LINQ, 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 and
above.