Programming Entity Framework by Julia Lerman

Your Train to the Data Access Future has Arrived!by KBowman

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December 06, 2009: Over the past 20 years of my career as a software developer, application architects have recommended that enterprise applications be developed using multiple tiers to separate the concerns of the user interface, business logic and data access layers. The challenge for programmers has been to determine how one would actually build and maintain such a beast. Microsoft has addressed part of the data portion of this architecture recommendation by introducing the "Entity Framework" (EF) to the .Net technology stack.

In most cases, databases are designed for the database administrator and not the application developer. The EF allows a programmer to add an Entity Data Model (EDM) to a client application. With an EDM, programmers can create application centric object interfaces to their data sources without having to concern themselves with the nuances of the underlying data structures. The EF takes care of translating these application objects to the SQL statements that interact with the database. So, what will lead us on this journey?

The "Programming Entity Framework" book can be divided into two major sections. Chapters 1-14 provides an introduction to all the major EF concepts while Chapters 15-23 covers advanced topics. There is a website at http://learnentityframework.com/learnentityframework/ that supports the book and allows you to download database scripts and sample applications. (As a side note, I learned from this site that the author has agreed to update her book to cover changes introduced in the 2010 version of Visual Studio.)

I like the fact that Ms. Lerman provides both VB and C# code side by side with all of her examples (my personal goal is to become fluent in both languages). The book is peppered with side notes (designated by three paw prints) that make some clarification or add pertinent information to the page.

I did a search of alternative books that cover this same subject. I investigated the online information provided by Microsoft. None of the books I researched (as well as the Microsoft articles online) came close to the scope and readability of this book. Lerman does a great job of balancing her independent point of view on this subject with the insider tips and information that make for a good read.

The myriad of tools and components contained in the EF are now a strategic part of Microsoft's data access strategy going forward. So don't get left behind. I recommend "Programming Entity Framework" as your train to the data access future. I guess that would make Julia Lerman your Conductor and Engineer on this trip as well . ;-).

No page wastedby Dustin-Davis

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July 08, 2009: When I first saw this book I was put off by the sheer size of it, but when I started to dig in, I found that every page was full of information and was well organized. It is an easy read and easy to follow the code examples which can be had in both VB and C#. I was a bit worried when she mentioned that she was a VB developer, but she has not favored VB over C# which I appreciate.

Julia covers topics in fine detail where needed but skips the detail when unnecessary or not relevant (or simply says, "You learn more about that in chapter .") which really helps comprehension. With a wide variety of topics ranging from "Querying entities" to "EF in WCF" it's hard to believe that she makes sure the reader understands what's going on at each turn, but Julia does it. Along the way you are given examples using both Linq to Entities and Entity SQL and she explains any caveats of using either.

Even though she did answer the question, "What is the difference between Linq to SQL and EF", I still find myself wanting more of an answer, but other than that this is a great book and I recommend it to anyone even if it's just as a reference.