New Versions of dotConnect ADO.NET Providers with Fluent Mapping Support in LinqConnect
and Enhanced Entity Developer Are Available!
September 06, 2011
Devart is glad to announce the release of the new versions of ADO.NET data providers,
enhanced database connectivity solutions, built over the ADO.NET architecture, that
support Entity Framework and LinqConnect ORM solutions. New versions of dotConnect
data providers offer you new greatly improved Entity Developer 4.1, significantly
enhanced Entity Framework support, and many other improvements.
LinqConnect Improvements
In the new versions of Devart dotConnect ADO.NET providers for Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL,
and SQLite we have added Fluent Mapping support for LinqConnect models.
Fluent mapping provides the following advantages over XML and attribute mapping:
- Unlike attribute mapping, fluent mapping does not modify entity classes, allowing
them not to be persistence-aware.
- Application code performs mapping, so mapping is always checked for errors during
compilation.
- Mapping can be easily modified at run-time. For example, different DBMS can be
used for persistence depending on the application settings.
Fluent mapping allows you to employ the Code First (Code Only) design approach and
to get rid completely of designing models or writing XML mappings.
Entity Developer Improvements
The new version of Entity Developer supports ENUM types introduced in the Entity
Framework June 2011 CTP release and contains other numerous enhancements.
This release of Entity Developer supports Entity Framework June 2011 CTP. If this
version of Entity Framework is installed on the machine, it is selected as the default
setting in the application's appropriate dialogs.
As part of Entity Framework, Entity Developer fully supports the newly introduced
enum types by providing a new Enum node in its Model Explorer window. Enum types
are supported in Entity Developer for Entity Framework and LinqConnect models. For
an easier use of this type, the application provides the drag-and-drop mechanism
allowing to move enum types from the Model Explorer window on to the diagram's surface,
and the Find in diagrams function that enables the user to easily locate
enum types on the diagram.
Properties of the Enum types as well as those of their members can be conveniently
set and modified in the new Enum Type Editor, provided in this latest version. Subsequently,
these properties are displayed in the Properties windows and can be edited directly
in that window.
Major improvements in the usability and user-friendliness of the application include
entity shape coloring, selection-driven highlighting, application and diagram skins.
The entity shape coloring function allows the user to define a custom coloring for
any entity present on the diagram by changing its Shape Color property.
The selection-driven functionality is intended to improve the readability of complex
diagrams by visually indicating various interrelations between different entities
present on a particular diagram.
The general look and feel of the application is further modernized with sets of
skins for the application itself (available only in the standalone version) and
for the diagram.
If you need another feature in Entity Developer or LinqConnect, visit our forum
at UserVoice and vote for suggested features
or suggest your own one.
If you wish to provide feedback on the new versions, you can do it in our forums or with contact form.
There is also a feedback form in the support zone of every product. We are always
glad to hear your comments and take into account your development needs.