Chapter 5: 📊 Desktop, Data, and Cloud Development with .NET
Not every .NET workload is a web page. This chapter connects desktop UI stacks, relational data with Entity Framework Core, and lower-level data access with ADO.NET—skills you still need when optimizing hot paths or integrating legacy databases.
Prerequisites: LINQ, async, and ASP.NET Core basics from prior chapters.
Series​
- Series 16: Building Desktop Apps with WPF/WinForms — XAML, MVVM at a glance, and WinForms for maintenance scenarios.
- Series 17: Working with Databases and Entity Framework Core — DbContext, migrations, and querying patterns.
- Series 18: Basic Data Access with ADO.NET — connections, commands, readers, and when to drop below EF Core.
What's next​
Harden your delivery pipeline in Chapter 6: Testing, Deployment, and Best Practices.