Getting started cooking with Entity Framework 4.1 Code First - Getting the tools and your first dish

DiveDeeper's blog - EF Code First Cookbook — Recipe #1: Creating a Simple Code First Application

“In this new series of posts about Entity Framework I’d like to help those software developers who intend to use Entity Framework Code First in their projects ­­— either coding for business or fun. I assume no special prerequisites, but a basic experience with Visual Studio and the C# programming language.

A good chef uses only quality ingredients. In this series you’re going to use only ingredients that provide delicious result, by means of simple, clear-cut and working sample applications.

A great cooking book contains not only recipes, but also teaches you a few technique. So do the posts in this series. Beside concrete recipes you’ll learn several basic techniques. Unlike traditional gastronomy books, this one intends to explain you what’s going on during the cooking process during the background — in other words, you’ll learn about how things work in Entity Framework.

Obtaining Quality Ingredients

Before starting to deal with the first recipe, let’s set up our kitchen equipment. To work with Entity Framework Code First, you need the following tools:

• Visual Studio 2010 with Service Pack 1 — You can also use Visual C# Express 2010, however, if you can afford it, use Visual Studio 2010 Professional edition (or higher). The instructions and figures in this series assume you’re using Visual Studio 2010 Professional.
• NuGet — This ingredient is a great package manager for Visual Studio, and you’ll use it to add prefabricated components to your projects.
• Entity Framework — This package is the key ingredient you’re going to use in all recipes. You’ll add this component to your projects using NuGet.

To prepare the ingredients, follow these steps:

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Recipe #1: Creating a Single-Table Application with Code First

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Looks like a nice guide for those who want to check out the latest version of the Entity Framework but don’t know where to start.