Entity Framework 5 with custom Models and OData - Web API

Question

I'm evaluating some technologies for a new Web Application. Which should use EF5 and Knockout JS with Web API. I wanted to take advantage of the OData feature, when returning IQueryable, but am currently running into the problem, how to convert my EF Models to my Business Models.

As far as I've read, if I want to have a more complex DB (Computed Columns, Stored Procedures, ...) I should use DB First approach. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

Because I need to use DB-First approach and want my models to be Independent of the DB, I need to create them additionally to the EF-Models. And when I return from the DataLayer my Business Model as IQueryable I loose the possibility to execute additional queries directly on the DB but instead they are executed on the ASP.Net server directly.

Of course I don't plan to run complex queries over OData and would anyway implement those as additional actions, but it might be useful on the slower clients (smartphones, ...) to limit the returned data and perform additional filters directly on the server.

Is there any way out of this dilemma, to be still able to use OData?

Regards Peter

Answer 1

You can try using Code First and EF migrations to create/upgrade database. With migrations you can create custom migrations that can be just SQL scripts to achieve what can't be done automatically with Code First itself. Database First approach is fine as well.

Ask yourself if you really want to/need to support multiple backends. It is possible with EF but hard to maintain. In this case I assume your conceptual model (csdl) would be the same for all databases but you would have multiple store specific models (ssdl files). Since your model would be the same for all databases you would have the same C# types regardless of the database you are using.

When supporting multiple databases you won't be able to run SQL queries against the database (or to be more specific you will get exceptions if you run SQL query specific to one database against a different database) but ideally you should not need it. In the worst you could enclose the logic you would like to code in SQL in a stored procedure that would exist in all databases. Again, I don't know when this would be needed (the only thing that comes to mind is performance) but since you are planning using OData you wouldn't be able to run these queries anyways unless you start using Service Operations.

Since your conceptual model would be the same regardless of the database you would have the same types regardless of the database. You could try using these for both DataLayer and Business Model (especially if you go with POCO). An alternative would be to use POCO/DTOs. (I have not tried OData support in Web API but with WCF Data Services the service itself would actually use EF types so you would not be even able to tell the service to use different set of types).

Answer 2

You actually don't lose the ability with DB first models to execute queries against the business model, as long as your transforms aren't too bad. For example, I have a OData service which has a PersistedCustomer (DB model) and a Customer (Business model). With EF5, I can write the LINQ which transforms the IQueryable to IQueryable, query against the IQueryable and EF can translate the criteria back against the original database.