Guide to Entity Framework with

[
 2 
]
We will explore more on ORMs later in this chapter. The 
ADO.NET Entity 
Framework
(
EF
) is an extended and open source ORM technology from Microsoft 
that abstracts the object model of an application from its relational or logical model. 
That is, it isolates the object model from the way the data is actually represented 
in the relational store. This framework makes the conceptual model real by using 
an extended entity relationship model called the 
ADO.NET Entity Data Model
. 
In this book, we will examine Entity Framework 6 in order to leverage its existing 
and enhanced features to design and implement applications that are robust, high-
performing, persistence, ignorant, and scalable. We will explore each of these 
features as we read through the chapters of this book.
This chapter will give you an introduction to Entity Framework and also provide 
you with a brief understanding of the related terminologies. We will revisit each of 
the Entity Framework architectural components as we progress through this book. 
Our journey through Entity Framework 6 has just begun!
In this chapter, we will cover the following points:
• 
An overview of Entity Framework
• 
Entity Framework architectural components:
°
The Entity Data Model
°
LINQ to Entities
°
Entity Client
°
Entity SQL
°
The Object Services Layer
• 
A comparative analysis of EF and other ORMs
• 
New features and enhancements in Entity Framework 6:
°
Support for persistence ignorance
°
Support for T4 code generation
°
Support for lazy loading
°
Support for POCO change-tracking
°
Better n-tier support
°
Support for model-first and development
°
Support for built-in functions and UDF
°
Support for model-defined functions
°
Support for enums
°
Support for spatial data types

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Chapter 1