Entity Framework

Question

I am new to EF. Can anybody explain about Entity Framework. What it is? How it is useful in N-Tier Architecture? what is the difference between linq to sql and EF? please help me thank you.

Anuja Pawar · Answer

Hi Sreekanth Linq to SQL and EF are somewhat similar and can be used in a very similar way code-wise but they have some important differences. Note that LINQ is not the same thing as LINQ to SQL; the EF also uses LINQ. Some notable differences are: LINQ to SQL is largely SQL Server only not so much by design as by implementation. The EF is designed to support and does support multiple DBs if you have a compatible ADO.NET provider. Out of the box LINQ to SQL has a very poor story for DB metadata changes. You have to regenerate parts of your model from scratch and you lose customizations. The EF supports model features like many-to-many relationships and inheritance. LINQ to SQL does not directly support these. In .NET 3.5 LINQ to SQL had much better support for SQL-Server-specific functionality than the EF. This is mostly not true in .NET 4; they're fairly similar in that respect. The EF lets you choose Model First DB First or Code First modeling. LINQ to SQL out of the box really only supports DB First.

Sam Hobbs · Answer

Satyapriya we are supposed to suggest articles in this web site when possible. Are you sure there are none tagged Entity Framework that are useful? We can also search for Entity Framework . Do you consider none of them useful?

Satyapriya Nayak · Answer

Hi sreekanth Please refer the below links http://www.codeproject.com/KB/database/sample_entity_framework.aspx http://www.dotcominfoway.com/blog/linq-to-sql-vs-ado-net-entity-framework Thanks