I already have a database with tables outside EF scope. But I want that the tables which will be used by EF to be created automatically.
public class SessionInfo
{
public Guid Id {get;set;}
public string Name { get; set; }
public DateTime StartsOn { get; set; }
public DateTime EndsOn { get; set; }
public string Notes { get; set; }
}
public class StudentsDbContext:DbContext
{
public StudentsDbContext():base("name=memory")
{
Database.Log = s => this.LogDebug(s);
}
public DbSet<SessionInfo> Sessions { get; set; }
}
This code just throws an exception because the table SessionInfoes doesn't exist.
using (var db = new StudentsDbContext())
{
db.Sessions.Add(new SessionInfo() {Id = Guid.NewGuid(), Name = "bla"});
var st = db.Sessions.FirstOrDefault();
}
What do I need to do so that EF will create the "SessionInfoes" (whatever name, it's not important) table by itself? I was under the impression that Ef will create the tables when the context is first used for a change or a query.
Update
After some digging, it seems that EF and Sqlite don't play very nice together i.e at most you can use EF to do queries but that's it. No table creation, no adding entities.
EF needs additional information in order to do this. You'll have to specify an IDatabaseInitializer first. Take a look at this list and find one that is appropriate for your needs (for example: MigrateDatabaseToLatestVersion, DropCreateDatabaseAlways, DropCreateDatabaseIfModelChanges, etc).
Then create your class:
public class MyDatabaseInitializer : MigrateDatabaseToLatestVersion
<MyDbContext,
MyDatabaseMigrationConfiguration>
Then also create the configuration for the initializer (ugh right?):
public class DatabaseMigrationsConfiguration
: DbMigrationsConfiguration<MyDbContext>
{
public DatabaseMigrationsConfiguration()
{
this.AutomaticMigrationDataLossAllowed = true;
this.AutomaticMigrationsEnabled = true;
}
protected override void Seed(MyDbContext context)
{
// Need data automagically added/update to the DB
// during initialization?
base.Seed(context);
}
}
Then one way to initialize the database is:
var myContext = new MyDbContext(/*connectionString*/);
Database.SetInitializer<MyDbContext>(new MyDatabaseInitializer());
myContext.Database.Initialize(true);
Some people prefer the to use the command line to migrate databases, but I don't want to assume I'll always have access to the database from a command lin.
I have the following Entity class definition:
[Table("Users")]
public class WebUser
{
public virtual int Id { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<Client> Clients { get; set; }
// more properties...
}
Notice that table name is different than the class name. I also have a ClientUsers table which is a many-to-many mapping for clients and users. Problem is, when I try to access the webUser.Clients property I get the following exception:
"Invalid object name 'dbo.ClientWebUsers'."
Looks like Entity Framework is trying to guess the name of the third table, but it apparently was not smart enough to take into account the table attribute that I have there. How can I tell EF that it is ClientUsers and not ClientWebUsers? Also what rule does it follow to know which table name comes first and which one comes second in the new table name? I think it's not alphabetical order.
I'm using EF 5.0. Thanks!
From the looks of things you're using Code First, so I'll answer accordingly. If this is incorrect, please let me know.
I believe the convention being used to determine the name of the many-to-many table is determined by the order in which they occur as DbSet properties in your SomeContext : DbContext class.
As for forcing EntityFramework to name your table whatever you like, you can use the Fluent API in the OnModelCreating method of your SomeContext : DbContext class as follows:
public class DatabaseContext : DbContext
{
public DatabaseContext()
: base("SomeDB")
{
}
public DbSet<WebUser> Users { get; set; }
public DbSet<Client> Clients { get; set; }
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Entity<WebUser>().HasMany(c => c.Clients)
.WithMany(p => p.WebUsers).Map(
m =>
{
m.MapLeftKey("ClientId");
m.MapRightKey("UserId");
m.ToTable("ClientUsers");
});
}
}
This assumes your classes are something like the following:
[Table("Users")]
public class WebUser
{
public virtual int Id { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<Client> Clients { get; set; }
// more properties...
}
public class Client
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public ICollection<WebUser> WebUsers { get; set; }
// more properties
}
Finally, here's an integration test (NUnit) demonstrating the functionality working. You may need to drop your database before running it as Code First should want to update/migrate/recreate it.
[TestFixture]
public class Test
{
[Test]
public void UseDB()
{
var db = new DatabaseContext();
db.Users.Add(new WebUser { Clients = new List<Client> { new Client() } });
db.SaveChanges();
var webUser = db.Users.First();
var client = webUser.Clients.FirstOrDefault();
Assert.NotNull(client);
}
}
Edit: Link to relevant documentation for the Fluent API
Rowan's answer (adding here for reference):
Here is the information on how to configure a many-to-many table (including specifying the table name). The code you are after is something like:
modelBuilder.Entity<WebUser>()
.HasMany(u => u.Clients)
.WithMany(c => c.WebUsers)
.Map(m => m.ToTable("ClientUsers");
~Rowan
is there "elegant" way to give specific property a default value ?
Maybe by DataAnnotations, something like :
[DefaultValue("true")]
public bool Active { get; set; }
Thank you.
You can do it by manually edit code first migration:
public override void Up()
{
AddColumn("dbo.Events", "Active", c => c.Boolean(nullable: false, defaultValue: true));
}
It's been a while, but leaving a note for others.
I achieved what is needed with an attribute and I decorated my model class fields with that attribute as I want.
[SqlDefaultValue(DefaultValue = "getutcdate()")]
public DateTime CreatedDateUtc { get; set; }
Got the help of these 2 articles:
EF on CodePlex
Andy Mehalick blog
What I did:
Define Attribute
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Property, AllowMultiple = false)]
public class SqlDefaultValueAttribute : Attribute
{
public string DefaultValue { get; set; }
}
In the "OnModelCreating" of the context
modelBuilder.Conventions.Add( new AttributeToColumnAnnotationConvention<SqlDefaultValueAttribute, string>("SqlDefaultValue", (p, attributes) => attributes.Single().DefaultValue));
In the custom SqlGenerator
private void SetAnnotatedColumn(ColumnModel col)
{
AnnotationValues values;
if (col.Annotations.TryGetValue("SqlDefaultValue", out values))
{
col.DefaultValueSql = (string)values.NewValue;
}
}
Then in the Migration Configuration constructor, register the custom SQL generator.
SetSqlGenerator("System.Data.SqlClient", new CustomMigrationSqlGenerator());
The above answers really helped, but only delivered part of the solution.
The major issue is that as soon as you remove the Default value attribute, the constraint on the column in database won't be removed. So previous default value will still stay in the database.
Here is a full solution to the problem, including removal of SQL constraints on attribute removal.
I am also re-using .NET Framework's native DefaultValue attribute.
Usage
[DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Computed)]
[DefaultValue("getutcdate()")]
public DateTime CreatedOn { get; set; }
For this to work you need to update IdentityModels.cs and Configuration.cs files
IdentityModels.cs file
Add/update this method in your ApplicationDbContext class
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
var convention = new AttributeToColumnAnnotationConvention<DefaultValueAttribute, string>("SqlDefaultValue", (p, attributes) => attributes.SingleOrDefault().Value.ToString());
modelBuilder.Conventions.Add(convention);
}
Configuration.cs file
Update your Configuration class constructor by registering custom Sql generator, like this:
internal sealed class Configuration : DbMigrationsConfiguration<ApplicationDbContext>
{
public Configuration()
{
// DefaultValue Sql Generator
SetSqlGenerator("System.Data.SqlClient", new DefaultValueSqlServerMigrationSqlGenerator());
}
}
Next, add custom Sql generator class (you can add it to the Configuration.cs file or a separate file)
internal class DefaultValueSqlServerMigrationSqlGenerator : SqlServerMigrationSqlGenerator
{
private int dropConstraintCount;
protected override void Generate(AddColumnOperation addColumnOperation)
{
SetAnnotatedColumn(addColumnOperation.Column, addColumnOperation.Table);
base.Generate(addColumnOperation);
}
protected override void Generate(AlterColumnOperation alterColumnOperation)
{
SetAnnotatedColumn(alterColumnOperation.Column, alterColumnOperation.Table);
base.Generate(alterColumnOperation);
}
protected override void Generate(CreateTableOperation createTableOperation)
{
SetAnnotatedColumns(createTableOperation.Columns, createTableOperation.Name);
base.Generate(createTableOperation);
}
protected override void Generate(AlterTableOperation alterTableOperation)
{
SetAnnotatedColumns(alterTableOperation.Columns, alterTableOperation.Name);
base.Generate(alterTableOperation);
}
private void SetAnnotatedColumn(ColumnModel column, string tableName)
{
if (column.Annotations.TryGetValue("SqlDefaultValue", out var values))
{
if (values.NewValue == null)
{
column.DefaultValueSql = null;
using var writer = Writer();
// Drop Constraint
writer.WriteLine(GetSqlDropConstraintQuery(tableName, column.Name));
Statement(writer);
}
else
{
column.DefaultValueSql = (string)values.NewValue;
}
}
}
private void SetAnnotatedColumns(IEnumerable<ColumnModel> columns, string tableName)
{
foreach (var column in columns)
{
SetAnnotatedColumn(column, tableName);
}
}
private string GetSqlDropConstraintQuery(string tableName, string columnName)
{
var tableNameSplitByDot = tableName.Split('.');
var tableSchema = tableNameSplitByDot[0];
var tablePureName = tableNameSplitByDot[1];
var str = $#"DECLARE #var{dropConstraintCount} nvarchar(128)
SELECT #var{dropConstraintCount} = name
FROM sys.default_constraints
WHERE parent_object_id = object_id(N'{tableSchema}.[{tablePureName}]')
AND col_name(parent_object_id, parent_column_id) = '{columnName}';
IF #var{dropConstraintCount} IS NOT NULL
EXECUTE('ALTER TABLE {tableSchema}.[{tablePureName}] DROP CONSTRAINT [' + #var{dropConstraintCount} + ']')";
dropConstraintCount++;
return str;
}
}
Your model properties don't have to be 'auto properties' Even though that is easier. And the DefaultValue attribute is really only informative metadata
The answer accepted here is one alternative to the constructor approach.
public class Track
{
private const int DEFAULT_LENGTH = 400;
private int _length = DEFAULT_LENGTH;
[DefaultValue(DEFAULT_LENGTH)]
public int LengthInMeters {
get { return _length; }
set { _length = value; }
}
}
vs.
public class Track
{
public Track()
{
LengthInMeters = 400;
}
public int LengthInMeters { get; set; }
}
This will only work for applications creating and consuming data using this specific class. Usually this isn't a problem if data access code is centralized. To update the value across all applications you need to configure the datasource to set a default value. Devi's answer shows how it can be done using migrations, sql, or whatever language your data source speaks.
What I did, I initialized values in the constructor of the entity
Note: DefaultValue attributes won't set the values of your properties automatically, you have to do it yourself
I admit that my approach escapes the whole "Code First" concept. But if you have the ability to just change the default value in the table itself... it's much simpler than the lengths that you have to go through above... I'm just too lazy to do all that work!
It almost seems as if the posters original idea would work:
[DefaultValue(true)]
public bool IsAdmin { get; set; }
I thought they just made the mistake of adding quotes... but alas no such intuitiveness. The other suggestions were just too much for me (granted I have the privileges needed to go into the table and make the changes... where not every developer will in every situation). In the end I just did it the old fashioned way. I set the default value in the SQL Server table... I mean really, enough already! NOTE: I further tested doing an add-migration and update-database and the changes stuck.
After #SedatKapanoglu comment, I am adding all my approach that works, because he was right, just using the fluent API does not work.
1- Create custom code generator and override Generate for a ColumnModel.
public class ExtendedMigrationCodeGenerator : CSharpMigrationCodeGenerator
{
protected override void Generate(ColumnModel column, IndentedTextWriter writer, bool emitName = false)
{
if (column.Annotations.Keys.Contains("Default"))
{
var value = Convert.ChangeType(column.Annotations["Default"].NewValue, column.ClrDefaultValue.GetType());
column.DefaultValue = value;
}
base.Generate(column, writer, emitName);
}
}
2- Assign the new code generator:
public sealed class Configuration : DbMigrationsConfiguration<Data.Context.EfSqlDbContext>
{
public Configuration()
{
CodeGenerator = new ExtendedMigrationCodeGenerator();
AutomaticMigrationsEnabled = false;
}
}
3- Use fluent api to created the Annotation:
public static void Configure(DbModelBuilder builder){
builder.Entity<Company>().Property(c => c.Status).HasColumnAnnotation("Default", 0);
}
It's simple! Just annotate with required.
[Required]
public bool MyField { get; set; }
the resultant migration will be:
migrationBuilder.AddColumn<bool>(
name: "MyField",
table: "MyTable",
nullable: false,
defaultValue: false);
If you want true, change the defaultValue to true in the migration before updating the database
In .NET Core 3.1 you can do the following in the model class:
public bool? Active { get; set; }
In the DbContext OnModelCreating you add the default value.
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Entity<Foundation>()
.Property(b => b.Active)
.HasDefaultValueSql("1");
base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
}
Resulting in the following in the database
Note:
If you don't have nullable (bool?) for you property you will get the following warning
The 'bool' property 'Active' on entity type 'Foundation' is configured with a database-generated default. This default will always be used for inserts when the property has the value 'false', since this is the CLR default for the 'bool' type. Consider using the nullable 'bool?' type instead so that the default will only be used for inserts when the property value is 'null'.
I found that just using Auto-Property Initializer on entity property is enough to get the job done.
For example:
public class Thing {
public bool IsBigThing{ get; set; } = false;
}
using System.ComponentModel;
[DefaultValue(true)]
public bool Active { get; set; }
In EF core released 27th June 2016 you can use fluent API for setting default value. Go to ApplicationDbContext class, find/create the method name OnModelCreating and add the following fluent API.
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Entity<YourTableName>()
.Property(b => b.Active)
.HasDefaultValue(true);
}
Just Overload the default constructor of Model class and pass any relevant parameter which you may or may not use. By this you can easily supply default values for attributes. Below is an example.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
namespace Aim.Data.Domain
{
[MetadataType(typeof(LoginModel))]
public partial class Login
{
public Login(bool status)
{
this.CreatedDate = DateTime.Now;
this.ModifiedDate = DateTime.Now;
this.Culture = "EN-US";
this.IsDefaultPassword = status;
this.IsActive = status;
this.LoginLogs = new HashSet<LoginLog>();
this.LoginLogHistories = new HashSet<LoginLogHistory>();
}
}
public class LoginModel
{
[Key]
[ScaffoldColumn(false)]
public int Id { get; set; }
[Required]
public string LoginCode { get; set; }
[Required]
public string Password { get; set; }
public string LastPassword { get; set; }
public int UserGroupId { get; set; }
public int FalseAttempt { get; set; }
public bool IsLocked { get; set; }
public int CreatedBy { get; set; }
public System.DateTime CreatedDate { get; set; }
public Nullable<int> ModifiedBy { get; set; }
public Nullable<System.DateTime> ModifiedDate { get; set; }
public string Culture { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<LoginLog> LoginLogs { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<LoginLogHistory> LoginLogHistories { get; set; }
}
}
Even from .NET Core 1.0, It is possible to set default values when you are using the code first approach. See the following code snippet.
using System.ComponentModel;
[DefaultValue(true)]
public bool Active { get; set; }
Read for more: Microsoft official docs
Lets consider you have a class name named Products and you have a IsActive field. just you need a create constructor :
Public class Products
{
public Products()
{
IsActive = true;
}
public string Field1 { get; set; }
public string Field2 { get; set; }
public bool IsActive { get; set; }
}
Then your IsActive default value is True!
Edite :
if you want to do this with SQL use this command :
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Entity<Blog>()
.Property(b => b.IsActive)
.HasDefaultValueSql("true");
}
The Entity Framework Core Fluent API HasDefaultValue method is used to specify the default value for a database column mapped to a property. The value must be a constant.
public class Contact
{
public int ContactId { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public string Email { get; set; }
public bool IsActive { get; set; }
public DateTime DateCreated { get; set; }
}
public clas SampleContext : DbContext
{
public DbSet<Contact> Contacts { get; set; }
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Entity<Context>()
.Propery(p => p.IsActive)
.HasDefaultValue(true);
}
}
Or
like it!
You can also specify a SQL fragment that is used to calculate the default value:
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Entity<Blog>()
.Property(b => b.Created)
.HasDefaultValueSql("getdate()");
}
Hmm... I do DB first, and in that case, this is actually a lot easier. EF6 right? Just open your model, right click on the column you want to set a default for, choose properties, and you will see a "DefaultValue" field. Just fill that out and save. It will set up the code for you.
Your mileage may vary on code first though, I haven't worked with that.
The problem with a lot of other solutions, is that while they may work initially, as soon as you rebuild the model, it will throw out any custom code you inserted into the machine-generated file.
This method works by adding an extra property to the edmx file:
<EntityType Name="Thingy">
<Property Name="Iteration" Type="Int32" Nullable="false" **DefaultValue="1"** />
And by adding the necessary code to the constructor:
public Thingy()
{
this.Iteration = 1;
Set the default value for the column in table in MSSQL Server, and in class code add attribute, like this:
[DatabaseGenerated(DatabaseGeneratedOption.Computed)]
for the same property.
This should be a simple one involving EF Code first but I can't wrap my head around the documentation and all the examples I am finding are from older versions. I am working with the latest (4.1).
Anyway I have some models like:
public class Foo
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public Bar Bar { get; set; }
}
public class Bar
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Value { get; set; }
}
I used some scaffolding with Asp.Net MVC to create my controllers/repositories and when I create a 'Foo' object, it also creates a 'Bar' object even though I set the 'Bar' property from something stored in the database.
public class FooViewModel
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public int BarID { get; set; }
}
public ActionResult Create(FooViewModel foo)
{
var entity = new Foo()
{
ID = foo.ID,
Bar = _barRepository.Find(foo.BarID)
};
_fooRepository.InsertOrUpdate(entity);
_fooRepository.Save();
// more stuff
}
How can I use fluent syntax for EF in order to stop it from creating a new 'Bar' row in the database?
Update
Here is the generated repository code:
public void InsertOrUpdate(Foo foo)
{
if (foo.ID == default(int)) {
// New entity
context.Foo.Add(foo);
} else {
// Existing entity
context.Foo(foo).State = EntityState.Modified;
}
}
public void Save()
{
context.SaveChanges();
}
your _fooRepository and _barRepository need to share same DB context instance. If the are using two instances the Bar will be in added state.
The problem must be somewhere in your repository layer - using the same model directly with EF 4.1 produces the expected result - a new row in the Foos table with a bar FK column pointing to the existing Bar.
I would like to add some logic to the insert and update events of some EF objects.
I have a MVC application with category object which has a property which is a slugified version of the name property.
public class Category
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string UrlName{ get; set; }
}
I would like to set the UrlName property only on the insert and update events because my slugify logic is quite elaborate.
I am aware that I can add some logic inside the SaveChanges() function on the context itself but I rather would like to put the code closer to the entity itself.
Is there a way to accomplish such thing using EF code first?
You can setup a base class with methods to be called before insert and update
public abstract class Entity
{
public virtual void OnBeforeInsert(){}
public virtual void OnBeforeUpdate(){}
}
public class Category : Entity
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string UrlName{ get; set; }
public override void OnBeforeInsert()
{
//ur logic
}
}
Then in your DbContext
public override int SaveChanges()
{
var changedEntities = ChangeTracker.Entries();
foreach (var changedEntity in changedEntities)
{
if (changedEntity.Entity is Entity)
{
var entity = (Entity)changedEntity.Entity;
switch (changedEntity.State)
{
case EntityState.Added:
entity.OnBeforeInsert();
break;
case EntityState.Modified:
entity.OnBeforeUpdate();
break;
}
}
}
return base.SaveChanges();
}
No there is no such extension point because your entity is POCO - it is not aware of its persistence. Such logic must be triggered in data access layer which is aware of persistence. DbContext API offers only overriding of SaveChanges.
You can expose custom events or methods on your entities and call them during processing in SaveChanges.