Microsoft.NET has been written following many hundreds of hours spent with CTOs, Technical Directors, IT Managers, System Designers and Architects all desperate to work their way through this important new strategy, the set of products and the underlying technology.

The author is a real-life practicing consultant in the design and implementation of Microsoft .NET strategies and technologies. This book is born out of a personal search for the Holy Grail of .NET publications.
Review
“A good, comprehensive look at the new Microsoft .Net technology”Ken England, President and Founder of Database Technologies and author

Debugging Strategies for .NET Developers is a highly readable exploration of debugging with Microsoft .NET. While other debugging books focus on obscure techniques for advanced users, this book contains dozens of real-world examples drawn from the author’s career that convey the specific techniques as well as the basic process of
debugging.

Debugging Strategies for .NET Developers teaches developers how to think about debugging in Microsoft .NET rather than having to learn several specific debugging tools. Author Darin Dillon describes debugging concepts, such as assertions and logging, and immediately follows each discussion with an example from his experiences of when that technique was used to solve a real-world bug. The book will not only show readers the techniques, but also how to recognize when to apply those techniques.

Real World .NET Applications consists of six significant .NET applications, each representing one of the major application types’ Custom Windows Control, XML Document Editor, a Pac-Man style game, UML Class Diagram Editor, FTP Client Application, and an ASP.NET online store. Each application or component is thoroughly documented, starting from teaching the underlying principles through the architecture and design, and finally the actual implementation of the application. With Real World .NET Applications, developers can get started right away developing necessary applications.

Guides to Microsoft’s .NET technologies abound (see Computer Media, LJ4/1/01), but most focus on only one piece of the colossus. Chappell’s book is different because it offers a lucid overview of every aspect of .NET. Intended for developers and technology managers but accessible to lay readers, it describes how existing languages and technologies (such as ASP) are transformed in the .NET environment and explains the reasoning behind creating new languages such as C#. Touchy topics like the privacy issues created by .NET My Services and .NET’s seeming similarity to Java are also squarely addressed. Highly recommended for all libraries.

.NET is a whole new way to program. It has taken me a while to get used to using it, but now I feel that .NET is the future of developing code. The two main features that .NET brings are the runtime and the Framework Class Library. The runtime executes all .NET code and provides a secure environment. The Framework Class Library is available to all .NET code regardless of the language that is used to create that code. The library is a culmination of all the libraries that Win32 developers are accustomed to using, and some APIs are provided through a new paradigm, but others are mere mirrors of the Win32 APIs that they replace. The significant point is that all of the APIs are accessed in the same way, so the application developer no longer has to learn multiple ways to access libraries (DLL exported functions, class libraries, template libraries, COM). The intention is to put more focus on using the APIs than on accessing them. I have spent a considerable amount of time determining how .NET works and how the various classes in the library are related. On occasion it was a joy to see how .NET had provided a new API that put more power in the hands of the developer, and on a few occasions I was frustrated to see that .NET had provided a solution that reduced the facilities offered to the developer. In this book I want to give you the benefit of my odyssey through .NET. I will enthuse when .NET does it right, and I will tell you straight when .NET does it wrong. One thing is clear: .NET is here to stay. Expect in the future that Microsoft will put more and more emphasis on .NET. Your future as a developer will be intimately entwined with .NET, and by becoming familiar with .NET now, you’ll ensure that you’ll be ready for whatever Microsoft decides to release in the future. Intended Audience I have deliberately decided to target C++ Win32 developers.

Applied ADO.NET: Building Data-Driven Solutions provides extensive coverage of ADO.NET technology including ADO.NET internals, namespaces, classes, and interfaces. Where most books cover only SQL and OLE DB data providers, Mahesh Chand and David Talbot cover SQL, OLE DB, ODBC data providers and the latest additions to ADO.NET: Oracle, MySQL, and XML .NET data providers. Chand and Talbot also cover internals of data binding and they provide detailed coverage on both Windows Forms and Web Forms data binding and data-bound controls. Since XML plays a major role in .NET development, the authors also provide a comprehensive look at XML namespaces and classes, and how to integrate both with ADO.NET.

Applied ADO.NET: Building Data-Driven Solutions begins with the basics of ASP.NET and data-bound controls. It then delves into internals of data binding and shows how to use DataGrid, DataList, and other data-bound controls in real-world applications. Chand and Talbot also discuss the ASP.NET guest book, database XML Web services, and even an online bookstore site development and design process.

Advanced developers will learn from the coverage of ADO.NET architecture, related design issues, and how ADO.NET data
providers are designed. The authors also show how to create a Custom Data Provider. Event handling, server side programming, data relations and constraints, Active Directory, messaging, exception and error handling, and object relational model are other topics covered in detail.

eXtreme .NET shows developers and team leaders how to incorporate eXtreme programming (XP) practices with .NET-connected technologies to create high quality, low-cost code that will build better software. This practical, realistic guidebook systematically covers key elements of XP methodology in the specific context of the
.NET Framework, Visual Studio .NET, Microsoft Visual C#, and related Microsoft .NET-enabled applications.

Leading .NET and XP mentor Dr. Neil Roodyn covers planning, task definition, test-driven
development, user interfaces, refactoring, spiking, pair programming, and much more. Dr Neil offers field-proven advice for everything from automating builds to integrating third-party libraries. He also incorporates valuable exercises and presents a start-to-finish case study that shows exactly how XP and Microsoft .NET interoperate
throughout an entire development project. Coverage includes:

• Where to start if you’ve never used XP or other Agile methods before
• Pair programming: turning .NET programming into a collaborative game
• Test-Driven Development: Making sure your .NET code works as intended, while it’s easiest to fix
• Refactoring: Organizing your .NET code to improve flexibility and enable changes more readily
• Continuous integration and automated build/test: enhancing quality in distributed, component-based systems
• Spiking: using rapid experimentation to validate your expectations about behavior in the .NET Framework
• The importance of customer input to successful projects
• How to test .NET user interfaces and third-party libraries

The Microsoft .NET Framework is today’s most productive development platform. XP represents a fundamental breakthrough in building higher-value software. Combine them: transform your team into an eXtreme .NET team that can accomplish more than ever before. This book will show you how starting with your very next project.

Version 2.0 of the .NET Framework will offer powerful
enhancements to ADO.NET that will give application and service
developers unprecedented control over their data. In A First Look at ADO.NET and System.Xml v. 2.0,
Microsoft’s lead program manager on XML technologies joins with two
leading .NET and XML experts to present a comprehensive preview of
tomorrow’s ADO.NET and System.Xml classes.

Drawing
on the first .NET Framework 2.0 Technology Preview Release, the authors
introduce powerful new techniques for simplifying development,
enhancing flexibility, and leveraging .NET’s new support for emerging
XML standards. They also preview important new synergies between .NET
Framework 2.0, XML, and the next version of SQL Server (code-named
“Yukon”).

This book’s detailed coverage includes:

• Clear explanations of Microsoft’s data-access intentions and directions–so you’ll be ready when .NET 2.0 arrives
• A brief overview of ObjectSpaces–the exciting new technology for using objects that represent and hold their own data
• Major improvements in bulk loading, batch execution, and paging
• Support for truly asynchronous connection and command operations
• In-process server-side cursors for programmatic data processing within stored procedures
• XML class improvements that enhance standards support, promote integration, and maximize performance
• Beyond SQLXML 3.0: leveraging XQuery and XML Views in distributed query processing
• Better support for storing XML data and integrating relational and XML data management
• “Yukon’s” new XML data type: using SQL Server as an XML document store

Engineer Your Way to Excellence

Maximize the capabilities of
Visual C++ .NET using the advanced development strategies presented in
this professional resource. Inside, you’ll find full details on using
threads and graphics, working within the .NET Framework, handling
database integration, ensuring security, creating administrative tools,
and much more. Build and deploy robust Visual C++ .NET applications
that take full advantage of the innovative features of this powerful
development tool.

• Build managed and unmanaged (native EXE) desktop applications
• Maximize machine resources using threads
• Utilize the Active Directory Service Interface (ADSI)
• Take full advantage of ADO.NET for database management
• Work with Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI)
• Reduce development time using attributed programming
• Write distributed applications using Simple Object Access Model (SOAP)
• Understand how Web Services can help you develop applications faster
• Use the Windows Security and Cryptography APIs
• Develop customized Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins

Managed C++ and .NET Development is about writing .NET applications and
services. It is designed to start developers with a clean slate, wiping
clear any need for developing COM, DCOM, COM+, or ActiveX components.
Instead, it will show readers how to code in the world of .NET�free of
the unneeded baggage that accompanies component development.

More importantly, this is a book about writing .NET applications using
C++. It covers a lot of ground in a short period of time. In the end,
developers should be proficient at developing .NET applications,
specifically for Windows and the World Wide Web.

While readers
are learning the ins-and-outs of .NET application development, they
will also be learning the syntax of C++, both old and new to .NET.
Readers will also gain a good understanding of the .NET architecture.

Most of all, Managed C++ and .NET Development is truly a .NET book applying C++ as its development language�not another C++ syntax book which happens to cover .NET.