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BlueForest Networks
Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008
Publisher: Apress - November 19, 2007 ISBN-10: 1590597893, ISBN-13: 9781590597897
Author: Jr.
Joseph C. Rattz
600 pages
Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 - book reviews: 43
LINQ is the project name for a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that provide a generic approach to querying data from different data sources. LINQ will premier in Visual Studio 2008, and will become the next must-have skill for .NET developers.
Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 is all about code.
Literally, this book starts with code and ends with code. In most books, the author shows the simplest example demonstrating how to use a method, but they so rarely show how to use the more complex prototypes. Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 is different. Demonstrating the overwhelming majority of LINQ operators and protoypes, it is a veritable treasury of LINQ examples.
Rather than obscure the relevant LINQ principles in code examples by focusing on a demonstration application you have no interest in writing, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 cuts right to the chase of each LINQ operator, method, or class. However, where complexity is necessary to truly demonstrate an issue, the examples are right there in the thick of it. For example, code samples demonstrating how to handle concurrency conflicts actually create concurrency conflicts so you can step through the code and see them unfold.
Most books tell you about the simple stuff, while few books warn you of the pitfalls. Where Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 returns your investment is in the hours, and sometimes days, spent by the author determining why something may not work as expected. Sometimes this results in an innocent looking paragraph that may take you a minute to read and understand, but took days to research and explain.
Face it, most technical books while informative, are dull. LINQ need not be dull. Written with a sense of humor, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 will attempt to entertain you on your journey through the wonderland of LINQ and C# 2008.
What you'll learn- How to leverage all the new LINQ relevant C# 2008 language features including extension methods, lambda expressions, anonymous data types, and partial methods.
- How to use LINQ to Objects to query in-memory data collections such as arrays, ArrayLists, and Lists to retrieve the data you want.
- Why some queries are deferred, how a deferred query can bite you, and how you can make deferred queries work for you.
- How to use LINQ to XML to revolutionize your creation, manipulation, and searching of XML data.
- How to query DataSets with LINQ to DataSet so you can co-exist with legacy code and use LINQ to query databases other than SQL Server.
- How to query Databases with LINQ to SQL, write your own entity classes, and understand how to handle concurrency conflicts.
What an amazing book
It provides a solid foundation for Linq before diving into the topics. The second chapter provides so much background about the new features in .net 3.*. Lambda expressions really clicked for me after reading this book.
Ravi
20 August, 2009
Excellent Coverage
I needed to get a book on C# that covered 3.5. As an impulse, I bought this book with it. A few months later I picked it up and started reading it. All I can say is, I wished I had read it sooner. The power of LINQ is amazing! LINQ is not trivial and requires you to think about data in new ways. But the author does a good job of walking you through all the parts that make up LINQ and explaining how they work together. Every aspect of LINQ is covered along with lots of code examples to illustrate how to use it. If you get only one book on LINQ, get this one. You won't be sorry.
Randall Woodman
26 June, 2009
Pro LINQ - Language Integrated Query in C#
The book is broken up into a number of "Parts" being LINQ to Objects, LINQ to XML, LINQ to Dataset and LINQ to SQL, but it does provide a some early chapters to ease into general .NET 3.5 language enhancements in preparation for many of the code examples that follow.
Beyond the initial chapters this book should be seen as a reference book for developers to find that certain operator. Each summary of an operator contains a description, outline of signatures (including any overloads), specific exceptions thrown and when and examples of how to call them against a sample collection used throughout the book. If you are the sort of person who learns through a lot of code samples then this is the book for you.
In summary this is book I would recommend as a reference book and the key comment that turned the light bulb on for me was that LINQ could be seen as a "Data Iteration Engine". So next time you code a foreach statement have a think about whether LINQ is a better option.
The down sides:
· firstly through no fault of the author is that LINQ to SQL is on the way out so a large section of the book will be of little value in the near future.
· secondly, the code samples do get a little repetitive.
Kirk Barrett
13 May, 2009
It has Arrested Development references.
I've been reading this book for a while now. All the other reviews are spot on - it's worth the money if you've got the gumption to learn LINQ. He wisely chooses to expose LINQ to SQL last. Smart move. He also covers lambda expressions and other language updates sufficiently in earlier chapters. Personally, I prefer Lambda Expressions over LINQ, but that's all up to taste. I would highly recommend this book.
Also, it has tons of Arrested Development references, which I found pretty funny - but they're buried in more relevant information.
S. Anderson
27 April, 2009
Lots of good easy code examples, but beware
LINQ to SQL is dead. It's being replaced by something else that's more complicated. So the chapters that conver this topic are useless, unless you plan on spending time learning about something you'll never use.
The chapters on LINQ to XML were very useful. I mostly just looked at the code examples to quickly learn the syntax for creating, updating, and querying XML.
Larry Hargis
24 April, 2009
