C# – Is it possible to use Entity Framework with MySQL in the Visual Studio Express Editions

centity-frameworkMySQLnetvisual studio

Since 3rd party integration is not allowed in Visual Studio Express Editions, MySQL doesn't show up as an option for adding a data source to the Database Explorer (or Server Explorer?) in Visual C# 2008 Express Editions. This makes it incredibly confusing to try to configure MySQL to work with Entity Framework when you can't use dialog boxes.

Is it even possible to use Entity Framework with MySQL in the Visual Studio Express Editions?

Best Answer

You can use Visual Studio Express as a compiler and work with the Entity Framework models using third-party tools. Try the console tool like EDMGen or EdmGen2.