General functionality

• Wide support for LINQ capabilities
• Interchangeable with Microsoft LINQ to SQL
• Wide support for server data types and features
• High performance
• Free high-quality support

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Easy to use

• Visual model creation and modification with Entity Developer *
  • Update Model From Database functionality
  • Update To Database with Mapping Synchronization functionality *
• Visual Studio integration
• Visual Studio Debugger Visualizer with SQL syntax highlighting for the DataQuery objects
• Powerfull naming rules for singularization and pluralization *
• Customizable template-based code generation *
• Easy to deploy
• Run-time database creation using the model (CreateDatabase, DatabaseExists, DropDatabase methods of DataContext)

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Database provider model architecture

• Multiple database support: *
  • MS SQL Server and MS SQL Server Compact
  • Oracle *
  • MySQL *
  • PostgreSQL *
  • SQLite *
• Database-independent interface. *

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Compatibility

• Support for .NET Framework 3.5, 5.0, and higher
• Support for .NET Core
• Support for Silverlight 4 and higher
• Support for Windows Phone 7 and 8

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Entities

• POCO classes used (no need to use a common base class)
• Full CRUD support
• Change tracking support
• Lazy loading
• Data binding support

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Mapping

• Inheritance mapping support (Table Per Hierarchy and Table Per Type) *
• Complex type support
  • Multiple complex types per entity *
• Metadata mapping
  • Mapping with .NET attributes
  • Mapping with external XML file

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Queries

• Wide support for extension methods
• Projection, join, set method support
• Paging, filtering and ordering support
• Subquery support
• PLINQ support
• Grouping, unions, and intersect support
• Aggregate functions
• Ability to execute DML statements in batches on SubmitChanges *
• User-defined functions in LINQ query
• CompiledQuery
• LoadOptions
  • Configurable preload for linked entities
  • Recursive support *
• Query level preload (Include) *
• Native SQL execution and object materialization
• Native SQL injections in LINQ queries (LINQ queries can be built over SQL queries)*

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Reliability

• Database transactions support
  • All updates are carried out in the transaction
  • Changes to entities are applied only after the successful completion of the transaction
  • User can manually manage transactions
• Column-level configurable concurrency check
• Extended error processing after calling SubmitChanges *

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Caching

• Object data caching
• Configurable automatic compiled query caching *

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Primary keys

• Single and composite primary keys support
• Identity generation support *
• Primary Key detection or smart rebuilding when creating a model *

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Relationships support

• One to One
• One to Many
• Many to Many
• Multi-columns composite foreign keys support
• Support for delete rules (cascade delete, set null, set default)
• One-directional associations

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Full stored procedure support

• Procedure mapping for entity creating, updating, and deleting
• Scalar-valued functions
• Out parameters
• Result set from procedure returns as collection of entity or value types
• Multi-result sets
• Database-specific features like Oracle REF CURSOR support as IEnumerable parameters *

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Using in Web and multi-tier architectures

• LinqConnectDataSource component *
• RIA services 3.5 support *
• Supported ASP.NET Dynamic Data with ASP.NET Dynamic Data project templates
• Attaching objects
• ASP.NET medium trust support

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Monitoring

• Query logging
• dbMonitor support *
• LINQPad support

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* These features are our extension of the LINQ to SQL functionality.

Note: If you need a new feature in LinqConnect, please let us know about it. Visit our forum at UserVoice and vote for suggested features or suggest your own ones.