| Welcome to Beginning C# 2005 Databases! In this book you learn everything you need to know about
developing C# applications that access databases. If you are wondering why this is such an important
topic, just consider how many applications use the functionality. At first glance, you might notice a few
specialized ones such as Windows applications to view and edit human resources data or Web applications
that display recent sport results. Look a bit deeper, however, and you quickly find that the vast
majority of applications use database data in one form or another, even if it isn’t immediately obvious.
Because you can store pretty much anything in a database, from simple program settings or tables of
related data, through to Web site content, the possibilities are endless. Of course, you might use an alternative
method for storing data, such as text files, but in almost all cases you get better performance and
more robust applications from a database.
This book is the perfect starting point to learn about databases, and particularly about using Microsoft
SQL Server from .NET 2.0 applications written in C#. Over the course of the book, you learn the fundamentals
of database technology, how the .NET Framework can be used to access databases, and how to
get the most out of your code. Along the way you are presented with numerous helpful, easy-to-follow
examples that demonstrate the techniques you need. Each example increases your understanding of a
particular subject, and often provides you with tips and tricks that you can adapt to different contexts
in the future. Each chapter also includes exercises to reinforce key concepts, the answers to which are
found at the back of the book. Taken as a whole, there is enough example code for you to see how to
perform a multitude of tasks — from the most simple such as reading data from a database table, to the
more advanced such as writing managed code to run inside SQL Server.
The main idea behind the book is to present you with a solid understanding of the basics of database
access in C#. You’ll also be exposed to many possibilities for future development. You will often learn
about quite complicated techniques, but they are broken into simple steps and carefully explained. These
explanations provide an appreciation for what is possible, and prepare you for handling additional
resources about these subjects when you’ve finished the book. And you’ll be able to do that without facing
instant despair at attempting to learn about a completely new subject because you’ll already know
the basics of what you are doing. |
