How to Update and Simplify the Data Layer in Patterns In Action (Design Pattern Framework 4.0)

I purchased and have been studying the Patterns In Action project in Design Pattern Framework 4.0. The data access layer has me confused at the moment because of all the "stuff" it contains (e.g., factories, factory of factories, EF, ADO.NET, LINQ to SQL, SQL Server, Oracle, Access, etc., etc.).

For the project I'm working on, I don't have to worry about most of the technologies, frameworks, etc. in the data access layer of Patterns In Action. I only have one database - SQL Server. I only need one technology - ADO.NET. And, I may not need all the factory of factories, etc. stuff since I only have one database type and one data access technology to worry about.

So, my question is: Besides simply deleting the unneeded things (folders, classes, etc.) from the project, what else should I change/delete/edit so that my data access layer project can work like the one in Patterns In Action but be much simpler and have the multiple database type and data access technology stuff removed?

Thanks!

The G-Man, Aug 23, 2012

Is there a reason you aren't using Entity Framework? It makes things much easier for data access.

Sep 05, 2012

I think this is a good question, I don't have a answer yet though. It would be nice to have a version of the Patterns in Action project for just a single choice of the technologies. I guess they have not done it since they would have to create a solution for every possible combination to keep all users happy. One part you would have to look at is the DataAccess class, you would need to remove this and replace it with direct use of the ADO.NET ADO classes. A slightly related question, have you read the "Building standalone ASP.NET applications" section in the Patterns In Action 4.0 PDF? Would you need to use web services or could you use the direct access method suggested in this section?

Sep 01, 2012