Chapter 23. ADO.NET Part III: The Entity Framework

The previous two chapters examined the fundamental ADO.NET programming models—the connected and disconnected layers, specifically. These approaches have enabled .NET programmers to work with relational data (in a relatively straightforward manner) since the initial release of the platform. However, Microsoft introduced a brand new component of the ADO.NET API called the Entity Framework (or simply, EF) in .NET 3.5 Service Pack 1.

The overarching goal of EF is to allow you to interact with relational databases using an object model that maps directly to the business objects in your application. For example, rather than treating a batch of data as a collection of rows and columns, you can operate ...

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