SUMMARY

Working with databases in Visual Basic is an enormous topic. This chapter did not cover every detail of database programming, but it did explain the basics. It told how to build data sources and how to drag and drop tables and fields from the Data Sources window onto a form. It described the most important database controls and objects, such as connection, data adapter, DataSet, and DataTable objects. It also explained the fundamentals of simple and complex data binding, and using CurrencyManager objects to navigate through data.

For more information on database programming in Visual Basic .NET, see one or more books about database programming. This is a very broad field so you may want to look at several books about database design, database maintenance using your particular database (for example, Access or SQL Server), Visual Basic database programming, and so forth.

If you must build and maintain large databases, you should also read books about database management. These can tell you how to design, build, and maintain a database throughout the application’s lifetime. My book Beginning Database Design Solutions (Rod Stephens, Wrox, 2008) explains how to analyze database needs and build a robust and efficient database design.

You should also read about the particular kinds of databases that you need to use. For example, if you are working with SQL Server databases, get a good book on using SQL Server, such as Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Programming by Robert Viera (Wrox, 2009).

Becoming an expert database developer is a big task, but the techniques described in this chapter should at least get you started.

The controls and other objects described in this chapter let a program filter, select, and arrange data taken from a database. Chapter 20, “LINQ,” explains how a program can use LINQ queries to filter, select, and arrange data taken from lists, collections, arrays, and other data structures within the program’s code.