Creating an Entity Data Model from an Empty model

Question

I may be confused here (or over my head).

I am trying to connect to an IBM i (aka iSeries) and I want to try to use the Entity Data Model to implement this. The help I have found online has been less than helpful for me. How do I add the logic needed to interface with the .edmx file and thus be used in the rest of my application?

Most of the tutorials I have seen start by building from the database. I don't have that luxury as the IBM i is not an option to connect to. Is there any that start from scratch?

Answer 1

Here ...

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/ff628199.aspx

... is an introduction video how to start from an empty model.

Note: This video is about Entity Framework 4 (in Visual Studio 2010) and focusses on using the designer tools to create the model and then to create a database (SQL Server) from this model. It doesn't explain and cover manual editing of the edmx file. I'm not sure if this is what you are really looking for.

Answer 2

This article seems the closest to what I am looking for. However, DB2 Connect is not a free product and has a large cost associated with purchasing the product.

Stay tuned for what I do next....

Answer 3

I have this working now. Setup your connection like you normally would through ADO.NET or whatever method you want. Then do the following:

DataTable dt = new DataTable();

using (iDB2DataAdapter da = new iDB2DataAdapter(cmd))
{
    da.Fill(dt);
}

var MyObjects = from i in dt.AsEnumerable() select new MyObject() 
    { 
         field1 = i.Field<string>("field1"), 
         field2 = i.Field<decimal>("field2")
    };
List<MyObject> temp = MyObjects.ToList();
return temp;

This is the basics of what was done.