Are there any classes that can be queried / modified like a DB but is entirely local and internal to the program?

Question

Are there any classes that can be queried / modified like a SQL DB but is entirely local and internal to the program?

I am aiming to write a program that needs to have a local data source with all data saved in a file, but I would like to be able to query this information store just as I would a DB; LINQ compatibility would be a huge plus.

The data would only be accessible when the program was running meaning, there would be no other process running to serve the data such as SQL server.

Answer 1

You could use SQLite with DBLinq.

Answer 2

You can use SQL Server Compact Edition. It is hosted in-process and uses a .sdf file locally. It works with LINQ and the LINQ-to-SQL designer. To use it, you'll just need to add a reference to System.Data.SqlServerCe.dll. It's very lightweight, familiar, and has excellent support in Visual Studio.

On a side note, the Visual C++ IDE team is using this database for their C++ IntelliSense information in Visual Studio 2010, replacing the old .ncb files. Based on their stated goals going into the project (rewriting the C++ IDE for massively improved IntelliSense performance and stability), seeing it used here says a lot.