Programming C# Extended Features

• Existing data-access technologies
• Generic and nongeneric collections

Language shortcuts

• Applying auto-implemented properties
• Benefiting from implied-type declaration

Streamlining program logic

• Instantiating entity objects
• Simplifying construction with object initialisers

Filtering and ordering data with lambda expressions

• Comparing delegates and lambda expressions
• Calling Count, Reverse, Union, Except and other extension methods

Applying extended features

• Making code more flexible with delegates
• Parameterising delegates and lambda expressions
• Streamlining code with Func<T,R> generic delegates

Syntax and semantics

• Coding LINQ queries
• Ordering data and objects
• Filtering with from, where, orderby and group

Iterating collections

• Interfacing between C# and LINQ using IEnumerable<T>
• Issuing queries on entity and spatial types

Comparing ADO.NET with LINQ

• DataSet objects vs. generic lists
• SqlDataReader vs. IEnumerable<T>
• Implementing accessors to separate the data tier

Connecting to and reading from a database

• Establishing an ObjectContext and DbContext objects
• Correlating entity classes and data tables
• Executing stored procedures and table-valued functions

The Object Relational Designer tool

• Mapping data tables to entity classes (table-first) and object models to database tables (code-first)
• Inheriting with many-per-table and table-per-type (TPT)

Updating a database

• Inserting, updating and deleting data
• Error handling and exceptions
• Committing and rolling back transactions

Examining enum

• Comparing IEnumerable<T> and IEnumerator<T>
• Generating dynamic enumeration
• The yield keyword

Writing generic classes

• Reducing duplicate classes
• Implementing a generic fast enumerator

Manipulating data

• Combining and aggregating similar data with group
• Performing inner, outer and group joins
• Generating data subsets with the into clause

Advanced LINQ techniques

• Creating anonymous query results
• Retrieving composite views using nested from clauses
• Issuing LINQ geographic/geometric queries on spatial types

Processing XML

• Loading XML dynamically via the web
• Creating and saving XElement content
• Parsing documents, elements and attributes
• Walking an XML document using LINQ