Press releases

"ADO.NET Cookbook": Minimizing Frustration and Maximizing Productivity while Mastering ADO.NET

Press release: October 17, 2003

Sebastopol, CA--"Microsoft finally got it right," says Bill Hamilton, referring to ADO.NET, the revolutionary technology that he is confident will rapidly replace all other Microsoft data access technologies. All .NET developers--particularly those involved with enterprise development--need to master ADO.NET in order to build applications or web services that rely on database access. So Hamilton did just that, and he shares his mastery in the new ADO.NET Cookbook (O'Reilly, US $44.95) so that developers and designers can dramatically hasten their own ADO.NET learning curve.

Until .NET came along, Hamilton admits he was unenthused about Microsoft's development technologies: "They lacked vision and sophistication. But once I had a chance to do some serious work with .NET, I was and continue to be interested in learning more." He's not alone. As people are coming to recognize and appreciate the undeniable potential of Microsoft .NET, they are also widely adopting ADO.NET. But while the technology is seen as much less risky than when it was first introduced, it's no less challenging. Data access is vital to most enterprise software, and as enterprises move beyond trial projects with ADO.NET into those that are mission critical, reports Hamilton, the complexity of the technology becomes all the more apparent--and all the more daunting.

"This book," Hamilton promises, "presents solutions at a time when there are more questions than answers."

And he delivers on that promise. Interviewing countless developers, scouring ADO.NET programming community forums and newsgroups, and drawing on his own extensive experience as an early adopter of ADO.NET and an analyst, architect, and lead developer of large distributed solutions using .NET, Hamilton has encountered--and solved--most every data access problem imaginable. His "ADO.NET Cookbook" is brimming with more than 150 tried-and-true recipes--trusted coding solutions to real-world problems that developers and designers face every day.

But "ADO.NET Cookbook" is much more than a compilation of cut-and-paste code (the book includes examples written in C# and an appendix to help programmers migrate C# code to VB.NET). For each problem addressed in the book, there's a complete solution--a concise, focused code sample that programmers can insert directly into their applications--as well as a discussion of how and why it works and any alternatives, limitations, and other relevant considerations. That means developers learn while doing; they acquire invaluable and adaptable problem-solving techniques and skills while easily and efficiently hurdling their everyday challenges.

An ideal companion to O'Reilly's "ADO.NET in a Nutshell," which is coauthored by Hamilton, the "ADO.NET Cookbook" caters to ADO.NET programmers at all levels, from the least seasoned to the most sophisticated. Straightforward to highly advanced topics are covered, including:

  • Connecting to a wide variety of data sources
  • Writing database-independent code
  • Working with parameterized queries
  • Retrieving and managing various types of data
  • Handling hierarchical data
  • Using identity and auto-increment columns
  • Working with XML and web services
  • Using strongly typed datasets
  • Performing asynchronous operations
  • Maintaining database integrity
  • This comprehensive troubleshooting toolkit gives ADO.NET developers all the easy-to-find, timesaving solutions, techniques, and practices they need to minimize frustration and maximize productivity while mastering ADO.NET.

    Additional Resources:

    ADO.NET Cookbook
    Bill Hamilton
    ISBN 0-596-00439-7, 605 pages, $44.95 US, $69.95 CA, 31.95 UK
    order@oreilly.com
    1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

    About O’Reilly

    O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

    Email a link to this press release