Entity Framework book covering CTP4

Question

There are several of books out on EF4. There are large differences between CTP3 and CTP4.

The CTP4 came out in July, so is:

• Pro Entity Framework 4.0 by Scott Klein (Paperback - 15 Mar 2010)
• Entity Framework 4.0 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in .Net) by Larry Tenny and Zeeshan Hirani (Paperback - 19 May 2010)

Already obsolete?

The only real alternative would be:

• Programming Entity Framework by Julia Lerman (Paperback - 19 Aug 2010)

But does this one cover CTP4?

Answer 1

From glancing through it (it's massive at 870 pages!) I would see: unfortunately not. I don't seem to see any reference to "code-only" or "code-first" development strategies, nor is there any reference to the DbSet type used in the code-first approach.

I guess since this code is still in CTP stage, it's just too early for any printed books out there. I'm sure Julie Lerman's third edition of Programming Entity Framework will feature it! :-)

Answer 2

I did add about 10 pages into the book (in chapter 25) about code first and the other enhancements that you can preview in CTP4. I was able to do this because the CTP4 was released just before the book went to the printer. But as marc_s says, it is a CTP, so it doesn't make sense to commit too much to print about it. And the small amount of logic in CTP4 hardly makes any of our books obsolete. Code First is about how to model without a physical model. But there's still the entire framework to work with once you've got your model in place. And the dbset stuff is just shortcuts/wrappers around existing logic. What's in the CTP will add to EF4 but doesn't replace it or make any of it obsolete by any means.