I'm working on a project which references an existing database, which has no foreign keys defined, and which I can't amend in case it causes problems with the existing application. I have therefore created a custom dbml file within my asp.net website, where I have added associations between the tables.

I would like to use linqpad in order to test and develop queries, but I can't figure out how to reference the dbml file from linqpad. There is no dll in the website or project folders, so I am not sure how to reference the assembly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pete

Hi Pete

You need to create a DLL that LINQPad can reference.

This happens automatically if you create a web application (rather than a web site).

But obviously, you're not going to want to change your solution structure just for LINQPad! So a workaround is to create an additional project (of type class library) and add just the .dbml and associated files to the project. You can put this project in a separate directory if you want, and then add the .dbml and associated items as shortcuts.

Once you have a DLL, it's easy to consume it in LINQPad. The procedure is the same as for Entity Framework:
http://www.linqpad.net/EntityFramework.aspx

Joe