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Using a single Entity Framework Core DbContext to manage multiple database schemas with homonymous tables

In a .NET Core 2.1 library I need to access to a MySQL database organized in multiple schemas with tables that can have the same name across those schemas. I can't make any changes to the DB since it comes from another company.
For most of the tables I need a read-only access and I'd like to use a single EF Core DbContext.
Actually I get this error message during initialization:
InvalidOperationException: Cannot use table 'tbl_panel' for
entity type 'Db2Panels' since it is being used for entity
type 'Db1Panels' and there is no relationship between their
primary keys.
I think that the crux of the matter mainly resides in the configuration methods, which should be called not just once but N times, one for each instance of the entity with different schema (db_machine_1.tbl_panel, db_machine_2.tbl_panel, etc.).
How can I reach my goal?
This is my actual implementation.
Database schemas
// db_machine_1 schema
db_machine_1.tbl_panel
db_machine_1.tbl_basket
db_machine_1.tbl_unit
// db_machine_2 schema
db_machine_2.tbl_panel
db_machine_2.tbl_basket
db_machine_2.tbl_discard
// Other db_machine_X schemas with similar structure...
DbContext configuration
public class MyDbContext : DbContext
{
// Schema: db_machine_1
public DbSet<Panel> Db1Panels { get; set; }
public DbSet<Basket> Db1Baskets { get; set; }
public DbSet<Unit> Db1Units { get; set; }
// Schema: db_machine_2
public DbSet<Panel> Db2Panels { get; set; }
public DbSet<Basket> Db2Baskets { get; set; }
public DbSet<Discard> Db2Discards { get; set; }
// Other schemas DbSet<X> objects...
// Arrays to access the specific DbSet by using the schema number:
// Panels[1] -> Db1Panels, Panels[2] -> Db2Panels, ...
public DbSet<Panel>[] Panels { get; }
public DbSet<Basket>[] Baskets { get; }
// Other arrays for other DbSet<X> objects...
public MyDbContext(DbContextOptions<MyDbContext> options)
: base(options)
{
// Arrays initialization
List<DbSet<Panel>> dbPanelList = new List<DbSet<Panel>>();
dbPanelList.Add(Db1Panels);
dbPanelList.Add(Db2Panels);
Panels = dbPanelList.ToArray();
List<DbSet<Basket>> dbBasketList = new List<DbSet<Basket>>();
dbBasketList.Add(Db1Baskets);
dbBasketList.Add(Db2Baskets);
Baskets = dbBasketList.ToArray();
// Initialization for other DbSet<X> objects...
}
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.ApplyAllConfigurations<MyDbContext>();
modelBuilder.ApplyAllConversions();
}
}
Objects
public class Panel
{
public long Id { get; set; }
public string SN { get; set; }
// Other properties...
}
public class Basket
{
public long Id { get; set; }
public string Description { get; set; }
// Other properties...
}
Configurations
public class PanelConfiguration : IEntityTypeConfiguration<Panel>
{
public void Configure(EntityTypeBuilder<Panel> builder)
{
builder.ToTable("tbl_panel");
builder.HasKey(e => e.Id);
builder.Property(e => e.Id)
.HasColumnName("ID_Record");
builder.Property(e => e.SN)
.HasColumnName("Serial")
.HasMaxLength(20);
// Other properties configuration...
}
}
public class BasketConfiguration : IEntityTypeConfiguration<Basket>
{
public void Configure(EntityTypeBuilder<Basket> builder)
{
builder.ToTable("tbl_basket");
builder.HasKey(e => e.Id);
builder.Property(e => e.Id)
.HasColumnName("ID_Record");
builder.Property(e => e.Description)
.HasColumnName("Desc")
.HasMaxLength(100);
// Other properties configuration...
}
}
// Other IEntityTypeConfiguration implementations for other tables...
// This extension method is used to automatically load all Configurations
// of the various entities
public static class ModelBuilderExtensions
{
public static void ApplyAllConfigurations(this ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
var applyConfigurationMethodInfo = modelBuilder
.GetType()
.GetMethods(BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public)
.First(m => m.Name.Equals("ApplyConfiguration", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase));
var ret = typeof(T).Assembly
.GetTypes()
.Select(t => (t, i: t.GetInterfaces().FirstOrDefault(i => i.Name.Equals(typeof(IEntityTypeConfiguration<>).Name, StringComparison.Ordinal))))
.Where(it => it.i != null)
.Select(it => (et: it.i.GetGenericArguments()[0], cfgObj: Activator.CreateInstance(it.t)))
.Select(it => applyConfigurationMethodInfo.MakeGenericMethod(it.et).Invoke(modelBuilder, new[] { it.cfgObj }))
.ToList();
}
}
UPDATE about base class arrays
After creating base abstract classes and derived ones, I'd like to merge all the derived class objects into a single array to be able to access the specific DbSet by using the schema number. See also above code of DbContext constructor.
I'm having problems with casting...
List<DbSet<Panel>> dbPanelList = new List<DbSet<Panel>>();
dbPanelList.Add((DbSet<Panel>)Db1Panels.Select(g => g as Panel)); // NOT WORKING! Cast Exception
dbPanelList.Add((DbSet<Panel>)Db2Panels.Cast<DbSet<Panel>>()); // NOT WORKING! Cast Exception
Panels = dbPanelList.ToArray();
Is this possible somehow?

I think you can't get away from having two different EF objects for the different tables, and you probably shouldn't as they may diverge at some point in the future.
At a minimum you need two classes Db1Panel and Db2Panel . I assume that actually the "Db" prefix is meant to meant a different schema, not actually a different database.
However that shouldn't be a big problem as there are other ways within C# of making them behave in similar fashions. Two options that spring to mind are having them inherit from the same base class, or have them implement an interface:
public abstract class PanelBase
{
public long Id { get; set; }
// other properties
}
[Table("tbl_panel", Schema = "Db1")]
public class Db1Panel : PanelBase{}
[Table("tbl_panel", Schema = "Db2")]
public class Db2Panel : PanelBase{}
If you chose to implement the interface you would need to repeat the properties in each class, but refactoring tools make this quite easy.
public interface IPanel
{
public long Id { get; set; }
}
[Table("tbl_panel", Schema = "Db1")]
public class Db1Panel : IPanel
{
public long Id { get; set; }
}
[Table("tbl_panel", Schema = "Db2")]
public class Db2Panel : IPanel
{
public long Id { get; set; }
}
Or depending on the size of your application you could consider having another namespace of domain objects and just map the database objects into it:

You should be able to use the Table attribute. There's a parameter Schema that allows you to set the schema name. See here for documentation. In your case you'd get something like
[Table("Table1", Schema="Schema1")]
public class Entity1Schema1
{
public string Property1 {get;set;}
}
[Table("Table1", Schema="Schema2")]
public class Entity1Schema2
{
public string Property1 {get;set;}
}
And then of course you can use interfaces or base classes to refactor your code as #ste-fu already mentioned.

How to Include child properties in EF Core with TPH [duplicate]

Using Entity Framework Core 2.0, I am trying to construct a query to include related data for a polymorphic child entity.
For example, given the following types:
public class ParentEntity
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public IList<ChildEntityBase> Children { get; set; }
}
public abstract class ChildEntityBase
{
public int Id { get; set; }
}
public class ChildEntityA : ChildEntityBase
{
}
public class ChildEntityB : ChildEntityBase
{
public IList<GrandchildEntity> Children { get; set; }
}
public class GrandchildEntity
{
public int Id { get; set; }
}
and the following configuration:
public DbSet<ParentEntity> ParentEntities { get; set; }
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder builder)
{
builder.Entity<ParentEntity>().HasKey(p => p.Id);
builder.Entity<ParentEntity>().HasMany(p => p.Children).WithOne();
builder.Entity<ChildEntityBase>().HasKey(c => c.Id);
builder.Entity<ChildEntityBase>()
.HasDiscriminator<string>("ChildEntityType")
.HasValue<ChildEntityA>("a")
.HasValue<ChildEntityB>("b");
builder.Entity<ChildEntityA>()
.HasBaseType<ChildEntityBase>();
builder.Entity<ChildEntityB>()
.HasBaseType<ChildEntityBase>()
.HasMany(u => u.Children).WithOne();
builder.Entity<GrandchildEntity>()
.HasBaseType<ChildEntityBase>();
base.OnModelCreating(builder);
}
I am trying to write the following query:
var result = this.serviceDbContext.ParentEntities
.Include(p => p.Children)
.ThenInclude((ChildEntityB b) => b.Children);
Unfortunately, this is resulting in a syntax error.
However, I believe I am following the syntax as specified in https://github.com/aspnet/EntityFrameworkCore/commit/07afd7aa330da5b6d90d518da7375d8bbf676dfd
Can anyone suggest what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks

This functionality is not available in EFC 2.0.
It's been tracked as #3910 Query: Support Include/ThenInclude for navigation on derived type and according to the current EFC Roadmap, it's scheduled for EFC 2.1 release (Include for derived types item under
Features we have committed to complete).

Fluent API EF inheritance and mapping

I've a system with several self referencing entities with one-to-many relationship (parent-child). I'd like to use the common base class for all of those entities:
public class SelfReferencing
{
public SelfReferencing Parent {get; set;}
public ICollection<SelfReferencing> Children {get; set;}
}
and inherit the particular entity from SelfReferencing.
Fluent API mapping requires the reference Properties to be of the defining type, when trying to do following:
modelBuilder.Entity<ConcreteSelfReferencing>()
.HasMany(e => e.Children)
.WithOptional(e => e.Parent);
So, can you help me to find a possibility to make use of inheritance and get the entities mapped?
THX

Note: The example below is known as Table-Per-Hierarchy (TPH) - i.e. all contained in one table. Click on this link for Table-Per-Type (TPT), which has different tables for each type.
When using base types and inherited types, you have to tell EF how to determine the association for a specific inherited type.
Taking your code:
public abstract class SelfReferencing
{
public SelfReferencing Parent { get; set; }
public ICollection<SelfReferencing> Children { get; set; }
}
public class ConcreteSelfReferencing : SelfReferencing
{
}
EF now has to work out whether the sub-class is a ConcreteSelfReferencing or any other type of sub-class. This is determined by a discriminator on the table itself, to which the column is not part of your mapping.
To take another example, similar to I've used in the past:
public abstract class Policy
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string PolicyNumber { get; set; }
}
public class InsurancePolicy : Policy
{
}
public class CarPolicy : Policy
{
}
The table was structured like this:
| Id | PolicyNumber | Type | ..... |
1 CAR0001 C
2 ISN0001 I
To get EF to result them correctly, you would have:
public class MyContext : DbContext
{
public MyContext() : base()
{
}
public DbSet<Policy> Policies { get; set; }
protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder builder)
{
var policyMap = modelBuilder.Entity<Policy>();
// Set up discriminators
policyMap.Map<InsurancePolicy>(p => o.Requires("Type").HasValue("I"))
.Map<CarPolicy>(p => o.Requires("Type").HasValue("C"));
// Notice that `Type` is only used for the discriminators, not an actual
// mapped property
policyMap.HasKey(x=>x.Id);
policyMap.Property(x=>x.PolicyNumber);
}
}
And from your code, you can either do the filtering yourself, or put the filtering in the DbContext. Here is an example from a separate class.
public class PolicyRepository
{
private MyContext context = new MyContext();
public PolicyRepository()
{
}
public IQueryable<InsurancePolicy> GetInsurancePolicies()
{
return this.context.Policies.OfType<InsurancePolicy>();
}
public IQueryable<CarPolicy> GetCarPolicies()
{
return this.context.Policies.OfType<CarPolicy>();
}
}

Fluent NHibernate PropertyNotFoundException for Auto Property

I'm trying to get Fluent NHibernate to map a collection for me. My class definitions are as follows:
public abstract class Team
{
public virtual Guid Id { get; set; }
public virtual string Name { get; set; }
}
public class ClientTeam : Team
{
public virtual IEnumerable<Client> Clients { get; set; }
}
public class Client
{
public virtual Guid Id { get; set; }
public virtual string Name { get; set; }
public virtual string Identifiers { get; set; }
}
My mappings:
public class TeamMap : ClassMap<Team>
{
public TeamMap()
{
Table("Team");
Id(x => x.Id).GeneratedBy.Assigned();
Map(t => t.TeamName);
}
}
public class ClientTeamMap : SubclassMap<ClientTeam>
{
public ClientTeamMap()
{
HasMany(t => t.Clients);
}
}
public class ClientMap : ClassMap<Client>
{
public ClientMap()
{
Table("Client");
Id(c => c.Id);
Map(c => c.Name);
Map(c => c.Identifiers);
}
}
I've built a unit test that instantiates a team and then attempts to persist it (the test base has dependency configuration, etc. in it):
public class TeamMapTester : DataTestBase
{
[Test]
public void Should_persist_and_reload_team()
{
var team = new ClientTeamDetail
{
Id = Guid.NewGuid(),
TeamName = "Team Rocket",
Clients = new[]
{
new ClientDetail {ClientName = "Client1", ClientIdentifiers = "1,2,3"}
}
};
using (ISession session = GetSession())
{
session.SaveOrUpdate(team);
session.Flush();
}
AssertObjectWasPersisted(team);
}
}
When I run the test, I get this error:
SetUp : FluentNHibernate.Cfg.FluentConfigurationException : An invalid or incomplete configuration was used while creating a SessionFactory. Check PotentialReasons collection, and InnerException for more detail.
Database was not configured through Database method.
----> NHibernate.MappingException: Could not compile the mapping document: (XmlDocument)
----> NHibernate.PropertyNotFoundException : Could not find field '_clients' in class 'ClientTeam'`
I've looked through the NHibernate documentation and done some google searching, but I can't find anything that appears to address this issue. The documentation for Fluent NHibernate's Referencing methods explicitly uses auto properties, so I'm sure that's not the issue.
Why might NHibernate think that _clients is the field it should map in this case?

And the reason turns out to be: Conventions.
The Fluent mappings were set up to try to enforce read-only collection properties, by requiring a backing field. The ICollectionConvention in question:
public class CollectionAccessConvention : ICollectionConvention
{
public void Apply(ICollectionInstance instance)
{
instance.Fetch.Join();
instance.Not.LazyLoad();
instance.Access.CamelCaseField(CamelCasePrefix.Underscore);
}
}
which requires that collection backing fields be camelCased and start with an underscore.

Nhibernate linq fetch in subclass

Help me, please, solve one problem.
I have project, which uses Nhibernate and Fluent Nhibernate. There I created one base class
(it is not real classes, but they describe my situation):
public class Document
{
public virtual int Id { get; private set; }
public virtual Account Acc { get; private set; }
}
And mapping for it:
public class DocumentMap: ProfileEntityMap<Document>
{
public DocumentMap()
{
Id(m => m.Id);
References(m => m.Acc);
DiscriminateSubClassesOnColumn("Type");
}
}
Then I implemented subclass:
public class PaymentDocument: Document
{
public virtual Card AccountCard { get; set;}
}
Mapping for class PaymentDocument:
public class PaymentDocumentMap : SubclassMap<PaymentDocument>
{
public PaymentDocumentMap()
{
References(t => t.AccountCard);
}
}
And after that I try execute this query:
payments = session.Query<PaymentDocument>()
.Fetch(t => t.Acc)
.Fetch(t => t.AccountCard)
.ToList();
And when I insert first fetch I get next exception:
Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
Can somebody answer me where is a problem?

Actually it was a bug fixed in 3.0.0.Alpha2. Right now it works with the trunk.