Powerful and very useful tool for MySQL database connection using .net technologies
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
dotConnect is a great product that allows us use MySQL with ADO.Net Entity Framework. Usually, SQL Server is considered when using ADO.Net but sometimes MySQL is desirable due to license costs and available functionallities. So, in that cases, our company uses dotConnect when programmers an analysts take the decision of using MySQL. Mainly, it is used integrated to Microsoft Visual Studio to develop Lightswitch based applications.
Pros
- Supports several MySQL features, such as secure connections, SSH and HTTP tunneling.
- Allows us to consider in our Lightswitch applications the most used relational database in the world
- Implements Role, Session State, Membership, Profile and other ASP 2.0 providers (essential for Lightswitch applications)
- Direct connections via TCP/IP to MySQL (no client libraries needed)
- There is a free version (Express Edition) with basic but essential features
Cons
- Better troubleshooting for errors in Visual Studio integration mode
- Improvements in performance
- Documentation could be better
Likelihood to Recommend
dotConnect for MySQL is suitable if you work with .net technologies and frameworks to develop applications but do not want to use SQL Server. This is a very common scenario and the Express edition can solve this problem if you need only basic connectivity features. If high performance is a crucial requirement for you, it may be a real concern. Maybe paid editions can deliver better performance, but you will need to deal with relevant costs.
