Recently I was sent a copy of a new book entitled Linq Quickly. The book is available from Packt Publishing wrote by N. Shateesh Kumar. This book is for a .Net developer with all the code samples in C#. The book covers the main aspects for the Linq framework including:
The book itself is 225 pages and provides a good introduction into the Linq framework. The book itself starts by introducing the architecture of Linq and some of the language features of C# 3.0. It then moves on to discuss Linq to Objects providing the reader with a foundation of linq. It then touches on Linq to XML which was interesting and provided a good foundation and introduction. There is then a large section of the book on Linq to SQL, which I would expect as its a major part of the framework and the book discusses the concepts with code examples. Finally, it talks about DataSets and XSD.
The last chapter is more of a reference guide to the different extension methods provided by the framework which is a good summary of everything and an example of how to implement and use the method.
My main problem with the book is that there are a number of typos and small things which should easily have been picked up by the reviewer/author. For example it refers to Linq as being part of the .Net framework 3.0. As everyone knows, it was part of .Net 3.5. It does let the book down. The book is also based on pre-rtm syntax, but that isn’t really a problem as there wasn’t any major changes.
In summary, the book provides a good introduction/quickstart to the Linq stack and if you want a gentle introduction to the different sections and how they fit together then its great. If you want something more in-depth then definitely look at Linq in Action (sadly, I only have that in ebook format) but this book does aim at a different reader. I’m sure I will refer back to it to lookup some syntax.
Linq in Action Review: Ben Hall’s Blog- LINQ In Action Book – Early Review
Website and purchase: http://www.packtpub.com/linq-quick-starter/book
I’ll have to check that one out. I’m not sure if I’ll actually purchase it though, there are a ton of info bits out on the net that might get me by.
Thanks for the review.