LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past - Zlatan's Blog [MVP SharePoint]

LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

Following bunch of announcements about .NET 4.0, ADO.NET team makes a not so surprising announcement that LINQ to SQL is dead in favour of the .NET Entity Framework (http://blogs.msdn.com/adonet/archive/2008/10/29/update-on-linq-to-sql-and-linq-to-entities-roadmap.aspx).

Can you believe it..... I can't..... sure there was much crticism, mostly from the "dark side" (non .NET developers), but for LINQ to SQL to be abandoned so fast after so much hype.

What about all the investments made into LINQ to SQL?!

I think LINQ to SQL provided more then adequate object relational mapping, I've grown to love it over years (more like months), and I will miss it.

Let's see that Entity Framework "MUTI" in action.

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Published Monday, December 01, 2008 7:47 PM by Zlatan
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Comments

# LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

You've been kicked (a good thing) - Trackback from DotNetKicks.com

Monday, December 01, 2008 9:47 PM by DotNetKicks.com

# re: LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

No no no no no.

It is NOT dead. This has been doing the rounds for a while now and simply is not true.

If you read the announcements you will see that LINQ to SQL will remain in .NET 4.0 and will continue to be supported. It is just that MS are now preferring the Entity Framework so that is where you will see the most concentration on new features.

Monday, December 01, 2008 11:18 PM by Phil Holmes

# re: LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

Last time I checked term, "... will continue to be supported" in software land means dead or death is imminent. (something like Windows 98 will continue to be supported..... but..).

LINQ has been diagnosed with a terminal cancer and it's understandable that we as close friends and relatives are shocked, some are turning to denial (like you Phil), which is also natural way of dealing with grief and some have chosen to face the cold truth!!

Tuesday, December 02, 2008 9:20 AM by Zlatan

# re: LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

Nope. Windows 98 is no longer supported. Neither is SQL 2000. You can't even get them any more via normal sales channels.

This is completely different. The technology is not being removed from the framework, indeed it is necessary to support some things.

I would say that this is still breathing. If MS wanted it dead, they would kill it off like they are doing to Workflow Foundation. This is being completely rewritten so that your old applications will no longer be compatible with the latest WF. Your LINQ to SQL code will continue to run quite happily.

As Tim Mallaileu, Program Manager on the Entity Framework team said, "We will continue make some investments in LINQ to SQL based on customer feedback." The expectation is that LINQ to SQL will be around for another ten years. By then, I am sure EF will probably be getting replaced too.

I am not in denial. All things come to pass and in IT, very quickly. We must all move on with our skills. However, this kind of banging of drums happens all too often leading many developers to drop technologies and move on too quickly, never becoming proficient in anything.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008 1:16 PM by Phil Holmes

# re: LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

I agree with you that most likely the intention is not there to replace the technology but you must admit that none of those statements sound even slightly optimistic. No one likes to drop technologies and move quickly especially after achieving a certain level of proficiency in a particular technology (I know I don’t). Heck, most people didn’t switch from Visual Studio 2005 to 2008 until it didn’t make any sense to stay with 2005, and this is what I’m talking about. The death will happen far more naturally than by releasing a blog post like this or any official announcement from Microsoft.

You will eventually find that you can’t do bunch of things with LINQ to SQL that you can do with EF or that EF does it much better/faster/reliable and you’ll have no choice but to start using it (bluntly put) . Regarding how long will LINQ to SQL stick around, I give it about a year max after the release of VS 2010.

It makes no sense (to me) to continue focus on both LINQ to SQL and EF so it makes sense that they had to pick one. For whatever its worth I actually hope you’re right.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008 2:13 PM by Zlatan

# re: LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

Note that "Linq to SQL" is just the DB schema to DataContext code generator, and the Expression Tree to SQL formatter --- both of which are needed to some degree by Linq-to-Entities.    

So, the LINQ syntax will remain (and therefore will be usable on DataContexts); SQLMetal (DataContext generator) will remain, but the only updates for SQL 2011+ will be for the parts shared with LINQ-to-Entities;  And the SQL LINQ provider will remain ( but the only updates for SQL 2011+ will be for the parts shared with LINQ-to-Entities)

Friday, December 19, 2008 10:55 PM by James Curran

# re: LINQ to SQL..... she is dead, deceased .. just something in the past

"Dark side" here ... relational databases have been around since 60s - 70s.

As far as I see banks are still running (well some of them), planes are still flying, space shuttles are being lunched, people take public transit, patients are being treated and inside all of them you have apps connected to databases at work.

Let us keep building and pardon us for not holding our breath on yet another MS "strategy change" and marketing hype :-)

Monday, January 12, 2009 10:55 PM by FN