Preface

OData (Open Data Protocol) is a web protocol for querying and updating data, which can be freely incorporated in various kind of data access applications. OData makes it quite simple and flexible to use by applying and building upon existing well-defined technologies such as HTTP, XML, AtomPub, and JSON.

WCF Data Services (formerly known as ADO.NET Data Services) is a well-encapsulated component for creating OData services based on the Microsoft .NET Framework platform. It also provides a client library with which you can easily build client applications that consume OData services. In addition to WCF Data Services, there are many other components or libraries, which make OData completely available to the non-.NET or even non-Microsoft world.

This book provides a collection of recipes that help .NET developers to become familiar with OData programming in a quick and efficient way. The recipes have covered most OData features from the former ADO.NET Data Services to the current WCF Data Services platform. In addition, all the sample cases here are based on real-world scenarios and issues that .NET developers might come across when programming with OData in application development.