ADO.NET Using C#

This three-day intensive course teaches the essential elements of ADO.NET such that at the end of the course the programmer is able to utilize its tremendous database manipulation powers to build effective database applications. The course includes a major case study demonstrating the use of ADO.NET in a realistic setting. It is current to .NET 4.6, Visual Studio 2017 and SQL Server 2016. The course opens with an overview of ADO.NET and its relation to previous Microsoft data access technologies. It includes a discussion of ADO.NET architecture, main interfaces and classes, and programming with both the connected and disconnected models. The database for the case study is introduced. The next two chapters cover in detail Connection and Command objects, which are essential in both connected and disconnected database access scenarios. The following chapter covers DataReaders, which provide a fast, forward-only reading capability. Programming with DataReaders bears a close resemblance to programming with the vintage recordset object. Then the course focuses on the backbone of ADO.NET: DataSet and its related classes, such as DataAdapter, DataTable, DataRow, DataColumn, DataRelation, TableMappings and ColumnMappings. DataSet is able to handle multiple tables while remaining disconnected. It is eminently suited for building highly scalable applications for the Web. The close relationship between ADO.NET and XML is covered in detail. Transactions and concurrency are covered. Additional features of ADO.NET are covered, including asynchronous operations, multiple active result sets and bulk copy. The last chapter covers Language Integrated Query (LINQ) and Microsoft’s Entity Framework. There are numerous example program implemented in a multiple-tier architecture, with separate tiers for data access and user interface. The course uses the LocalDB version of SQL Server 2016 Express, which is recommended by Microsoft for developers. The essentials of ADO.NET do not depend on the user interface layer, which may be a Console program, a Windows program or a Web program. The examples in this course use Console and Windows Forms clients. Appendix B discusses some special considerations for Web clients. Sample programs are provided illustrating ADO.NET with ASP.NET Web Forms clients.