Comparing Data Accessing Techonlogies In SharePoint 2010

SharePoint 2010 allows 4 ways of accessing SharePoint Data. They are:
1. LINQ
2. Server OM
3. Client OM
4. REST

The table below summarizes pros and cons of these 4 methods:

Name	Pros	Cons
LINQ	Entity-based programming Strongly typed Supports joins and projections Good tools support and IntelliSense	Server-side only New API, so new skills required Pre-processing of list structure required, so changing list could break application
Server OM	Familiar API Works with more than just list data Strongly Typed	Server Side Only
Client OM	Works off the server Easier than web services API Works in Silverlight, JavaScript and .NET More than just list data	New API Weakly Typed
REST	Standards-based URL-based commands Strongly typed	Only works with lists and Excel