Welcome to the Hitchhiker's Guide Support Site

Thanks for the visit...
This site is designed to support the readers of William Vaughn's Hitchhiker's Guide to Visual Studio and SQL Server (7th Edition) and his growing collection of EBooks. Here on you'll find the book's Table of Contents, a brief introduction, the Foreword by Bob Muglia as well as a sample chapter here (click the "Book" tab on the left).

The latest edition of the Hitchhiker's Guide is a compendium of information written to help developers at all skill levels understand how Visual Studio and SQL Server are used to create professional data-centric applications. As with previous editions, it includes sections on the core features of SQL Server as well as the essential tools in Visual Studio you'll need to access them. Unlike previous editions, the 7th Edition is a "start from scratch" book that refocuses on the foundations of best practice architectures and team development strategies. For the first time there are tutorials on relational theory and a easy-to-understand discussion on how SQL Server works. This provides the reader with a better footing when building applications that must perform well on limited hardware or scale up to support more users. The 7th Edition also includes a DVD that contains the example databases and code examples referenced by the book. We've also added a bonus feature--a 90 minute lecture on ADO.NET 2.0 done for SetFocus.

Bill's First EBook
The first of Bill's EBooks "Hitchhiker's Guide to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition" is now available. Since the newest SQL Server edition was announced after the HHG went to press, Bill turned his attention to the Compact Edition as an EBook which details Microsoft's newest incarnation of the SQL Mobile/SQLCE mini DBMS engine. It's designed to provide a light, fast, single-user SQL engine that can be integrated with Windows Forms or Windows Mobile applications with equal ease. You might have been working with the CTP versions that referred to SQL Server Everywhere Edition. Those that signed up for the early-bird discount get a 50% discount off the retail price. The EBook also includes a zip file that contains all of the examples illustrated in the book. It can be purchased from Boost Data Ltd..

Bill's Latest Book is a Best Seller!
At the Developer Connections conference in Orlando, the lastest HHG outsold all of the other books being offered. We've also heard of spot shortages in some markets so check out out Best Buy Books for best prices and availability.

Dot Net Rocks! TV Interview
Carl Franklin of dnrTV interviewed Bill where a range of topics were discussed--mostly focusing on the new ReportViewer control. Listen and watch the demos here!

Just Browsing?
If you arrived here without purchasing a copy, you can browse the AskAnswer public forums to see answers to questions readers have posed. Book owners should log into the Premium area and register their book using the registration code printed inside the front cover. This site permits registered users to ask (and answer) questions in the AskAnswer forum section. If you don't have a premium content registration number, all you need to do it buy a copy of the book-- it's printed on the first page of the book and imbedded in the text in the EBook. This premium access code gives you at least 6 months of free access to the site.

Tip: When entering your premium access code from the first page of the book, be sure to ignore any curly braces { } around the GUID--all we need is the number.

I hope you enjoy the latest in the Hitchhiker's Guide series.
William (Bill) Vaughn

PS. If you have trouble with the site, disable your IE7 phishing filter. It bogs down the operation and causes timeout exceptions. We can assure you that we're not a phishing site. Any other issues should be sent to billva@betav.com. Be sure to put "Hitchhiker's Guide" in the subject line to make sure I spot your email in the junk mail folder. I get hundreds of pieces of junk mail a day and I would not want to miss your question or comment.