MSDN Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 70)

A D O. N E T Achieve Flexible Data Modeling With The Entity Framework Elisa Flasko The ADO.NET Entity Framework is almost here! First introduced as ADO.NET vNext in 2006, the framework is now ready for prime time with the upcoming release of Visual Studio® 2008 SP1. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at similar products over the years, Microsoft released two technologies with Visual Studio 2008 that fit, in part, into the Object Relational Mapping (ORM) space: LINQ to SQL and the ADO.NET Entity Framework. With the adoption of these technologies in the marketplace, developers now want to know how we got here and where Microsoft is going next. They also want to know what was behind the development of these technologies, what makes the Entity Framework different This article is based on a prerelease version of the ADO.NET Entity Framework. All information herein is subject to change. This article discusses: • The philosophy behind the Entity Framework • The Entity Data Model • Querying, mapping, and n-tier development from other ORM technologies in the market, and how is Microsoft investing in these technologies going forward? There were numerous articles following the initial release of Visual Studio 2008 focusing on LINQ to SQL, as well as articles addressing which technology to use (see msdn.microsoft.com/data). Here I’ll focus on the Entity Framework and provide a deeper understanding of how and why choices were made during development. The Microsoft® Entity Data Model (EDM), based on Dr. Peter Chen’s Entity Relationship (ER) model, is really the driving force behind the ADO.NET Entity Framework. The EDM is also the feature that most significantly differentiates the Entity Framework from other ORM-style technologies in the marketplace. The EDM builds on the ER model to raise the abstraction level for models an order higher than logical models while still preserving the concepts of entities and relationships. Why Another Data Model? Technologies discussed: ADO.NET, LINQ, Entity Framework Code download available at: msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc135911 70 msdn magazine So why was another model needed? Well, as the amount of data companies were working with increased, it became very difficult to understand and develop applications on top of that data. Database schemas are designed with storage concerns, such as data integrity, performance, and management, in mind and are not always easy to understand. Often these schemas also do not align with the structure of your application, making development and maintenance even more complex. http://msdn.microsoft.com/data http://msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc135911

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - July 2008

MSDN Magazine - July 2008 Contents Toolbox CLR Inside Out Flex Your Data Data Points Advanced Basics Office Space Cutting Edge Data Services ADO.NET Data and WPF Transactions WCF P2P Test Run Security Briefs Foundations .NET Matters {End Bracket}

MSDN Magazine - July 2008

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