Entity Data Model
The Entity Data Model aims in providing a single
representation for multiple data sources, used by applications.
Large applications often have to deal with data from
multiple data sources like XML files, Flat Files, multiple types of databases
etc, hence the application will have to use different approaches to communicate
with each of the data sources, this makes the data access complex, the Entity
Data Model aims in resolving this issue by providing single a Conceptual representation
of the data which the application can use, the mapping between the conceptual
layer and the data sources are handled using Entity frameworks.
Microsoft provides the ADO.NET Entity Framework which implements the concept of Entity data Model, in the ADO.Net Entity
Framework the Entity Data Model is represented using the Conceptual schema definition language (CSDL).
The framework takes care of the mapping
between the Entity Data Model and the Data Sources using Mapping specification language (MSL), thus the users have to deal with only one
Conceptual data source and not with multiple data sources.
The Entity Data Model also has the
advantage of easy portability, suppose we want to change our data source from
one provider to another, then we need not modify the application code to
achieve this change, it is sufficient enough to change only the mapping between
the Entity Data Model and the data source, the Entity Data Model will remain constant
irrespective of whatever data source is used by the application.
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