Managing data with EF Core
EF Core is an object-relational mapper (ORM) that uses ADO.NET underneath when working with SQL Server. Because it is a higher-level technology, it is not as efficient as using ADO.NET directly, but it can be easier for developers to work with because they can treat the data as objects instead of rows in multiple tables. This should feel more natural for an object-oriented developer.
EF Core 8 only targets .NET 8. EF Core 7 targeted .NET 6, so it could be used with both the Long Term Support (LTS) release of .NET 6 and the Standard Term Support (STS) release of.NET 7, as shown in Figure 3.1:
Figure 3.1: EF Core 7 targeted .NET 6 or later
When EF Core 9 is released in November 2024, we can expect it to target .NET 8 or later, so you can upgrade EF Core while still getting long-term support for the .NET 8 platform. The EF Core team is responsible for making sure that you will be able to swap 8 for 9 in the version number of their packages...
