LINQ for Visual VB 2005 Dear Reader, Are you ready for the future of data access in .NET? At the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2005, Microsoft previewed a new technology, Language-Integrated Query (LINQ). It captured a lot of attention because it addressed the fundamental issue of merging object-oriented applications with relational data. The LINQ Project team demonstrated how to use LINQ to query a variety of data sources, such as a SQL Server database, an XML file, and an array, and how to manage the data using an object-oriented approach. I fell in love at first sight. I started to study LINQ closely, analyzing the source code provided on the conference's DVD and writing a lot of code myself. When the LINQ May 2006 Community Technology Preview (CTP) was released and I saw how mature and stable LINQ had become, I decided to write this book. I read the official documentation and found it really well done, but the enormous amount of information was split across too many documents. I thought it would be useful to have a single text combining the essential LINQ concepts with practical examples. And that's what I wrote: a comprehensive guide to the three main parts of the LINQ May 2006 CTP: managing in-memory data (LINQ to Objects), accessing relational databases (LINQ to ADO.NET), and manipulating XML documents (LINQ to XML). Each chapter offers many practical examples that you can try yourself with the downloadable source code. My goal is that you'll quickly learn everything you want and need to know about LINQ by actually using LINQ. I hope you'll enjoy my book and that it will make you as enthusiastic about LINQ as I am while we wait for its formal release. The future of .NET data access is already here––and it's a very bright one! Ciao, Fabio Claudio Ferracchiati MCSD.NET