Learning ADO.NET

[Chuck Bowling]

From the walkthroughs I'm starting to get the impression that the only way
I'm going to be able to learn about ADO.NET is to go out and buy SQL Server
7.0.

I already own MS Access and don't have any desire to setup a full blown
server. Should I give up on learning ADO.NET or is there an alternative?

 

[Frank Oquendo]

From the walkthroughs I'm starting to get the impression that the
only way I'm going to be able to learn about ADO.NET is to go out and
buy SQL Server 7.0.

First off, you can always program against Access using OLEDB. Even ODBC is
supported.

Secondly, MSDE is a sclaed-back version of SQL Server and is free. It's even
redistributable.

Finally, a copy of SQL Server 2000, Developer Edition will set you back a
whopping $49.

Considering that any commercial-scale web app will be using a true database
server, the skills you'd acquire learning to work with SQL Server are well
worth the investment.

--
There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary and those who
don't.

http://code.acadx.com
(Pull the pin to reply)

 

[William Ryan eMVP]

From the walkthroughs I'm starting to get the impression that the only way
I'm going to be able to learn about ADO.NET is to go out and buy SQL Server
7.0.

I already own MS Access and don't have any desire to setup a full blown
server. Should I give up on learning ADO.NET or is there an alternative?

Chuck, that's totally not the case. Like Frank mentions, MSDE is free and
will do most everything you'll need to do in a non-production environment.
Moreover, because ADO.NET has a close and kill model,I've found that it
plays much better with MS Access than classic ADO did. Moreover, you can
use free web services like Google (or build your own) or XML Documents as
your back end and totally bypass Access or SQL Server.

Don't let something this small discourage you! ADO.NET totally rocks, and
you'll learn to love it quickly. Besides, you can use ADO.NET with XML
exclusively, so the back end is irrelevant.