or non-queries), stored procedures (including using the configuration wizard), and transactions. Chapter 9 moves onto working with dataset schemas and covers using the XML designer to create tables and columns, constraints and relations for typed datasets; also using the collection editors to perform similar tasks for untyped datasets; and finally how to perform these tasks through code. Chapter 10 shows you how to develop and use database classes. This chapter briefly covers some of the theory of 3 tiered applications. Chapter 11 then puts all you have learnt so far into practice by running through the creation of a complete order entry application.
Section 4
Chapter 12 is basically an introduction to ASP.NET programming showing how to use the Web Form Designer and how to bind web server controls to data sources. Chapter 13 highlights some of the ASP.NET programming techniques such as connection pooling and caching and maintaining session state. Chapter 14 shows how to use the Datalist and Datagrid controls.
Section 5
Chapter 15 deals with working with XML files. No prior knowledge of XML is assumed and it provides a good basic introduction to the subject. Chapter 16 shows you how to use Crystal Reports to develop reports. Chapter 17 explains how to use the Server Explorer for performing common database tasks like creating databases, defining fields, relationships, keys and indexes and constraints.
Pros
I found the information in the book to be very accurate. The few errors were posted very quickly on their web site.
I also liked having space in the margins to pencil in remarks and notes.
The print was clear and there were plenty of diagrams and figures to supplement the text.
Cons
I couldn't initially use the example database as it was created using a collation different to my UK set-up. This will need to be corrected if the book is to be sold outside the US. I eventually managed to get around this problem by using a Microsoft support article, 325681.
Conclusion
The book assumes some VB.Net familiarity. I'd suggest that anyone reading this book reads a basic VB.Net book first. However, as far as ADO.Net goes no prior knowledge is required.
This is not so much a reference book as a tutorial book that guides you through the various aspects of ADO.Net. I found it difficult to dive into a particular chapter without reading the previous chapters. This in itself is certainly no bad thing but it is something you need to be aware of.
My overall opinion is that this book is an excellent tool to learn ADO.NET for VB.NET. I'd have no problem recommending it to anyone new to ADO.NET but with some VB.NET experience. This book is definitely aimed at the ADO.NET novice and you will end up with a basic grounding in a good coverage of ADO.NET subjects.
There are 2 chapters available in PDF format for free viewing.

I have been working with VB and Database programming since VB version 3.0 and Access 2.0. I now regularly teach classes in VB.Net and database programming. In fact I have authored several computer books myself. I can say with no hesitation that there simply is no better book on the topic. ADO.Net is significantly different than ADO. Therefore database programming with VB.Net is much different than VB 6.0, and few books do much to clarify the situation. This book is simply the best, if you don't have it, get it right now!

The collaborative and impressive effort of Anne Prince and Doug Lowe, Murach's VB.NET Database Programming With ADO.NET is a training and reference resource which is especially useful as a self-teaching tool or supplement, and was specifically created to instruct Visual Basic programmers in VB.NET skills in order to develop professional level database applications in ADO.NET in the span of only a few weeks. Sample code and meticulously delineated steps help simplify the difficult process of learning complex ideas and structrues at an advanced and professional level. Murach's VB.NET Database Programming With ADO.NET is commended as a "must-have" personal and professional library addition for database programmers working with ASP.NET.

I found the book poorly written and researched. The title is ADO.NET Database programming. What is offered is 5 chapters on DB design, 2 on ADO access and a couple more on XML. The author states he uses an older version of MSDE ( version 7) and discounts MSDE 2000 and Access databases. The latter being non-enterprise or desk top databasing. The meat of chapters 6 and 7 for ADO failed to explain the internals of use of the ADO objects. I returned the book and deemed it a failure. I've since bought Microsoft's ADO.NET Core Reference and found that it answers my questions.

Bottom line: at $49.50 list price (and much less from Amazon and elsewhere) this book is a bargain that will get you up to speed much more quickly than the more typical $60 high-tonnage book on the same subject. Save yourself money and shelf space. HIGHLY RECOMMENTED.

Authors Prince and Lowe do a first-class job of introducing you to ADO.Net as well as allowing you to delve into the more advanced concepts.

The book follows the typical and very effective Murach style of a left-hand page of explanatory text on a specific concept and a right-hand page of code and/or illustration that is linked to the text on the facing page. I find this sort of presentation really helps me focus on the current topic. Also, eliminating the necessity of page-turning to find an accompanying example makes for a better learning experience.

The book is about 550 pages long, excluding appendices and index. There are probably less text than the typical book on this subject, and that's a *good* thing. The authors were highly selective in what they included. For example, you don't have to wade through 300 pages of "what is a form" and "what is an event" before you get to useful information.