Microsoft is finally working on an OR/M tool that looks pretty compelling called LINQ to SQL (previously DLINQ). Although it is data centric, out of the box, I think it supports some good features and is worth looking at. In the last week, Scott posted a series of articles on this, so I thought I would mention it here today. Instead of rehashing everything in those posts, I'll just point out a couple of features and you can go check it out for yourself. Then you can decide for yourself how it compares to other OR/M tools.
Out of the box it makes it really easy to design entity classes based upon an existing table structure. As expected, it automatically reads foreign keys to create relationships between your objects. It also has built in support for lazy loading. You can also easily specify your own stored procedures for doing inserts, updates, etc. Of course with all of this comes the ability to manipulate your entity classes using LINQ.
Take a look at the feature set and see what you think. It may be missing some things compared to other tools, but so far it looks extremely easy to use. Take a look at Scott's two posts on it and let us know your comments. My guess, is most people will like other tools better, but we'll see.
Using LINQ to SQL (Part 1)
Using LINQ to SQL (Part 2)
Read the complete post at http://www.dotnettipoftheday.com/blog.aspx?id=359