Chapter 25. LINQ to SQL

How many times did you face runtime errors when sending SQL instructions to your databases for querying or manipulating data? Your answer is probably “several times.” Sending SQL instructions in the form of strings has been, for years, the real way for accessing data in the .NET development, but one of the main disadvantages was the lack of compile time control over your actions. Experienced developers can also remember when they had to work against databases in a connected environment taking care of everything that happened. LINQ to SQL solves several of these issues, providing both a disconnected way for working with data, where data is mapped into an object model that you work with until you decide to save back data, and a strongly typed programming fashion that improves your productivity by checking queries and CRUD operations at compile time. In this chapter you explore the most important LINQ to SQL functionalities, learning the basics of data access with such technology.