What is the best way to write data sources for modules now a days? linq or entity framework? If linq, I am having an issue with a linq to sql query trying to get a random row from the table. If entity framework, I have issues with some of its design. I.e. the clause "like" only compares string values. Think linq to entities would work better than the traditional entity framework?

Eventually, Microsoft will replace Linq to SQL ORM with Entity Framework. If you want to learn something new and stick with it for the long run, learn Entity Framework. Visual Studio 2010 should come with the next version of EF. I don't believe there are updates to L2S if MS is planning to abandon it.

However note the two are pretty similar and you can easily migrate your L2S skills to EF.

Also I like hand coding SQL and L2S abstracts that from me. L2S becomes like a blackbox. You're not sure what SQL is being sent to the database and I have heard stories that L2S sometimes created unoptimizerd SQL or even Bad SQL. Eventually it doesn't really matter.

You're too nice Brandon :)

I will go on the record and say that after using Linq to SQL on large (bring the server to it's knees thousands of transactions a minute) projects it's just as good as stored procedures.

The quality and performance of the SQL hitting the server is MUCH better than hand written stored procedures.

I have trained nearly a dozen developers I worked with in it over the past year, and once exposed to it never want to go back and wonder how they lived without it.

The development time savings is 50-70%+

Download ADefHelpDesk (http://ADefHelpDesk.com) and enter a few thousand records and test the performance if you need an example...