LINQ vs ADO.NET

LINQ provides a common query syntax to query any data source and ADO.NET allows you to execute query against any RDBMS like SQL Server, Oracle etc.

LINQ

LINQ stands for Language Integrated Query. It is a set of methods that adds querying capabilities to .NET languages such as C# and VB.NET. It allows you to query collections like arrays, lists, XML, databases, and more, in a consistent way using syntax integrated into the language.

Example

using (var context = new MyDbContext())
{
    var employees = from e in context.Employees
                    where e.Department == "Sales"
                    select e;

    foreach (var employee in employees)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(employee.Name);
    }
}

ADO.NET

ADO.NET provides a comprehensive and powerful set of tools for data access in the .NET framework. It is an integral part of the .NET framework, providing access to relational databases, XML files, and other data sources.

Example

string connectionString = "your_connection_string";
using (SqlConnection connection = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
{
    connection.Open();
    SqlCommand command = new SqlCommand("SELECT Name FROM Employees WHERE Department = 'Sales'", connection);
    SqlDataReader reader = command.ExecuteReader();

    while (reader.Read())
    {
        Console.WriteLine(reader["Name"].ToString());
    }
}

Difference between LINQ and ADO.NET

Here is a comparison table highlighting the key differences between LINQ and ADO.NET.