Cannot add System.Data.Linq link in Windows Phone 8.1

Question

I can’t add the System.Data.Linq link from the add link in the System.Data.Linq Visual Studio 2013 2 update. This link is not shown, it says that all available links have been added. But when I import System.Data.Linq and System.Data.Linq.Mapping, it shows if there is not enough link or assembly.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the full System.Data namespace is not available for newer Windows Phone applications other than Silverlight. This is because SQL CE was not available for Windows Runtime. Therefore, we must find our own database implementation for storing structured data locally on the phone.

SQLite is highly recommended as an alternative. It should be possible to use it like SQL CE, including using LINQ syntax.

Alternatively, you can create a “Windows Silver Silver 8.1 Application”. Silverlight runtime is still available for Windows Phone 8.1, and SQL CE is still available in Silverlight. We simply cannot be 100% sure that Silverlight will be supported on Windows Phone 8.2 / 8.3 / 9.0 / ...