Visual Studio® 2010 and .NET 4, Six-in-one

Chapter 12. Enhancements to the .NET Data Framework

This chapter focuses on enhancements to the .NET Data Framework. The .NET Data Framework is an important component of the .NET Framework because it provides the key pieces of functionality to get, manipulate, and update data to various data persistence stores. Microsoft has added a vast amount of functionality in this space, starting with the .NET 3.0 release and with the introduction of Language Integrated Query (LINQ). In this chapter, you will learn about the following:

• Language Integrated Query (LINQ)

• Parallel LINQ (PLINQ)

• Entity Framework

• Entity Data Source Control

LANGUAGE INTEGRATED QUERY (LINQ)

As mentioned, LINQ is a query translation pipeline that was introduced as part of the .NET Framework 3.0.

According to Microsoft, "The LINQ Project is a codename for a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that encompasses language-integrated query, set, and transform operations. It extends C# and Visual Basic with native language syntax for queries and provides class libraries to take advantage of these capabilities."

LINQ provides an Object Relational Mapping (ORM) among business objects and the underlying data source(s) in your application. LINQ allows you to integrate your queries right into the object model. In essence, it provides a simplified framework for accessing relational data in an object-oriented way. LINQ queries are strongly typed, and you can detect errors in your queries at compile time itself. You can also debug your ...