LINQ in Action

Description

LLINQ, Language INtegrated Query, is a new extension to the Visual Basic and C# programming languages designed to simplify data queries and database interaction. It addreses O/R mapping issues by making query operations like SQL statements part of the programming language. It also offers built-in support for querying in-memory collections like arrays or lists, XML, DataSets, and relational databases.

 LINQ in Action is a fast-paced, comprehensive tutorial for professional developers. This book explores what can be done with LINQ, shows how it works in an application, and addresses the emerging best practices. It presents the general purpose query facilities offered by LINQ in the upcoming C# 3.0 and VB.NET 9.0 languages. A running example introduces basic LINQ concepts. You'll then learn to query unstructured data using LINQ to XML and relational data with LINQ to SQL. Finally, you'll see how to extend LINQ for custom applications.

 LINQ in Action will guide you along as you explore this new world of lambda expressions, query operators, and expression trees. As well, you'll explore the new features of C# 3.0, VB.NET 9.0. The book is very practical, anchoring each new idea with running code. Whether you want to use LINQ to query objects, XML documents, or relational databases, you will find all the information you need to get started

 But LINQ in Action does not stop at the basic code. This book also shows you how LINQ can be used for advanced processing of data, including coverage of LINQ's extensibility, which allows querying more data sources than those supported by default. All code samples are built on a concrete business case. The running example, LinqBooks, is a personal book cataloging system that shows you how to create LINQ applications with Visual Studio 2008.

CONTENTS:

Part 1: Getting Started

Chapter 1: Introducing LINQ

Chapter 2: C# and VB.NET language enhancements

Chapter 3: LINQ building blocks

Part 2: Querying Objects In Memory

Chapter 4: Getting familiar with LINQ to Objects

Chapter 5: Beyond basic in-memory queries

Part 3: Querying Relational Data

Chapter 6: Getting started with LINQ to SQL

Chapter 7: Peeking under the covers of LINQ to SQL

Chapter 8: Advanced LINQ to SQL features

Part 4: Manipulating XML

Chapter 9: Inttroducing LINQ to XML

Chapter 10: Query and transform XML with LINQ to XML

Chapter 11: Common LINQ to XML scenarios

Part 5: LINQing It All Together

Chapter 12: Extending LINQ

Chapter 13: LINQ in every layer