LINQ is the project name for a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that provide a generic approach to querying data from different data sources. LINQ made its debut in Visual Studio 2008, and became a must–have skill for .NET developers. For more information about LINQ, you can check out www.linqdev.com. Starting with code and ending with code and tailored for the VB language, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in VB 2008 is a veritable treasury of LINQ examples that will save you hours, even days, of research time. Keeping you focused on the relevant LINQ principles, expert author Joseph Rattz, Jr., and VB specialist Dennis Hayes provide examples for complex models that you won't find anywhere else. In most books, you'll find plenty of simple examples to demonstrate how to use a method, but authors rarely show how to use the more complex prototypes. Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in VB 2008 is different. Demonstrating the overwhelming majority of LINQ operators and protoypes, Joseph Rattz, Jr., and Dennis Hayes condense their extensive experience and expertise into a desk companion that is essential for any serious .NET professional. Rather than obscure the relevant LINQ principles in code examples by focusing on a demonstration application you have no interest in writing, this book cuts right to the chase of each LINQ operator, method, or class. However, where complexity is necessary to truly demonstrate an issue, the examples are right there in the thick of it. For example, code samples demonstrating how to handle concurrency conflicts actually create concurrency conflicts so you can step through the code and see them unfold. Most books tell you about the simple stuff, while few books warn you of the pitfalls. Where Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in VB 2008 returns your investment is in the hours, and sometimes days, spent by the authors determining why something may not work as expected. Sometimes this results in an innocent–looking paragraph that may take you a minute to read and understand, but took days to research and explain. Face it, most technical books while informative, are dull. LINQ need not be dull. Written with a sense of humor, this book will attempt to entertain you on your journey through the wonderland of LINQ and VB 2008.

The first edition of this book was released at the 2001 Tech-Ed conference in Atlanta, Georgia. At that time, the .NET platform was still a beta product, and in many ways, so was this book. This is not to say that the early editions of this text did not have merit—after all, the book was a 2002 Jolt Award finalist and it won the 2003 Referenceware Excellence Award. However, over the years that author Andrew Troelsen spent working with the common language runtime (CLR), he gained a much deeper understanding of the .NET platform and the subtleties of the C# programming language, and he feels that this fifth edition of the book is as close to a “final release” as he’s come yet. This new edition has been comprehensively revised and rewritten to make it accurately reflect the C# 4 language specification for the .NET 4 platform. You’ll find new chapters covering the important concepts of dynamic lookups, named and optional arguments, Parallel LINQ (PLINQ), improved COM interop, and variance for generics. If you’re checking out this book for the first time, do understand that it's targeted at experienced software professionals and/or graduate students of computer science (so don't expect three chapters on iteration or decision constructs!). The mission of this text is to provide you with a rock-solid foundation in the C# programming language and the core aspects of the .NET platform (assemblies, remoting, Windows Forms, Web Forms, ADO.NET, XML web services, etc.). Once you digest the information presented in these 25 chapters, you’ll be in a perfect position to apply this knowledge to your specific programming assignments, and you’ll be well equipped to explore the .NET universe on your own terms.

For nearly five years, one book has served as the definitive reference to Java for all serious developers: The Java Language Specification, by James Gosling, Bill Joy, and Guy Steele. Now, these world-renowned Java authorities (along with new co-author Gilad Bracha) have delivered a monumental update. This completely revised Second Edition covers the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition Version 1.3 with unprecedented depth and precision, offering the invaluable insights of Java's creators to every developer. There is no better source for learning everything about the Syntax and Semantics of the Java programming language. Developers will turn to this book again and again.

Written by the inventors of the technology, The Java® Virtual Machine Specification, Java SE 7 Edition, is the definitive technical reference for the Java Virtual Machine. The book provides complete, accurate, and detailed coverage of the Java Virtual Machine. It fully describes the invokedynamic instruction and method handle mechanism added in Java SE 7, and gives the formal Prolog specification of the type-checking verifier introduced in Java SE 6. The book also includes the class file extensions for generics and annotations defined in Java SE 5.0, and aligns the instruction set and initialization rules with the Java Memory Model.

Why Another Book on c++ and why Programming and Graphics? Anyone who has browsed through the 'Computing' section of a bookshop (assuming it has one) will not need much convincing that there are a lot of C++ books out there. So why add yet another to the shelf! This book attempts to introduce you to the C++ language via computer graphics because the object-oriented programming features of C++ naturally lend themselves to graphics. Thus, this book is based around a central theme: computer graphics and the development of 'real' object-oriented tools for graphical modelling. This approach is adopted (as opposed to learning by small, unrelated, often hypothetical, examples) because I didn't want to introduce C++ as a collection oflanguage features. While introducing the syntax and features of C++, it is just as important to demonstrate simultaneously the reason for such features and when to apply them - in otherwords,language and design are given equal priority. Also, a key objective in writing this book is to present you with a comprehensive introductory text on programming in the C++ language.

This book is the most complete and up-to-date resource on Java from programming guru, Herb Schildt -- a must-have desk reference for every Java programmer.

Professional LINQ introduces experienced programmers and database developers to LINQ database queries in their native VB and C# languages. Some of the topics covered include: LINQ Queries LINQ and the Standard Query Operators Programming with XLinq Querying XML with XLinq Mixing XML and other data models DLinq and Queries LINQ over datasets Interoperating with ADO.NET LINQ and ASP.NET