Introducing The Entity Framework

Introducing the Entity Framework
Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Copyright by Application Developers Training Company
Objectives
Learn about how object-relational mapping works to provide data access Understand what the Entity Framework is and how it can provide robust data access services to applications See how to build a database-first Entity Data Model using Visual Studio Explore the various Entity Framework APIs and tools
Agenda
Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) and Data Access The Entity Framework and Data Model Building a Simple Application using Entity Framework Entity Framework APIs and Tools

Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) and Data Access
Just about all applications make use of data Microsoft has a long history of providing data access technologies But they have problems
Too close to the metal Use generic data objects
Data access code is usually a lot of code Differences between objects and database Entity Framework bridges the gap Terminology: data store and database
Object/Relational Differences
Inherent problems application has to overcome
Needs lots of code somewhere Big impact on application design, effort, and performance
Will discuss in the context of a relational database

Data Type Differences

Many kinds of data types SQL Server 2008 R2 data types:
bigint date float nchar rowversion table varbinary binary datetime hierarchyid ntext smalldatetime text varchar bit datetime2 image numeric smallint time uniqueidentifier char datetimeoffset int nvarchar smallmoney timestamp CLR decimal money real sql_variant tinyint
Some have direct equivalents in .NET Database types often have constraints Binary data in the database can be anything Dates and times are another issue
Relationship Difference
Databases use foreign key constraints .NET objects use object references SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail tables

Relationship Difference
Many-to-Many relationships In AdventureWorks, customers and addresses
Not the default objects

Inheritance Difference
.NET supports object inheritance
No support for multiple inheritance
Inheritance makes code simpler, maintainable, easier to debug

Model hierarchies of objects
Relational databases dont support inheritance Some ways to accomplish it

Table per type Table per concrete type Table per hierarchy
Have to manage special constraints

Identity/Equality Difference
How do you tell two things are the same? Database: identity of a row is the primary key
Enforced by a primary key constraint Can use either natural or surrogate keys
Objects in object-oriented application

Two objects with the same data are not equal Two variables, each with reference to different objects, are not equal Two variables with reference to same object are equal Can make a custom definition
Handling the Differences

Can be an lot of work to handle object/relational differences
But at least they are well understood Doesnt mean its easy
Write the code yourself, or use a framework

Object-Relational Mapping (ORM)

Programming technique for conversion of incompatible types Most ORM tools rely on metadata about database and objects Clean separation of concerns Key feature is mapping
Expresses how an object is related to a table ORM uses to manage conversion process
ORM manages applications interactions with database

Benefits to using an ORM

Productivity Better application design Code reuse Application maintainability Potential downside: performance
More complex code Means slower performance But ORM code is likely to be well tuned Data access time may be minimal
Lots of ORMs available for .NET
Generic Data Objects vs. Entity Objects

SqlConnection and OleDbConnection SqlDataAdapter and OleDbAdapter DataSet DataTable SqlDataReader and OleDbDataReader
ADO.NET has long had generic data objects Most common:
Provide a means for accessing data in database

DataSet and DataTable contain rows and columns

Generic Data Objects

Problems with Generic Data Objects
Strong coupling between application and database Loose typing Object interactions
Problems persist despite long use

Every application has to deal with them But its been the best weve had, other than custom objects

Entity Data Objects

Big improvement over what came before
Instead of using a generic DataSet, use Customer, Order, and OrderDetail Navigation properties to access related data Fit into object-oriented application
Object interfaces can mirror tables and fields

Or be completely different Or something in between
Need a way to map objects to database

Benefits of Entity Data Objects

Strong typing Compile-time checking Persistence ignorance Productivity

Data Programming Against a Model

Will have to change how you think about data in an application
No longer interacting directly with the database Instead working with objects Very different paradigms
The model is not the database! Generic data objects require lots of code Entity data objects mean querying a schema that reflects business model ORM eliminates context shift in code
Agenda

The Entity Framework and Data Model

Complete ORM for .NET applications Microsofts new core data access technology
Big commitment from the company
Initial release didnt gain much traction Version 4.1 is a mature product
Substantial commitment and innovation
Do we need a new data access technology?

Older technologies have run their course Modern applications have to focus on domain model
Version numbers
Entity Data Model

Integral part of Entity Framework Client-side model different from database schema Describes structure of entity data objects Take the database schema and reshape it into objects Defined by three chunks of XML in a single .edmx file
Conceptual model Storage model Mapping

LINQ to SQL
Similar to Entity Framework
Both use LINQ to query a database using a data model
Developed independently at Microsoft

LINQ to SQL grew out of LINQ team Entity Framework grew out of Data Programmability team
Soon Microsoft had two new data access technologies LINQ to SQL moved, and lost out to Entity Framework
Why Use Entity Framework?

Part of the .NET Framework and integrated into Visual Studio Uses LINQ as the primary query language Independent of the data source Microsofts primary data access strategy

When Should You Not Use Entity Framework or an ORM?

Entity Framework is not a panacea
Not an instant data access panacea Isnt appropriate for every kind of application Doesnt do bulk inserts

Agenda

Building a Simple Application using Entity Framework

Compelling reason to use Entity Framework is its integration with Visual Studio Sample is based on AdventureWorksLT
Ten tables with data about customers, products, and orders Complex enough to exercise Entity Framework
Will build sample as a class library

Easy to reuse in multiple applications Not absolutely necessary
Mostly create simple console applications

Using the Entity Objects

Time to use the entity data objects in an application Simple console application Need to do three things to use the class library
Add a reference to the class library Add a reference to System.Data.Entity Add the Entity Framework connection string
And, of course, write some code!

Agenda

Entity Framework APIs and Tools

Entity Framework is a complex set of APIs and design tools Need a basic understanding of what each of the Entity Framework components do
Road to deep understanding

Architecture
Entity Data Model
Application
Entity SQL Query
Entity SQL Query
LINQ to Entities Query
Results
Conceptual Model
Mapping Storage Model
Object Services
Command Tree
Entity Data Reader
EntityClient Data Provider

Command Tree DB Data Reader
ADO.NET Data Providers
Data Store
Entity Data Model Designer

Part of Visual Studio Lets you work with model graphically rather than as raw XML First saw as part of the AdventureWorksLibrary project Doesnt support all Entity Data Model features Lets you map tables, views, stored procedures and functions to entities
Can update the model from the underlying database
Design Methodologies Using the Designer

Two broad ways to build a data application
Top-down design Bottom-up design
Neither is necessarily better than the other Entity Framework supports both Provides three ways to build an application
Database-first design Model-first design Code-first design
Code Generation Using T4

Entity Data Model designer generates code Uses Visual Studios Text Template Transformation Toolkit (T4)
Generates classes in designer code file Standard within Visual Studio
Can customize the templates

Not for the faint of heart

Object Services
Manages all of the objects in Entity Framework Key task is to handle differences between database and objects Provides and EntityObject class and manages objects that inherit from it Four primary tasks
Exposes an API Performs query transformations Performs object materialization Tracks state of objects and updates data store
Entity Client
Communicates with the database and manages data conversions
Must know structure of database as well as entity data objects Uses the full Entity Data Model
Connects to database through data provider

Standard API Same providers as in ADO.NET, updated for Entity Framework
Can work with any data store with a provider SQL Server versions Dont have to use Object Services to query
Can use Entity SQL directly to Entity Client
Entity Framework Services

Entity Framework provides various services to the application
Microsoft expands with each new release Expands usability of Entity Framework
Support for Plain Old CLR Objects (POCO)

Dont inherit from EntityObject Supports lots of programming styles and methodologies ObjectContext obtains relationship and change tracking information
Data Binding in .NET Applications

Long a standard technique for connecting data to UI controls Entity Framework fully supports data binding
Learn More!
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Introducing The Entity Framework

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Introducing The Entity Framework

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Droits d'auteur :

Introducing the Entity Framework

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) and Data Access

Will discuss in the context of a relational database

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Data Type Differences

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Not the default objects

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Inheritance makes code simpler, maintainable, easier to debug

Relational databases dont support inheritance Some ways to accomplish it

Have to manage special constraints

Objects in object-oriented application

Handling the Differences

Write the code yourself, or use a framework

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Object-Relational Mapping (ORM)

ORM manages applications interactions with database

Benefits to using an ORM

Lots of ORMs available for .NET

Generic Data Objects vs. Entity Objects

ADO.NET has long had generic data objects Most common:

Provide a means for accessing data in database

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Generic Data Objects

Problems persist despite long use

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Entity Data Objects

Object interfaces can mirror tables and fields

Need a way to map objects to database

Benefits of Entity Data Objects

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Data Programming Against a Model

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

The Entity Framework and Data Model

Do we need a new data access technology?

Entity Data Model

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Developed independently at Microsoft

Why Use Entity Framework?

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

When Should You Not Use Entity Framework or an ORM?

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Building a Simple Application using Entity Framework

Will build sample as a class library

Mostly create simple console applications

Using the Entity Objects

And, of course, write some code!

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Entity Framework APIs and Tools

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

LINQ to Entities Query

EntityClient Data Provider

ADO.NET Data Providers

Entity Data Model Designer

Design Methodologies Using the Designer

Code Generation Using T4

Can customize the templates

Learn More @ http://www.learnnowonline.com

Connects to database through data provider

Entity Framework Services

Support for Plain Old CLR Objects (POCO)

Data Binding in .NET Applications