Introduction to LINQ

clipped from weblogs.asp.net What Is LINQ to SQL? LINQ to SQL is an O/RM (object relational mapping) implementation that ships in the .NET Framework "Orcas" release, and which allows you to model a relational database using .NET classes.  You can then query the database using LINQ, as well as update/insert/delete data from it. LINQ to SQL fully supports transactions, views, and stored procedures.  It also provides an easy way to integrate data validation and business logic rules into your data model. Modeling Databases Using LINQ to SQL: Visual Studio "Orcas" ships with a LINQ to SQL designer that provides an easy way to model and visualize a database as a LINQ to SQL object model.  My next blog post will cover in more depth how to use this designer (you can also watch this video I made in January to see me build a LINQ to SQL model from scratch using it).  Using the LINQ to SQL designer I can easily create a representation of the sample "Northwind" database like below: