1.1. Information, Data Modeling, and Databases

Over the years, many different databases, data models, and data access application programming interfaces (APIs) have come and gone. Or at least we thought we'd seen them go. Each one brought something new to the table (or a variation on a familiar theme). Each had its zealots, who approached the technology with an almost religious fervor. “This is the last data technology you'll ever learn, and it will be adopted by everyone,” we've been told. Mostly, it didn't happen. This chapter reviews these systems, with an eye toward what the refactored data access stack in .NET adds, deletes, simplifies, and clarifies.

At its simplest, Microsoft's ADO.NET framework is a set of .NET APIs for accessing data. ...

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