Entity SQL or ESQL provides an SQL-like syntax to write queries in terms of our model classes rather than in terms of tables. ESQL is a lesser used technology when it comes to querying the Entity Data Model but it is very useful when it comes to executing dynamic queries against our data model. Another major benefit of using ESQL is that it eliminates the need to know the database schema, and we can target the schema of our Entity Data Model. Many of us are already familiar with SQL and thus working with ESQL is very easy. We just need to know Entity Framework and ESQL related details, and we will find ourselves ready to use ESQL.
There are two ways of executing queries using ESQL:
Using ESQL with
ObjectQuery
Using ESQL with
EntityCommand
Before we get started with these two approaches, let's take a look at how they fit into the overall architecture.