Database-First Approach in Entity Framework and other ORMs
There are two ways of creating ORM models - Model-First approach and Database-First approach. Entity Developer supports both approaches for designing Entity Framework, NHibernate, LinqConnect, Telerik Data Access, and LINQ to SQL models.
Database-First approach allows you to use legacy database in your ORM application. It supposes that you already have existing database and build your entity model based on this database.
How to Start
Generating Model from Database via Wizard
In Visual Studio Entity Data Models, entities are generated from the database tables with help of Entity Data Model Wizard. Entity Developer supports wizard-based model generation from the database not only for Entity Framework, but for all the supported ORMs. Entity Developer's Create Model Wizard offers more features than EDM wizard, such as automatic detection of TPT inheritances, many-to-many associations, etc.
Dragging Tables to Model Diagrams
In LINQ to SQL models, entities are generated by dragging database tables from Server Explorer to the diagram. Entity Developer implements both ways of generating entities from database tables - with Create Model Wizard and by dragging database tables from Database Explorer to the diagram for all the supported ORMs.