Book review: Programming Microsoft LINQ

David M Williams
Sunday, 01 March 2009 10:06

IT Industry - Development

Part two covers the application of LINQ to relation data, mapping LINQ entities to relational data and LINQ queries to SQL.

Part three details using LINQ to manage and query XML data. XML is, of course, a significant means of storing information as well as a common language that permits data transfer between otherwise incompatible applications.

By this point in the book, code and concepts have been presented which should allow anyone to fully utilise LINQ within their own applications across traditional relational databases, XML data files or in-memory objects.

The focus changes here, with part four covering advanced topics. These chapters are not for the faint of heart but offer a wealth of detailed technical information. You will learn here how to handle, produce and read expression trees and how to extend LINQ using your data structures and custom LINQ providers.

Additional advanced chapters describes a parallel LINQ interface to the .NET Parallel Framework as well as an overview of LINQ components available from third-party vendors.

The concluding section, part five, details the use of LINQ in a variety of settings within a distributed application architecture. The intention here is to help readers determine the right design decisions for their own applications, and with consideration to working with ASP.NET, Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight and the Windows Communication Foundation.

A companion web site by the authors adds value with downloadable code samples and extra commentary.

The book is available from Microsoft Press directly or via other distributors and has a recommended retail price of $USD 49.99 or $AUD 105.

For programmers working on the .NET framework this book is an indispensable reference and will take you from introduction through to expert.