Pro SQL Server 2008 Entity Framework (Expert's Voice in .NET) [Paperback]

Klein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 159059990X | ISBN-13: 978-1590599907 | Publication Date: December 7, 2009 | Edition: 1

The introduction of SQL Server 2005 began the process which has seen .NET become an integral part of the SQL Server database technology. SQL Server 2008 is the next evolutionary step in that story. Alongside the more traditional database enhancements in the new release, there is an increasing focus upon a greater and more challenging integration with .NET 3.5. This book shows how to take advantage of this tight integration and how developers and DBAs can manipulate data more easily than ever before.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Wightman is a Microsoft trained and certified technical specialist with over 25 years of experience.

A key technical advisor, solution provider, developer, innovator, and inventor for clients throughout the UK, USA, and Saudi Arabia, Jim currently specializes in OLTP and OLAP database design and development. Most recently, he has concentrated particularly on engineering SQL Server 2005 toolset solutions to hold and manipulate multiple-terabyte, massive-throughput databases for law enforcement and intelligence use.

Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (December 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159059990X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590599907
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Out of date even before publication - this is an Intro not a Pro book, April 6, 2010

By 

Ian Smith (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro SQL Server 2008 Entity Framework (Expert's Voice in .NET) (Paperback)

The first thing to say about this book is that it's rather thin. And it contains a LOT of screenshots. Which means it's really a very basic "introduction" book rather than a "Pro" one. But worse than that, it was obsolete even before it was published!

Unfortunately, the approach taken is very much a "step by step" guide showing each and every screenshot of what the UI should look like as you work your way through different wizards and scenarios. The trouble is that UI changed even before the book was published. The book was written to a beta version of Visual Studio 2010 despite being officially published after Visual Studio 2010 Release Candidate was released. Those who want a detailed guide will get frustrated at the "treat the user like an idiot and show him every screenshot" approach taken (presumably to help pad the page count out) while those who like this style will quickly get frustrated because the screenshots don't reflect any kind of reality as too much has been changed since the beta.

Apress publish some great books, but this isn't one of them. My guess is that it's been rushed to market to cash in on the demand for information before what most consider "the bible" (Julie Lehrman's O'Reilly book) gets updated to the latest version. Clearly Julie and her publishers have more integrity, waiting until the product is "fully baked" before rushing out a book on the product. And certainly her "Version 1" book on the same subject had far more depth and detail than this slim, introductory volume does.

I regret buying this book, and would strongly urge others to avoid doing so. Wait for the O'Reilly book, or an alternative that reflects the reality of what you'll have to work with, rather than an early beta.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not a Pro book, April 25, 2010

By 

Rudy Lacovara (Arvada, CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pro SQL Server 2008 Entity Framework (Expert's Voice in .NET) (Paperback)

If you're new to programming and want a lightweight intro to EF 4 with lots of screen shots that show you step by step how to use the designer, then this is the book for you. If you're a senior programmer who expects a Pro book to actually be about programming, don't buy this book, you'll be very disappointed. I had this book preordered based solely on the fact that it's a Pro book from Apress, which at one time was a top notch publisher. This is one of the two worst technical books I've ever bought (the other is Windows Azure Platform, another recent Apress product). I will definitely wait until I see the Amazon reviews before I buy another Apress book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A compendium of screenshots and superficial information, June 4, 2010

By 

Chris Moore (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pro SQL Server 2008 Entity Framework (Expert's Voice in .NET) (Paperback)

This is very much a beginner's book and will be of virtually no help to you if you are developing a real-world application. The phrase that first come to mind is "executive summary"; indeed, as another reviewer commented, the "pro" designator on this book is laughable. In a couple hours, I managed to cover about half the book. This is not a commentary on my reading speed but, rather, is reflective of the depth of the author's work. There's not too much in the book that one couldn't discover by just playing around with the EF designer. Quite simply, the tome has no meat and has no place on a professional developer's bookshelf. If you are a beginner to .Net and have little experience with DB access technology in general, then maybe this could serve as high-level overview of EF for you, otherwise...