Customer Reviews

SQL Server CE Database Development with the .NET Compact Framework

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A book that focuses on database programming using SQL Server CE. More importantly (and let me say "finally!"), this book uses Visual Studio .NET 2003 and the .NET Compact Framework instead of still using the stand alone Mobile Information Toolkit and the older Visual Studio .NET product.

VS .NET 2003 makes developing applications soooo easy that a developer that has created a Windows form application can whip out a Pocket PC application in a matter of minutes.

Building an application that is robust and corporate ready; however, requires a more robust database. It also makes the application a bit more complex.

SQL Server CE is the database I choose for my applications. This book addresses all of the questions I've run into up to this point. Since answering questions is what I am using the book for, what more can I say!

I am pretty new to the all of .NET, and this book was an amzing learning experience for the budding programmer in me.

This book covered the subject very well and provided examples constantly, a very big plus is that all the examples are done in both C# and VB.NET (though the 2 languages arent that hard to convert to the other).

Overall a really good book and one that belongs in your collection of Mobile Development books if you are serious about the NETCF and SQL CE.

Well, I had pretty high expectations on this book. I never did any PDA development before the Compact Framework, and I was browsing PDA books one day. I came across Rob's last book and bought it just because it was so interesting. Dan Fergus had told me about Rob's new book (and if you haven't bought Dan's new book, the Definitive Guide to the Compact Framework, but it with this one b/c they are both MUST haves) and I figured it'd be really cool.

i was right. Why? Well, Rob is, if nothing else, informed and interesting. He makes you want to read more. he covers all of the normal Pitfalls and Gotcha's that you normally encounter with CE development (and yes, there are a few).

His discussion on Security alone justifies buying this book. Everything else is icing on the cake. And very good icing it is.

Of the few people that truly understand a complex subject, even fewer know how to teach others. Rob is unquestionably one of these individuals, and his book is a bargain at any price!

Bill ...

This book is a great overview for someone starting SQL Ce development. It is also a great reference book for those familiar with CE development. The book starts by going over some of the basics of SQL CE. Examples are easy to follow and a good foundation for starting development.

I found the chapters on Remote Data Access and Merge Replication the most useful. Detailed setup and installation instruction on what is needed to use either of these technologies. Overall book was an easy read and the examples were very useful providing a great starting point to extend on.

I found this book to be a valuable reference and the chapters on replication have saved my hours of banging my head on my desk.

What do you get...
- You get the rundown of SQL CE and its limitations.
- Some reference material on the subset you must work in.
- Numerous examples.
- Complete walkthroughs of RDA and Merge replication, including how to secure the data being transfered.

Overall I am happy with the book.
I hope in the next edition it covers some topics like best practices for design, and performance enhancements.

I usually do not write reviews about technical books, however after buying this book at the book store and using it for several weeks on a real commercial project, I find this childish prattling more than I can stand. This book is about using and developing applications using SQL CE for the Compact Framework as the title says. So get over the fact that it does not cover something else or your particular section just how you would like it. This book is clear and well though out and delivers actually what it says it does. Frankly, I am lucky that I brought the book before I read these reviews, because I find them to be unwarranted at the very least.

This and another book got me through the limitations of the .net compact framework. This book helped me understand and code my first .Net Compact Framework PDA application. I used it to build an actual application. This is a down-to-earth-make-it-happen book. I hope no one else buys it so that I am one of the few that can use SQL CE effectively!

This book is padded with reference materials that you can easily find in SQL's users manual. Huge amounts of space are used to show full source examples (in both C# and VB) of incredibly simple concepts. There is a 45 page chapter on Operator Reference which includes three whole pages on using the plus sign, and another three on the minus sign. Yes SQLCE can do addition and subtraction. Similar excessive detail is given to SQL command syntax (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, etc.) and SQL function references.

The first three chapters are essentially how to use Visual Studio, how to use Active Sync, and how to use Query Analyzer. All are covered accurately, but no real insight on any of them.

So 311 pages into the book I finally get to something meaningful, Remote Data Access. Sorry, the chapter walks me, with full page screenshots, through the steps of the wizard to set up RDA. It then gives full source code (in C# and VB) to a simplistic example. Unfortunately, in all of that bulk, there are some important concepts which are essentially lost in the noise, such as why we use uniqueidentifier and timestamp columns.

OK, so maybe the next chapter on Replication will be good. Again, a highly pictoral walk through of the SQL Replication Wizard screens, and another application in full source code (in C# and VB). Oh wait! It's the same application as the previous chapter but with a replication button.

So keep reading there has to be meat here somewhere. Nope, we've hit the Appendix. And somehow we have again found a complete waste of pages. The Appendix contains a class listing of the Compact .NET Framework. I don't understand the point of this at all. It's just a listing of all the objects and their types. No descriptions, no properties, no methods. I don't know what anyone would use this for.

If the source code examples were paraphrased (and provided in full online) and the pointless references were removed, this book would be about 40 pages long. It might be a very good book at that point, although not one worth $49.99.

This is an indespensible reference to have for serious PocketPC development. This book totally helped us push our product out for the mobile2market competition. I would recommend this for any serious PocketPC developer.

This book is excellent. I would recommend it to anyone doing PDA development.