>You know, I guess I was spoiled with Visual FoxPro; it seems that Microsoft (and earlier with Fox Software) took such a simple approach to handling data that I cannot now understand how it is that this can be made so complex in .NET.
>
>Yes, I am complaining.
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>I am pouring through C# books, and all kinds of other books, and I am telling you, there is no simple way to do data in .NET. Of course, admittedly, I am speaking from inexperience with .NET. I am still trying to learn C#, much less how to handle data. Still, data handling, in my opinion, is a much more complex matter in .NET. Why does it have to be this way? It seems that there is a multitude of ways to handle data, using LINQ, ADO.NET, and so on. I just don't know where to begin. I just ordered Murach's ADO.NET 3.5 with C# book to see if this might help me a bit.
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>Also, a few years ago when I got into C# in some local colleges, C# also seemed cryptic to me, but it now seems much easier. I guess it is a matter of time and experience. I don't think it is this way entirely with .NET data handling. There seem to be many more steps to handling data, unlike VFP and other xBased languages.
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>Okay, I am finished with my complaining for now. :)
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>Does anyone want to help me complain, or perhaps direct me to a simple tutorial on .NET data-handling?
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>Has anyone else on UT here felt just as frustrated as I am feeling, or did y'all get over it 3 or 4 years ago while I was still making money with VFP?


Anything new seems overwhelming at first, but in .Net, you can handle the data many ways depending on what it is you are trying to do. I just attended a data access firestarter locally here in philly this weekend where they covered LinQ, LinQToSQL, WCF Data services, WCF Ria Services, oData, the entity framework and azure data access.

If you want to learn data access strategies and you are using a backend database without webservices, then entityframework or LinQToSQL should be your target. If your data is remote or you require webservices, then you need to look at WCF Data/Ria services and oData for you webservices.

There are many links on the microsoft site for these technologies. Just do a quick Bing search and you'll find tons of webcasts, how to, etc. However, in my opinion, forget ADO.Net. It's a relic of 7 or 8 years. The newest technologies surpass its capabilities.