Putting It All Together

Throughout the last several chapters, we have described many technologies and have given examples that centered on a common goal: maximizing the use of a database to provide real business benefit. The literal English translation of "business benefit" means saving money. The use of technology to save money is often subjective, and frequently the words technology and savings are mutually exclusive.

From the beginning of this book, where we explained planning and creating the database, to the last few paragraphs, where we explained how to truly extend your functionality by using reusable code and Web Services, the goal has remained the same to create the most robust application possible by using the most efficient means possible. Many of the code samples in the book can literally be copied and pasted into an application and used with little to no change (mostly in the queries). We firmly believe that, by using the information we have presented, you will be able to create and deploy successfully an application by using Visual Basic.NET and SQL Server whether it be a traditional client-server (thick-client, WinForms) or Web-based (thin-client, WebForms) application.