Review of “Windows Phone 7.5 Data Cookbook”

The “Windows Phone 7.5 Data Cookbook” is a collection of more that 30 so-called recipes  for working with with data in Windows Phone 7.5 applications. It covers all data related tasks from UI data binding and MVVM to using WCF Data Services.

A recipe is a step-by-step walkthrough of a sample mini application, that covers the subject at hand. All the samples are available for download from the publishers web site for registered users.

The book covers the following topics:
- Data binding, including element binding, DataContext, data templates, converters.
- Isolated storage
- Using XML files
- Consuming OData, and performing CRUD against OData sources
- Using on-device databases, including Perst, SQLite and SQL Server Compact with LINQ to SQL
- Consuming REST feeds, and creating a REST service
- WCF Data Services
- MVVM

The hands-on approach is useful for any developer new to the Windows Phone platform, and can also be used a samples for seasoned developers in need of a quick solution to a problem.

You can also download a sample chapter of the book, Chapter 2 – Isolated Storage to get a feel for the format.