Customizing the Model class generated by Entity Framework

Question

I have a Baseclass that i will need to inherit for my models

like

public class Employee : BaseModel
{

}

In this BaseModel I have a couple of properties and some default implementations that needs to be available for every application model created.

When i plan to migrate to entity framework, how do i have the model that is generated with EF have my methods and properties also from the BaseModel.

However, i have removed the EntityObject from the generated class and commented out its related implementation in each property like

   //ReportPropertyChanging("id");
                    //_id = StructuralObject.SetValidValue(value);
                    //ReportPropertyChanged("id");

Kindly suggest if this is a right way or is there a correct way to deal with this kind of scenario.

You should use T4 templates. Also read this article: stackoverflow.com/questions/6064138/… — Mihail Golubev
– Mihail Golubev, Commented Dec 16, 2012 at 13:36

Gert Arnold · Accepted Answer · 2012-12-16 15:10:48Z

1

The nitpicking OO purist speaking: having one base class for all classes in your domain is an anti pattern. Classes that obey OO principles (like single responsibility, Liskow) can impossibly all have the same base class. Without knowing your base class, I bet that the common properties have to do with common database fields or some entity framework implementation, so a base class also breaks persistence ignorance.

The entity-framework guru (who???) speaking: you better don't use a base class when working database-first. Or: when you really want a base class: work code-first and ignore the base class in the mappings, i.e. do not map the inheritance. Note that the DbContext API is the preferred EF API (but you can also use it db-first).

The pragmatist speaking: use an interface if this is feasible. It's a nuisance that each class has to implement it again and again, but you won't break OO principles. The principles are there for a reason. Sooner or later, breaking them will handicap (but probably not inhibit) you.

answered Dec 16, 2012 at 15:10

Gert Arnold

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2 Comments

Saravanan Over a year ago

Kindly note that I have common property called as id and have common functions that will enable changes in the entity to be recorded etc. So i hope that will not be against any pattern. Please suggest if possible in Entity Framework

Gert Arnold Over a year ago

Maybe you should show more details for us to be able to evaluate that. If you use DbContext (POCO) API your objects won't be involved in change tracking. EF will handle that.

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