Day 13. Working with SQL Server

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Because the ComputeBooks database is a SQL Server 2000 database, most of the code you've seen in this book has accessed SQL Server through the SqlClient provider. As a result, you've seen some of the ways in which you can take advantage of the features of SQL Server 2000 in your .NET applications. Today's lesson is designed to go a step further than what you've seen and address issues that are particular to SQL Server when building enterprise applications. To that end, the lesson is split into two parts . The first part deals with database design issues, whereas the second part deals with additional considerations for accessing data. Consequently, if you're not designing for SQL Server or already have a good grasp on the fundamental issues involved in designing databases for SQL Server, you'll probably already have a good grasp on much of the material in this lesson.

Specifically, today's lesson will focus on the following concepts:

• How the SqlClient provider communicates with SQL Server

• How to use SQL Server features to create a good database design

• Some alternatives to using the SqlClient provider for accessing SQL Server

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