I will be consuming the data which was returned by Data Access Layer in the form of XML, Dataset, DataTable, ArrayList and Custom (Data Transfer) Objects to populating my Business Object, which will be finally consumed by a User Interface and most likely a web page.

In this example, I will use only one class, which will perform the CRUD operation on Customer Object by invoking method of Data Access Layer. Since I have added methods in data access layer to return Customer(s) data in form on XML, Dataset, DataTable, ArrayList and Custom (Data Transfer) Object. No matter in which form data is returned from data access layer, the business object will read that object and consume the data to make it ready for business object caller. [More]

When you separate your business layer from data access layer in two different assembly, you come across a situation as which data transfer method will best fit you. In this example, I went through various Data Transfer Objects(DTO) which are currently available in .NET such as XML, DataSet, DataTable, ArrayList and Custom Data Transfer Object . One DTO generally maps to one Business Object. Each option has its pros and cons, so depending on project one should choose as what best fits the need. In the following code I have tried to use all the four possibilities. [More]