Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups
Register | Login

Entity Framework Core VS Entity Framework

Compare Entity Framework Core VS Entity Framework and see what are their differences

Hive
Seamless project management and collaboration for your team. featured
Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

Entity Framework Core logo Entity Framework Core

Application and Data, Data Stores, and Object Relational Mapper (ORM)

Entity Framework logo Entity Framework

See Comparison of Entity Framework vs NHibernate.
  • Entity Framework Core Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-27
  • Entity Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18

Entity Framework Core features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Support
    Entity Framework Core is built to work across multiple platforms, allowing developers to build applications for Windows, Linux, and macOS with the same data access layer.
  • Code-First Approach
    Entity Framework Core supports a code-first approach, enabling developers to define their model using C# classes and then generate a database schema from these models. This is particularly useful for agile development and domain-driven design.
  • Rich LINQ Support
    It provides robust LINQ support, allowing developers to write queries in a type-safe manner while leveraging the full expressive power of LINQ for querying databases.
  • Performance Improvements
    Compared to its predecessor, Entity Framework Core has several performance enhancements, including optimized query compilation and reduced memory allocations.
  • Migration Support
    It includes a migrations feature that enables developers to evolve the database schema over time without losing existing data, allowing for smooth iterative development.

Possible disadvantages of Entity Framework Core

  • Limited Features Compared to EF6
    Entity Framework Core, while improving over time, still lacks some features that were available in Entity Framework 6, such as automatic lazy loading and certain advanced data modeling capabilities.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    For developers who are new to ORMs or coming from other database management techniques, getting accustomed to all features and configurations in Entity Framework Core can be challenging.
  • Complex Configuration
    Sometimes configuring Entity Framework Core, especially for complex applications requiring detailed customizations, can lead to increased complexity and overhead.
  • Dependency on .NET Core Ecosystem
    Entity Framework Core is tightly coupled with the .NET Core ecosystem, which might require additional considerations or adjustments for projects not initially developed in this environment.
  • Community and Documentation Maturity
    Though growing, the community support and documentation may not be as mature as some more established ORM solutions, occasionally leading to difficulties in finding help or examples.

Entity Framework features and specs

  • Productivity
    Entity Framework automates database-related code generation, reducing the amount of boilerplate code developers must write and maintain. This allows developers to work more efficiently and focus more on business logic.
  • Abstraction
    It abstracts the database interaction details, enabling developers to work with higher-level .NET objects instead of raw SQL queries, resulting in clearer and more manageable code.
  • Code First Approach
    This allows developers to define their database schema using C# classes, making it easy to evolve the database alongside the codebase using migrations.
  • Support for Multiple Databases
    Entity Framework supports a wide range of relational databases, including SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and MySQL, providing flexibility and choice to the developers.
  • Change Tracking
    It provides automatic change tracking of entity objects, simplifying the process of updating data in the database without manually tracking object changes.

Possible disadvantages of Entity Framework

  • Performance Overhead
    The abstraction layer can lead to performance overhead compared to plain SQL queries, as the generated queries might not be as optimized as handcrafted SQL.
  • Complexity
    For simple or small applications, the complexity introduced by using an ORM like Entity Framework might be unnecessary and could complicate the architecture.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers need to learn the specific concepts and configurations of Entity Framework, which can be time-consuming compared to traditional database access methodologies.
  • Debugging Difficulty
    Debugging issues can be more challenging because of the abstraction, making it sometimes difficult to trace the exact query being executed and pinpoint performance bottlenecks.
  • Limited SQL Features
    While Entity Framework supports a wide range of SQL functionalities, there are advanced features specific to certain databases that may not be fully supported or could require custom implementation.

Entity Framework Core videos

+ Add

Getting the best out of Entity Framework Core - Jon P Smith

More videos:

  • Review - Entity Framework Core 5.0: The Next Generation for Data Access

Entity Framework videos

+ Add

Entity Framework Best Practices - Should EFCore Be Your Data Access of Choice?

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Entity Framework 6 Tutorial: Learn Entity Framework 6 from Scratch
  • Review - Getting the best out of Entity Framework Core - Jon P Smith

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Entity Framework Core and Entity Framework)

Entity Framework Core

Entity Framework

Web Frameworks
27 27%
Web Frameworks
73% 73
Developer Tools
100 100%
Developer Tools
0% 0
Development
24 24%
Development
76% 76
Databases
0 0%
Databases
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Entity Framework Core and Entity Framework. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Entity Framework Core should be more popular than Entity Framework. It has been mentiond 42 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Entity Framework Core mentions (42)

  • EF Core Database/Tables exists
    Learn how to determine if a database exists and if the required tables exist, which can be used in an application or a dotnet tool using EF Core. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • .NET Learning Notes: EFCore(Entity Framework)
    什么是ORM： Https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ef/core/. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Storing passwords safely (C#)
    Learn and easy way to stored passwords in a SQL-Server database table using an NuGet package BCrypt.Net-Next and Microsoft EF Core using a value converter. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Essential .NET Libraries Every Developer Should Know
    Entity Framework Core (EF Core) is an ORM (Object-Relational Mapper) for .NET. It allows you to work with databases using .NET objects. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Introduction to Object-Relational Mappers (ORMs)
    Documentation: Entity Framework Core Documentation. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
View more

Entity Framework mentions (15)

  • Create a Simple .NET Workflow App From Scratch – Your Ultimate Guide
    For the simplicity we will use MSSQLProvider to fetch the data from the database. This class has basic functionality, if you want to create complex database queries, for example JOIN, you'd better use something like Entity Framework. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Entity Framework Core in .NET 7 7️⃣
    I only wanted to give a simple preview of what can be done with Entity Framework, but if this is something that interests you and you want to go further in-depth with all the possibilities, I recommend checking out the official docs where you can also find a great tutorial which will guide you through building your very own .NET Core web application. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Got an internship, need help with .NET
    Entity Framework documentation hub - Entity Framework is a modern object-relation mapper that lets you build a clean, portable, and high-level data access layer with .NET (C#) across a variety of databases, including SQL Database (on-premises and Azure), SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Azure Cosmos DB. It supports LINQ queries, change tracking, updates, and schema migrations. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • How to create a "Database Project" that can be used across multiple .NET apps?
    You can create the DAL using your existing code or start using a Object Relational Mapper like Entity Framework which will do a lot of the work for you, check this out here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ef/ also check out LINQ. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Website with Database. use C#
    And, possibly (not strictly speaking necessary but very useful) Entity framework as a backend part of it. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Entity Framework Core and Entity Framework, you can also consider the following products

NHibernate - The official NHibernate community site. Download NHibernate. Read blogs. Contribute to the NHibernate Wiki. Find reference documentation.

Sequelize - Provides access to a MySQL database by mapping database entries to objects and vice-versa.

Actix - Rust's powerful actor system and most fun web framework

Hibernate - Hibernate an open source Java persistence framework project.

Visual Studio Community - Try our free, fully-featured, and extensible IDE for creating modern developer apps for Windows, Android, & iOS. Download Community for free today!

MyBATIS - MyBatis is a top-rated SQL-based data mapping solution used by Programmers, Software Engineers, and Database Architects for developing object-oriented software applications.

Loading...