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LINQ with SQL Server CE 3.5

March 20th, 2008 by Ventaur

LINQ is an extremely useful new language feature for the .NET Framework 3.5. It allows querying all sorts of data structures via the actual programming language (thus the Language INtegrated in LINQ). In addition, the specific variant, LINQ to SQL, includes a full O/RM (Object/Relational Mapper). Since many developers spend a ton of time mapping their relational data to objects, this included tool is a phenomenal time-saver. Of course, this is not a new concept, nor is it the first of its kind for .NET. It’s just free and included!

LINQ to SQL currently only works with SQL Server 2005. It’s not likely that Microsoft will bother with any other providers with the Entity Framework and LINQ to Entities on the horizon. There is a way to get standard LINQ to SQL to work with the SQL Server Compact Edition (SSCE) however. You have to use the SqlMetal command-line tool to generate the appropriate file(s). Once you generate the .dbml file, you can even open it in the Visual Studio 2008 designer.

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LINQ Article

December 28th, 2007 by Ventaur

I decided to write another article on CodeProject.com. This one is more informational than it is a component. It is about the challenges a developer is likely to encounter using the LINQ feature-set in the .NET Framework v3.5. In addition, there is a how to use LINQ with SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (SSCE).

The article is also an entry into their Visual Studio 2008 competition, so if you like what you read, vote me up!

Check out the article, “LINQ Challenges and SQL Server Compact Edition“, on CodeProject.com.

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