A collection of 26 posts
Sometimes you need to break down a large number into smaller chunks. For me, I regularly chunk data when I need to bulk import data records into a database. I find that fine-tuning the chunks can help improve data-loading performance...
Recently, a follower on Twitter asked how they could store “dynamic” user data using Entity Framework Core. Dynamic in the sense that you may not know what the key/value pairs of data will be but they’re still important to store,...
Most relational databases are a modern marvel, with many features waiting for you to use. However, for .NET developers, you often need to discover methods to get data into and out of our database instances that work for our use...
I’ve grown fond of SQLite during my time as a developer advocate. The file-based database with native drivers for every operating system allows me to ship self-contained data-driven sample apps to developers worldwide. Developers can clone a demo and run...
When building APIs that return a non-trivial amount of data, we need to make design decisions based on our underlying database. For example, a developer may implement a specific endpoint in APIs that allows clients to return a window-based collection....
If you’re anything like me, you set up your Entity Framework Core DbContext and your connectionString once in a blue moon and forget about it. Connection strings are essential parts of a functioning application, but we forget the nuance in...
One of the most powerful features of relational database engines is the ability for tables to be self-referential. Having rows reference other rows within the same table allows us to create complex hierarchies and tree structures with minimal effort.
Object Relational Mappers (ORMs) allow us to define relationships between entities in our relational database using C# objects. Depending on which ORM we use, we can also get the library to generate the relationships’ schema. Entity Framework Core is one...
Working with databases is a fun yet challenging task. As our application’s mature, we see opportunities to optimize our codebase along with query performance. Views are a great way to achieve both goals. With Entity Framework Core 5 (EF Core),...
Entity Framework Core 5 (EF Core) and LINQ allow developers to write powerful expressions that translate into SQL. Ultimately, ORMs are about balancing convenience and power. Generally, EF Core’s default features are enough to accomplish most data access-related tasks, but...
