#object relational mapping (orm)

[justphilll]

Entity Framework

If ever asked what I like most about EF4 then I would reply that it pickups up foreign keys on my database schemas. I do have a few dislikes but these are either from an architectual point of view (which has more to do with ORM itself than EF) or that when entity mappings are created, they are not visually arranged in the design view in any intelligent way.

[justphilll]

Asp.net dynamic data entities web applications

The Asp.net dynamic data entities web application compounds several layers into one. I know that Object Relational Mapping (ORM) is supposedly the future but when layers are not exposed, it can cause serious optimisation issues as well as making testing almost impossible. This is the case with both the ADO.NET Entity Framework (EF) model and the LINQ to SQL model. These are the only out of the box model providers availabe to Asp.net dynamic data entities web application. These do not work well, if at all with Microsoft Access.

However, when there is little time to architect a proper solution, Microsoft are ingenious when it comes to dirty ways to write applications. The dynamic data entities web is one such technology to add to their bow. You might be prepared to architect a Sql Server database roughly because you anticipate having to make changes to it later. If you want a quick know around website that you want to rip out later when you have more time Asp.net dynamic data entities web applications are for you? EF goes as far as foreign keys to definite relationships. If so then follow these set up instructions, which appear a little out of date and see what happens.