PLINQO for Entity Framework Templates, Beta 1 Released!

Last week, my employer, CodeSmith Tools released Templates for Entity Framework. Please download the beta version of the templates and give us your feedback while we work on final version of the 1.0 templates. The templates can be downloaded here. Please log your feedback or issues on our forums and Google Code. Your feedback will be reviewed and bugs logged will be fixed in the final 1.0 release.

Below is a list of advantages of using the CodeSmith Generator Entity Framework Beta Templates compared to the out of the box Entity Framework 4.1 Microsoft Implementation:

• EDMX
  
  • Quickly and safely regenerate your database while keeping it in sync with your database model.
  • Ability to filter what gets updated from the database.
  • Ability to safely rename your entities with ease using a Clean Expression.
  • Preserves custom changes and meta-data to your EDMX file (E.G. Custom View keys are preserved against regeneration).
  • Better support for Views!
• Entities
  • Each class is generated to a separate editable file.
  • Complex types are placed into a separate folder.
  • Ability to edit the generated code via the partial class.
  • Editable templates are easy to understand and modify.
• Query Extensions
  • Bring back filtered data easily using chainable query extension methods.
  • Support for Comparison Operators (E.G., Equals, GreaterThan, GreaterThanOrEquals, LessThan, LessThanOrEquals and NotEquals)
  • Ability to create your own reusable query extensions.
• QuickStart
  • Get up and running within a few seconds.
  • Ability to create a Dynamic Data for Entity Framework project with ease.

We will be greatly expanding on the feature list in the near future like:

• More Query Extensions,
• Support for Bulk Operations (Update, Insert, Delete),
• Rules Engine,
• Caching,
• Performance Improvements,
• Entity Enhancements,
• Enumeration Generation(*subject to investigation),
• Auditing,
• And more!!!!

What are you waiting for? Download the templates here. The documentation for the Entity Framework templates can be found here.