Mindpower - Fact Hunt "LINQ A .NET Feature"

LINQ
.NET 3.5
Description
• Stands for Language INtegrated Query (Object/Relational Mapper)
• Allows developers to query data structures using SQL-like syntax from within their application’s code
• Types: LINQ to Objects, LINQ to SQL, LINQ to Entities, LINQ to DataSets, LINQ to XML

Advantages
• Data is treated as an object.
• Ease dealing with the mismatch found between objects and RDBMS (LINQ to SQL)
• LINQ gives us consistency by defining a set of standard query operators that work across diverse data sources – objects, relational data, XML, and more.
• The deep integration of LINQ into .NET languages and tools allows developers to be more productive and work at a higher level of abstraction when creating data oriented applications.
• Code development is quicker and also contributes in less number of lines.


Applicability/Scenarios
• Well utilized in scenarios where a huge amount data extraction logic is to be built., .e.g. used for extracting data from complex objects
• More suitable for small projects or Applications. For bigger projects NHibernate or Entity framework could be better suitable which also supports several other Databases. (LINQ to SQL) .

Drawbacks/Limitations
• LINQ is not necessarily going to speed up data access code
• Only Supports SQL Server (LINQ to SQL)