.NETified

This talk was given by John Papa.

The Entity Framework, or LINQ to Entities, is a lot like LINQ to SQL. The difference is, it adds a mapping layer on top of it.

When creating a data layer using LINQ to SQL, objects are created that represent the SQL tables. The the SQL changes and you want your code to reflect those changes, you can refresh your code, but that may break a lot of things too. With LINQ to Entities, you have a mapping layer on top of the objects that represent the SQL. This way, you can map any object structure to the real structure.

The Entity Framework allows a conceptual model to use inheritance, merging of objects, splitting of objects, and complex types. There are 3 layers; the conceptual layer, the mapping layer, and the logical layer (LINQ to SQL is basically just the logical layer). There will be generation tools and wizards to create your objects with this rich ORM.

This talk was mostly examples, so I don’t have a lot to write about. The Entity Framework is definitely a better way to go than using LINQ to SQL. Hopefully it’ll be released in the near future.