I am struggling a bit to wrap my head around Entity Framework and It's driving me crazy. I have an target object that I'd like to populate:
public class ApiInvitationModel
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public EventModel Event { get; set; }
public UserModel InvitationSentTo { get; set; }
public UserModel AttendingUser { get; set; }
}
The schemas of the above models are:
public class EventModel {
public int Id? { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public DateTime? StartDate { get; set; }
public DateTime? EndDate { get; set }
public OrganizationModel HostingOrganization { get; set; }
public Venue Venue { get; set; }
public string Price { get; set; }
}
public class UserModel {
public int Id? { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public string PhoneNumber { get; set; }
public string MobileNumber { get; set; }
public List<OrganizationModel> Organizations { get; set; }
}
public class OrganizationModel {
public int Id? { get; set; }
public stirng Name { get; set; }
public string Address { get; set; }
public UserModel PrimaryContact { get; set; }
}
The above schemas are simplified for the purpose of the question and are the models we intend to return via API.
The problem is the origin schemas in the database is very different and I'm trying to map the database objects to these objects via Entity Framework 6.
My attempted solution was to try and nest the models via a query but that didn't work and I'm not sure where to go from here besides making numerous calls to the database.
public List<ApiInvitationModel> GetInvitations(int userId) {
using (var entities = new Entities()) {
return entities.EventInvitations
.Join(entities.Users, invitation => invitiation.userId, user => user.id, (invitation, user) => new {invitation, user})
.Join(entities.Events, model => model.invitation.eventId, ev => ev.id, (model, ev) => new {model.invitation, model.user, ev})
.Join(entities.organization, model => model.user.organizationId, organization => organization.id, (model, organization) => new ApiInvitationModel
{
Id = model.invitation.id,
Event = new EventModel {
Id = model.event.id,
Name = model.event.name,
StartDate = model.event.startDate,
EndDate = model.event.endDate,
HostingOrganization = new OrganizationModel {
Id = model.invitation.hostingId,
Name = model.event.venueName,
Address = model.event.address,
PrimaryContact = new UserModel {
Name = model.event.contactName,
PhoneNumber = model.event.contactNumber,
}
}
...
},
InvitedUser = {
}
}
).ToList();
}
}
As you can see above, there's quite a bit of nesting going on but this doesn't work in Entity Framework 6 as far as I am aware. I keep getting the following errors:
"The type 'Entities.Models.API.UserModel' appears in two structurally incompatible initializations within a single LINQ to Entities query. A type can be initialized in two places in the same query, but only if the same properties are set in both places and those properties are set in the same order.",
Based on the above error, I assumed that each of the model initiatilizations would need to be the same (i.e. initializing the values as the same ApiInvitationModel in each join in the same order) but that produces the same error.
What would be the best approach to handling this, keepign in mind the source database doesn't have foreign keys implemented?
Related
I got 3 models: Human, Skill and HumanSkill. There is a many to many relationship between Human and Skill, the HumanSkill is the intermediary table between them.
My query to the database loads the collection of the intermediary table HumanSkill correctly, but does not load the reference navigation property Skill through which I want to load the Skill name (Human -> HumanSkill -> Skill -> Skill.name) using a query projection with select.
public IActionResult Preview(int humanId)
{
var currentHuman = this.db.Humans
.Where(x => x.Id == humanId)
.Select(r => new HumanPreviewViewModel
{
PrimaryData = r.PrimaryData,
// How should I write this line?
Skills = r.Skills.ToList(),
}).SingleOrDefault();
return View(currentResume);
}
Human model:
public class Human
{
public Human()
{
this.Skills = new HashSet<HumanSkill>();
}
public int Id { get; set; }
public virtual PrimaryData PrimaryData { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<HumanSkill> Skills { get; set; }
}
HumanSkill model:
public class HumanSkill
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public int HumanId { get; set; }
public Human Human { get; set; }
public int SkillId { get; set; }
public Skill Skill { get; set; }
}
Skill model:
public class Skill
{
public Skill()
{
this.Humans = new HashSet<HumanSkill>();
}
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<HumanSkill> Humans { get; set; }
}
HumanPreviewViewModel:
public class HumanPreviewViewModel
{
public HumanPreviewViewModel()
{
}
public PrimaryData PrimaryData { get; set; }
public List<HumanSkill> Skills { get; set; }
}
}
How can I achieve this without using include?
If you use some data from Skills table in the Select, EF will perform the necessary joins to retrieve the data
var currentHuman = this.db.Humans
.Where(x => x.Id == humanId)
.Select(r => new HumanPreviewViewModel
{
PrimaryData = r.PrimaryData,
SkillNames = r.Skills.Select(hs => hs.Skill.Name).ToList(),
}).SingleOrDefault();
When projecting from entity to a view model, avoid mixing them. For example, do not have a view model contain a reference or set of entities. While it might not seem necessary, if you want a list of the skills with their ID and name in the HumanPreviewViewModel then create a serialize-able view model for the skill as well as the PrimaryData if that is another related entity. Where PrimaryData might be a one-to-one or a many-to-one the desired properties from this relation can be "flattened" into the view model.
[Serializable]
public class HumanPreviewViewModel
{
public Id { get; set; }
public string DataPoint1 { get; set; }
public string DataPoint2 { get; set; }
public List<SkillViewModel> Skills { get; set; }
}
[Serializable]
public class SkillViewModel
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}
Then when you go to extract your Humans:
var currentHuman = this.db.Humans
.Where(x => x.Id == humanId)
.Select(r => new HumanPreviewViewModel
{
Id = r.Id,
DataPoint1 = r.PrimaryData.DataPoint1,
DataPoint2 = r.PrimaryData.DataPoint2,
Skills = r.Skills.Select(s => new SkillViewModel
{
Id = s.Skill.Id,
Name = s.Skill.Name
}).ToList()
}).SingleOrDefault();
The reason you don't mix view models and entities even if they share all of the desired fields is that your entities will typically contain references to more entities. When something like your view model gets sent to a Serializer such as to send to a client from an API or due to a page calling something an innocent looking as:
var model = #Html.Raw(Json.Encode(Model));
then the serializer can, and will touch navigation properties in your referenced entities which will trigger numerous lazy load calls.
I am using Entity Framework code first with fluent API I have an items table with foreign keys from users and units tables
but when I load the table to ObservableCollection then bind it to a datagrid the table normal column load it's data normally into the datagrid excpet for the foreign keys which show nothing but when i insert a break point to see the data inside the ObservableCollection I can see that every thing from Users and Units table is there
private void MainContentsWindow_ContentRendered(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (var db2 = new DataContext())
{
var AllItems2 = new ObservableCollection<Model.Items.Item>(db2.Items);
ItemsDataGrid.ItemsSource = AllItems2;
}
}
Users
public class User
{
public User()
{
Id = Guid.NewGuid();
IsActive = false;
}
public Guid Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Password { get; set; }
public UserGroup Group { get; set; }
public bool IsActive { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<Items.Item> Items { get; set; } = new List<Items.Item>();
}
public enum UserGroup
{
Administrator = 1,
User,
Unknown
}
base
public class NormalBaseModel : CommonBase
{
public NormalBaseModel()
{
Id = new Guid();
CreateDate = DateTime.Now;
EditDate = null;
}
public Guid Id { get; set; }
public string Notes { get; set; }
public virtual User CreateBy { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? CreateDate { get; set; }
public virtual User EditBy { get; set; }
public DateTimeOffset? EditDate { get; set; }
}
items
public class Item : NormalBaseModel
{
public string NameAr { get; set; }
public string NameEn { get; set; }
public int? ManualId { get; set; }
public string Barcode { get; set; }
public byte?[] Image { get; set; }
public virtual Unit Unit { get; set; }
public string MadeIn { get; set; }
public bool IsSerail { get; set; }
public bool IsExpire{ get; set; }
}
Here is a test project on Github
https://github.com/ahmedpiosol/psychic-parakeet.git
https://imgur.com/a/zimd4
When you load your items via EF it needs to create new instances of User and Item. Behind the scenes, EF will call the constructor for each new instance. Your problem is in your constructors:
public User()
{
Id = Guid.NewGuid(); // <- here
}
Your constructor reassigns a new ID each time an instance is created, this will break the referential integrity and cause all sorts of other problems.
Your code doesn't know the difference between creating a new User and recreating a User instance from the database.
I suggest removing the assignments from inside your constructor and placing this either in a static Create method or place wherever you are creating a new User or Item.
p.s. WPF is irrelevant to your problem here.
Fluent API needs to specify foreign key in code, something like
modelBuilder.Entity<Items>()
.HasRequired(o => o.User)
.WithMany(c => c.Items)
.HasForeignKey(o => o.UserId);
I am facing the same issue as described in this question. Problem: my method GetAllConferences() returns correctly all the conferences from the DB, but when I return the result to the View from the controller return Ok(tripListVm) inly the first collection item is returned to the client. On the otehr side, by setting to null all the FK references (as pointed out in the SO question above) I can return correctly all the entities to the client, however this does not seem to me the proper way of proceeding.
EDIT: the solution was much simpler than I though. In the code below (I leave it in its original form for others to see it) I was not mapping the FK entities inside the ViewModel to Dto objects, but returning the model entity itself. That was the reason why I needed to null those inner references to make it work. By returning all Dtos objects, it works properly.
I have three entities involved with 1-many relationships:
public class Conference
{
public int Id { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(50)]
public string Name { get; set; }
public ICollection<Venue> Venues { get; set; }
public int? LocationId { get; set; }
public Location Location { get; set; }
}
public class Venue
{
public int Id { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(50)]
public string Name { get; set; }
public int? ConferenceId { get; set; }
public Trip Conference { get; set; }
public int? LocationId { get; set; }
public City City { get; set; }
}
public class City
{
public int Id { get; set; }
[Required]
[MaxLength(50)]
public string Name { get; set; }
public ICollection<Conference> Conferences { get; set; }
public ICollection<Venue> Venues { get; set; }
}
In the repository, I have a method that returns the conferences and the related entities (City and Venues):
public IEnumerable<Conference> GetAllConferences()
{
return _context.Conferences
.Include(t => t.Venues)
.Include(t => t.City)
.ToList();
}
In the controller I need to use the following code to return all the results:
var conferences = _repository.GetAllConferences();
if (conferences.Any())
{
var conferenceListVm = trips.ToConferenceVmList();
//Without setting the FK references to null, I can return only the first result of the collection
foreach (var vm in conferenceListVm)
{
foreach (var pm in vm.PoinOfInterests)
{
pm.Trip = null;
}
vm.Location.Conferences = null;
vm.Location.Venues = null;
}
return Ok(conferenceListVm);
}
public static ConferenceViewModel ToConferenceVm(this Conference conference)
{
var confVm = new ConferenceViewModel();
confVm.Name = conference.Name;
confVm.City = conference.City;
confVm.Venues = conference.Venues;
return tripVm;
}
public static IEnumerable<ConferenceViewModel> ToConferenceVmList(this IEnumerable<Conference> conferences)
{
return conferences.Select(c => c.ToConferenceVm()).ToList();
}
It's been quite a while since I last used EF. I've never had any problems using it before. Now I'm attempting to insert an object that has a one-many relationship with another object. But in the API call, the collection array of the child object is shown to be empty however the parent object can be seen in the api call of the child object.
I have my models as below:
Conversation Table
public class Conversation
{
public Conversation()
{
this.ChatMessages = new List<ChatMessage>();
this.DeletedConversations = new List<ConversationDeleted>();
}
public int ConversationID { get; set; }
public string toUser { get; set; }
public string FromUser { get; set; }
[InverseProperty("Conversation")]
public ICollection<ChatMessage> ChatMessages { get; set; }
public ICollection<ConversationDeleted> DeletedConversations { get; set; }
public DateTime CreatedAt { get; set; }
public int UserID { get; set; }
}
ChatMessage Table
public class ChatMessage
{
public int ChatMessageID { get; set; }
public string fromUser { get; set; }
public string toUser { get; set; }
public string Message { get; set; }
public bool DeliveryStatus { get; set; }
public DateTime CreatedAt { get; set; }
public Guid UniqueID { get; set; }
public int ConversationID { get; set; }
[ForeignKey("ConversationID")]
public virtual Conversation Conversation { get; set; }
public ICollection<MessageDeleted> MessagesDeleted { get; set; }
public int UserId { get; set; }
}
My Fluent API looks like this:
modelBuilder.Entity<ChatMessage>()
.HasRequired(x => x.Conversation)
.WithMany(x => x.ChatMessages)
.HasForeignKey(x => x.ConversationID);
I'm trying to create a conversation entity and add a chat object to it's collection. I do it like so:
public IHttpActionResult CreateConversation()
{
ChatMessage msg = new ChatMessage { CreatedAt = DateTime.UtcNow, DeliveryStatus = true, fromUser = "annettehiggs", toUser = "terrydriscoll", Message = "Hum tum", UniqueID = Guid.NewGuid(), UserId = 43 };
Conversation conv = new Conversation();
conv.ChatMessages.Add(msg);
conv.CreatedAt = DateTime.UtcNow;
conv.FromUser = "annettehiggs";
conv.toUser = "terrydriscoll";
DataModel db = new DataModel();
db.Conversations.Add(conv);
db.SaveChanges();
return Ok(conv);
}
and this is how I retrieve the conversation object:
public IQueryable<Conversation> GetConversations()
{
return db.Conversations;
}
As a result, ChatMessage API call shows the conversation it's associated to but the Conversation object doesn't show the chat in it's collection. What am I doing wrong here?
The add code is working properly (otherwice you'll not be able to see the new chat message). The problem is with your data retrieval code.
Since your ChatMessage.Conversation property is marked as virtual, most probably it gets lazy loaded, that's why you see it populated.
At the same time, your Conversation.ChatMessages is not virtual, hence you need to explicitly eager load it using the Inlclude method, or depending on your requirements, mark it virtual to get the lazy load behavior like the inverse navigation property.
I'm new to Entity/Linq/Lambda and I have the following problem:
I have a web application which provides a JSON Api through ASP.NET MVC. The database is MSSQL and I use the C# entity framework as data access layer.
When getting data from a single table, I need to convert this to an anonymous object, before I can convert it to JSON to avoid a circular reference error.
This is a simplified example, but take these tables for example:
If I simply want to return all the translators in JSON, this is how I go about it:
DBEntities db = new DBEntities();
var data = db.Translator.Select(x => new
{
TranslatorID = x.TranslatorID,
FirstName = x.FirstName,
LastName = x.LastName,
Email = x.Email,
Referenced = x.TranslatorLanguage.Count != 0
});
return Json(data, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
The generated Model classes by Entity would look something like this:
public partial class Translator
{
public Translator()
{
this.TranslatorLanguage = new HashSet<TranslatorLanguage>();
}
public int TranslatorID { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public string Email { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<TranslatorLanguage> TranslatorLanguage { get; set; }
}
public partial class TranslatorLanguage
{
public int TranslatorLanguageID { get; set; }
public int SourceLanguageID { get; set; }
public int TargetLanguageID { get; set; }
public virtual Translator Translator { get; set; }
public virtual Language Language1 { get; set; }
public virtual Language Language2 { get; set; }
}
public partial class Language
{
public Language()
{
this.TranslatorLanguage = new HashSet<TranslatorLanguage>();
this.TranslatorLanguage1 = new HashSet<TranslatorLanguage>();
}
public int TranslatorLanguageID { get; set; }
public int SourceLanguageID { get; set; }
public int TargetLanguageID { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<TranslatorLanguage> TranslatorLanguage { get; set; }
public virtual ICollection<TranslatorLanguage> TranslatorLanguage1 { get; set; }
}
But I would like to be able to return a JSON with all the translators where each Translator-object contains an array with the TranslatorLanguage entries, and for each source- and target language to have it's varchar code and description values.
I have no idea how to go about this,
Thanks in advance.
The same way you project (select) Translator to anonymous type, you can project TranslatorLanguage to a nested anonymous type list.
Since you have defined the necessary navigation properties, it's quite easy - all you need is to follow the navigation properties (i.e. navigate) inside the query like if they were objects:
var data = db.Translator.Select(t => new
{
TranslatorID = t.TranslatorID,
FirstName = t.FirstName,
LastName = t.LastName,
Email = t.Email,
Languages = t.TranslatorLanguage.Select(tl => new
{
SourceCode = tl.Language1.Code,
SourceDescription = tl.Language1.Description,
TargetCode = tl.Language2.Code,
TargetDescription = tl.Language2.Description,
}).ToList()
}).ToList();