I create a new Entity in EntityManager like this:
var newCust = manager.createEntity('Customer', { Name: 'MyNewCustomer' });
it's Id is correctly generated. On a Button-Click I save the Entity on the Server:
manager.saveChanges([newCust]).then(function (saveResult) {
alert('saved!');
}
Now everything works perfect BUT, the Entity in newCust keeps it's EntityState "Added". It doesn't change to "Unchanged".
I've debugged a little and found out, that in the function "mergeEntity(mc, node, meta)" of breeze, where the following code happens - no entity is found (eventhough the key it searches is the same Id - the Id-Fixup worked correctly):
var targetEntity = em.findEntityByKey(entityKey);
So everytime I save my new Entity, a new Entity will be created in my EntityManager. When I reload the page, the entity is flagged correctly and works. The only problem is, that a new entity will be saved everytime I save changes.
Thanks for any help!
Edit 1:
I found the problem and I'm not sure what exactly Breeze expects of me. When my ContextProvider saves the Entity it sends a DB-Update-Command (for all the properties) and then returns. The problem is, that the Id of the saveResult-Object is still the "tempId" and not the real one - so when Breeze on Client-Side receives the object it doesn't find it in the entityManager anymore because the Key-Fixup happened already.
What exactly is Breeze expecting to receive from the saveResult? A representation of the object as it is in the Database at this moment? - would make sense but I don't find it documented.
Edit 2:
It looks like I'm not able to replace the object in the saveWorkState.saveMap (EntityInfo info.Entity is readonly). What I would like to do is create the newly added object and return this object instead of the one that breeze sent me. I have calculated values on the newly created object and the new "real" Id. What the NoDB-Sample seems to do is just overwrite the Id for the newId but any other properties are not changing. Maybe I'm not using this mechanism right?
To make sure, that all EntityInfos that are returned in my SaveResult are the latest representation of the Database I just clear the saveWorkState.SaveMap-Lists
saveWorkState.SaveMap[n].Clear()
and add the new representations
saveWorkState.SaveMap[n].AddRange(newEntityInfos);
and for every Entity that is Added or Modified I create a new EntityInfo with the object that is returned by the Database
private EntityInfo SaveEntity(List<KeyMapping> keyMap, EntityInfo info) {
EntityInfo result = info;
switch (info.EntityState) {
case EntityState.Added: {
// CreateInDatabase
// Possible changes in object properties happen (for calculated values)
...
var newObj = GetObjectAgainFromDatabase(info.Entity);
keyMap.Add(new KeyMapping() { EntityTypeName = bu.RuntimeClass.FullName, TempValue = (MyObject)info.Entity.Id, RealValue = newObj.Id });
result = CreateEntityInfo(newObj, EntityState.Added);
break;
}
case EntityState.Deleted: {
// Delete in Database
// EntityInfo doesn't have to change
break;
}
case EntityState.Modified: {
// Update in Database
result = CreateEntityInfo(bu.WrappedPOCO, EntityState.Modified);
break;
}
default: //EntityState.Detached, EntityState.Unchanged
break;
}
return result;
}
Any comments on this solution are welcome!
I've tried drilling down into the object and looking at the docs but haven't found anything. I've created an entity and I need to assign some properties manually. I see _backingStore and entityAspect on the object... and I know the property names but don't know how to set them via the breeze entity.
In case it matters, I'm creating a new object and then copying properties over from another object to facilitate cloning.
function createDocument() {
var manager = datacontext.manager;
var ds = datacontext.serviceName;
if (!manager.metadataStore.hasMetadataFor(ds)) {
manager.fetchMetadata(ds).then(function () {
return manager.createEntity("Document");
})
}
else {
return manager.createEntity("Document");
}
}
function cloneDocument(doc) {
var clonedDocument = createDocument();
// Copy Properties Here - how?
saveChanges()
.fail(cloneFailed)
.fin(cloneSucceeded);
}
Not knowing what your properties might be, here are two scenarios -
function cloneDocument(doc) {
var clonedDocument = createDocument();
clonedDocument.docId(doc.docId());
clonedDocument.description(doc.description());
saveChanges()
.fail(cloneFailed)
.fin(cloneSucceeded);
}
There are a few things to note here - I am assuming you are using Knockout and needing to set the properties. If you are not using Knockout then you can remove the parans and use equals -
clonedDocument.docId = doc.docId;
I believe this is true for if you are not using Knockout (vanilla js) and if you are using Angular, but I have not used Breeze with Angular yet so bear with me.
And here's another way that works regardless of model library (Angular or KO)
function cloneDocument(doc) {
var manager = doc.entityAspect.entityManager; // get it from the source
// Check this out! I'm using an object initializer!
var clonedDocument = manager.createEntity("Document", {
description: doc.description,
foo: doc.foo,
bar: doc.bar,
baz: doc.baz
});
return clonedDocument;
}
But beware of this:
clonedDocument.docId = doc.docId; // Probably won't work!
Two entities of the same type in the same manager cannot have the same key.
Extra credit: write a utility that copies the properties of one entity to another without copying entityAspect or the key (the id) and optionally clones the entities of a dependent navigation (e.g., the order line items of an order).
There appears to be two ways to update a disconnected Entity Framework entity using the "attach" method.
Method One is to simply set the disconnected entity's state as modified:
myDbContext.Dogs.Attach(dog);
myDbContext.Entry(dog).State = EntityState.Modified;
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
This will save all fields on the "dog" object. But say you are doing this from an mvc web page where you only allow editing of Dog.Name, and the only Dog property contained on the page is Name. Then one could do Method Two:
myDbContext.Dogs.Attach(dog);
myDbContext.Entry(dog).Property(o => o.Name).CurrentValue = dog.Name;
myDbContext.Entry(dog).Property(o => o.Name).IsModified = true;
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
Method Two could get quite verbose when there are a lot of properties to update. This prompted me to attempt Method Three, setting IsModified = false on the properties I don't want to change. This does not work, throwing the runtime error "Setting IsModified to false for a modified property is not supported":
myDbContext.Dogs.Attach(dog);
myDbContext.Entry(dog).State = EntityState.Modified;
myDbContext.Entry(dog).Property(o => o.Owner).IsModified = false;
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
I'd much prefer to use Method One everywhere, but there are many instances where my asp.net mvc view does not contain every scalar property of the Dog class.
My questions are:
Are there any attributes I could use on the POCO class that would tell Entity Framework that I never want the property to up updated? Eg, [NeverUpdate]. I am aware of the [NotMapped] attribute, but that is not what I need.
Failing that, is there any way I can use Method One above (myDbContext.Entry(dog).State = EntityState.Modified;
) and exclude fields that I don't want updated?
P.S. I am aware of another way, to not use "attach" and simply fetch a fresh object from the database, update the desired properties, and save. That is what I am doing, but I'm curious if there is a way to use "attach," thus avoiding that extra trip to the database, but do it in a way that is not so verbose as Method Two above. By "fetch a fresh object" I mean:
Dog dbDog = myDbContext.Dogs.FirstOrDefault(d => d.ID = dog.ID);
dbDog.Name = dog.Name;
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
The following may work works.
myDbContext.Dogs.Attach(dog);
myDbContext.Entry(dog).State = EntityState.Modified;
var objectContext = ((IObjectContextAdapter) myDbContext).ObjectContext;
foreach (var entry in objectContext.ObjectStateManager.GetObjectStateEntries(EntityState.Modified).Where(entity => entity.Entity.GetType() == typeof(Dogs)))
{
// You need to give Foreign Key Property name
// instead of Navigation Property name
entry.RejectPropertyChanges("OwnerID");
}
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
If you want to do it in a single line, use the following extension method:
public static void DontUpdateProperty<TEntity>(this DbContext context, string propertyName)
{
var objectContext = ((IObjectContextAdapter) context).ObjectContext;
foreach (var entry in objectContext.ObjectStateManager.GetObjectStateEntries(EntityState.Modified).Where(entity => entity.Entity.GetType() == typeof(TEntity)))
{
entry.RejectPropertyChanges(propertyName);
}
}
And use it like this
// After you modify some POCOs
myDbContext.DontUpdateProperty<Dogs>("OwnerID");
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
As you can see, you can modify this solution to fit your needs, e.g. use string[] properties instead of string propertyName as the argument.
Suggested Approach
A better solution would be to use an Attribute as you suggested ([NeverUpdate]). To make it work, you need to use SavingChanges event (check my blog):
void ObjectContext_SavingChanges(object sender, System.Data.Objects.SavingChangesEventArgs e)
{
ObjectContext context = sender as ObjectContext;
if(context != null)
{
foreach(ObjectStateEntry entry in context.ObjectStateManager.GetObjectStateEntries(EntityState.Modified))
{
var type = typeof(entry.Entity);
var properties = type.GetProperties();
foreach( var property in properties )
{
var attributes = property.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(NeverUpdateAttribute), false);
if(attributes.Length > 0)
entry.RejectPropertyChanges(property.Name);
}
}
}
}
// Check Microsoft documentation on how to create custom attributes:
// http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/sw480ze8(v=vs.80).aspx
public class NeverUpdateAttribute: SystemAttribute
{
}
//In your POCO
public class Dogs
{
[NeverUpdate]
public int OwnerID { get; set; }
}
Warning: I did not compile this code. I'm not at home :/
Warning 2: I have just read the MSDN documentation and it says:
ObjectStateEntry.RejectPropertyChanges Method
Rejects any changes made to the property with the given name since the
property was last loaded, attached, saved, or changes were accepted.
The orginal value of the property is stored and the property will no
longer be marked as modified.
I am not sure what its behavior would be in the case of attaching a modified entity. I will try this tomorrow.
Warning 3: I have tried it now. This solution works. Property that is rejected with RejectPropertyChanges() method are not updated in the persistence unit (database).
HOWEVER, if the entity that is updated is attached by calling Attach(), the current context remains dirty after SaveChanges(). Assume that the following row exists in the database:
Dogs
ID: 1
Name: Max
OwnerID: 1
Consider the following code:
var myDog = new Dogs();
myDog.ID = 1;
myDog.Name = Achilles;
myDog.OwnerID = 2;
myDbContext.Dogs.Attach(myDog);
myDbContext.Entry(myDog).State = EntityState.Modified;
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
The current state of database after SaveChanges():
Dogs:
ID: 1
Name: Achilles
OwnerID: 1
The current state of myDbContext after SaveChanges():
var ownerId = myDog.OwnerID; // it is 2
var status = myDbContext.Entry(myDog).State; // it is Unchanged
So what you should do? Detach it after SaveChanges():
Dogs myDog = new Dogs();
//Set properties
...
myDbContext.Dogs.Attach(myDog);
myDbContext.Entry(myDog).State = EntityState.Modified;
myDbContext.SaveChanges();
myDbContext.Entry(myDog).State = EntityState.Detached;
I try to create some method that can update any changed data from changed Data object (this object is generated by ASP.NET MVC) to old Data object (this object is retrieved from current data in DBMS) like the following code.
public static bool UpdateSomeData(SomeEntities context, SomeModelType changedData)
{
var oldData = GetSomeModelTypeById(context, changedData.ID);
UpdateModel(oldData, changedData);
return context.SaveChanges() > 0;
}
I try to create method for saving any changed data without affects other unchanged data like the following source code.
public static void UpdateModel<TModel>(TModel oldData, TModel changedData)
{
foreach (var pi in typeof(TModel).GetProperties()
.Where
(
// Ignore Change ID property for security reason
x => x.Name.ToUpper() != "ID" &&
x.CanRead &&
x.CanWrite &&
(
// It must be primitive type or Guid
x.PropertyType.FullName.StartsWith("System") &&
!x.PropertyType.FullName.StartsWith("System.Collection") &&
!x.PropertyType.FullName.StartsWith("System.Data.Entity.DynamicProxies")
)
)
{
var oldValue = pi.GetValue(oldData, null);
var newValue = pi.GetValue(changedData, null);
if (!oldValue.Equals(newValue))
{
pi.SetValue(oldData, newValue, null);
}
}
}
I am not sure about the above method because it is so ugly method for updating data. From recent bug, it realizes me that if you update some property like Navigation Properties (related data from other table), it will remove current record from database. I don't understand why it happened. But it is very dangerous for me.
So, do you have any idea for this question to ensure me about updating data from ASP.NET MVC?
Thanks,
Have you looked into using a tool like Automapper? You can map the entity type to itself and have automapper copy all the fields over for you. Actually I would prefer to see you use a view model in MVC instead of allowing edits directly to your entities, but that's personal preference.
I have an object which has a circular reference to another object. Given the relationship between these objects this is the right design.
To Illustrate
Machine => Customer => Machine
As is expected I run into an issue when I try to use Json to serialize a machine or customer object. What I am unsure of is how to resolve this issue as I don't want to break the relationship between the Machine and Customer objects. What are the options for resolving this issue?
Edit
Presently I am using Json method provided by the Controller base class. So the serialization I am doing is as basic as:
Json(machineForm);
Update:
Do not try to use NonSerializedAttribute, as the JavaScriptSerializer apparently ignores it.
Instead, use the ScriptIgnoreAttribute in System.Web.Script.Serialization.
public class Machine
{
public string Customer { get; set; }
// Other members
// ...
}
public class Customer
{
[ScriptIgnore]
public Machine Machine { get; set; } // Parent reference?
// Other members
// ...
}
This way, when you toss a Machine into the Json method, it will traverse the relationship from Machine to Customer but will not try to go back from Customer to Machine.
The relationship is still there for your code to do as it pleases with, but the JavaScriptSerializer (used by the Json method) will ignore it.
I'm answering this despite its age because it is the 3rd result (currently) from Google for "json.encode circular reference" and although I don't agree with the answers (completely) above, in that using the ScriptIgnoreAttribute assumes that you won't anywhere in your code want to traverse the relationship in the other direction for some JSON. I don't believe in locking down your model because of one use case.
It did inspire me to use this simple solution.
Since you're working in a View in MVC, you have the Model and you want to simply assign the Model to the ViewData.Model within your controller, go ahead and use a LINQ query within your View to flatten the data nicely removing the offending circular reference for the particular JSON you want like this:
var jsonMachines = from m in machineForm
select new { m.X, m.Y, // other Machine properties you desire
Customer = new { m.Customer.Id, m.Customer.Name, // other Customer properties you desire
}};
return Json(jsonMachines);
Or if the Machine -> Customer relationship is 1..* -> * then try:
var jsonMachines = from m in machineForm
select new { m.X, m.Y, // other machine properties you desire
Customers = new List<Customer>(
(from c in m.Customers
select new Customer()
{
Id = c.Id,
Name = c.Name,
// Other Customer properties you desire
}).Cast<Customer>())
};
return Json(jsonMachines);
Based on txl's answer you have to
disable lazy loading and proxy creation and you can use the normal methods to get your data.
Example:
//Retrieve Items with Json:
public JsonResult Search(string id = "")
{
db.Configuration.LazyLoadingEnabled = false;
db.Configuration.ProxyCreationEnabled = false;
var res = db.Table.Where(a => a.Name.Contains(id)).Take(8);
return Json(res, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
}
Use to have the same problem. I have created a simple extension method, that "flattens" L2E objects into an IDictionary. An IDictionary is serialized correctly by the JavaScriptSerializer. The resulting Json is the same as directly serializing the object.
Since I limit the level of serialization, circular references are avoided. It also will not include 1->n linked tables (Entitysets).
private static IDictionary<string, object> JsonFlatten(object data, int maxLevel, int currLevel) {
var result = new Dictionary<string, object>();
var myType = data.GetType();
var myAssembly = myType.Assembly;
var props = myType.GetProperties();
foreach (var prop in props) {
// Remove EntityKey etc.
if (prop.Name.StartsWith("Entity")) {
continue;
}
if (prop.Name.EndsWith("Reference")) {
continue;
}
// Do not include lookups to linked tables
Type typeOfProp = prop.PropertyType;
if (typeOfProp.Name.StartsWith("EntityCollection")) {
continue;
}
// If the type is from my assembly == custom type
// include it, but flattened
if (typeOfProp.Assembly == myAssembly) {
if (currLevel < maxLevel) {
result.Add(prop.Name, JsonFlatten(prop.GetValue(data, null), maxLevel, currLevel + 1));
}
} else {
result.Add(prop.Name, prop.GetValue(data, null));
}
}
return result;
}
public static IDictionary<string, object> JsonFlatten(this Controller controller, object data, int maxLevel = 2) {
return JsonFlatten(data, maxLevel, 1);
}
My Action method looks like this:
public JsonResult AsJson(int id) {
var data = Find(id);
var result = this.JsonFlatten(data);
return Json(result, JsonRequestBehavior.AllowGet);
}
In the Entity Framework version 4, there is an option available: ObjectContextOptions.LazyLoadingEnabled
Setting it to false should avoid the 'circular reference' issue. However, you will have to explicitly load the navigation properties that you want to include.
see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb896272.aspx
Since, to my knowledge, you cannot serialize object references, but only copies you could try employing a bit of a dirty hack that goes something like this:
Customer should serialize its Machine reference as the machine's id
When you deserialize the json code you can then run a simple function on top of it that transforms those id's into proper references.
You need to decide which is the "root" object. Say the machine is the root, then the customer is a sub-object of machine. When you serialise machine, it will serialise the customer as a sub-object in the JSON, and when the customer is serialised, it will NOT serialise it's back-reference to the machine. When your code deserialises the machine, it will deserialise the machine's customer sub-object and reinstate the back-reference from the customer to the machine.
Most serialisation libraries provide some kind of hook to modify how deserialisation is performed for each class. You'd need to use that hook to modify deserialisation for the machine class to reinstate the backreference in the machine's customer. Exactly what that hook is depends on the JSON library you are using.
I've had the same problem this week as well, and could not use anonymous types because I needed to implement an interface asking for a List<MyType>. After making a diagram showing all relationships with navigability, I found out that MyType had a bidirectional relationship with MyObject which caused this circular reference, since they both saved each other.
After deciding that MyObject did not really need to know MyType, and thereby making it a unidirectional relationship this problem was solved.
What I have done is a bit radical, but I don't need the property, which makes the nasty circular-reference-causing error, so I have set it to null before serializing.
SessionTickets result = GetTicketsSession();
foreach(var r in result.Tickets)
{
r.TicketTypes = null; //those two were creating the problem
r.SelectedTicketType = null;
}
return Json(result);
If you really need your properties, you can create a viewmodel which does not hold circular references, but maybe keeps some Id of the important element, that you could use later for restoring the original value.