Summary

In this chapter, you read about the broad and deep support that Visual Studio has for building and managing databases and for creating applications that access data in a database. We discussed the suite of SQL Server Data Tools, available right within the IDE, that function in synergy with one another and with the various Visual Studio designers to provide a seamless experience for writing queries, creating table structures, and crafting stored procedures. We also investigated the newfound support for writing SQL Server database procedures and functions using entirely managed code.

We spent some time discussing the basics of data binding: how it is a core problem space with many application development efforts and how the Visual Studio web, Windows Form Designers, and WPF Designers and controls provide first-class support for simple to complex data-binding scenarios. In particular, we examined the role that these Visual Studio designers play in the data-binding world by enabling developers to rapidly build forms-based applications with sophisticated data needs without writing a single line of code.

Finally, we examined the built-in support that Visual Studio provides for mapping entire object models to a database using two different technologies: LINQ2SQL and Entity Framework.

Hopefully, by exposing you to all these great built-in tools, we have started you on the road to becoming even more efficient in leveraging Visual Studio across a range of database interactions.