I have been a data access geek longer than I'd like to admit. In recent years, I spent a lot of time working out the changes that arrived in ADO.NET 2.0, writing about them and presenting them at conferences. I got a excited about LINQ to SQL and then Entity Framework when they arrived on the scene. It's a lot to take in with so many options in VS2008 now (not to mention all of the 3rd party options) .

I have written quite a lengthy article in the current issue of CoDe Magazine (Sept/Oct 2008), titled Data Access Options in Visual Studio 2008.  I actually rewrote the article three times as my knowledge is constantly evolving and my perspective shifting. I also managed to get updates for the RTM version pushed in right before the issue went to the printers so it's current.

I'm still fond of one of the graphics I came up with for the article.

This article is not aimed at telling you which option you should choose. Instead, it highlights some of the most important differences between DataSets, LINQ to SQL and Entity Framework so that you have enough knowledge to help you to see which one might be best for your particular scenarios. I focused on what's in VS2008, otherwise I would have not only gone beyond the boundary of pages in the magazine, but beyond the scope of my own expertise.

The article doesn't cover every single difference between these technologies. Heck it's already 7000 words which is longer than any article I've ever written before. If you think that's long, wait till you see my book! :-) But don't worry, it's not 1700 pages like a very popular ASP.NET 3.5 book that's out on the market.

Thanks to Michael Giagnocavo who gave me some valuable feedback on my initial draft.