Customer Reviews

Professional ADO.NET 3.5 with LINQ and the Entity Framework (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book to get a better handle on the advantages offered by LINQ and the Entity Framework to build Enterprise web applications. Although the author appears to have expertise in the subject matter, the style in which it is communicated was very difficult to follow. I would not rate this as one of the better technical books I have read. There is a lot of trivia throughout the book that really distracts from the content. Even the style and organization of the book does not allow the reader to read at a fast pace, since it does not clearly enough distinguish critical and superfluous content.

First, let me tell you what I like: In terms of topics covered and technical details, this book is topnotch. The first seven chapters discuss in detail how to use Microsoft's LINQ to Objects, SQL, DataSet, and XML technologies (The LINQ to XML chapter includes materials rarely discussed anywhere else). Chapter 8 closes the LINQ half of the book with good pointers on third-party and emerging implementations such as Parallel LINQ, LINQ to REST, SharePoint, Active Directory, etc. The remaining seven chapters provide extensive coverage of Entity Framework, including Entity SQL, LINQ to Entities, Object Services, ADO.Net Data Services, and planned improvements to the framework (especially with regards to Persistence Ignorance). C# and VB.Net code samples are plentifully provided and downloadable from the Wrox web site.

Some things that I think would make the book even better: A stand-alone list reprising and categorizing the many useful references to white papers or blogs mentioned by the author throughout the book would help facilitate future lookups; eliding or separating out unnecessary trivia into less distracting footnotes would help busy readers get through the book more quickly (examples of such trivia: Microsoft's patent application number for Entity Framework; remarks about thermal radiation and Intel's new 45-nanometer process when discussing the multi-core support intent behind Parallel LINQ, etc)

Mr. Jennings demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the subject matter. The information is in-depth and the author thoroughly covers the subject matter. Mr. Jennings does a good job in describing the Entity Framework. The technical details can make for slow reading, but it is a trade off for the amount of information the reader gets.

This is not a book for someone looking for a quick read though on the subject matter. On the other hand if someone wants a thorough understanding of the subject matter, this would be a good selection.

The first half of "Professional ADO.NET 3.5 with LINQ and the Entity Framework" covers all favors of LINQ; LINQ to Objects, LINQ to SQL, LINQDataSource, LINQ to DataSets, LINQ to XML, Entity Framework and LINQ to Entities. The section on LINQ to SQL is very well done. The second half of the book goes into great detail on the Entity Framework. Mr. Jennings does a great job in describing the Entity Framework. This book is well worth the money.

Linq itself doesn't seem to be all that hard to learn. But one must learn the many C# language additions that were added with C# 3.0 to support Linq as it is today. A lot of good side facts are part of the text that make for a well rounded discussion of what you need to know. Often I find a treatment of a subject just barely tells me what I need to know. This is a good source for those who have a good command of C# to move forward into the many ways Linq can be used. This is my first book on the subject and find it is doing the job for me.

Roger Jenings has always been a great writer. He has real knowledge of the material and has a unique way of presenting it to be understood. I haven't made it all the way through the book, but, what I have read has been very usefull. The book is well laid out by subject and the subject is covered in depth.

Over my past decade plus of programming I've come to appreciate Wrox books for their clarity, abundance of hands-on examples and utility as day-to-day references. This book is none of the above. The author is (overwhelmingly) knowledgable in the history of Linq's development and its internals but he provides so much of this background that it detracts from the usefulness of this book.

As a web developer I would have preferred a book more along the lines of "Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Databases" by Thiru Thangarathinam which did a fantastic job of focusing not only on the data layer but on its interaction with databound ASP.NET objects. Prof ADO.NET 3.5 devotes very little space to this topic and is of little use to me as a resource. I've found much better coverage of the topic in various tech blogs.

If you're looking for a text that will get you up and running quick with Linq and the Entity Framework for ASP.NET this is not it.

I borrowed this book from a guy at work. I got lost pretty quickly. So I decided to concentrate harder. But my mind kept wandering.

There is a lot of waffle/redundant clutter in this book. And by the time you actually strike upon a kernal of substance, your concentration has waned and you don't really take it in. And it doesn't matter, because you turn the page and get weighed down in more waffle.

There is also just something about the way the content in this book is set out that does not resonate with me. It just does not lay out in an organised fasion in my head. Probably because of all the waffle.

Since LINQ to SQL has been deprecated by Microsoft, it seems this book was already written when the author had to tack on Entity Framework.

Here's my better advice:

You don't have much choice as of the date of this review if you want to learn EF--either the book by Julia Lerman or Jennings (I bought both, Lerman is better). Or do you? Yes, you do. Buy this book: Beginning C# 2005 Databases (Programmer to Programmer) by Karli Watson

Observe how Watson uses XSD Schema, and the wizard. Chapter 4 of Watson, "Modifying Data" is key. Note how multiple tables have insert and delete operations done, and how default values are given using the Combo box. Voila! You're done. No need for this book. Essentially EF is what Watson shows using drag-and-drop and wizard generated code from the DataAdapters.

This book is very poorly written, but, if you have no choice, then it's OK, hence two stars. It proves being 'first to market' has advantages

I thought this book was a complete waste of money. I bought this book to get a better feel for the new Entity Framework. This book is poorly organized and overall I thought it was one of the more poorly written technically books released. Wrox usually does a good job at producing quality technical books but this one fails badly. If you are looking for a book full of bad to follow code snippets buy this book. If you are looking for something with a little more substance stay away.