Entity Framework vs ADO.NET for database access

Steve Andrews

Morning community,

Hope that everyone is well. I hope a few of you can help me out here. I'm learning how to code in C#, with my next few weeks focusing on how database information can be accesed and manipulated via C#. This is a topic that I have yet to cover and thus have no experience of. I'm aware that there are two distinct methods open to a developer, namely: -

Entity Framework
ADO.NET

Whilst I'm learning about both methods, I'd be interested in the views from experience developers out there on the benefits and drawbacks of each approach. Namely: -

What are the pros and cons of each appeoach for the new developer
When might I use one over the other?
Any resources you think would be helpful for me to learn both approaches

Any comments and opinions greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Steve

5 Replies

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Sachin Singh5y ago
@Steve
Understand these things first,
1st and most important point:- SQL is SQL, which means any DBMS like SQL Server, Oracle, etc just understand SQL and nothing else, yes PL?SQL is also SQL at the end of the day.

2nd point:- You can't fire SQL queries directly from your application, whether your application is ASP.NET Web Form, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Core Razor, ASP.NET Core Blazor, ASP.NET Core MVC, or WPF or WinForms (desktop Apps).

3rd point:- you need a mediator, that can sit in between your application and DBMS (SQL Server, let's say) .

4th point:- you are a C# developer, which means you are an OOP developer, who knows classes and Objects, so you will be more confident on Objects and Classes than SQL, isn't it?

So, ADO.NET is just a mediator, which gives you classes like SqlConnection, SqlDataReader, SqlCommand, DataSet, and DataAdapter, you just create the object of these classes and work confidently using OOPs concept, under the hood, these are then translated into SQL Queries and goes to the SQL Server.

5th point:- After you retrieve data using SqlDataReader or SqlDataAdpater, you need to map those data to your business classes, like the Employee table should map to Employee Class.

This is where Entity Framework comes, it says, you are a pure Object Oriented Developer (OOP) then why will you do half things, you are using classic ADO.NET which provides you classes but then again you need to write a mapper to map data with your domain classes, don't do it. I (EF) will do it for you.

This means, EF is an ORM that maps database tables to Domain Classes, so creating a Persistence Layer becomes 200 times faster, but you need to learn Linq instead of SQL in this case.

6th point:- Even if ORM like EF, does all the mapping-related jobs for you, Linq that you use to query EF generated In-Memory collections (DbSets), sometimes generates huge bulky SQL which degrades performance, and you need to write Stored Procedure manually.

So, the point is, as DBMS just understand SQL, EF with Linq sometimes fails in complex scenarios, yes EFcan map stored Procedure too with Domain Classes, but this is not the purpose of an ORM.

So, you can't skip learning SQL, and then classic ADO.NET or EF, learning both are just peace of cake.
you can follow my articles, and I guarantee you will learn ADO.NET and EF within 3 days.

ADO.NET :- https://www.sharpencode.com/article/ADONET
EF :- https://www.sharpencode.com/article/EntityFramework
Linq :- https://www.sharpencode.com/article/Linq
Hardik Dhankecha5y ago
Hi Steve,
In C#, both concepts are extremely important and valuable. Both techniques have their own set of behaviours. Here are the key distinctions that I believe exist.

#1. Entity Framework :In basic terms, Microsoft provides a platform or framework that manages all database-related operations. All you have to do now is link your database to your project or application. The important point to note here is that it is completely controlled by Microsoft's built-in library. If you wish to use the entity framework, all you have to do is add a nuget package to your project. One of the most important advantages is that you may do a lot more code in a short amount of time (only a few minutes) because you simply need to trigger actions related to a database operation.

#2. ADO.Net : Ado.net is a concept that allows you to control the whole process of communication between your project and database. Your database connection string must be mentioned in this section of your project. A developer will also code every action that will be done with the database. So the important point is to retain control between the project and the database, which ADO.NET does. In comparison to Entity Framework, you will have to write code to accomplish database activities with ADO.Net. As a result, it will be lengthy and time-consuming.

As a result, it's up to the developer to choose which one to utilise. In general, some developers utilise the entity framework for basic database operations and ADO.Net for store procedure activities, in my opinion or experience. As a result, which approach is used depends on the developer.

There are a lot of online tutorials for both beginners and expert developers that explain and clarify these topics in detail. You can make use of it.
Srinivasan Ramamoorthi5y ago
Just search for these concepts in microsoft website, you will get the link

I cannot share the link since I am new to this forum
Steve Andrews5y ago
@Srinivasan Ramamoorthi

Thanks for your post. Those links don't go anywhere though? I'm especially interested in the C# article.

Steve
Srinivasan Ramamoorthi5y ago
this link explains the difference between ADO.NET and Entity framework
Difference between ADO.Net and Entity Framework (c-sharpcorner.com)

I would recommend reading microsoft articles

Overview - ADO.NET | Microsoft Docs

Entity Framework documentation | Microsoft Docs