May 2005 Issue of MSDN Mag and Data Points

The May 2005 issue of MSDN Magazine is now available online at http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/05/05/DataPoints/default.aspx.

After a 2 month break, my Data Points column is back. In this issue I discuss several Data Access Strategies Using ADO.NET and SQL, inlcuding some tips on writing queries, connection maintenance and building more efficient commands.

In case you are wondering what my next few Data Points columns will cover, here is a sneak peek:

• Using the FOR XML clause in SQL statements and how to access it via ADO.NET
• Configuring the Enterprise Library Data Access Application Blocks (including configuration, cryptography and where Ent Lib is useful)
• Implementing the Enterprise Library Data Access Application Blocks (exensive examples on how to use it, which methods to use, and so on)
• ADO.NET v2 (what's in it, how it has been improved, how you can get started with it, what to look out for)