Choosing An Appropriate Technology For Accessing Data In .NET Applications

There are several options to access the data in .NET applications. Now Most of the developers are using ORM (Object-relational mapping) tools to access the data. Following are the various options:

1. ADO.NET Data Access Code
2. LINQ to SQL
3. NHibernate
4. ADO.NET Entity Framework

ADO.NET Data Access Code:

A typical traditional data access layer in a .NET application will use ADO.NET Connection, Command, Parameter and Data Reader objects to execute stored procedures against a database connection.

LINQ to SQL:

LINQ to SQL provides code generation of data access objects using a command line tool called sqlmetal, which is integrated into Visual Studio 2008.

NHibernate:

NHibernate enables you to map your own entities to the database model using XML mapping files. Normally one mapping file is created per entitiy.

ADO.NET Entity Framework:

The ADO.NET Entity Framework is an ORM that maps the structural model of a database schema to a conceptual (object) model.

Which is perfectly suited for your application is clearly explained by Simon Evans in the following article.

guidance on choosing an appropriate technology for accessing data in net solutions