Programming Entity Framework: Building Data Centric Apps with the ADO.NET Entity Framework

by Julia Lerman

Get a thorough introduction to ADO.NET Entity Framework 4 -- Microsoft's core framework for modeling and interacting with data in .NET applications. The second edition of this acclaimed guide provides a hands-on tour of the framework latest version in Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4. Not only will you learn how to use EF4 in a variety of applications, you'll also gain a deep understanding of its architecture and APIs.Written by Julia Lerman, the leading independent authority on the framework, "Programming Entity Framework" covers it all -- from the Entity Data Model and Object Services to WCF Services, MVC Apps, and unit testing. This book highlights important changes for experienced developers familiar with the earlier version. Understand the core concepts you need to make the best use of the EF4 in your applications Learn to query your data, using either LINQ to Entities or Entity SQL Create Windows Forms, WPF, ASP.NET Web Forms, and ASP.NET MVC applications Build and consume WCF Services, WCF Data Services, and WCF RIA Services Use Object Services to work directly with your entity objects Create persistent ignorant entities, repositories, and write unit tests Delve into model customization, relationship management, change tracking, data concurrency, and more Get scores of reusable examples -- written in C# (with notes on Visual Basic syntax) -- that you can implement right away

Genres: Programming, Technical, Reference, Technology, Ebooks, Computers, Software

920 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2009

About the author

Julie Lerman is a Microsoft MVP, .NET mentor and consultant who lives in the hills of Vermont. You can find Julie presenting on data access and other Microsoft .NET topics at user groups and conferences around the world. Julie blogs at thedatafarm.com/blog, is the author of the highly acclaimed "Programming Entity Framework (with a second edition released in August 2010) and authors the MSDN Magazine Data Points column. Follow Julie on twitter at julielerman.

Reviews

[SALEM]

The book is very nice, takes you from the very beginning of how to understand Entity Framework and LINQ and using them later for windows, web application to some advanced topics related to the Microsoft EF.

I may recommend waiting the next edition of the book for the author, which is promised to have updates about whats new for EF 4.

Merged review:

The book is very nice, takes you from the very beginning of how to understand Entity Framework and LINQ and using them later for windows, web application to some advanced topics related to the Microsoft EF.

I may recommend waiting the next edition of the book for the author, which is promised to have updates about whats new for EF 4

[Zoe]

Truly outstanding technology book. The early chapters are the best and you can sense author-fatigue in the later chapters, but overall a truly enlightening and informative book. This is not a dry regurgitation of manuals already in existence.

[Mark Stone]

Was looking for something more advanced. A good book for the first-timer, if a bit outdated.

[Shyam Poovaiah]

This is a must read for Entity framework users.
Julie Lerman is a authority on this subject.
For every problem I come across on this topic I have found a blog post by her.
Her Pluralsight courses on the same are exhaustive and a good supplement to this book.

[Ngo Dat]

got deep understanding in core of entity framework.

[Eddie]

If you are looking to learn more about Entity Framework, this is an excellent source to refer too. The material is discussed in great depth and breadth. The author has extensive knowledge of the subject and does a good job of presenting the information in a very understandable way.

My biggest complaint lies in the code downloads. It is my position that anytime a book builds on code from chapter to chapter, that each chapter should have it's own download so that I can get code that works cleanly from the end of x chapter before starting the next chapter. I may have experimented and changed things, and the I have a difficult time starting in the right spot.

[Amr]

THIS REVIEW IS STILL IN PROGRESS

One thing I didn't like about this book is that it doesn't stick to building an example. Sometimes it asks you to build the example, and it does it really well. Other times, it just mentions that you could do this and then later you find that you need to do it because this later example builds on top of older example.
Sometimes, it mentions examples that doesn't follow the initial BreakAway example. It's a little distracting.

[David Mackey]

There are few books on this fairly arcane and technical topic, so one has to give Julia props for writing anything on the topic. At times though the book glosses over certain concepts while dwelling upon others...It isn't an easy read, but that may be more due to the topic material than any deficiencies on the author's part.

[Arun Mahendrakar]

Although I had used EF on various instances before, reading this book provided me with something new that I was not aware of. The depth of subject coverage is pretty darn good and kudos to the author on this.

[Alan McBee]

I have not yet finished reading this book. This is very thorough book, but seems to work from the assumption that you want to understand how all of the low-level parts work before you are introduced to the high-level parts that depend on the low-level parts.

[Adam Schrader]

Excellent book for anyone getting into the Microsoft Entity Framework (.NET). I much prefer it to ADO.NET.

[Stu]

Good resource for the Entity framework. Julia Lerman stands apart from the rest; she has an exceptional understanding of the material.

[Ben Rand]

Entity Framework is my favorite technology of the moment. Very in-depth book.

[Angavar]

Truly one of the best technology books I have read. Like so many other reviews of this book have said: this is THE book to read on entity framework 4.0.

Congratulations on a fantastic book Julia!

[Lisandro]

very in-dept for the first timer. The last couple of chapter fells a little bit outdate for the experience programmer but if you're new to it, would worth a read.

[Miloš]

Great book. I have learned a lot from this book and I will always use it as a reminder during my work...

[Alf Kåre Lefdal]

Thorough and well-written about Entity Framework 4, maybe too verbose for some.