Question

I am using Visual Studo 2012 and SQLExpress.

I am attempting to make Linq operations to a database in Data Connections. The database is on a local server on my computer. It already shows up in the Server Explorer -> Data Connections pane.

How do I actually obtain the data source to make operations against it in my program?

Answer 1

You have to add the Linq-to-SQL entity objects. In Visual Studio:

1. Right click on your project and Add Item
2. Add the LINQ to SQL Classes under Data
3. Open the new DataClasses.dbml project file in VS
4. Drag database objects (tables, stored procedures) onto the pane
5. In your code, instantiate the DataContext class, and you’re good to go.