This book attempts to look at the evolving technology of ADO .NET version 2.0 that will ship with SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio .NET 2005. It does a very good job of looking at the major technologies and the uses of each of them.

I am looking forward to the ability to use asynchronous database connections and Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS). I can already see where it would make my current applications more performant.

I am also looking forward to the ability to store XML in SQL Server 2005 and use the XPath query engine to be able to select out the parts of the XML that I need. With the XML capabilities built into ADO .NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005 it will be much easier to work with XML data.

I have recommended this book to serveral people. I think it is a must read for consultants and others who need to stay on the leading edge of technology.