Improvement of Model Building Conventions in EF Core

Introduction

Model building conventions play a crucial role in Entity Framework Core, as they define how the data model should be automatically constructed. This article explores how these conventions have improved across EF Core versions 6 through 9.

EF Core 6: Limited Conventions

In EF Core 6, model-building conventions were functional but limited.

Key Conventions:

• Automatic primary key discovery (Id or [ClassName]Id)
• Automatic navigation property discovery
• Table and column naming conventions

Example:

In this case, EF Core would automatically discover Id as the primary key and BlogId as a foreign key.

Limitations:

• Difficult to modify existing conventions or add new ones
• Some complex scenarios require manual configuration

EF Core 8: Extended Conventions

EF Core 8 brought significant improvements and extensions to conventions.

New and Improved Conventions:

• Better support for complex types
• Extended automatic indexing conventions
• More flexibility in relationship configuration

Example:

EF Core 8 now automatically supports complex types (BlogMetadata) and indexes (with the [Index] attribute).

EF Core 9: More Extensible Conventions

EF Core 9 further expands the capabilities of conventions and options for customizing them.

New Features:

• Better support for user-defined conventions
• Improved API for creating and customizing conventions
• Automatic conventions for JSON data

Example of a User-Defined Convention:

This convention will automatically add prefixes to all table and column names.

Automatic Support for JSON Data:

EF Core 9 will automatically support JSON data in the Metadata property, using appropriate conventions.

Migrating Between Versions

1. From EF Core 6 to 8: Update NuGet packages Review model configuration to leverage new conventions Use new attributes like [Index]
2. From EF Core 8 to 9: Update NuGet packages Create and apply custom conventions as needed Review the use of JSON data in the model

Conclusion

The evolution of model-building conventions in EF Core from version 6 to 9 demonstrates significant progress in terms of flexibility and functionality. The extensible conventions introduced in EF Core 9 allow developers to customize the model-building process to their needs more effectively, reducing the need for manual configuration and increasing productivity.