Fabio Ferracchiati has written a comprehensive guide to the three main parts of the LINQ May 2006 CTP: managing in-memory data (LINQ to Objects), accessing relational databases (LINQ to ADO .NET), and manipulating XML documents (LINQ to XML). Each chapter offers many practical examples that you can try yourself with the downloadable source code. You'll quickly learn everything you want and need to know about LINQ by actually using LINQ.

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LINQ for Visual C# 2005 is a short yet comprehensive guide to the major features of LINQ. It thoroughly covers LINQ to Objects, LINQ to SQL, LINQ to DataSet, and LINQ to XML. It also covers significant enhancements to the next versions of C#, .NET, and ADO.NET. The book also includes plenty of working examples to demonstrate LINQ in action.

Starting with code and ending with code and tailored for the VB language, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in VB 2008 is a veritable treasury of LINQ examples that will save you hours, even days, of research time. Keeping you focused on the relevant LINQ principles, expert author Joseph Rattz, Jr., and VB specialist Dennis Hayes provide examples for complex models that you won’t find anywhere else.

This book is a short yet comprehensive guide to the major features of LINQ and the significant enhancements introduced with .NET 3.5. There is no better source for getting a head–start on the future of these technologies than this book.

Rather than obscure the relevant LINQ principles in code examples by focusing on a demonstration application you have no interest in writing, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 cuts right to the chase of each LINQ operator, method, or class. However, where complexity is necessary to truly demonstrate an issue, the examples are right there in the thick of it. For example, code samples demonstrating how to handle concurrency conflicts actually create concurrency conflicts so you can step through the code and see them unfold.

Most books show the simplest examples of how to use a method, but they so rarely show how to use the more complex prototypes. This book is different. Demonstrating the overwhelming majority of LINQ operators and prototypes, it is a veritable treasury of LINQ examples.

There are hundreds of ways to connect software systems to databases and thousands of people who think they have the skeleton key for data access layers. Pro LINQ Object Relational Mapping in C# 2008 explains an efficient, repeatable way to apply industry design patterns to build scalable object-oriented data access layers.

With Beginning XML with C# 2008, you’ll learn everything you need to know from the basics of reading and writing XML data to using the DOM, from LINQ and SQL Server integration to SOAP and web services.

Beginning VB 2008 Databases teaches you everything you need to know about relational databases, SQL, and ADO.NET 2.0, giving you a sound start in developing console and Windows database applications. The book also includes chapters on the new SQL Server XML data type and the forthcoming LINQ enhancements to the next version of Visual Basic.

Create time for the more interesting aspects of your VB .NET project by solving common problems with the practical solutions and dozens of code examples in Visual Basic 2008 Recipes. Important new .NET 3.5 technologies, such as Windows Presentation Framework (WPF) and Language Integrated Query (LINQ), are covered, and each chapter addresses a specific problem domain, including database access, multimedia, XML manipulation, networking, and security. The code is free to download so you can use the recipes immediately.

Beginning Visual Basic 2005 Databases teaches you everything you need to know about relational databases, SQL, and ADO.NET 2.0, to give you a sound start in developing console and Windows database applications. The book also includes chapters on the new SQL Server XML data type and the forthcoming LINQ enhancements to the next version of Visual Basic. You'll also encounter code-practical techniques to access data in VB 2005 across a range of coding situations.