Should I use singleton for DAL and Service classes? - asp.net-mvc

My dal and service classes are as follows. I use Ninject to inject dependencies.
public interface IEntityRepository<T> where T : class, IEntity, new()
{
ICollection<T> GetAll(Expression<Func<T, bool>> filter = null);
T Get(Expression<Func<T, bool>> filter);
T Add(T entity);
T Update(T entity);
void Delete(T entity);
}
public class EfEntityRepositoryBase<TEntity, TContext> : IEntityRepository<TEntity>
where TEntity : class, IEntity, new()
where TContext : DbContext, new()
{
public virtual ICollection<TEntity> GetAll(Expression<Func<TEntity, bool>> filter = null)
{
using (var context = new TContext())
{
return (filter == null ? context.Set<TEntity>() : context.Set<TEntity>().Where(filter)).ToList();
}
}
public virtual TEntity Get(Expression<Func<TEntity, bool>> filter)
{
using (var context = new TContext())
{
return context.Set<TEntity>().SingleOrDefault(filter);
}
}
public virtual TEntity Add(TEntity entity)
{
using (var context = new TContext())
{
var addedEntity = context.Entry(entity);
addedEntity.State = EntityState.Added;
context.SaveChanges();
return entity;
}
}
public virtual TEntity Update(TEntity entity)
{
using (var context = new TContext())
{
var updatedEntity = context.Entry(entity);
updatedEntity.State = EntityState.Modified;
context.SaveChanges();
return entity;
}
}
public virtual void Delete(TEntity entity)
{
using (var context = new TContext())
{
var deletedEntity = context.Entry(entity);
deletedEntity.State = EntityState.Deleted;
context.SaveChanges();
}
}
}
public interface ICallService
{
}
public class CallManager : ICallService
{
}
public interface ICallDal : IEntityRepository<Call>
{
}
public class EfCallDal : EfEntityRepositoryBase<Call, DatabaseContext>, ICallDal
{
}
public class BusinessModule : NinjectModule
{
public override void Load()
{
Bind<ICallService>().To<CallManager>().InSingletonScope();
Bind<ICallDal>().To<EfCallDal>();
}
}
What are the advantages or disadvantages of using Singleton Scope in dal and service classes? Would it be right to use it according to your experience?
I'm also curious about the dependency injection of the DbContext class.
Bind<DbContext>().To<MyContext>().InSingletonScope();
I think using singleton for the context class is risky. Is not it?

What are the advantages or disadvantages of using Singleton Scope in
dal and service classes?
Advantages :
you instantiate only one object, gain in CPU and memory.
You can share state (which would be a huge disavantage if not controlled)
Disadvantages :
the object graph must be threadsafe (it is not the case of the DbContext)
the objects in the object graph must be stateless, unless you want the state being shared by all your objects
In practice this is not a good idea and it will a big source of problems.
As you seem to be in a web context (Asp.Net MVC), you should bind most of your objects InRequestScope.
Avoid using new DbContext. Your context should be bound and injected as constructor argument. Otherwise you miss the point of Dependency injection.
Once you have understood the mechanics of scoping, you will be able to play with singletons, and scoped factories and the like.

Related

SaveChanges() and adding to DB not working

I am working on adding Entity Framework to our web app, asp.net MVC 5, but I am having a hardtime saving changes and adding to the database. I set up UnitOfWork with a generic BaseRepository, and I have tried a few things attempting to get this to work. first, I thought I could inject, with AutoFac, my repo in UnitOfWork like so
public UnitOfWork(IServiceItem serviceItem
, ITechServiceItem techServiceItem
, ITechnicianTime technicianTime
, ISproc sproc
, IRepairOrder repairOrder
, ICustomer customer
, IRepairOrderStatus repairOrderStatus
, IRepairOrderUnit repairOrderUnit
, IFiles files
, IPartInventory partInventory
, IRepairOrderItems repairOrderItems
)
{
RepairOrderItems = repairOrderItems;
PartInventory = partInventory;
Files = files;
RepairOrderUnit = repairOrderUnit;
RepairOrderStatus = repairOrderStatus;
RepairOrder = repairOrder;
Customer = customer;
Sproc = sproc;
ServiceItem = serviceItem;
TechServiceItem = techServiceItem;
TechnicianTime = technicianTime;
}
and my BaseRepo is like
public class BaseRepository<TEntity> : IRepository<TEntity> where TEntity : class
{
protected DataDbContext _db;
public class BaseRepository<TEntity> : IRepository<TEntity> where TEntity : class
{
protected DataDbContext _db;
internal void GetData()
{
if (_db == null)
{
string accountNumber = HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.GetCompanyAccountNumber();
var connectionToken = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["LoginSplitToken"];
_db = new DataDbContext(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["NameOfConnString"].ConnectionString.Replace(connectionToken, accountNumber));
}
}
public TEntity Get(int id)
{
return _db.Set<TEntity>().Find(id);
}
public IEnumerable<TEntity> GetAll()
{
return _db.Set<TEntity>().ToList();
}
public IEnumerable<TEntity> Find(Expression<Func<TEntity, bool>> predicate)
{
return _db.Set<TEntity>().Where(predicate);
}
public void Add(TEntity entity)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().Add(entity);
}
public void AddRange(IEnumerable<TEntity> entities)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().AddRange(entities);
}
public void Remove(TEntity entity)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().Remove(entity);
}
public void RemoveRange(IEnumerable<TEntity> entities)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().RemoveRange(entities);
}
public int CompleteData()
{
return _db.SaveChanges();
}
public TEntity Get(int id)
{
return _db.Set<TEntity>().Find(id);
}
public IEnumerable<TEntity> GetAll()
{
return _db.Set<TEntity>().ToList();
}
public IEnumerable<TEntity> Find(Expression<Func<TEntity, bool>> predicate)
{
return _db.Set<TEntity>().Where(predicate);
}
public void Add(TEntity entity)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().Add(entity);
}
public void AddRange(IEnumerable<TEntity> entities)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().AddRange(entities);
}
public void Remove(TEntity entity)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().Remove(entity);
}
public void RemoveRange(IEnumerable<TEntity> entities)
{
_db.Set<TEntity>().RemoveRange(entities);
}
public int CompleteData()
{
return _db.SaveChanges();
}
}
and my StartUp.Configuration
public void Configuration(IAppBuilder app)
{
var builder = new ContainerBuilder();
HttpConfiguration config = GlobalConfiguration.Configuration;
// REGISTER DEPENDENCIES
builder.RegisterType<EverLogicDbContext>().AsSelf().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<ApplicationUserManager>().AsSelf().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<ApplicationSignInManager>().AsSelf().InstancePerRequest();
builder.Register(c => HttpContext.Current.GetOwinContext().Authentication).InstancePerRequest();
builder.Register(c => HttpContext.Current.User).InstancePerRequest();
builder.Register(c => app.GetDataProtectionProvider()).InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<ApplicationUserStore>().As<IUserStore<EverLogicMamber, int>>()
.WithParameter(new TypedParameter(typeof(ISecurityOfWork), new SecurityOfWork(new SecurityDbContext())))
.InstancePerRequest();
//Database
builder.RegisterType<UnitOfWork>().As<IUnitOfWork>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<SecurityOfWork>().As<ISecurityOfWork>().InstancePerRequest();
//Service
builder.RegisterType<TechnicianTimeService>().As<ITechnicianTimeService>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<PartService>().As<IPartService>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<TechServiceItemService>().As<ITechServiceItemService>().InstancePerRequest();
//Repo
builder.RegisterType<Company>().As<ICompany>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<Views>().As<IViews>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<RepairOrderItems>().As<IRepairOrderItems>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<PartInventory>().As<IPartInventory>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<Files>().As<IFiles>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<TechDashboardService>().As<ITechDashboardService>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<RepairOrderUnit>().As<IRepairOrderUnit>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<RepairOrderStatus>().As<IRepairOrderStatus>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<Customer>().As<ICustomer>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<ServiceItem>().As<IServiceItem>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<RepairOrder>().As<IRepairOrder>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<Sproc>().As<ISproc>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<TechServiceItem>().As<ITechServiceItem>().InstancePerRequest();
builder.RegisterType<TechnicianTime>().As<ITechnicianTime>().InstancePerRequest();
// REGISTER CONTROLLERS SO DEPENDENCIES ARE CONSTRUCTOR INJECTED
builder.RegisterControllers(typeof(MvcApplication).Assembly);
builder.RegisterApiControllers(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly());
builder.RegisterWebApiFilterProvider(config);
builder.RegisterWebApiModelBinderProvider();
var container = builder.Build();
// REPLACE THE MVC DEPENDENCY RESOLVER WITH AUTOFAC
DependencyResolver.SetResolver(new AutofacDependencyResolver(container));
app.UseAutofacMiddleware(container);
app.UseAutofacMvc();
config.DependencyResolver = new AutofacWebApiDependencyResolver(container);
ConfigureAuth(app);
}
But with this set up, the database does not update or add new entitys.
Then i tryed removing Dependcy injection from UnitOfWork and set UnitOfWork up like
protected DataDbContext _db;
public UnitOfWork(DataDbContext context)
{
GetData();
RepairOrderItems = new RepairOrderItems(_db);
PartInventory = new PartInventory(_db);
Files = new Files(_db);
RepairOrderUnit = new RepairOrderUnit(_db);
RepairOrderStatus = new RepairOrderStatus(_db);
RepairOrder = new RepairOrder(_db);
Customer = new Customer(_db);
Sproc = new Sproc(_db);
ServiceItem = new ServiceItem(_db);
TechServiceItem = new TechServiceItem(_db);
TechnicianTime = new TechnicianTime(_db);
}
internal void GetData()
{
if (_db == null)
{
string accountNumber = HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.GetCompanyAccountNumber();
var connectionToken = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["LoginSplitToken"];
_db = new DataDbContext(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["NameOfConnString"].ConnectionString.Replace(connectionToken, accountNumber));
}
}
and moving SaveChanges from the BaseRepo to UnitOfWork, but still nothing is saving or adding to the database.
What am i missing????
TL;DR the problem is that all your repositories are using separate, independent DbContexts, so the DbContext injected into your UnitOfWork has no pending changes when you call SaveChanges on it, so that's why you aren't seeing any change to the database.
In order for the Unit of Work to function correctly, your UnitOfWork class, and all the repository classes which your code needs to perform data persistence, must all share the same DbContext instance. In your code, it's clear that each repository has a factory method to create it's own, independent DbContext instance.
Remove the GetData() factory method from your BaseRepository class, and instead, require an instance of your EverLogicDbContext instance to injected to the constructor of BaseRepository by AutoFac. This will require that all your Repository subclasses also need to have a constructor accepting this same EverLogicDbContext.
As per your last edit, the UnitOfWork class must accept the same, shared EverLogicDbContext that the repositories use. Since you've tagged with asp.net-mvc then RequestPerInstance lifetime scope is correct for your scenario.
Your UnitOfWork class needs to control the SaveChanges(Async) method, so remove the CompleteData method from the BaseRepository class.
As you already seem to have done, the DbContext needs to be registered InstancePerRequest:
builder.RegisterType<EverLogicDbContext>().AsSelf().InstancePerRequest();
If all this is tied together correctly:
AutoFac will create an instance of your concrete DbContext the first time it is needed during processing of each Request.
All Repositories will then share the same DbContext instance for the lifetime of the Request, and the DbContext will track interim changes made by your services.
The UnitOfWork injected into your main "business logic" (e.g. Controller, or Orchestrator / Handler) will then be able to Commit the actions taken by simply calling SaveChangesAsync on the shared DbContext. This will all happen under a single database connection, so will be a lightweight transaction.
As per other comments above, IMO Entity Framework is a already high level framework with transactional support built-in, so there's little point in over-engineering a "UnitOfWork" pattern if all the ACID activity will be conducted against the same Database (and can be wrapped into the same DbContext).

How would I pass a constructor parameter at runtime to my dbContext and also register them with Unity as such

I am trying to implement all sorts of good stuff like UnitOfWork, Repository, DI. I am using Unity for DI. Here is my dilemma. I have a few (currently 3) databases with identical schema but obviously with different data for business reasons (I will call them GroupDB1, GroupDB2 and GroupDB3). I also have a Master Database (DifferentDB) that has a different schema. My dbcontext need to use different databases for different scenarios at runtime. I have no clue how to put them all to work together.
Here is my dbContexts
public partial class GroupDB2 : DataContext
{
public GroupDB2() : base( "name=GroupDB2" )
{
}
public IDbSet<T> Set<T>() where T : EntityBase { return base.Set<T>(); }
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
//......
}
}
public partial class MasterDB : DataContext
{
public MasterDB() : base( "name=MasterDB" )
{
}
public IDbSet<T> Set<T>() where T : EntityBase { return base.Set<T>(); }
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
//......
}
}
and here are my other interfaces and implementations.
public class DataContext : DbContext, IDataContextAsync
{
private readonly Guid _instanceId;
bool _disposed;
public DataContext(string nameOrConnectionString) : base(nameOrConnectionString)
{
_instanceId = Guid.NewGuid();
//Configuration.LazyLoadingEnabled = false;
//Configuration.ProxyCreationEnabled = false;
}
}
public interface IDataContext : IDisposable
{
int SaveChanges();
}
public interface IDataContextAsync : IDataContext
{
Task<int> SaveChangesAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
Task<int> SaveChangesAsync();
}
public interface IRepository<T> where T : class
{
IDataContextAsync Context { get; }
IDbSet<T> DbSet { get; }
void Add(T entity);
void Delete(T entity);
void Delete(dynamic id);
T FindOne(Expression<Func<T, bool>> predicate);
IQueryable<T> FindBy(Expression<Func<T, bool>> predicate);
IQueryable<T> GetAll();
void Update(T entity);
}
public interface IRepositoryAsync<TEntity> : IRepository<TEntity> where TEntity : class
{
Task<TEntity> FindAsync( params object[] keyValues );
Task<TEntity> FindAsync( CancellationToken cancellationToken, params object[] keyValues );
Task<bool> DeleteAsync( params object[] keyValues );
Task<bool> DeleteAsync( CancellationToken cancellationToken, params object[] keyValues );
}
public static IUnityContainer InitializeContainer( IUnityContainer _container )
{
container = _container;
....
....
container.RegisterType<IDataContextAsync, DataContext>( new InjectionConstructor( "name=MasterDB" ) );
container.RegisterType<IUnitOfWorkAsync, UnitOfWork>();// ("Async");
// Here is where I have no clue how do I register and resolve the correct entity context based on some conditions
// Like ConnectionStringService.GetConnectionString( for some condition );
//container.RegisterType<IDataContextAsync, DataContext>( "GroupDB", new InjectionConstructor( xxxxxx ) );
//container.RegisterType<IDataContextAsync, DataContext>( "DifferentDB", new InjectionConstructor( yyyyyy ) );
....
....
return container;
}
Since I read a lot about anti-patterns I am reluctant to do
var result = container.Resolve<MyObject>(
new ParameterOverride("x", ExpectedValue)
.OnType<MyOtherObject>());
I am stumped. Any help is highly appreciated. Thanks.
Babu.
I came up with an example that might be a bit over engineered, but I believe it gives you the most flexibility. You can see the entire example here. If you only want support for design time or only support for runtime, you can probably clean it up a bit.
For design time resolution, this uses an additional generics parameter as a token to identify the data store you wish to connect to. That allows you to resolve (via constructor injection) a unit of work and/or a repository that is specific to one data store.
MyService(IUnitOfWork<Group2Token> unitOfWork) { /* ... */ }
For runtime resolution, this uses a manager class to retrieve an instance of the desired unit of work with a string token.
MyService(IUnitOfWorkManager unitOfWorkManager)
{
_unitOfWork = unitOfWorkManager.GetUnitOfWork("Group2");
}
The managers use Unity's built-in support for resolving all named registrations into an array. More on that can be found in this question and answer.
Note that I suggest you use HierarchicalLifetimeManager for the registration of anything that's disposable. If you use that in combination with using child containers, you will have an automatic disposal mechanism. More info in this question and answer.

How to create Repository Classes in MVC3 (Entity Framework)?

I created a project using MVC3 - Entity Framework. I like to use Repository Pattern together with it. I am new to repository pattern. Do I need to create ONE EACH Repository for each Model Class (classes which represent each table in the database) and within each repository do I have to write all the functions which will Insert, Update, Delete and Fetch record?
No you don't. You can implement a GenericRepository for all your classes and then override it if you need to add functions. First i am gonna show you the unit of work. Through this class you can access all the repositories. I have added to this example one generic and one overrided:
public class UnitOfWork
{
FBDbContext context = new FBDbContext();
public FBDbContext Context { get { return context; } }
private BlockRepository BlockRepository;
private GenericRepository<Category> CategoryRepository;
#region RepositoryClasses
public IBlockRepository blockRepository
{
get
{
if (this.BlockRepository == null)
this.BlockRepository = new BlockRepository(context);
return BlockRepository;
}
}
public IGenericRepository<Category> categoryRepository
{
get
{
if (this.CategoryRepository == null)
this.CategoryRepository = new GenericRepository<Category>(context);
return CategoryRepository;
}
}
#endregion
public void Save()
{
context.SaveChanges();
}
}
Then you have the generic repository:
public class GenericRepository<TEntity>
{
internal FBDbContext context;
internal DbSet<TEntity> dbSet;
public GenericRepository(FBDbContext context)
{
this.context = context;
this.dbSet = context.Set<TEntity>();
}
public virtual TEntity Create()
{
return Activator.CreateInstance<TEntity>();
}
public IQueryable<TEntity> GetAll()
{
return dbSet;
}
//And all the functions you want in all your model classes...
}
and an example when you want to override the generic repository:
public class BlockRepository : GenericRepository<Block>
{
public BlockRepository(FBDbContext context) : base(context) { }
public IEnumerable<Block> GetByCategory(Category category)
{
return context.Blocks.Where(r => r.CategoryId == category.Id);
}
}
You can create common repository which will have common methods, all other repositories will be it's children:
public class MyModelRepository : GenericRepository<MyModel>
{
// extend
}
var MyModelRepository = new MyModelRepository();
See this, or google for "Generic Repository" :). If your don't need extended functionality for some model repository, then you can even not create repository class, instead do something like this:
var MyModelRepository = new GenericRepository<MyModel>();
Have an interface that represents the common operations between each repository. I.e. Insert, Update, Delete and Fetch:
public interface IRepository<T>
{
void Insert(T entity);
void Delete(T entity);
void Update(T entity);
void Fetch(T entity);
}
public class Repository<T> : IRepository<T>
/// your implementation
}
Then in each model you could define the repository to suit the context, for instance:
var repository1 = new Repository<ModelType>(dataContext);
repository1.Insert(obj);
var repository2 = new Repository<DifferentModelType>(dataContext);
repository2.Fetch(objects);
http://www.remondo.net/repository-pattern-example-csharp/

Question about Interfaces and DI?

I am using the Service/Repository/EF/POCO pattern in a MVC app, and had a couple questions about the Interfaces.
1) Should I make an Interface per Service?
2) Should I make an Interface per Repository?
Or, should I have a generic interface per layer (IService(Of T), IRepository(Of T)).
What I dont understand is how in the controller say, it takes a IService(Of Category) interface in it's constructor, how do I implements the methods in the concrete class?
Public Class HomeController
Inherits System.Web.Mvc.Controller
Private _Service As IService(Of Category)
Public Sub New(ByVal Service As IService(Of Category))
_Service = Service
End Sub
Function Index() As ActionResult
Return View()
End Function
End Class
The _Service does not have the methods of my concrete CategoryService class?
Make any sense?
Use concrete interface for service. If your services can be described by generic interface you most probably don't need them at all. Generic interface is often used for repositories because repositories usually offer same core methods.
For myself, I use a generic session object that is strongly type, this class is in my domain project witch contains all my domain classes. You should take a look at this post : http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2010/07/16/code-first-development-with-entity-framework-4.aspx using Code-First approach.
Hope it helps!
Here my code for my Session class :
public class EFSession : ISession
{
DbContext _context;
public EFSession(DbContext context)
{
_context = context;
}
public void CommitChanges()
{
_context.SaveChanges();
}
public void Delete<T>(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<T, bool>> expression) where T : class, new()
{
var query = All<T>().Where(expression);
foreach (var item in query)
{
Delete(item);
}
}
public void Delete<T>(T item) where T : class, new()
{
_context.Set<T>().Remove(item);
}
public void DeleteAll<T>() where T : class, new()
{
var query = All<T>();
foreach (var item in query)
{
Delete(item);
}
}
public void Dispose()
{
_context.Dispose();
}
public T Single<T>(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<T, bool>> expression) where T : class, new()
{
return All<T>().FirstOrDefault(expression);
}
public IQueryable<T> All<T>() where T : class, new()
{
return _context.Set<T>().AsQueryable<T>();
}
public void Add<T>(T item) where T : class, new()
{
_context.Set<T>().Add(item);
}
public void Add<T>(IEnumerable<T> items) where T : class, new()
{
foreach (var item in items)
{
Add(item);
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Do not use this since we use EF4, just call CommitChanges() it does not do anything
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
/// <param name="item"></param>
public void Update<T>(T item) where T : class, new()
{
//nothing needed here
}
}

Caching Data Objects when using Repository/Service Pattern and MVC

I have an MVC-based site, which is using a Repository/Service pattern for data access.
The Services are written to be using in a majority of applications (console, winform, and web). Currently, the controllers communicate directly to the services. This has limited the ability to apply proper caching.
I see my options as the following:
Write a wrapper for the web app, which implements the IWhatEverService which does caching.
Apply caching in each controller by cache the ViewData for each Action.
Don't worry about data caching and just implement OutputCaching for each Action.
I can see the pros and cons of each. What is/should the best practice be for caching with Repository/Service
Steve Smith did two great blog posts which demonstrate how to use his CachedRepository pattern to achieve the result you're looking for.
Introducing the CachedRepository Pattern
Building a CachedRepository via Strategy Pattern
In these two posts he shows you how to set up this pattern and also explains why it is useful. By using this pattern you get caching without your existing code seeing any of the caching logic. Essentially you use the cached repository as if it were any other repository.
public class CachedAlbumRepository : IAlbumRepository
{
private readonly IAlbumRepository _albumRepository;
public CachedAlbumRepository(IAlbumRepository albumRepository)
{
_albumRepository = albumRepository;
}
private static readonly object CacheLockObject = new object();
public IEnumerable<Album> GetTopSellingAlbums(int count)
{
Debug.Print("CachedAlbumRepository:GetTopSellingAlbums");
string cacheKey = "TopSellingAlbums-" + count;
var result = HttpRuntime.Cache[cacheKey] as List<Album>;
if (result == null)
{
lock (CacheLockObject)
{
result = HttpRuntime.Cache[cacheKey] as List<Album>;
if (result == null)
{
result = _albumRepository.GetTopSellingAlbums(count).ToList();
HttpRuntime.Cache.Insert(cacheKey, result, null,
DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(60), TimeSpan.Zero);
}
}
}
return result;
}
}
The easiest way would be to handle caching in your repository provider. That way you don't have to change out any code in the rest of your app; it will be oblivious to the fact that the data was served out of a cache rather than the repository.
So, I'd create an interface that the controllers use to communicate with the backend, and in the implementation of this I'd add the caching logic. Wrap it all up in a nice bow with some DI, and your app will be set for easy testing.
Based on answer provided by Brendan, I defined a generic cached repository for the special case of relatively small lists that are rarely changed, but heavily read.
1. The interface
public interface IRepository<T> : IRepository
where T : class
{
IQueryable<T> AllNoTracking { get; }
IQueryable<T> All { get; }
DbSet<T> GetSet { get; }
T Get(int id);
void Insert(T entity);
void BulkInsert(IEnumerable<T> entities);
void Delete(T entity);
void RemoveRange(IEnumerable<T> range);
void Update(T entity);
}
2. Normal/non-cached repository
public class Repository<T> : IRepository<T> where T : class, new()
{
private readonly IEfDbContext _context;
public Repository(IEfDbContext context)
{
_context = context;
}
public IQueryable<T> All => _context.Set<T>().AsQueryable();
public IQueryable<T> AllNoTracking => _context.Set<T>().AsNoTracking();
public IQueryable AllNoTrackingGeneric(Type t)
{
return _context.GetSet(t).AsNoTracking();
}
public DbSet<T> GetSet => _context.Set<T>();
public DbSet GetSetNonGeneric(Type t)
{
return _context.GetSet(t);
}
public IQueryable AllNonGeneric(Type t)
{
return _context.GetSet(t);
}
public T Get(int id)
{
return _context.Set<T>().Find(id);
}
public void Delete(T entity)
{
if (_context.Entry(entity).State == EntityState.Detached)
_context.Set<T>().Attach(entity);
_context.Set<T>().Remove(entity);
}
public void RemoveRange(IEnumerable<T> range)
{
_context.Set<T>().RemoveRange(range);
}
public void Insert(T entity)
{
_context.Set<T>().Add(entity);
}
public void BulkInsert(IEnumerable<T> entities)
{
_context.BulkInsert(entities);
}
public void Update(T entity)
{
_context.Set<T>().Attach(entity);
_context.Entry(entity).State = EntityState.Modified;
}
}
3. Generic cached repository is based on non-cached one
public interface ICachedRepository<T> where T : class, new()
{
string CacheKey { get; }
void InvalidateCache();
void InsertIntoCache(T item);
}
public class CachedRepository<T> : ICachedRepository<T>, IRepository<T> where T : class, new()
{
private readonly IRepository<T> _modelRepository;
private static readonly object CacheLockObject = new object();
private IList<T> ThreadSafeCacheAccessAction(Action<IList<T>> action = null)
{
// refresh cache if necessary
var list = HttpRuntime.Cache[CacheKey] as IList<T>;
if (list == null)
{
lock (CacheLockObject)
{
list = HttpRuntime.Cache[CacheKey] as IList<T>;
if (list == null)
{
list = _modelRepository.All.ToList();
//TODO: remove hardcoding
HttpRuntime.Cache.Insert(CacheKey, list, null, DateTime.UtcNow.AddMinutes(10), Cache.NoSlidingExpiration);
}
}
}
// execute custom action, if one is required
if (action != null)
{
lock (CacheLockObject)
{
action(list);
}
}
return list;
}
public IList<T> GetCachedItems()
{
IList<T> ret = ThreadSafeCacheAccessAction();
return ret;
}
/// <summary>
/// returns value without using cache, to allow Queryable usage
/// </summary>
public IQueryable<T> All => _modelRepository.All;
public IQueryable<T> AllNoTracking
{
get
{
var cachedItems = GetCachedItems();
return cachedItems.AsQueryable();
}
}
// other methods come here
public void BulkInsert(IEnumerable<T> entities)
{
var enumerable = entities as IList<T> ?? entities.ToList();
_modelRepository.BulkInsert(enumerable);
// also inserting items within the cache
ThreadSafeCacheAccessAction((list) =>
{
foreach (var item in enumerable)
list.Add(item);
});
}
public void Delete(T entity)
{
_modelRepository.Delete(entity);
ThreadSafeCacheAccessAction((list) =>
{
list.Remove(entity);
});
}
}
Using a DI framework (I am using Ninject), one can easily define if a repository should be cached or not:
// IRepository<T> should be solved using Repository<T>, by default
kernel.Bind(typeof(IRepository<>)).To(typeof(Repository<>));
// IRepository<T> must be solved to Repository<T>, if used in CachedRepository<T>
kernel.Bind(typeof(IRepository<>)).To(typeof(Repository<>)).WhenInjectedInto(typeof(CachedRepository<>));
// explicit repositories using caching
var cachedTypes = new List<Type>
{
typeof(ImportingSystem), typeof(ImportingSystemLoadInfo), typeof(Environment)
};
cachedTypes.ForEach(type =>
{
// allow access as normal repository
kernel
.Bind(typeof(IRepository<>).MakeGenericType(type))
.To(typeof(CachedRepository<>).MakeGenericType(type));
// allow access as a cached repository
kernel
.Bind(typeof(ICachedRepository<>).MakeGenericType(type))
.To(typeof(CachedRepository<>).MakeGenericType(type));
});
So, reading from cached repositories is done without knowing about the caching. However, changing them requires to inject from ICacheRepository<> and calling the appropriate methods.

Resources