A good introduction to beginning databases in SQL Server Express edition. Some questions I had did go unanswered. Why would a desktop application use SQL Server express over say Microsoft Access? Are there concurrency issues with a team using SQL Server Express edition?

Also, I would have liked if the author explained the connection string builders. I knew most of what the author was saying because I use OLEDB mostly, but wanted to get up to speed on SQL Server. I didn't learn much, however, if a beginner (i.e., someone who never used DataReaders, DataAdapters, etc..) got a hold of this I think it would be very useful.

Is has been awhile since I programmed with databases, so I was looking for a book to help me both refresh and advance my skill set. James Huddleston's "Beginning C# 2005 Databases, From Novice to Professional" is such a book. Having some former experience with DBs, the first 9 chapters are both a quick read and refresher. The "How It Works" were useful and very clear. The later chapters, especially 13 (Exceptions), 15 (Events), and 17 (XML) in relation to C#, were helpful. The last chapter offers a look into the future with LINQ. I would like to thank Mr. Huddleston for writing this book.

[...]In fact it gives a very clear and simple introduction to the very basics of database structure and querying with C#, but it doesn't go beyond that. It seems strange for a 500+ pages text , but most of the space is devoted to long explanations and especially to reprinting the same code over and over. What irritates me is also code formatting. In a mixed attempt to both produce more filler and to indulge on his love for encient poetry and verses the author uses this kind of formatting for basically any string he uses:
// Set up connection string
string connString = @"
server = (local)\MYSERVER;
integrated security = true;
database = northwind
";
// Set up query string
string sql = @"
select
*
from
employees
";
Now, is it really necessary to take 6 or 7 lines for a simple select query or a connection string? No if you are not writing the odissey I think.
Compare for example the extremey compact style of David Sceppa in "[...]Core Reference" where he ha sthe opposite problems of crunching a lot of material in a single book.
In conclusion, if you are really, really an absolute beginner who has no idea of what a table or a query is, and has never used any programming language to query a database, this book can still be useful notwithstanding the misleading title. [...]

I got this book a few weeks ago. I try to jump start my leaning process of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005.

In fact, this book is a really good one. This book begins with step-by-step how to set up C# programming and database environment. I like this installation guide since I want to experiment with the exercises in this book and I want to do it right the first time. This book covers fundamental concepts of databases and related data access ADO.Net technology. The author explains very well the following concepts, connections, commands, data readers, data adapters, and data sets, etc. The diagrams in the book really help to understand the relationship between the concepts mentioned above. In addition, the author also includes topics such as transaction, xml, working with text and binary data, and LINQ.

I do think the author should include the topic of CLR integration with SQL Server 2005. CLR integration allows you to create database objects including stored procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, UDTs, and aggregates, in ANY .Net languages. CLR provides much more power and flexibility than T-SQL. In addition, CLR integration has other great benefits too.

Bottom line. It is a very good introductory book about ADO.Net, SQL, and C#. It is a good reference book for experienced professionals.

The author really explains in detail the in's and out's of dealing with databases from the C# perpective. Not only those he provides the same code which many books do, But he explains in detail what is happening behind the scene. He provides excellent examples of parallel access to the same data source through ADO.net, OleDB, and the old ODBC connections.