ADO.NET is the .NET technology that provides the database providers like
(MS SQL server, Oracle etc, etc) to be used to access their database in a
.NET program.
What is ADO.NET?
ADO.NET is a set of computer software components that programmers can use
to access data and data services. It is a part of the base class library
that is included with the Microsoft .NET Framework. It is commonly used by
programmers to access and modify data stored in relational database
systems, though it can also access data in non-relational sources. ADO.NET
is sometimes considered an evolution of ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)
technology, but was changed so extensively that it can be considered an
entirely new product.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADO.NET
LINQ is about the following and take note on the word 'object'.
What is Object-oriented-programming?
(OOP) is a programming paradigm that uses "objects" and their interactions
to design applications and computer programs.
The key concepts of OOP are the following:
Class
Object
Instance
Method
Message passing
Inheritance
Abstraction
Encapsulation
Polymorphism
Decoupling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming
No matter what development platform Java, .Net or others OOP is OOP.
http://math.hws.edu/eck/cs124/downloads/OOP2_from_Univ_KwaZulu-Natal.pdf
http://www.blackwasp.co.uk/ObjectOrientedConcepts.aspx
What are design patterns?
Design patterns are recurring solutions to software design problems you
find again and again in real-world application development. Patterns are
about design and interaction of objects, as well as providing a
communication platform concerning elegant, reusable solutions to commonly
encountered programming challenges.
http://www.developer.com/design/article.php/1502691
http://www.dofactory.com/Patterns/Patterns.aspx
http://computerprogramming.suite101.com/article.cfm/patterns_and_antipatterns
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms954638.aspx
http://www.designpatternsfor.net/Presentations.aspx?tid=3&cid=4
What is Language Integrated Query?
LINQ is a Microsoft .NET Framework component that adds native data
querying capabilities to .NET languages.
Microsoft LINQ defines a set of query operators that can be used to query,
project and filter data in arrays, enumerable classes, XML, relational
database, and third party data sources. While it allows any data source to
be queried, it requires that the data be encapsulated as objects. So, if
the data source does not natively store data as objects, the data must be
mapped to the object domain. Queries written using the query operators are
executed either by the LINQ query processing engine or, via an extension
mechanism, handed over to LINQ providers which either implement a separate
query processing engine or translate to a different format to be executed
on a separate data store (such as on a database server as SQL queries).
The results of a query are returned as a collection of in-memory objects
that can be enumerated using a standard iterator function such as C#'s
foreach.
Many of the concepts that LINQ has introduced were originally tested in
Microsoft's C? research project. LINQ was released as a part of .NET
Framework 3.5 on November 19, 2007.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Integrated_Query
What is Object Relational Mapping?
(ORM) is a programming technique for converting data between incompatible
type systems in relational databases and object-oriented programming
languages. This creates, in effect, a "virtual object database," which can
be used from within the programming language. There are both free and
commercial packages available that perform object-relational mapping,
although some programmers opt to create their own ORM tools.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-RM
If you're using LINQ, then dump the datasets and use an object or
collections of objects.
LINQ-2-SQL or LINQ-2-Object used with the ADO.NET Entity Framework allows
one to use objects.
What is Linq-to-SQL?
LINQ to SQL, a component of Visual Studio Code Name "Orcas", provides a
run-time infrastructure for managing relational data as objects without
losing the ability to query. It does this by translating
language-integrated queries into SQL for execution by the database, and
then translating the tabular results back into objects you define. Your
application is then free to manipulate the objects while LINQ to SQL stays
in the background tracking your changes automatically.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb425822.aspx
What is ADO.NET Entities framework?
ADO.NET Entity Framework is an object-relational mapping (ORM) framework
for the .NET Framework. This framework is Microsoft's first ORM offering
for the .NET Framework. While Microsoft provided objects to manage the
Object-relational impedance mismatch (such as a DataSet).
ADO.NET Entity Framework is included with .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack
1 and Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1, released on 11 Aug 2008. It also
includes the capability of executing LINQ against ADO.NET Entity Framework
entities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADO.NET_Entity_Framework
If you want to put it altogether, then make the $79 investment for
yourself.
http://www.dofactory.com/Framework/Framework.aspx