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Entity Framework Data Model

The document discusses different approaches to structuring an entity data model in Entity Framework including table-per-type and table-per-hierarchy inheritance. Table-per-type stores each entity type in its own table to avoid data redundancy but has worse performance. Table-per-hierarchy stores all entities in one table for better performance but introduces data redundancy. It also covers model-first, database-first, and code-first approaches to implementing an entity data model in Entity Framework.

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Amareswara Rao
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87 views

Entity Framework Data Model

The document discusses different approaches to structuring an entity data model in Entity Framework including table-per-type and table-per-hierarchy inheritance. Table-per-type stores each entity type in its own table to avoid data redundancy but has worse performance. Table-per-hierarchy stores all entities in one table for better performance but introduces data redundancy. It also covers model-first, database-first, and code-first approaches to implementing an entity data model in Entity Framework.

Uploaded by

Amareswara Rao
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Entity Framework Amareswar Rao

data model
Structuring the data model using Table-per-Type and Table-per-
Hierarchy inheritance

The inheritance mechanisms for an entity model.


Table-per-Type
Table-per-Type inheritance is accomplished by
modifying the conceptual model
Architecturally, a separate database table is used to
maintain data for non-inherited and key properties
in the hierarchy.
Table-per-Heirarchy
Table-per-Type
Advantages
Data is not stored redundantly.
Data is structured in third normal form so data integrity is improved.
A much simpler implementation. Adding or removing an entity can be
accomplished by simply adding or deleting the underlying table in the
database.
Disadvantages
There is a performance decrease, particularly around CRUD operations.
Makes database administration more complicated because of all the
additional tables in the system.
Table-per-Hierarchy
Advantages
Fewer database tables leading to a simplified database schema.
Notably faster CRUD operations in most cases. (This is because all of the
data is stored in one table.)
Disadvantages
There is necessary data redundancy, and because one of the main purposes
of normalizing data is to remove redundancy, this is not a small issue.
Data integrity issues are more likely because of data redundancy.
Because of the data model, complexity is increased.
Choosing and implementing an approach to manage a data model
(code first vs. model first vs. database first)
Model First
You can create an empty model and then add entities to it. As you add
these entities, you can define relationships between them and control
how they behave.
After you define your EDM, you can select to generate a database from
the EDM;
And the EF handles the database creation, the object/entity creation,
and the mapping between them for you.
The model-first approach was introduced in EF version 4.0 and Visual
Studio 2010.
It is an extremely powerful and useful paradigm, although it is not
always feasible.
Database First
You can access any visible database object and generate
an entity set from it.
Again, the EF handles the creation of the Entity items
and all the mapping thats needed between them.
You can take an existing model and change it as well. If
the back end changes, you can regenerate the entities
based on those changes, or you can visually edit the
mappings between the new items and existing entity
properties so that no breaking changes occur.
The two approaches include starting with the database
schema and using the designer as a starting point.
The two approaches mentioned previously include
starting with the database schema and using it as the
basis of your model, or building a model and having the
tools generate the database.
The last thing you need to do is click
inside the designer surface and then
right-click and select Properties. Youll
see the Properties grid, which has several
options about the model youll want to
take note

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