ADO and ADO.NET Programming

Data access technology has come a long way in the past decade. The introduction of Microsoft Access was a major step forward, followed by the giant leaps represented by ADO and now by ADO.NET.

ADO and ADO.NET Programming will help you use both APIs to write data access code that works perfectly, irrespective of the data source or front end. You'll learn to enlist ADO techniques in support of legacy systems, as well as in other scenarios where ADO is simply the better choice. And you'll master the special capabilities of ADO.NET, such as support for XML and disconnected data, that promise to make it the dominant data access API for years to come. Simple data retrieval and updating is only the beginning. Advanced topics include schema modification, data synchronization, and multidimensional aggregation.

There's more to ADO and ADO.NET than universal connectivity, of course. This book offers detailed coverage of source-specific and client-specific functionality, helping you tap into features unique to SQL Server, Oracle, and Jet, on the one hand, and Visual Basic, Access, and Excel, on the other hand. You also get a practical introduction to the .NET Framework and appendices covering major object models and the SQL and MDX query languages on CD.

The enclosed CD contains all the book's sample code—both ADO code written in Visual Basic 6 and ADO.NET code written in Visual Basic .NET. These examples vividly illustrate the book's techniques and allow you to test their effectiveness and sharpen your own coding skills.

Contents

Introduction

Part I Understanding Data Access
Chapter 1: An Overview of ADO and ADO.NET
Chapter 2: Understanding Data Access Architectures

Part II Understanding ADO
Chapter 3: Using the ADO Objects to Retrieve Data
Chapter 4: Editing Data with ADO
Chapter 5: Managing Activity with ADO Events
Chapter 6: Using Records and Streams
Chapter 7: Data Shaping
Chapter 8: Working with Disconnected Recordsets
Chapter 9: Using ADOX for Data Definition and Security Operations
Chapter 10: Analyzing Multidimensional Data with ADO MD

Part III Understanding .NET
Chapter 11: Introduction to .NET
Chapter 12: Understanding .NET Languages
Chapter 13: Using ADO from .NET

Part IV Understanding ADO.NET
Chapter 14: Using the ADO.NET Objects to Retrieve Data
Chapter 15: Editing Data with ADO.NET
Chapter 16: Working with Disconnected DataSets
Chapter 17: Using Windows Forms with ADO.NET
Chapter 18: Synchronizing DataSets with XML
Chapter 19: Managing Data on the Web with ASP.NET

Part V Specific Provider Issues
Chapter 20: ADO and SQL Server
Chapter 21: ADO and Oracle
Chapter 22: ADO and Jet
Chapter 23: ADO and Other Providers

Part VI Specific Client Issues
Chapter 24: Using ADO from Visual Basic
Chapter 25: Using ADO from Microsoft Access
Chapter 26: Using ADO from Microsoft Excel
Chapter 27: Using ADO.NET from Visual Basic .NET

Part VII Appendices
Appendix A: The ADO Object Model
Appendix B: The ADOX Object Model
Appendix C: The ADO MD Object Model
Appendix D: The ADO.NET Object Model
Appendix E: ADO and ADO.NET Utilities (CD only)
Appendix F: SQL and MDX Language Primer (CD only)

Index