David Sceppa's Ramblings

And now for something completely different...some time off

2009-05-26T18:30:00Z

It's been a great ride these past fourteen years. I've loved my time at Microsoft and am proud of the projects I've been fortunate enough to be a part of, from helping PSS get ready for the launch of Visual FoxPro 3.0, through my time in Visual Basic "classic" data access support, testing VS Data designers during the .NET 1.0 release, work on ObjectSpaces and seeing that project resurface in LINQ to SQL and the ADO.NET Entity Framework, helping provider writer partners plug into the Entity Framework, to shipping the initial release of the SQL Server Driver for PHP. I've also been very fortunate to work with so many amazing people within this company.

Right now, I've decided to take some time off and recharge my batteries. Today is my last day at Microsoft. I'm going to take a summer vacation, something I haven't done since high school. But before I go, I want to thank everyone I've worked with outside the company. I still vividly remember the first day I took support calls on FoxPro 2.x and how much I enjoyed working with developers, troubleshooting issues with them and helping them get their code to do what they want. No matter what technologies I worked on since then or how I interacted with developers (over the phone, through online forums, face to face at conferences, through the printed or digital word through my writing) I've been constantly energized by those interactions. I can't imagine how many times I've spoken to a developer and come away saying to myself "Wow, I never thought to do that with that technology. Cool!" I'm not sure what I'll be doing after taking some time off, but I have a strong hunch it will continue to involve working with developers on great technologies.

See you soon,

David Sceppa

Recent ADO.NET Entity Framework provider news - Demos and downloads

2008-05-07T08:16:00Z

Here are a few quick announcements about ADO.NET providers supporting the Entity Framework. Enjoy!

Core Lab (Connectivity to Multiple Data Stores)

Core Lab was the first ADO.NET provider writer to support Beta 3 of the Entity Framework. Their provider includes connectivity to Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite databases. For more information, see the announcement on the following pages: http://crlab.com/news/2007/directs430.html and http://crlab.com/news/2008/dcsqlite100.html.

IBM

IBM has released a public beta for their ADO.NET provider that works with Beta 3 of the Entity Framework. For more information, see the announcement on the following page: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=203893. IBM also demonstrated their provider in an end-to-end application building scenario using the Entity Framework designer at recent VS Live conference in San Francisco.

MySQL

At the recent MySQL conference in Santa Clara, Reggie Burnett and I co-presented a session talking about MySQL, LINQ and the ADO.NET Entity Framework. As part of the session, we demonstrated using LINQ, Entity SQL and ADO.NET Data Services to access a MySQL database using Beta 3 of the Entity Framework.

Note: Big thanks to Reggie for helping to make this demo work even after injuring his knee. Get well soon.

Npgsql (PostgreSQL connectivity)

Npgsql has released a beta of their PostgreSQL ADO.NET provider that works with Beta 3 of the Entity Framework. You can download the provider at the following page: http://pgfoundry.org/frs/download.php/1730/Npgsql2.0beta3-bin-EntityFrameworkBeta3.zip. For more information on the release, please see the following page: http://pgfoundry.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=1307.

David Sceppa

ADO.NET Program Manager

The Entity Framework - Not Just For SQL Server!

2007-12-18T04:09:00Z

As you're hopefully aware, Beta 3 of the ADO.NET Entity Framework is already available. If not, see the ADO.NET team blog here.

You may not be aware of the various ADO.NET provider writers who are publicly pledging their support for the Entity Framework. You can read the entire press release, including information about ADO.NET Data Services (formerly Project Astoria) and ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions here. In terms of third party provider involvement, here are the highlights:

Providers Targeting Publicly Available Versions Within Three Months of RTM

· Core Lab - Providing connectivity to Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite databases

· IBM - Providing connectivity to both IBM DB2 data server and Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) databases

· MySQL AB - Providing connectivity to MySQL databases

· Npgsql - Providing connectivity to PostgreSQL database versions 7.3+ and 8.x

· OpenLink Software - Providing connectivity to Oracle, Informix, Ingres, Sybase, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2, Progress and Microsoft SQL Server databases, and any data source accessible via OpenLink ODBC or JDBC bridge drivers

· Phoenix Software International - Providing connectivity to SQLite databases

· Sybase - Providing connectivity to SQL Anywhere databases

· VistaDB Software - Providing connectivity to VistaDB databases

* - The providers in the list above are also working towards publicly available versions of their providers to work with Beta 3 of the Entity Framework.

Providers Targeting Publicly Available Versions in 2008

· DataDirect Technologies - Providing connectivity to multiple data stores including Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server and DB2 via DataDirect Connect® for ADO.NET

· Firebird - Providing connectivity to Firebird databases

If you're writing an ADO.NET provider for the Entity Framework and you're not already in touch with me, please drop me a line at David (dot) Sceppa (at) microsoft (dot) com.

Sample ADO.NET Entity Framework Provider - Beta 3

2007-12-18T04:08:00Z

We've updated the sample provider to work with Beta 3 of the ADO.NET Entity Framework. The sample provider is available for download as an attachment to this blog post.

The sample provider has undergone some minor changes in moving from Beta 2 to Beta 3. The biggest such in the sample provider is due to changes in the provider manifest. To help provider writers better understand how provider manifests are used in Beta 3, we've included the provider manifest spec along with the sample provider.

As with previous builds, the sample provider wraps System.Data.SqlClient and demonstrates the functionality a provider needs to add in order to support the ADO.NET Entity Framework. The solution that contains the sample provider also includes a modified version of the Entity Framework Query Samples project. The modified project uses the sample provider rather than System.Data.SqlClient.

You'll also find a new project in the solution - ExtendedProvider. This project leverages the sample provider and the Data Designer Extensibility (DDEX) that's part of Visual Studio 2008 to demonstrate how to make an ADO.NET provider available through the various Visual Studio designers, including the ADO.NET Entity Framework Designer.

If you're writing an ADO.NET provider for the Entity Framework and you're not already in touch with me, please drop me a line at David (dot) Sceppa (at) microsoft (dot) com. Enjoy!

WebCast on LINQ, the ADO.NET Entity Framework and SQL Server 2008

2007-10-23T01:04:00Z

Last month I delivered a WebCast that covered the new data access features coming in the next wave of developer technologies, namely LINQ (including LINQ to DataSet, LINQ to SQL, LINQ to Entities), the ADO.NET Entity Framework and SQL Server 2008. That's a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time, so the session doesn't go too deeply into any one feature area, but I hope it provides a good overview for developers looking to get some background on the similarities and differences between the various technologies. You can access the WebCast on demand here. Enjoy!

Sample ADO.NET Entity Framework Provider - Beta 2

2007-09-22T03:13:00Z

We've updated the sample provider to work with Beta 2 of the ADO.NET Entity Framework. The sample provider is available for download as an attachment to this blog post.

The sample provider has undergone some minor changes in moving from Beta 1 to Beta 2.

The DbProviderServices class has been enhanced to support returning the mapping file that the EdmGen.exe command-line tool uses to retrieve schema information from the database. This new approach leverages the Entity Framework's mapping functionality and the provider's SQL-gen layer to map conceptual table, view, column, etc. schema information to the database's actual system tables. The end result is that EdmGen.exe can retrieve database schema information in a provider agnostic fasion.

Also, the SQL generation layer within the sample provider has been enhanced to support the new canonical function capabilities added in Beta 2 of the ADO.NET Entity Framework.

If you're writing an ADO.NET provider for Orcas and you're not already in touch with me, please drop me a line at David (dot) Sceppa (at) microsoft (dot) com. Enjoy!

TechEd: Provider Writers Talk About the Entity Framework

2007-06-15T21:04:00Z

TechEd was a major success. Every time I turned around, more people were asking questions about LINQ and the Entity Framework, though that might have had something to do with the fact that I was standing next to a sign that said "LINQ / Entity Framework".

One of the highlights was the provider writers' chalk talk, which packed the theater area. I'd previously blogged that IBM, DataDirect and Oracle would be in attendance. We also had representatives from Sybase and VistaDB at the talk.

IBM drew the most "oohs" and "aahs" when they demonstrated an early build of their provider working with the 101 LINQ to Entities samples. Each provider writer took some time to talk about their thoughts on customer scenarios, the work they've done so far, etc. The majority of the provider writers talked about how excited they were that both LINQ and Entity SQL allow developers to write provider agnostic queries without having to ask themselves questions like "How do I concatenate strings, construct a join, etc. in my database's query language?"

A few attendees asked about MySQL connectivity. MySQL was unable to attend due to scheduling problems but they are still very much involved. As I mentioned in a previous post, they demonstrated an early build of their provider working with the Entity Framework at the MySQL conference in April.

If you're writing an ADO.NET provider for the Entity Framework and you're not already in touch with me, please drop me a line at David (dot) Sceppa (at) microsoft (dot) com.

Oracle posts a new beta of their .NET provider

2007-06-01T00:24:00Z

Oracle has just released a new beta of their .NET provider, commonly known as ODP.NET. This is great news for developers who have been pleading for support for Oracle's instant client or for more ASP.NET features. You can read more about the new features on Oracle's site here and download the beta here.

Oracle joins the list of provider writers speaking at TechEd

2007-06-01T00:03:00Z

Oracle will be in attendance at the ADO.NET Entity Framework provider writer chalk talk at TechEd 2007 in Orlando. The chalk talk will be held Friday June 8th at 1pm in Blue Theater 12.

Here's what Oracle's ODP.NET team asked me to pass along regarding the chalk talk:

The Oracle ODP.NET development team is working with Microsoft on the Entity Framework and will be there to talk to customers looking to use the Entity Framework to access Oracle databases.

As mentioned in the previous post, whether you’re interested in accessing a third party database, or you’re interested in enhancing your provider to support the Entity Framework, I invite you to attend and ask questions of the Microsoft representatives as well as the representatives of the various provider writers. I look forward to seeing you there!

Entity Framework Provider Talk at TechEd

2007-05-25T02:44:00Z

At TechEd 2007 in Orlando, there will be a chalk talk on ADO.NET Entity Framework, specifically focusing on the provider model and integration with third-party databases. The chalk talk will be held Friday June 8th at 1pm in Blue Theater 12.

I’m pleased to say that DataDirect, IBM and others will be in attendance to talk about the work they’re doing to add support for the Entity Framework to their ADO.NET providers.

DataDirect will discuss heterogeneous data sources in an Entity Framework environment, the importance of best of class ADO.NET providers as an essential component for the Entity Framework and present a use case on a how to ensure a successful Entity Framework development and deployment cycle.
IBM will talk about their investments to support the Entity Framework for their Data Servers and to demonstrate an early build of their provider working with the Entity Framework.

Whether you’re interested in accessing a third party database, or you’re interested in enhancing your provider to support the Entity Framework, I invite you to attend and ask questions of the Microsoft representatives as well as the representatives of the various provider writers. I look forward to seeing you there!

ADO.NET Orcas Sample Provider - Beta 1

2007-05-14T20:19:00Z

We've updated the sample provider to work with Beta 1 of Orcas. The sample provider is available for download as an attachment to this blog post.

Within the Entity Framework, the command tree, expression and related classes in Beta 1 now include the "Db" prefix - DbCommandTree instead of CommandTree, DbExpression instead of Expression, etc. The primary change to the sample provider itself from the March CTP is to react to those modified class names.

The solution that contains the sample provider also includes a modified version of the 101 LINQ to Entities samples project. The modified project uses the sample provider rather than System.Data.SqlClient.

As with the March CTP build, the sample provider wraps System.Data.SqlClient and demonstrating the functionality a provider needs to add in order to support the Entity Framework. To learn more about the classes and interfaces to implement, see the blog post for the March CTP version of the sample provider here.

If you're writing an ADO.NET provider for Orcas and you're not already in touch with me, please drop me a line at David (dot) Sceppa (at) microsoft (dot) com. Enjoy!

ADO.NET at the recent MySQL conference

2007-05-05T01:37:00Z

Last week, I attended the MySQL conference in Santa Clara and delivered a presentation on ADO.NET 2.0. It was great to talk to developers building applications targeting MySQL databases via ADO.NET. One developer stayed after my session to comment on how pleased he was to see the changes to the provider model in 2.0 and was even more excited to hear that the Entity Framework would let him focus on writing queries against his model rather than having to think about the query syntax for his back end of choice for string concatenations, etc. Speaking of the Entity Framework, the highlight of the conference for me was attending Reggie Burnett's talk about MySQL and the future of ADO.NET where he demonstrated using an early build of the MySQL provider and the Entity Framework to access MySQL data via both LINQ to Entities and Entity SQL. Here are links to the Reggie's session abstract and to Reggie's blog.