Let say if I used the Linq to Sql concept to interact with database from C# language , then what challenges I may be face? means in terms of architecture, performance , type safety, objects orientation etc ..!
Share
Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
Let say if I used the Linq to Sql concept to interact with database from C# language , then what challenges I may be face? means in terms of architecture, performance , type safety, objects orientation etc ..!
Basically Linq to SQL generates a class for each table in your database, complete with relation properties and all, so you will have no problems with type safety. The use of C# partials allows you to add functionality to these objects without messing around with Linq to SQLs autogenerated code. It works pretty well.
As tables map directly to classes and objects, you will either have to accept that your domain layer mirrors the database design directly, or you will have to build some form of abstraction layer above Linq to SQL. The direct mirroring of tables can be especially troublesome with many-to-many relations, which is not directly supported – instead of
Orders.Productsyou getOrder.OrderDetails.SelectMany(od => od.Product).Unlike most other ORMs Linq to SQL does not just dispense objects from the database and allow you to store or update objects by passing them back into the ORM. Instead Linq to SQL tracks the state of objects loaded from the database, and allows you to change the saved state. It is difficult to explain and strange to understand – I recommend you read some of Rick Strahls blogposts on the subject.
Performance wise Linq-to-SQL does pretty good. In benchmarking tests it shows speeds of about 90-95% of what a native SQL reader would provide, and in my experience real world usage is also pretty fast. Like all ORMs Linq to SQL is affected by the N+1 selects problem, but it provides good ways to specify lazy/eager loading depending on context.
Also, by choosing Linq to SQL you choose MSSQL – there do exist third party solutions that allow you to connect to other databases, but last time I checked, none of them appeared very complete.
All in all, Linq to SQL is a good and somewhat easy to learn ORM, which performs okay. If you need features beyond what Linq to SQL is offering, take a look at the new entity framework – it has more features, but is also more complex.