We Keep Coding

Error: DbContext has been disposed

public JsonResult JTask(int id)
{
using (TestDb db = new TestDb())
{
var a = db.ToDos.Where(todo => todo.UserId == id);
return Json(a, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
}
}
I have a problem with returning JsonResult
When I run this code code I get the error
"The operation cannot be completed because the DbContext has been
disposed."
I tried adding .ToList() at the end of the line 3, as was suggested, but then I got the error
"A circular reference was detected while serializing an object of type
System.Data.Entity.DynamicProxies."

It's not very obvious, but the built-in Json method only does the serialization after the JTask method has finished executing. By that time, of course, the context has been disposed, resulting in the original error you are describing.
If you have an ICollection<TodoItem> property inside your Todo class, each of those will have a ToDo property which is a reference back to the parent. And each of those ToDo properties will also have ICollection<TodoItem> children, which has a reference back to the parent again, and so on and so forth. This can potentially loop for infinity, and when the serializer tries to serialize the object, it gives up with a circular reference error.
One way to solve both of these problems at the same time is by using viewmodels. A viewmodel is an intermediate class that holds only a subset of the properties that a model class has. The typical flow is for the model class to get converted to a viewmodel first, then it would be the viewmodel that gets serialized as json:
var viewModels = new List<TodoViewModel>();
using (TestDb db = new TestDb())
{
var todoModels = db.ToDos.Where(todo => todo.UserId == id).ToList();
foreach (var model in todoModels)
{
var todoViewModel = new TodoViewModel
{
// Populate viewmodel properties here
Text = model.Text
};
viewModels.Add(todoViewModel);
}
}
return Json(viewModels, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
I wrote a blog post about the advantages of using viewmodels. You can check it out here if you're interested: Why Use ViewModels

Because Linq is Lazy by the time the JSON tries to get the data out of a (and only then actually goes to db) the db has already been disposed - when leaving the scope of the using
public JsonResult JTask(int id)
{
using (TestDb db = new TestDb())
{
var a = db.ToDos.Where(todo => todo.UserId == id).ToList();
return Json(a, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
}
}

var a = db.ToDos.Where(todo => todo.UserId == id).ToList();

"The operation cannot be completed because the DbContext has been disposed"

I am new at Entity Framework Code first and I am building a small app to get used to it.When the site runs for the first time I access existing catalog values inside the database and display this in a drop down using razor.
public void GetCats()
{
using (context = new RecipeContext())
{
try
{
var query = (from r in context.Catalogues
select r).Distinct().ToList();
catalogues = query.Select(t => t.CatalogueName.ToString()).ToList();
catalogues.Sort();
}
catch (Exception exe)
{
labMessage = exe.Message;
}
}
}
Now when I try to add Catalogue values to the context I get the above error.
public void AddCatalogue(string catalogueName)
{
using(context = new RecipeContext())
{
try
{
catalogueName = catalogueName.ToLower();
var catalogue = new RecipeCatalogue { CatalogueName = catalogueName };
if (context.Catalogues.Where(t => t.CatalogueName == catalogueName).Count() > 0)
{
labMessage = "The value already exists";
CatalogueNameAdded = false;
return;
}
context.Catalogues.Add(catalogue);
context.SaveChanges();
catalogueNameAdded = true;
labMessage = "a new catalogue record was added";
}
catch (Exception exe)
{
catalogueNameAdded = false;
labMessage = exe.Message;
}
}
}
The values are being added to the database however but still get the above exception.
Advice perhaps as to why I get this error. This is my Controller method which calls the above method.
[HttpPost]
public JsonResult AddNewCatalogue(string catalogueName)
{
ViewModel model = new ViewModel();
model.AddCatalogue(catalogueName);
return Json(new { ViewModel = model });
}

Is context a field in your model?
I think you shouldn't assign to a field in a using statement. At the closing brace of the using context will be disposed. If you access that field in another place (without re-assigning) you are accessing a disposed object that might raise the exception you are getting.
Try changing your using statetments like this using (var context = new RecipeContext()).
(note var before context) and drop the field.

Your context is being disposed when the using block where you're performing your query is exited. That's the whole point of the using statement:
using(context = new RecipeContext()) {
// ...
}
// context has been disposed at this point
Instead of a using statement, give your class a field to hold a reference to it.
private RecipeContext _context;
public void GetCats() {
_context = new RecipeContext();
// ...
}
public void AddCatalogue(string catalogueName) {
// Use _context here
}
Just make sure that at some point, you call _context.Dispose(). Also, it's probably better to create the context in the constructor or someplace else that's only called once, prior to performing any operations with it.

Just my 2 cents:
The above answers are correct! If you're using some pattern like a repository, I sugest to implement it as a singleton! This way your objects will not be detached, and you're context will not be disposed!

Controller method not updating(same result every time)

I have following method in my mvc controller:
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult UserProfile(String username)
{
var user = db.Users.Find(username);
return View(user);
}
This function returns View with user profile. But result of this is the same, regardless of changes in database.
When I debug it seems like db is not changing at all, while in other controllers everything works just fine.
EDIT:
Place when I make changes
public ActionResult ExecuteRetreive(String username, String ISBN)
{
if (IsValid(username))
{
var resBook = db.Books.Find(ISBN);
var resUser = db.Users.Find(username);
var resRentedBooks = (from rb in db.RentedBooks
join b in db.Books on rb.ISBN equals b.ISBN
where b.ISBN == ISBN
where rb.Login == username
where rb.Returned == null
select rb).FirstOrDefault();
if (resRentedBooks == null)
{
return RedirectToAction("Fail", "FailSuccess",
new { error = "" });
}
resRentedBooks.Returned = DateTime.Now;
resBook.IsRented = false;
resUser.RentedBooks--;
db.SaveChanges();
return RedirectToAction("Success", "FailSuccess");
}
else
{
return RedirectToAction("Fail", "FailSuccess",
new { error = "Niepoprawna nazwa użytkownika" });
}
}
Im new to this so dont laugh at my code :P When I display resUser.RentedBooks--; it is the same every time.

As a follow up to what #JeroenVannevel said in the comments, another problem that you might be having because you're using a static context (and one that I've had to deal with in the past) is that once a specific DbContext has loaded an entity (or a set of entities, in my case) it won't tend to refresh just because some outside changes were made in the database. It loads those entities into Local and just refers to those automatically if you query for it.
The solution, then, is to always put your DbContext calls wrapped up in a using block, since DbContext implements IDisposable.
One word of caution with this approach, since you're using MVC: If you are using lazy loading, and you know that your View will need some information from a child object (or to list the names of a collection of child objects), you will absolutely need to hydrate those child entities before you get out of the using block, or you will find yourself getting exceptions saying that your context has been disposed.

When calling "context.AttachTo" - The ObjectContext instance has been disposed and can no longer be used for operations that require a connection

I'm having difficulty making a change to an entity object through a new context. I've had this work plenty of times before, but in this instance I'm getting the old "The ObjectContext instance has been disposed" exception.
Here's my quick edit/save code:
private void SaveChanges()
{
using (var context = new Manticore.ManticoreContext(Global.ManticoreClient))
{
**context.AttachTo("Users", Global.LoggedInUser);**
Global.LoggedInUser.FirstName = this.FirstNameText.Text;
Global.LoggedInUser.LastName = this.LastNameText.Text;
Global.LoggedInUser.Email = this.EmailText.Text;
context.SaveChanges();
}
}
The Global.LoggedInUser property (which is instantiated):
public static Manticore.User LoggedInUser
{
get
{
return HttpContext.Current.Session["LoggedInUser"] as Manticore.User;
}
set
{
HttpContext.Current.Session["LoggedInUser"] = value;
}
}
And the kicker is here's a quick unit test which works (no assert right now, but no exception being thrown):
private User _testUser;
private TestInstanceBucket _testBucket;
[TestInitialize]
public void TestInitialize()
{
using (var context = new Manticore.ManticoreContext())
{
this._testBucket = new TestInstanceBucket(context);
this._testUser = this._testBucket.TestUser;
context.AddObject("Users", this._testUser);
context.SaveChanges();
}
}
[TestMethod]
public void User_ShouldBeAbleToChangeDetails()
{
using (var context = new ManticoreContext())
{
context.AttachTo("Users", this._testUser);
this._testUser.FirstName = "New";
context.SaveChanges();
}
}
Like I say, I've done code like this before and it's been fine. Have I been lucking out, or could storing the entity in the session be causing problems?
Update
I've moved the code from global to a pagebase class which the page using SaveChanges() inherits. Same problem so it rules our static classes/methods and storing the entity in the session somehow causing problems.
Update
So, after several hours of banging my head against a wall, I have a fix that's fairly simple if annoying. After the initial fetch of the user I now call
context.Detach(user);
I can only assume it's something to do with how fast the context is being disposed with garbage collection in ASP.NET compared to in the test environment.

In my EF experience this issue always seems to occur when the entity is still linked to the old context. I believe it is safest to always just re-load the entity using the new context (query on PK). I know it is not the most efficient but it avoids this problem.
I took a look at this page before answering, if you haven't tried some of its suggestions you might give them a go: EF Add/Attach.

Entity Framework - "The relationship between the two objects cannot be defined" error, but I think I'm using the same context

In my ViewModel I have some code like that:
public class OrderViewModel
{
private UserOrder order;
private DeliveryCentre deliveryCentre;
// This is my EF Container
private CatalogueContainer catalogue = new CatalogueContainer();
// do some stuff...
public void Save()
{
if (order == null)
{
order = catalogue.UserOrders.CreateObject();
}
// do some other stuff...
if ((deliveryCentre == null)
|| (deliveryCentre.Id != deliveryCentreId))
{
deliveryCentre = catalogue.DeliveryCentres.First(centre => centre.Id == deliveryCentreId);
//Causes a context error, not sure why...
order.DeliveryCentre= deliveryCentre;
}
catalogue.SaveChanges();
}
So when the delivery centre is new and the order is new, I am hit by the old "The relationship between the two objects cannot be defined because they are attached to different ObjectContext objects" error, which seems a trifle unfair to me - I just can't figure out what I need to do to make them belong more to the same object context. I assume this is due to some fundamental misunderstanding of the behaviour of Entity Framework.

You are not disposing your context. It may be possible that one of the entities order or deliveryCentre is attached to an old context which still holds references to the entities. You can create and dispose your context with an using statement inside of the Save method instead to using it as a member variable:
public void Save()
{
using (var catalogue = new CatalogueContainer())
{
// your code...
}
}
And remove the private catalogue member.

The solution turned out to only be indirectly related to the error message- #Slauma asked about the //do stuff... placeholders and when I commented those out the error disappeared.
It turned out that there was another relationship there, where I was creating the object as this.Item = new Item() rather than using this.Item = catalogue.Items.CreateObject() so it was being created out of context and when it was added to the order, although the order itself was created from the local context, when the Item was added to it this was somehow dirtying up the context but for some reason this only showed up as a problem when I added the next related object.