Entity Framework (EF) Documentation

 

Learn More About Setting Up Your Model

Which Workflow Should I Use Find out about the EF Designer and Code First and which one is best for you.

Connections and Models Learn how EF works out which database to connect to and how to calculate the model.

Connection Resiliency / Retry Logic (EF6 onwards) Automatically retry any commands that fail due to connection breaks .

Handling of Transaction Commit Failures Automatically recover from network errors when committing a transaction.

Performance Considerations Find out how to get the best performance out of Entity Framework.

Improving Startup Performance with NGen (EF6 Onwards) Improve application warm up time by pre-generating native images for the EF assemblies.

Pre-Generated Mapping Views Improve application warm-up time with pre-generated mapping views.

Working with Microsoft SQL Azure There are a number of characteristics of SQL Azure that need to be taken into account when using EF.

Entity Framework Power Tools The EF Power Tools provide a preview of features that are being considered for the main EF tooling.

Code-Based Configuration (EF6 onwards) Code-based configuration is achieved by creating a subclass of DbConfiguration .

Configuration File Settings EF allows a number of settings to be configured from your applications configuration file.

Dependency Resolution (EF6 Onwards) Lower level building blocks that enable the Code-Based Configuration feature.

Glossary Definition of terms that are commonly used when talking about Entity Framework.

Creating a Model with Code First

These topics are specific to models created using EF Code First.

Code First to a New Database Use Code First to define your model in code and then generate a database.

Code First to an Existing Database Use Code First to create a code based model that maps to an existing database.

Conventions Find out about the conventions Code First uses to build your model.

Custom Code First Conventions (EF6 onwards) Write your own conventions to help avoid repetitive configuration. For more advanced scenarios you can use Model-Based Conventions.

Data Annotations Data Annotations provide a simple way to configure your model by applying attributes to your classes.

Fluent API - Configuring/Mapping Properties & Types Learn how to configure properties/types and the columns/tables they map to using the Fluent API.

Fluent API - Configuring Relationships Find out how to configure relationships and the foreign key constraints they map to using the Fluent API.

Fluent API with VB.NET This walkthrough shows how to use the fluent API in VB.NET projects.

Code First Insert/Update/Delete Stored Procedures (EF6 onwards) Configure EF to use stored procedures to update data.

Enum Support (EF5 Onwards) The domain classes that make up your Code First model can contain enum properties.

Spatial Data Types (EF5 Onwards) The DbGeography and DbGeometry types can be used in your model. Also see the information about provider support for spatial types.

Code First Migrations Learn more about upgrading, downgrading and creating SQL scripts with Code First Migrations.

Code First Migrations in Team Environments Learn how to successfully use migrations when working in a team of developers.

Code First Migrations with an Existing Database Use Migrations with an existing database, one that wasn't created by Entity Framework.

Automatic Code First Migrations Automatic migrations allow you to upgrade your database without code-based migrations in your project.

Customizing the Migrations History Table (Code First only) Customize the definition of the __MigrationHistory table.

Custom Migrations Operations (EF6 onwards) Create additional operations to be used in your code-based migrations .

Migrate.exe Use migrate.exe to apply migrations to a database from a command line.

Defining DbSets Discover the various options for defining DbSets on your derived context.

Creating a Model with the EF Designer

These topics are specific to models created using the EF Designer.

EF Designer to a New Database (Model First) Use Model First to define your model using boxes and lines and then generate a database.

EF Designer to an Existing Database (Database First) Use Database First to create a boxes and lines model that maps to an existing database.

Complex Types Find out how to group properties on your entities into complex types.

Associations/Relationships Learn how to configure relationships in your model.

Enum Support (EF5 Onwards) Using the EF Designer you can now add enum properties to your entities.

Spatial Data Types (EF5 Onwards) The DbGeography and DbGeometry types can be used in your model. Also see the information about provider support for spatial types.

TPT Inheritance Pattern Learn how to implement the Table-per-Type (TPT) inheritance pattern in your model.

TPH Inheritance Pattern Learn how to implement the Table-per-Hierarchy (TPH) inheritance pattern in your model.

Query with Stored Procedures Use stored procedures to load data from the database.

Stored Procedures with Multiple Result Sets Use stored procedures with multiple result sets to load data from the database.

Insert, Update & Delete with Stored Procedures Use stored procedures to insert, update and delete data.

Map an Entity to Multiple Tables (Entity Splitting) Learn how to map the properties of an entity to columns in multiple tables.

Map Multiple Entities to One Table (Table Splitting) Learn how to map the columns of a table to properties in multiple entities.

Table-Valued Functions (EF5 onwards) Table-valued functions (TVFs) in your database can be used with models created using the EF Designer.

Multiple Diagrams per Model (EF5 onwards) The EF Designer allows you to have several diagrams that visualize subsections of your overall model.

Defining Queries A defining query is like a view that is defined in your model, rather than the database.

Code Generation Templates Find out how to customize the code that is generated from your model.

Reverting to ObjectContext New models created in VS2012 generate code that uses DbContext, but you can revert to ObjectContext.

EDMX Files Covers properties of EDMX files and specification of the xml format (including CSDL, SSDL & MSL).

Keyboard Shortcuts A helpful list of keyboard shortcuts in Entity Framework Tools for Visual Studio.