ASP.NET MVC and Linq, when to use?

Question

I just started working on an asp.net / C#.net application that is going to call a number of different procedures. The -only- thing these procedures do is create database table views, and the only thing I want to do is to store the information in variables. Then pick out which columns I want to convert to JSON, and then make a JSON string. I've actually written code for that in C#.net already, which is smaller, but since I switched to asp.net mvc I'm a little unsure if I should keep it or go with the whole Linq thing.

I checked out the Linq --> SQL drag & drop functionality, and that instantly created about 200 lines of code with set & get methods and everything.

So my question is, is it still worth using Linq even for just extracting data? Eventually this data will be fed to a javascript timeline, which is where I was told MVC would be highly useful with regards to Ajax functionality.

Answer 1

LINQ only adds to the available toolkit you can lean on when creating code. Even if you are using LINQ in a trivial way now, implement it, get familiar with it, and take advantage of the power it gives you both on this project and future projects.

Answer 2

Linq2Sql is quiet good for creating select queries. As it is appearing that you need to create JSON objects from database views it will be quiet useful

Answer 3

Yes, it's totally worth it!

LINQ2SQL provides you a great subsurface to retrieve and save data to.

However, you'll need to implement your own Repository Pattern as you dig deeper into ASP.NET MVC.

And during the implementation of the Repository and the required (and even custom / webapp-state based) Queries, you'll be very glad to have all the power available at your fingertips that LINQ provides.

Answer 4

Since you are only using LINQ-to-SQL for data retrieval, I can't think of a single reason NOT to fully utilize it. I've been working on an MVC 1.0 project since last April. During that time, I've had to quickly become familiar with a number of technologies, LINQ-to-SQL being one of them. Get comfortable with it, and also look at the repository pattern...you will be very content and things will go relatively smoothly.

Now, when you get to INSERTs and UPDATEs, things are going to get a little more sticky. LINQ-to-SQL is still up to the job, but you'll need to understand how things work internally a little better. I highly recommend "Pro LINQ (Language Integrated Query) in C# 2008" by Joseph C. Rattz, Jr. The sections covering LINQ-to-SQL easily take up over a third of the book with detailed examples.

As far as the JSON objects go, LINQ-to-SQL's biggest contribution is that it allowed me not to have to worry about creating specialized views or stored procedures just to handle those one-off-types of data retrievals. My current project has a database of 65 tables...NO stored procedures. I can do filters, unions, multi-level joins...and it's all maintained in the application. Sweet...