If you're going to develop serious database applications in C#...the kind that businesses rely on every day…then this is the book for you.

It teaches you how to use Visual Studio 2010 and ADO.NET 4 to develop professional database applications for both Windows and the web as quickly and easily as possible.

And it covers the full gamut of skills you need, from using built-in data tools that generate ADO.NET code to writing your own ADO.NET code from scratch so you can closely control how the database processing works:

• In section 1, you'll get a basic introduction to databases, SQL, and ADO.NET. If you already have ADO.NET experience, you can skip ahead.
  
  
• In section 2, you'll quickly be creating database applications using Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools like data sources.
  
  
• In section 3, you'll build 3-layer applications the way the pros do, with presentation, business, and database classes. This is where you'll get into ADO.NET coding to create your own classes. You'll also learn how to use object data sources to make this approach even more effective.
  
  
• In section 4, you'll develop database applications for the web using ASP.NET 4 data controls like GridView and DetailsView, along with object data sources.
  
  
• In section 5, you'll complete the set of skills that every .NET database programmer should have by learning how to (1) handle XML data in your applications, (2) create reports with Visual Studio's Report Designer and the ReportViewer control, (3) use LINQ to SQL to query datasets and SQL Server databases, and (4) use the Entity Framework and LINQ to Entities to work with database data through an Entity Data Model.

The table of contents gives you a complete rundown on what each chapter does. But in brief, by the time you finish this book, you'll have gained the ADO.NET skills that make you a top .NET developer. Try it and see for yourself!

About the Authors
Anne Boehm has over 30 years of experience as an enterprise programmer. She got started with Visual Basic in the days of VB5, and has been programming on .NET since its inception. In the past 5 years, she's added C# to her programming repertoire, and she's authored or co-authored books on Visual Basic, C#, ADO.NET, and ASP.NET.

Ged Mead wrote his first computer program in 1983 and he hasn't stopped since. After training as a systems analyst in the military, he has spent time training others how to develop and use computer applications in the military and the police service. He has written many technical articles for developers and is a prolific blogger, specializing in explaining how to defeat those, often undocumented, gotchas that can so easily trip up and frustrate the unwary.

He has written several online e-learning courses for developers and has been awarded the prestigious Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award by Microsoft.