Part 5. Working with structured data

Now that you have working with files under your belts, we can turn our attention to how to work with structured data. There are two options in Azure.

Chapter 11 covers the first option, Azure Table storage. This stuff is really different from your dad’s SQL Server and relational data engines. Take off your mental blinders or your mind will be blown!

Don’t like to work with high-level APIs? Do you prefer to set the value of AX yourself? Then chapter 12 is for you. Chapter 12 looks at how to work with Azure tables, using the REST interface. Hardcore stuff, but easy for you.

For those who had their minds blown in chapter 11, we’ll put them back together again when we cover SQL Azure in chapter 13. Have an app you want to move to the cloud, but you’re using an old-fashioned relational data model? You can easily move to the cloud using SQL Azure and all its foreign-key-indexed-relationships-and-transactions supporting goodness.

Finally, we polish off part 5 with chapter 14 and look at how and when you might choose Azure tables and SQL Azure. We try to end the debate in a peaceful way and help you make solid decisions for your data platform.