What's New in ADO.NET 4.0

The following features are new in ADO.NET with the .NET Framework version 4.
ADO.NET Entity Framework

The Entity Framework is part of a multi-release strategy to decrease the amount of coding and maintenance required for developers by enabling them to program against data models defined in terms of entities and relationships. For more information, see Entity Framework Overview.

The following features are new to the Entity Framework in .NET Framework 4.
Persistence-Ignorant Objects

You can use your own custom data classes together with your data model without making any modifications to the data classes themselves. This means that you can use "plain old" CLR objects (POCO), such as existing domain objects, with your Entity Framework application. For more information, see Persistence Ignorant Objects (Entity Framework).
Deferred Loading of Related Objects

With deferred loading, also known as lazy loading, related objects are automatically loaded from the data source when you access a navigation property. For more information, see Shaping Query Results (Entity Framework).
Functions in LINQ to Entities Queries

The EntityFunctions and SqlFunctions classes provide access to canonical and database functions from LINQ to Entities queries. The EdmFunctionAttribute allows a CLR method to serve as a proxy for a function defined in the conceptual model or storage model. For more information, see Calling Functions in LINQ to Entities Queries.
Customized Object Layer Code Generation

You can configure the ADO.NET Entity Data Model Designer to use text templates to generate customized object layer code. For more information, see How to: Customize Object Layer Code Generation.
Model-First Support

The Create Database Wizard enables you to do conceptual modeling first, and then create a database that supports the model. For more information, see How to: Generate a Database from a Conceptual Model.
Complex Type Support

The ADO.NET Entity Data Model Designer now supports complex types. For more information, see the following topics:

    *      How to: Create and Modify Complex Types
    *      How to: Add a Complex Type to an Entity Type
    *      How to: Map a Function Import to a Complex Type
    *      How to: Map Complex Type Properties to Table Columns

Naming Service

The Entity Data Model Wizard and the Update Model Wizard provide the option of using singular or plural forms of Entity, EntitySet, and NavigationProperty names to make application code more readable. For more information, see Choose Your Database Objects Dialog Box (Entity Data Model Wizard) and Choose Your Database Objects Dialog Box (Update Model Wizard).
Improved Model Browser Functionality

The Model Browser window of the ADO.NET Entity Data Model Designer enables you to delete objects from the storage model and to search the conceptual and storage models for a specified string. For more information, see Model Browser Window and How to: Delete Objects from the Storage Model.

WPF and Silverlight Designer

In Visual Studio 2010, various designer improvements have been made to help create WPF or Silverlight applications.

    *      Improved Support for Silverlight

      In Visual Studio 2008, you could install the Silverlight Tools to create Silverlight applications in Visual Studio. However, the designer support for Silverlight projects was limited to a read-only Preview window. In Visual Studio 2010, the designer support for Silverlight and WPF projects are now the same. For example, in Silverlight projects you can now select and position items with the mouse on the design surface.
    *      Support for Multiple Platform Versions

      In Visual Studio 2008, control design times were able to target only the latest WPF platform version. In Visual Studio 2010, this support is extended across multiple platforms, including design-time support for WPF 3.5, WPF 4, Silverlight 2, Silverlight 3, and future platform releases. As the same extensibility API exists for all these platforms, control design-time authors can easily write one experience and share it across the control runtimes for each platform.
    *      Visual Databinding

      The new data binding builder enables visual construction and editing of bindings without typing XAML.
    *      Auto Layout

      Layout improvements include a more intuitive Grid designer and better support for automatically sizing user controls.
    *      Improved Property Editing

      The Properties window now enables visually creating and editing Brush resources.