|
| LINQ in Action | 
 enlarge | Authors: Fabrice Marguerie, Steve Eichert, Jim Wooley
Creator: Matt Warren
Publisher: Manning Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $44.99
Buy New: $25.34
You Save: $19.65 (44%)
New (47) Used (6) from $25.34
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 18600
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 600
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 1933988169
Dewey Decimal Number: 006.7882
EAN: 9781933988160
ASIN: 1933988169
Publication Date: February 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Great detailed information February 9, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is a fantastic resource on LINQ. Yeah sure I know two of the Authors (Steve and Fabrice) so I'm a little biased, but that just makes me happier that they did such a good job covering LINQ.
The thing I liked best is that the book doesn't talk down to the reader, has great depth, and somehow is still easy to read.
A must read February 12, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is the fruit of a collaborative work. In a time of globalization, where ideas know no frontiers, this is a refreshing take on a hot topic like LINQ.
We have here three well known experts in their fields (name of the authors here) coming together to produce an excellent text book on LINQ.
The introduction is an appetizer for what comes next.
LINQ is not a language you will fall in love with at first sight. It demands that you get to know it but when you do you're hooked.
In this book we get a good summary outlining why we can't live without LINQ anymore. Also, a nice touch from the authors is that the code is written in both C# and VB.NET. It's a pity that this is not continued throughout the book. However, according to the writers, all the samples used in the book are available for download in both languages. So guys you are forgiven!
Because LINQ introduces new features, a full chapter is dedicated to C# 3.0 and VB.NET 9.0 enhancements. This chapter is for me the weakest part of the book. Even if LINQ in action is not intended for beginners, I would suggest to the readers to skip this section and come back to it later, because it will give intermediate developers the idea that LINK is only comprehendible by experts. It is too complicated too early in the book.
The rest of the book is cleverly divided into roughly three parts: LINQ for objects, LINQ for XML and LINQ for SQL. It is a very good idea indeed to have pushed the SQL part further down, after all, LINQ is much more than a mere language for relational databases. It is an advanced technology with many capabilities. For example, Object paradigm is at the heart of LINQ and this is well demonstrated throughout the book.
To conclude I would warmly recommend this book but for intermediate developers not for real beginners because some of the explanations introduced by the authors are not for the faint hearted!
I also give credit to the authors for creating from a blank canvas something as colorful as this book about LINQ. A hard challenge when you consider that nobody has really fully embraced the concept in a commercial application to date.
It's also a first book for Fabrice Marguerie, who I know well by his blog. Fabrice is a strong minded person, an expert in Object Relational Mapping, which gives you even more reason to purchase this book.
One of the best .NET books ever written February 12, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I am an avid reader of .NET books so it's pretty hard to impress me. But the authors of this book have gone so far beyond expectations that I simply had to take note. First, this is one of the best researched books you'll ever see. Second, it's extremely well written and easy to read. Third, they've really dominated this complex subject! They have anticipated all your questions and you'll see the answers within the text. You definitely won't need to turn anywhere else for LINQ info.
This book is refreshing because it's all new and original. They didn't simply regurgitate the MSDN documentation, and their examples are clear and relevant. And the authors frequently participate in online forums and they offer great support for the book. This is not a "hit and run" orphan book!
After reading the excellent ASP.NET AJAX In Action title from the same publisher, I was doubtful if lightning could strike twice. But it did. Buy this book!
 A Decent Book March 22, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I've seen a few better computer books, and many worse. This is a pretty good presentation on Linq.
The Good:
- Nice balance of prose with many code snippets.
- Good pacing of the material, although I might like a bit more detail in some spots, less in others. Occasionally there's a little too much non-Linq content, such as explaining practices that are well known to most professional developers. There is also too much finishing one section by saying what's coming in the next section - unnecessary because it's obvious what's next - the next section's header is staring right at you. At times I found myself mentally editing the prose, and removing superfluous clauses and sentences unrelated to Linq. Fortunately the amount of this is not that annoying, but it could be tighter.
- Snippets often have short annotations physically next to the relevant lines of code (yay!), making it easy to see what's going on. When the explanation is lengthy, it follows the snippet, instead of sitting next to it, which is harder to understand. I'd like to see side-by-side, code with annotations throughout, which is understandably not easy to do.
- Code snippets are also in the downloadable projects - they mostly work. I couldn't get either Visual Studio or SqlMetal to recognize the stored procedures in the book's database, owing to some kind of protection/login problem using SqlExpress. No biggie, as I'm sure I can get these tools to recognize SPs in my own databases.
- Support website is good, I posted a comment and got a reply from the authors within a day or so.
- DoublePlusGood: Authors include many links to supporting articles, downloadable goodies, etc.
- I feel like I gained a good grasp of the material, and am well positioned to start doing serious work with it.
The Not-So-Good:
- While I saw dozens of lambda expressions, I still don't think I could explain to someone what they are, in a sentence or two. Maybe I missed it, but I expect a book to provide a lucid explanation here, especially on such a key concept, instead of having me infer what's going on by seeing examples.
- The section on Linq-To-Sql is probably the most turgid/dense of the whole book. The author obviously knows his stuff, but there were a few paragraphs in this section I reread numerous times, and still could not get what he was trying to say. The rest of the book is relatively lucid, which is no small thing, given the complexity of the subject.
At times I wondered what I missed by not buying the Apress alternative ("Pro Linq" by Rattz). It's a longer book, has more Amazon ratings, and I like the TOC. I also like the fact that it's written by one author, although "Linq In Action" doesn't suffer a whole lot by having had several people contribute to it. If I get into a jam with Linq, and can't get help from the usual sources, I may purchase Rattz as well.
Clear and cogent instruction on a central technology April 1, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Linq in Action is a clear and deep presentation of a technology that, even in its first incarnation, is increasing the productivity of programmers, and setting an even higher standard for dynamic websites and programs. The authors, who were instrumental in the development of Linq, proceed in an intuitive path from the basics of the technology, all the way to very sophisticated ideas and examples. The authors also participate online to answer questions and add even more material for an even more through presentation. I recommend this book for any developer or aspiring developer.
Paolo
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
