Step-by-Step guide to writing Smart Device Data Synchronization App

I am often asked this question "I'm a Smart Device developer, I want to write a data application and I need to synchronize my data with my back-end SQL server - how do I do this?"

There is no single answer to this question. There are several techniques that can be employed today a) RDA b) Merge Replication c) Write your own custom solution using Web Services or d) ADO.NET synchronization services - this is going to be released in future.

SO, whats the starting point? This MSDN article (https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa454892.aspx) is a step-by-step guide to developing a Smart Device data application that synchronizes with back-end database using RDA and Merge.

Cheers!

Manav