Is there a better tool for managing LINQ2SQL DataContext files?
I have a fairly large LINQ2SQL for a project I am working on. I must admit that I mostly use the WYSIWYG editor provided by Visual Studio to manage and build the structure. I am starting to run into a problem when it comes to placing objects in a diagram and just working with it in general.
Is there a better WYSIWYG tool - better than the one provided by Visual Studio - out there that can help manage the LINQ2SQL dbml file?
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I don't know of any alternatives, unfortunately for the linq2sql constructor.
EDIT:
Then I thought about it, since the comments ...
If you are not WYSIWYG you can look in SQL Metal (cmd line) to generate / work with linq2sql generated files.
It now has an open source user interface.
Check out http://csainty.blogspot.com/2008/02/linq-to-sql-sqlmetalexe.html for information on this.
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If you are only using the WYSIWYG tool to create database structures, you can go to the Entity Framework "and use some other tool to design the database structure."
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You need to think about how you approach this problem. There may be commercial products that suit your needs, but there is nothing available that comes close. I have not seen any clear reviews of commercial tools in this regard.
Linq2Sql O / R designer is not scalable as you unfortunately found the hard way. Something like SQLMetal will scale much better, but it's not a perfect solution.
Unfortunately, it can be very painful to switch from using the O / R Designer to SQLMetal as they don't share as much code under the covers as you'd hope.
If you are trying to use a large database with Linq2Sql, you almost have to find and use some commercial tool. One free option worth considering is Damien Guard LinqToSql T4 Templates , but it doesn't even come close to a WYSIWYG tool.
Switching to a more efficient ORM will also be difficult.
I wrote a blog post on this a while ago and I have already repeated a lot in this answer:
Don't use Visual Studio 2008 LinqToSql O / R Designer
Good luck.
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Check my add-on at http://www.huagati.com/dbmltools/
It doesn't replace the constructor, but it adds a bunch of missing functionality for the designer, so it makes it easier to work with the designer.
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