What is the book about and who's it for?

This book targets developers and computer fans who use Access databases and want to get a firm grasp of the Microsoft .NET Framework.  You don't need to be familiar with the .NET Framework to  learn from this book.  However, you will definitely benefit from a working knowledge of how to program solutions with Visual Basic 6 or VBA in Access.  The book devotes considerable attention to creating Windows solutions with Visual Basic .NET and ADO.NET.  In addition, the background provided for these topics is leveraged to provide coverage of Web development techniques, including ASP.NET and XML Web services.  Essentially every code sample throughout the book is for an Access database.

Introduction to the .NET Framework

This chapter begins with an overview of why Access developers should learn the .NET Framework.  This chapter presents a conceptual overview of the .NET Framework that serves as a basis for detailed discussions and code samples demonstrating how to create .NET Framework solutions for Access databases.  Selected topics addressed in this chapter include the Common Language Runtime, Assemblies, object-oriented programming, run-time error processing with exception handling, and ADO.NET.

Using Visual Basic .NET with Visual Studio .NET

This chapter presents a progression of topics designed to make Access developers productive with Visual Basic .NET as soon as possible.  The chapter surveys the 11 kinds of Visual Basic .NET project types as it gives advice about what they do and when to use them.  In addition, you get an introduction to core Visual Basic .NET programming topics, including class inheritance and namespaces.  The chapter closes with a jump start sample designed to introduce you to creating Access  solutions with Visual Basic .NET.

Visual Basic .NET Fundamentals

This chapter along with Chapter 4 helps Access developers achieve the same level of comfort with Visual Basic .NET that they currently have with VB and VBA.  The chapter begins by reviewing Visual Basic .NET data types and contrasting them with Access data types.  In the process you learn to think of data types as objects and develop an appreciation for the difference between value and reference types.  A wide range of topics consume the middle of the chapter, including creating re-usable code blocks, using optional parameters and parameter arrays, the COM Interop feature, and array processing.  The presentation of the COM Interop feature is particularly interesting because it shows how apply ADO coding techniques in .NET applications.  The chapter closes with a section that drills down on class programming techniques.

Selected Visual Basic .NET Advanced Topics

Chapter 3 covers traditional core programming topics via Visual Basic .NET.  This chapter builds on that foundation to describe and demonstrate new file processing techniques, event handlers and custom events, class inheritance, and structured exception handling.  Class inheritance might be the single most exciting innovation introduced by Visual Basic .NET for VB and VBA developers.  This chapter provides you with an overview of key concepts and keywords, illustrates the process of setting up for a solution based on class inheritance, and runs a sample application to highlight the benefits of class inheritance with an Access database.

Fundamentals of Programming Windows Forms and Controls

You will gain in this chapter a solid foundation in programming Windows forms and controls with Visual Basic .NET.  The first section presents several samples that illustrate the kind of functionality you can manage with code behind a form.  The second section examines programming issues for using more than one form in an application.  The chapter closes with an in-depth look at coding techniques for managing traditional controls used in database applications, such as text boxes, combo boxes, and list boxes , as well as selected new controls, such as the PictureBox and LinkLabel controls.

Programming Windows Forms: Building on Fundamentals

Learn how to populate Windows form controls with values from Access databases via graphical ADO.NET development techniques.  This presentation reveals the kind of functionality that you can achieve with ADO.NET components on the Data tab of the Toolbox.  Code samples illustrate programming techniques for making controls interactive by managing properties and handling their events.  A significant portion of  the chapter demonstrates the features and capabilities of the Data Form Wizard, including its ability to automatically create data-bound forms and main/sub forms.

ADO.NET: Concepts and Architecture

This chapter introduces in  three sections ADO.NET, the data component of the .NET Framework.  The first section reviews the features of the major ADO.NET classes (and it contrasts these with those from ADO).  The second section drills down on selected properties and methods of ADO.NET classes and illustrates how to manipulate them with Visual Basic .NET.  The code samples in this section highlight the capabilities of the classes rather than typical uses for them.  The third section presents the DataSet class, a new kind of class that obsoletes the old Recordset class.

ADO.NET Coding Techniques

This chapter moves behind architectural issues and on to typical kinds of database tasks to which you will want to perform with Visual Basic .NET and ADO.NET.  You learn how to accomplish these tasks with fundamental ADO.NET building blocks, such as the Connection, Command, DataAdapter, and DataSet objects.  In addition, this chapter introduces the Parameters collection for modifying  the behavior of SQL strings and Access parameter queries  at run time.  This chapter's primary focus is  on data manipulation, including inserts, updates, and deletes as well as handling concurrency violations.

ADO.NET: Datasets and Data  Manipulation on Windows Forms

This chapter drills  down on datasets  and data manipulation on Windows Forms by expanding on earlier treatments of these topics.  The first section contrasts the outcomes for different ways of creating objects.   In particular,  you lean about typed and untyped datasets and techniques for creating and managing multiple DataTable objects in a  single dataset.   Another major chapter focus is the parent-child relationship between multiple DataTable objects in a dataset.  The chapter concludes with a case study application for inserting, updating, and deleting data in an Access database with ADO.NET and Visual Basic .NET.

Programming Windows Solutions with ADO.NET

This is the first of two chapters addressing ASP.NET.  The chapter contains three sections.  The first section highlights what you need to build  an ASP.NET solution.  This section  also contrasts with what you need to run ASP.NET solutions.  The second section introduces the Web Forms Page class  and describes some special features on controls on a Web page.  The third  section presents three ASP.NET sample applications.  These samples give you a hands-on feel for creating and using ASP.NET.

Implementing ADO.NET on ASP.NET Pages

This chapter builds on the introduction to ASP.NET by explicitly considering how to use ADO.NET in Web applications.  The aim of the chapter is to show you what you already know about the .NET Framework to create Web applications for your Access databases  This chapter provides coverage of graphical and code-based techniques.  The graphical techniques are particularly convenient for prototyping solutions with a rough set of features, and the coding techniques enable adding special functionality and formatting features.  The chapter includes samples demonstrating data access and data manipulation tasks.

Programming XML Web Services

Visual Basic .NET enables you to multiply the impact of your Microsoft Access databases via XML Web Services.  In essence, through the application of XML Web Services, you can transform your Access applications to client/server applications.  This can occur because the XML Web services technology always works  with two applications -- an XML  Web service application and a client application.  This chapter shows how to build and deploy Web services solutions.  In addition, you learn how to create Windows and Web client applications Don't forget to try out the sample Web service at

http://www.databasedevelopersgroup.com/WebDaysTilEOMClient/WebForm1.aspx.

Securing .NET Applications with Access Databases

You  can take comfort in knowing that the  .NET Framework offers  new security features while it preserves the  capability to apply familiar user-level security techniques for  Access databases.  Some of the new features are particularly easy to implement.  This chapter's initial section provides a broad overview of .NET Framework  security features.  Next, the chapter illustrates how to use ADO.NET in concert with user-level security to manage secure data  access and data manipulation.  The chapter's closing section demonstrates how to use Forms  authentication with an Access database to validate users of a Web application.

XML for Visual Studio .NET Access Developers

This appendix introduces you to the basics of XML syntax and schema conventions  plus Visual Studio .NET XML Designers.  You will learn how to create XML schemas and documents with built-in designers.  The appendix  reinforces the link between XML and datasets.  In its closing section, you will learn how to graphically create a Relation object indicating a parent-child link for two DataTable  objects.  A simple Visual Basic .NET programming sample illustrates how to apply the Relation object.