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Overview of ORM - (Entity Framework)

Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) is a technique used to map objects in an application to tables in a relational database. It provides an abstraction layer that allows developers to work with objects in their code, while the ORM takes care of generating SQL queries and translating data between the objects and the database. In this tutorial, we'll discuss Entity Framework, a popular ORM framework for .NET applications.

Syntax

There is no specific syntax for using Entity Framework as it is a framework that provides classes and APIs that you can use in your .NET application to interact with your database.

Example

To illustrate how Entity Framework works, let's look at a simple example. Suppose we have a Product class in our application that looks like this:

public class Product
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
}

With Entity Framework, we can define a Products table in our relational database, and then use LINQ to perform CRUD operations on the table. Here's an example of inserting a new product:

using (var context = new MyDbContext())
{
    var product = new Product { Name = "New Product", Price = 9.99 };
    context.Products.Add(product);
    context.SaveChanges();
}

In this example, we create a new Product object, add it to the Products collection in our MyDbContext object, and then call SaveChanges() to commit the changes to the database.

Explanation

Entity Framework is an ORM framework that allows developers to work with objects in their code instead of directly working with SQL. Entity Framework uses code-first approach where developers can define entities in their application and then have Entity Framework generate the corresponding tables in the database and handle the mapping between them.

Entity Framework uses LINQ to execute database queries and supports a wide range of databases including SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and others.

Use

Entity Framework is ideal for .NET applications that use a relational database and require an abstraction layer between the application code and the database. It allows developers to work with objects in their code, while Entity Framework takes care of generating SQL queries and handling the mapping between the objects and the database.

Important Points

Here are some important points to keep in mind when using Entity Framework:

  • Entity Framework provides an abstraction layer for working with objects in your .NET application and a relational database.
  • Entity Framework uses LINQ to execute database queries and supports a wide range of databases.
  • Entity Framework supports multiple approaches such as code-first, model-first or database-first.

Summary

In this tutorial, we discussed the Entity Framework ORM framework. We covered the syntax, example, explanation, use, and important points of using Entity Framework in your .NET applications. By understanding how Entity Framework works, you can use it to simplify the process of interacting with a relational database in your .NET application.

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