Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 (Windows.Net) (Paperback)

~ Jr., Joseph C. Rattz (Author)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

LINQ is the project name for a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that provide a generic approach to querying data from different data sources. LINQ will premier in Visual Studio 2008, and will become the next must-have skill for .NET developers.

Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 is all about code.

Literally, this book starts with code and ends with code. In most books, the author shows the simplest example demonstrating how to use a method, but they so rarely show how to use the more complex prototypes. Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 is different. Demonstrating the overwhelming majority of LINQ operators and protoypes, it is a veritable treasury of LINQ examples.

Rather than obscure the relevant LINQ principles in code examples by focusing on a demonstration application you have no interest in writing, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 cuts right to the chase of each LINQ operator, method, or class. However, where complexity is necessary to truly demonstrate an issue, the examples are right there in the thick of it. For example, code samples demonstrating how to handle concurrency conflicts actually create concurrency conflicts so you can step through the code and see them unfold.

Most books tell you about the simple stuff, while few books warn you of the pitfalls. Where Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 returns your investment is in the hours, and sometimes days, spent by the author determining why something may not work as expected. Sometimes this results in an innocent looking paragraph that may take you a minute to read and understand, but took days to research and explain.

Face it, most technical books while informative, are dull. LINQ need not be dull. Written with a sense of humor, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 will attempt to entertain you on your journey through the wonderland of LINQ and C# 2008.

What you'll learn

• How to leverage all the new LINQ relevant C# 2008 language features including extension methods, lambda expressions, anonymous data types, and partial methods.
• How to use LINQ to Objects to query in-memory data collections such as arrays, ArrayLists, and Lists to retrieve the data you want.
• Why some queries are deferred, how a deferred query can bite you, and how you can make deferred queries work for you.
• How to use LINQ to XML to revolutionize your creation, manipulation, and searching of XML data.
• How to query DataSets with LINQ to DataSet so you can co-exist with legacy code and use LINQ to query databases other than SQL Server.
• How to query Databases with LINQ to SQL, write your own entity classes, and understand how to handle concurrency conflicts.

From the Publisher

Who is this book for?

This book is written for the proficient C# developer, but you do not need to be up on all the latest C# features to understand the material. When you finish this book, you will be up on all the latest C# features. About the Apress Pro Series

The Apress Pro series books are practical, professional tutorials to keep you on and moving up the professional ladder.

You have gotten the job, now you need to hone your skills in these tough competitive times. The Apress Pro series expands your skills and expertise in exactly the areas you need. Master the content of a Pro book, and you will always be able to get the job done in a professional development project. Written by experts in their field, Pro series books from Apress give you the hard-won solutions to problems you will face in your professional programming career.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Apress (November 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590597893
• ISBN-13: 978-1590597897
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,820 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LINQ: More than an ORM, January 7, 2008

By	J. Pease (Odessa, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I first heard someone describe LINQ, I thought "Oh, another ORM... that doesn't sound very exciting".

Upon further research I discovered that LINQ is actually quite a bit more than just "another ORM", in fact, I would say it is one of the more interesting things from Microsoft lately.

The book Pro LINQ does a very good job of covering this new technology, and it does so in a way that you would expect for a "Professional" level book.

For example, I found it immediately appealing that Chapter 1 starts with a code example before ever getting to any regular text. The rest of the book follows suit. There are plenty of explanations, but sometimes seeing the code & result provides the clearest view.

The author does a good job of explaining the technology in detail, why it is useful, and very practical tips on how to make the most of it. The book covers using LINQ to query Objects, XML, DataSets and finally SQL.

I have used the book as an introduction to the topic, and for that it has done an excellent job. It appears that the book is comprehensive enough to also serve as a working reference book, but I have not personally had the chance to use it as such yet.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Code, Code, and then More Code... Excellent, December 31, 2007

By	T. Anderson (PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book claims to be about code, code, and then more code. I completely agree with the author's claim, it is code from front to back.

The book covers every feature of Linq in great detail, but one of my favorite parts of the book is chapter on the C# 3.0 Language features and other parts of the book that show how to take advantage of the Linq language features in everyday application code.

The author goes into great detail in every part of the of the book. The author also has a great companion site that is being updated with the latest new features coming out, like LINQ to XSD.

The accompanying code is very usable and well organized.

The only thing lacking would not be a legitimate complaint, since the authors claim code level detail and not architectural level guidance, but I will mention it anyway. I would have like to have seen more guidance on architecture and how Linq fits into the big picture. That is not covered, but like I said, they didn't claim to, so I can't ding them. The point of the comment.... 2nd edition ...hint, hint.....

If you want to get into the guts of Linq, this book is definitely for you. I highly recommend it for every .NET 3.5 programmer.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book with a very bad index and no free PDF, April 16, 2008

By	Tod Gentille (Torrance, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Microsoft must be under new management, we are getting a slew of new, truly useful tools that are making pretty big strides forward for faster more enjoyable C# development and ease of maintenance. The latest technologies seem well worth taking the time to master. I find the combination of LINQ and the Sync framework couldn't have come at a better time. While the book mentions that LINQ to SQL only supports SQL Server, that is no longer true as you can also use (at least) MS SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5 (which is required for the Sync Framework). You can't use the visual object relational designer with SSCE but the book documents SQLMetal, and you can use that to create your context.

Overall I found this to be a very good book but it has a few flaws. If like me you are interested in LINQ for a current or upcoming database project here is what I would suggest. First don't start with this book, finish with it. Start with the ten excellent screencasts by Mike Taulty. Then read this book. Your reading will go much faster and you'll get a satisfyingly sated feeling. The author will probably hate me for saying this, but if you already know SQL or ADO.NET 2.0, I would suggest reading Chapters 1-3, then skim 4 and 5 just to get an overview of the operators available. Then read part 5 (Chapters 12-18) on LINQ to SQL. After you digest that I would suggest whichever topics interest you the most, then I would finish with a more thorough read of Chapters 4 and 5 on Deferred and Nondeffered operators, which in my mind are really a thoroughly documented reference section.

The reason the author will hate that, is he doesn't want readers to use LINQ for just database purposes, and he states that many times in the book. In fact, I think that is why he put the LINQ to SQL section at the end. However, he seems to have made a significant effort to make any part readable on its own, so I see no problem with skipping to the end so early.

The book doesn't really cover data binding, but there is a lot of good information on that available on the internet (the above mentioned screencasts show some of them, and an overly long video on Channel 9 with Young Joo from August 2007 shows even more).

I also have a few nit-picky things that drove me crazy. The most significant one being the amount of repetition and unedited console output. I was also none too happy that the author didn't mention that the Visual Studio Command prompt was under the START menu not an IDE menu. But then again without the author I wouldn't even have known there was a Visual Studio 2008 command prompt.

The weakest part of the book is the index, it is downright anemic. In the several weeks since I've finised the book the index has NEVER helped me find things I remember reading. If you find items of interest you better pencil them into the back cover if you want to find them again later. If one book ever needed a free PDF, this one is it, but they charge $10 for it. Maybe that is why they made the index so bad, to encourage you to fork over another $10.

That said, I also found a good half-dozen or so gems in the book that saved me significant time. Now I could tell you what those are but I think you should buy the book to find out.