EF API translates LINQ-to-Entities queries to SQL queries for relational databases using EDM and also converts results back to entity objects. It uses EDM in building SQL queries from LINQ queries, building INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE commands, and transform database result into entity objects. The Entity Framework Core is an updated and enhanced version of the Entity Framework designed for .NET Core applications. While the EF Core is relatively new and not as fully developed as the EF 6, it still supports its predecessor’s features and concepts.
Prior to .NET 3.5, we (developers) often used to write ADO.NET code or Enterprise Data Access Block to save or retrieve application data from the underlying database. We used to open a connection to the database, create a DataSet to fetch or submit the data to the database, convert data from the DataSet to .NET objects or vice-versa to apply business rules. Microsoft has provided a framework called «Entity Framework» to automate all these database related activities for your application. Work still needs to be done to retrieve and map the data from the database to an instance of the domain object. However, as the domain model grows, the amount of code required can grow and will need more and more development time to maintain.
Entity Framework Tutorials For Begineers and Professionals
Consequently, professional developers prefer to work with data in a strongly-typed manner. Before .NET Framework 3.5, as a developer, we often wrote ADO.NET Code to perform CRUD operations with the underlying database. For this, we need to create a Connection Object with the database, then Open the Connection, Create the Command Object, and execute the Command using Data Reader or Data Adapter.
A refresh of version 4.1, named Entity Framework 4.1 Update 1, was released on July 25, 2011. An ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) is used to interact with a database using an object-oriented programming language. ORMs allow developers to work with databases using familiar, object-oriented concepts, rather than writing raw SQL statements. Entity Framework simplifies database operations and allows you to work with your data using C# objects. You can now build upon this foundation to create more complex database-driven applications with ease.
EF Core Development Approaches
In the Code-First Approach, the EF Core creates the database and tables using Code-First Migration based on the default conventions and configuration. You can also change the default conventions used to create the database and its related tables. This approach is useful in Domain-Driven Design (DDD), i.e., creating the database tables based on the Domain classes. Again, when we want to read the data from the database into our application, we also have to write some custom code to map the data to our model classes like Student, Department, Address, etc. This is a very common task as a developer for us that we do almost in every application.
It is open-source, lightweight, extensible and a cross-platform version of Entity Framework data access technology. These commands will create the initial database migration and apply it to your SQL Server instance. At this step, your appsettings.json must have your ConnectionString already.
Entities
It simplifies database interactions by allowing you to work with database objects as if they were regular C# objects. If you’re working on an existing project that already using EF6 or one that is linked to the .NET Framework, it’s still a good option to use EF 6. However, if you are developing new projects, particularly projects targeting .NET Core or .NET 5/6+, EF Core is the best choice. EF Core’s flexibility, performance improvements, and cross-platform capabilities make it the perfect selection for modern application development. Entity Framework Core is an ORM Tool that increases the developer’s productivity by reducing the redundant task of doing CRUD operations against a database in a .NET Core Application.
- Some people prefer to write all queries (Dapper) and some people prefer to work with LINQ (EF Core).
- It eliminates the need for most of the data-access code which is used to interact with the database that developers usually need to write.
- Entity Framework Core (EF Core) is an ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) framework for the .NET platform.
- The version 4.3.1 was released on February 29, 2012.[10] There were a few updates, like support for migration.
- With the Entity Framework, developers can work at a higher level of abstraction when developers deal with the data.
Both ORMs are great and work with any kind of project, from small-scale to massive enterprise-level applications. In this Entity Framework Tutorials Course using C#, I will discuss all the concepts of Entity Framework with Real-Time Examples. In this Entity Framework Tutorials article series, we will start from the very basics and, as we progress, cover all the intermediate and advanced features of Entity Framework as well. To take full advantage of this Entity Framework Core Tutorials, you should have the basic knowledge of C# and any database such as SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL to gain more knowledge of these tutorials. Having .NET Core, Visual Studio, and SQL Server installed on your computer is good. The aim of the ORM is to increase the developer’s productivity by reducing the redundant task used in the application.
Step 1: Create a New .NET Core Project
A third version of Entity Framework, version 4.1, was released on April 12, 2011, with Code First support. The following figure describes where the Entity Framework present in your application. Some people prefer to write all queries (Dapper) and some people prefer to work with LINQ (EF Core). The latest version of EF Core is now the recommended ORM for any new project over EF6. Pranaya Rout has published more than 3,000 articles in his 11-year career. In the next article, I will discuss How to Install the Entity Framework Core in ASP.NET Core Application using Visual Studio.
Entity Framework is an open-source ORM framework for .NET applications supported by Microsoft. It enables developers to work with data using objects of domain specific classes without focusing on the underlying database tables and columns where this data is stored. With the Entity Framework, developers can work at a higher level of abstraction when they deal with data, and can create and maintain data-oriented applications with less code compared with traditional applications. Entity Framework is an open-source object-relational mapper framework for .NET applications supported by Microsoft. It increases the developer’s productivity as it enables developers to work with data using objects of domain-specific classes without focusing on the underlying database tables and columns where this data is stored. It eliminates the need for most of the data-access code which is used to interact with the database that developers usually need to write.
Entity Framework is Microsoft’s recommended data access technology for new applications. Entity Framework is an Object-Relational Mapper which enable the .NET developers to work with the database using the .NET objects. It eliminates the need for accessing the code of the data that developers need to write. Learn Entity Framework using simple yet practical examples on EntityFrameworkTutorial.net for free. Learn Entity Framework DB-First, Code-First and EF Core step by step. While using this site, you agree to have read and accepted our terms
of use and privacy policy.
ORM tools increase developer productivity by reducing the redundant task of performing CRUD operations against a database in a .NET Application. The EF Core database provider usually contains the functionality specific to the database it supports. An ORM Framework like entity framework meaning or EF Core can do all of the above for us and saves a lot of time if we provide the required information to the ORM Framework. The ORM Framework sits between our application code and the Database. It eliminates the need for most custom data-access codes we usually write without an ORM. Entity Framework (EF) Core is an ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) Framework for data access in .NET Core.
EF Core Version History
Having .NET Framework, Visual Studio, and SQL Server installed on your computer is good. This website provides tutorials with examples, code snippets, and practical insights, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced developers. This tutorial is designed for those who want to learn how to start the development of the Entity Framework in their application. ADO.Net seems to refer directly to the technology for data sets and data tables. Version 5.0.0 was released on August 11, 2012[11] and is targeted at .NET framework 4.5. Also, this version is available for .Net framework 4, but without any runtime advantages over version 4.
