What's New in .NET 3.0-3.5 featuring LINQ provides a deep dive into the next generation of Microsoft's most advanced platform for developing applications. The course begins with an entire day dedicated to Language Integrated Query (LINQ), based on a new version of the C# programming language, which supports a uniform syntax for querying in-memory objects, XML and databases. You will then learn to build modern applications using the principle pillars of .NET 3.0 and .NET 3.5: Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and Windows Workflow (WF).

You'll get answers to these questions:

• How can I use LINQ to create in-memory objects based on SQL Server queries?
  
• How is WPF different from Windows Forms? When should I choose one over the other?
  
• What are the advantages of WCF over .NET Remoting and .ASMX Web Services?
  
• What scenarios is Workflow used for and how can I use it in my projects today?
  

Come and learn to take advantage of .NET 3.5 in your applications today!

What's New courses from DevelopMentor help you manage change with four to five days of instructor-led training. Find out what the future holds for your platform. Anticipate updates to your technical requirements. For experienced developers.

• Use LINQ to filter, sort, and group in-memory collections of objects
• Create LINQ to SQL queries to execute SQL Server stored procedures and perform updates
• Write LINQ to XML queries to search XML documents and save them to disk
• Build rich client applications with XAML and WPF that run standalone or in a browser
• Use WPF data binding and XAML to separate your code and UI elements
• Build service-oriented WCF services, as well as REST-based services and RSS / ATOM feeds
• Manage concurrency and state with WCF and handle exceptions appropriately
• Design robust workflow-oriented programs with Windows Workflow
• Consume WCF services from within workflows and expose workflows as WCF services

Day 1 New Features of C# 3.0 The latest version of the C# programming language comes with many new features intended to increase developer productivity: automatic properties, object initializers, collection initializers, and partial methods. C# 3.0 also includes features intended to support LINQ but are useful in their own right, such as anonymous types, lambda expressions, and extension methods. We learn to correctly apply these features and to avoid misusing them. LINQ to Objects .NET 3.5 now includes Language Integrated Query (LINQ), making query a first-class feature of the C# programming language. Now we can filter, sort, and group in-memory collections of objects. With SQL-like syntax, we can leverage an assortment of query operators to perform join, partition, conversion, and aggregation functions. LINQ to XML LINQ to XML provides an easy-to-use API for both reading and writing XML files. It’s the successor to the DOM and XPath for navigating and searching XML documents. LINQ to XML offers an approach to XML queries that is element-centric and makes managing namespaces more straightforward. At the same time, it provides a way to perform serialization of objects to XML, while allowing you to utilize legacy API’s, such as XPath and XSLT as needed. Day 2 LINQ to SQL For years a problem known as the “ object relational impedance mismatch” has stood as a barrier between the worlds of objects and relational data. In the past, developers were responsible for writing the plumbing code required to go from one to the other. You’ll learn how to write LINQ to SQL queries that transparently generate SQL statements and return CLR objects for use in your application. Furthermore, LINQ to SQL will track changes to your objects and persist those changes to the database when requested. Introduction to WPF: Part 1 (Architecture, XAML) WPF is the GUI technology of the future. We examine how WPF works and the various ways to take advantage of it within your applications. You will learn how to program WPF in C#, and become familiar with the various class libraries that make up the framework. You will also get to know Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) and combine it with procedural code to build compelling client applications that can be deployed to the desktop or run in a browser. Introduction to WPF: Part 2 (Layout, Styles, Resources) Building real-world user interfaces often involves complex layout and arrangement of visual elements. WPF offers several layout panels which automate the positioning of child elements, saving you a great deal of time and effort. You’ll learn how to configure layout panels in XAML for stacking, wrapping and docking controls and to fine-tune their position and spacing. You’ll also learn how to leverage styles and resources to create consistent user interfaces. Day 3 WPF Data Binding .NET 3.0 introduces a new facility for managing connections between components and data. Through this mechanism, you can minimize the procedural code required for your applications. You will learn about the new data-binding system and how it works, and also examine how to bind to collections of objects and to control their appearance through data templates. Introduction to WCF: Part 1 (Architecture, Data Contracts) WCF provides the basis for modern communication across applications. We look at how WCF unifies and replaces legacy technologies for creating distributed applications, such as .NET Remoting and Web Services. We explore using WCF to create service-oriented applications in a contract-first fashion. Introduction to WCF: Part 2 (Metadata, Hosting, Bindings) The beauty of WCF lies in its ability to expose services using various transport and interoperability protocols, without having to re-compile the application. Here you’ ll learn to select the appropriate binding to meet performance and interoperability requirements, and to create custom bindings for unique situations. You’ll also explore various hosting options, including Windows Services and Internet Information Server. Day 4 WCF Service Behaviors In services, one size doesn't fit all and Microsoft recognizes that. That's why one of the primary extension points in WCF is server-side behaviors. Behaviors allow us to control how the WCF runtime interacts with our service code. With them, we can control how WCF maps client calls to specific instances and which thread it uses to call our code. We introduce throttling to ensure the server isn't overloaded and to manage the exposure of metadata. Building WCF REST Services WCF 3.5 adds the ability to create what are known as REST-ful services that embrace the principles of the Web, increasing the reach of your WCF services to non-SOAP clients, such as web browsers and Silverlight applications, which use POX (Plain Old XML) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) formats. You’ll also learn how to create RSS and ATOM feeds using the new syndication API. Introduction to Windows Workflow: Part 1 (Architecture, Activities, Services) Building complex applications generally requires coordinating multiple actions either sequentially with dependencies or concurrently in tandem. WF provides fundamental support to break these complex interactions into pieces that may be combined more easily. In this module, we look at the basics of workflow management and how to define them using WF. Day 5 Introduction to Windows Workflow: Part 2 (Communication, Hosting, Persistence) One of the main advantages of workflows is that they can be persisted while waiting for input, enabling them to survive process and machine restarts. We examine the communications mechanisms used by WF which allow activities to wait for external input. We also explore various hosting options and how selecting the environment has an impact on workflow execution. WF-WCF Service Composition Having previously looked individually at WCF and WF, we pull the two together. We learn how we can use WF to orchestrate a number of services and provide higher level functionality. We look at how a workflow can itself be a service endpoint, as well as how to consume a WCF service from within a workflow. Additional included materials: Introduction to Silverlight 2 With Silverlight you can use XAML to leverage the same constructs you would use to create a WPF application, including many of the same controls and layout panels. Silverlight 2 comes with a scaled-down .NET runtime engine and library, allowing you to use C# 3.0 (with LINQ) to write Rich Internet Applications that will run in various browsers and on non-Windows platforms. Secure Identity Management with CardSpace The Internet is a dangerous place where online fraud, identity spoofing and phishing are commonplace problems for online sellers. Securely identifying users is just not possible with simple username and password schemes. CardSpace provides a facility for securely verifying sites and users so that we can be certain who our service or client is talking to. We examine the available tools, requirements and mechanisms to use CardSpace in a WCF-enabled application. Application Extensibility The System.AddIn.dll assembly in the .NET Framework 3.5 provides powerful and flexible support to developers of extensible applications. We examine the new architecture and a model that helps developers extend an application and ensures that their extensions continue working as the host application changes. ASP.NET 3.5 We examine what new controls were added to ASP.NET 3.5 and why they were added. These include the LinqDataSource (for LINQ support), the ListView (for flexible two-way data-bound templates), and the DataPager (for flexible paging). Windows Vista New Features We examine some of the new capabilities and features of Windows Vista that allow our .NET applications to run more robustly and securely, including new hosting options, User Access Control (UAC), and application recovery. We learn about some of the new APIs that we can use when deploying to the Vista platform.