Product Description

LINQ (Language INtegrated Query) is a new addition to the .NET 3.5 Framework that Microsoft will be releasing alongside Visual Studio 2008 (previously codenamed ‘Orcas’) in Fall 2007. It is set to revolutionize the way that database applications are constructed by providing developers with a standard set of queries that they can implement in the same way regardless of the data-source that they are working with. Whether it’s an XML file, a text file, an Oracle database or a SQL database they’re all accessed the same way through the LINQ syntax. This is an enormously powerful new feature that affects almost all users of the .NET Framework. As a result it’s already being eagerly anticipated and generating a huge amount of buzz in the .NET community. Pro LINQ will be the first book published on the final release version of the software. It will provide a complete overview of this important emerging technology. In a detailed 500 pages readers are taken through all of LINQ’s important features showing how the technology can be put to practical use quickly and simply. By reading this book they will be able to get ahead of the game and be ready when the new technology breaks

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #197815 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 600 pages

About the Author
Joseph C. Rattz, Jr., unknowingly began his career in software development in 1990 when a friend asked him for assistance writing an ANSI text editor named ANSI Master for the Commodore Amiga. A hangman game (The Gallows) soon followed. From these compiled Basic programs, he moved on to programming in C for more speed and power. Joe then developed applications that were sold to JumpDisk, an Amiga disk magazine, as well as Amiga World magazine. Due to developing in a small town on a fairly isolated platform, Joe learned all the wrong ways to write code. It was while trying to upgrade his poorly written applications that he gained respect for the importance of easily maintainable code. It was love at first sight when Joe spotted a source-level debugger in use for the first time.

Two years later, Joe obtained his first software development opportunity at Policy Management Systems Corporation as an entry-level programmer developing a client/server insurance application for OS/2 and Presentation Manager. Through the years, he added C++, Unix, Java, ASP, ASP.NET, C#, HTML, DHTML, and XML to his skill set while developing applications for SCT, DocuCorp, IBM and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, CheckFree, NCR, EDS, Delta Technology, Radiant Systems, and the Genuine Parts Company. Joe enjoys the creative aspects of user interface design, and he appreciates the discipline necessary for server-side development. But, given his druthers, his favorite development pastime is debugging code.

Customer Reviews

Sacha Barber : Visual C# MVP and LINQ Lover
I got this book some time ago, and have only just finished it, but already it has become one of my most treasured posessions (sad I know..but remember i'm a geek).

Now I am no stranger to LINQ, and have written numerous articles on LINQ myself, and have been using LINQ for about 1 year now, but I have to say the attention that Joe Rattz has given it in this book, is nothing short of excellent.

The 1st 1/3 of the book didn't yield anything new to me personally, but LINQ newbies would surely benefit from this section. But for me personally the treatment of the 2nd and 3rd parts of the book were just great. And they were where the real action lay.

Of particular merit for me was Chapter 17 Concurreny Conflicts, when dealing with LINQ to SQL. There are about 25 pages in this chapter, but this is a big issue, and its handled beautifully and dutifully by Mr Rattz. I take my hat off to him for this chapter. In fact in my opinion it's worth buying this book just for that chapter alone.

That's not to say the rest of the book isn't good, because it is. It's all good.

Now I don't know if you are aware about some of the new C# syntax, but some that are new to C#, go a bit crazy with automatic properties, object initializers, anonomous delegates, lambdas everywhere...And to be honest it becomes quite obscure looking code (not to mention hard to debug).

When I first heard about this book, my fear was that there would be lots of this sort of code in this book, but thankfully I was proved wrong.

There are lambdas, but the are used when required, and not use for the sake of it.

All in all I thoroughly recommend this book.


Buy it, buy it now.

Not up to Apress's usual standards
Some books make you feel that you are learning secrets from an insider sitting next to you. Unfortunately this book feels like they asked the summer intern sitting next to you to read the documentation for LINQ then a week later to show you the cool things he has been able to do with it. He tries hard, but you know he would really prefer to be surfing.

The book is very repetitious. A lot of the text is cut and paste then change a few words here and there. The code samples follow the pattern - cut and paste and change a couple of lines. The callouts repeat what is in the main text. Much of the book is just a regurgitated version of the docs.

The writing style tries to be chummy but really grated with me. The text is littered with 'wow!', 'How slick is that?', 'awesome!' and other such phrases. One section even ends with the words 'Sweet! Dude!'. Perhaps a better title for this book would be 'Joe Rattz's excellent adventures with LINQ'.

The book covers all you need to know about LINQ but I found it very tedious.

Pro LINQ not very pro !
I bought this book thinking that it will have a detailed explanation of LINQ. But eventhough the book claims to be for professionals, most of the material is taken from MSDN especially the secion on LINQ for SQL is literally copy-paste.

I have given it 2 stars for the only reason that the subject is new and the author has gone into a trouble to get the MSDN parts and put them together in a book.