Pragmatic ADO.NET is a practical guide to using the first data access services designed specifically for Web-based applications. This tutorial provides developers with a clear introduction to and practical solutions for the effective use of ADO.NET as well as the motivation for its use.

The book begins with a concise history of Microsoft's Universal Data Access strategy and the evolution of data access that has led us to ADO.NET. The core of the book demonstrates how and why to work with ADO.NET to interact with databases and the rest of the .NET framework. In addition, readers learn by example the best practices for using ADO.NET in building scalable, high-performance systems. The book includes numerous reusable code samples in C#. Pragmatic ADO.NET ends with an appendix detailing strategies for migrating from ADO to ADO.NET.

Readers discover how to:

* Work with data in a disconnected way
* Connect to databases through ADO.NET
* Use Command objects
* Use the DataReader
* Construct DataSets
* Create and use Typed DataSets
* Manipulate data with DataSets
* Update databases from DataSets
* Integrate with XML
* Use data binding
* Optimize performance and scalability

The combination of concise coverage, helpful explanations, and detailed examples makes Pragmatic ADO.NET an important guide for all developers looking to gain a working knowledge of ADO.NET.