Should I be disposing EF4.0 ObjectContexts? - entity-framework-4

I've got a simple UnitOfWork pattern going with Entity Framework 4, like so:
public class UnitOfWork
{
private readonly myEntities _context;
public UnitOfWork()
{
_context = new myEntities();
}
public myEntities Context { get { return _context; } }
public void SaveChanges()
{
_context.SaveChanges();
}
public void Finish()
{
_context.Dispose();
}
}
My question is this: do I need that Finish method? Do I need to explicitly call Dispose on my ObjectContext-derived entity object, or should I just let the garbage collector take care of it?

Since the EF context is disposable and at its core represents a database connection yes, you should Dispose() it.
To make it a little easier on the consumers of your UnitOfWork class, I would make it implement IDisposable as well as opposed to providing a Finish() method. That way it can be used in a using block.

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 to new up an object independent of the container? [duplicate]

I'm trying to implement IoC in my windows form application. My choice fell on Simple Injector, because it's fast and lightweight. I also implement unit of work and repository pattern in my apps. Here is the structure:
DbContext:
public class MemberContext : DbContext
{
public MemberContext()
: base("Name=MemberContext")
{ }
public DbSet<Member> Members { get; set; }
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);
modelBuilder.Conventions.Remove<PluralizingTableNameConvention>();\
}
}
Model:
public class Member
{
public int MemberID { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}
GenericRepository:
public abstract class GenericRepository<TEntity> : IGenericRepository<TEntity>
where TEntity : class
{
internal DbContext context;
internal DbSet<TEntity> dbSet;
public GenericRepository(DbContext context)
{
this.context = context;
this.dbSet = context.Set<TEntity>();
}
public virtual void Insert(TEntity entity)
{
dbSet.Add(entity);
}
}
MemberRepository:
public class MemberRepository : GenericRepository<Member>, IMemberRepository
{
public MemberRepository(DbContext context)
: base(context)
{ }
}
UnitOfWork:
public class UnitOfWork : IUnitOfWork
{
public DbContext context;
public UnitOfWork(DbContext context)
{
this.context = context;
}
public void SaveChanges()
{
context.SaveChanges();
}
private bool disposed = false;
protected virtual void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (!this.disposed)
{
if (disposing)
{
context.Dispose();
}
}
this.disposed = true;
}
public void Dispose()
{
Dispose(true);
GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
}
}
MemberService:
public class MemberService : IMemberService
{
private readonly IUnitOfWork unitOfWork;
private readonly IMemberRepository memberRepository;
public MemberService(IUnitOfWork unitOfWork, IMemberRepository memberRepository)
{
this.unitOfWork = unitOfWork;
this.memberRepository = memberRepository;
}
public void Save(Member member)
{
Save(new List<Member> { member });
}
public void Save(List<Member> members)
{
members.ForEach(m =>
{
if (m.MemberID == default(int))
{
memberRepository.Insert(m);
}
});
unitOfWork.SaveChanges();
}
}
In Member Form I only add a textbox to input member name and a button to save to database. This is the code in member form:
frmMember:
public partial class frmMember : Form
{
private readonly IMemberService memberService;
public frmMember(IMemberService memberService)
{
InitializeComponent();
this.memberService = memberService;
}
private void btnSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Member member = new Member();
member.Name = txtName.Text;
memberService.Save(member);
}
}
I implement the SimpleInjector (refer to http://simpleinjector.readthedocs.org/en/latest/windowsformsintegration.html) in Program.cs as seen in the code below:
static class Program
{
private static Container container;
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Bootstrap();
Application.Run(new frmMember((MemberService)container.GetInstance(typeof(IMemberService))));
}
private static void Bootstrap()
{
container = new Container();
container.RegisterSingle<IMemberRepository, MemberRepository>();
container.Register<IMemberService, MemberService>();
container.Register<DbContext, MemberContext>();
container.Register<IUnitOfWork, UnitOfWork>();
container.Verify();
}
}
When I run the program and add a member, it doesn't save to database. If I changed container.Register to container.RegisterSingle, it will save to database. From the documentation, RegisterSingle will make my class to be a Singleton. I can't using RegisterLifeTimeScope because it will generate an error
"The registered delegate for type IMemberService threw an exception. The IUnitOfWork is registered as 'Lifetime Scope' lifestyle, but the instance is requested outside the context of a Lifetime Scope"
1) How to use SimpleInjector in Windows Form with UnitOfWork & Repository pattern?
2) Do I implement the patterns correctly?
The problem you have is the difference in lifestyles between your service, repository, unitofwork and dbcontext.
Because the MemberRepository has a Singleton lifestyle, Simple Injector will create one instance which will be reused for the duration of the application, which could be days, even weeks or months with a WinForms application. The direct consequence from registering the MemberRepository as Singleton is that all dependencies of this class will become Singletons as well, no matter what lifestyle is used in the registration. This is a common problem called Captive Dependency.
As a side note: The diagnostic services of Simple Injector are able to spot this configuration mistake and will show/throw a Potential Lifestyle Mismatch warning.
So the MemberRepository is Singleton and has one and the same DbContext throughout the application lifetime. But the UnitOfWork, which has a dependency also on DbContext will receive a different instance of the DbContext, because the registration for DbContext is Transient. This context will, in your example, never save the newly created Member because this DbContext does not have any newly created Member, the member is created in a different DbContext.
When you change the registration of DbContext to RegisterSingleton it will start working, because now every service, class or whatever depending on DbContext will get the same instance.
But this is certainly not the solution because having one DbContext for the lifetime of the application will get you into trouble, as you probably already know. This is explained in great detail in this post.
The solution you need is using a Scoped instance of the DbContext, which you already tried. You are missing some information on how to use the lifetime scope feature of Simple Injector (and most of the other containers out there). When using a Scoped lifestyle there must be an active scope as the exception message clearly states. Starting a lifetime scope is pretty simple:
using (ThreadScopedLifestyle.BeginScope(container))
{
// all instances resolved within this scope
// with a ThreadScopedLifestyleLifestyle
// will be the same instance
}
You can read in detail here.
Changing the registrations to:
var container = new Container();
container.Options.DefaultScopedLifestyle = new ThreadScopedLifestyle();
container.Register<IMemberRepository, MemberRepository>(Lifestyle.Scoped);
container.Register<IMemberService, MemberService>(Lifestyle.Scoped);
container.Register<DbContext, MemberContext>(Lifestyle.Scoped);
container.Register<IUnitOfWork, UnitOfWork>(Lifestyle.Scoped);
and changing the code from btnSaveClick() to:
private void btnSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Member member = new Member();
member.Name = txtName.Text;
using (ThreadScopedLifestyle.BeginScope(container))
{
var memberService = container.GetInstance<IMemberService>();
memberService.Save(member);
}
}
is basically what you need.
But we have now introduced a new problem. We are now using the Service Locator anti pattern to get a Scoped instance of the IMemberService implementation. Therefore we need some infrastructural object which will handle this for us as a Cross-Cutting Concern in the application. A Decorator is a perfect way to implement this. See also here. This will look like:
public class ThreadScopedMemberServiceDecorator : IMemberService
{
private readonly Func<IMemberService> decorateeFactory;
private readonly Container container;
public ThreadScopedMemberServiceDecorator(Func<IMemberService> decorateeFactory,
Container container)
{
this.decorateeFactory = decorateeFactory;
this.container = container;
}
public void Save(List<Member> members)
{
using (ThreadScopedLifestyle.BeginScope(container))
{
IMemberService service = this.decorateeFactory.Invoke();
service.Save(members);
}
}
}
You now register this as a (Singleton) Decorator in the Simple Injector Container like this:
container.RegisterDecorator(
typeof(IMemberService),
typeof(ThreadScopedMemberServiceDecorator),
Lifestyle.Singleton);
The container will provide a class which depends on IMemberService with this ThreadScopedMemberServiceDecorator. In this the container will inject a Func<IMemberService> which, when invoked, will return an instance from the container using the configured lifestyle.
Adding this Decorator (and its registration) and changing the lifestyles will fix the issue from your example.
I expect however that your application will in the end have an IMemberService, IUserService, ICustomerService, etc... So you need a decorator for each and every IXXXService, not very DRY if you ask me. If all services will implement Save(List<T> items) you could consider creating an open generic interface:
public interface IService<T>
{
void Save(List<T> items);
}
public class MemberService : IService<Member>
{
// same code as before
}
You register all implementations in one line using Batch-Registration:
container.Register(typeof(IService<>),
new[] { Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly() },
Lifestyle.Scoped);
And you can wrap all these instances into a single open generic implementation of the above mentioned ThreadScopedServiceDecorator.
It would IMO even be better to use the command / handler pattern (you should really read the link!) for this type of work. In very short: In this pattern every use case is translated to a message object (a command) which is handled by a single command handler, which can be decorated by e.g. a SaveChangesCommandHandlerDecorator and a ThreadScopedCommandHandlerDecorator and LoggingDecorator and so on.
Your example would then look like:
public interface ICommandHandler<TCommand>
{
void Handle(TCommand command);
}
public class CreateMemberCommand
{
public string MemberName { get; set; }
}
With the following handlers:
public class CreateMemberCommandHandler : ICommandHandler<CreateMemberCommand>
{
//notice that the need for MemberRepository is zero IMO
private readonly IGenericRepository<Member> memberRepository;
public CreateMemberCommandHandler(IGenericRepository<Member> memberRepository)
{
this.memberRepository = memberRepository;
}
public void Handle(CreateMemberCommand command)
{
var member = new Member { Name = command.MemberName };
this.memberRepository.Insert(member);
}
}
public class SaveChangesCommandHandlerDecorator<TCommand>
: ICommandHandler<TCommand>
{
private ICommandHandler<TCommand> decoratee;
private DbContext db;
public SaveChangesCommandHandlerDecorator(
ICommandHandler<TCommand> decoratee, DbContext db)
{
this.decoratee = decoratee;
this.db = db;
}
public void Handle(TCommand command)
{
this.decoratee.Handle(command);
this.db.SaveChanges();
}
}
And the form can now depend on ICommandHandler<T>:
public partial class frmMember : Form
{
private readonly ICommandHandler<CreateMemberCommand> commandHandler;
public frmMember(ICommandHandler<CreateMemberCommand> commandHandler)
{
InitializeComponent();
this.commandHandler = commandHandler;
}
private void btnSave_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.commandHandler.Handle(
new CreateMemberCommand { MemberName = txtName.Text });
}
}
This can all be registered as follows:
container.Register(typeof(IGenericRepository<>),
typeof(GenericRepository<>));
container.Register(typeof(ICommandHandler<>),
new[] { Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly() });
container.RegisterDecorator(typeof(ICommandHandler<>),
typeof(SaveChangesCommandHandlerDecorator<>));
container.RegisterDecorator(typeof(ICommandHandler<>),
typeof(ThreadScopedCommandHandlerDecorator<>),
Lifestyle.Singleton);
This design will remove the need for UnitOfWork and a (specific) service completely.

EF won't detect changes

I'm using a generic repository and a unit of work, don't know why it won't detect the changes I made to the database.
public abstract class Repository<T> : IRepository<T>
where T : class, IAuditEntity
{
protected IObjectSet<T> _objectSet;
public Repository(ObjectContext context)
{
_objectSet = context.CreateObjectSet<T>();
}
#region IRepository<T> Members
public abstract T GetById(object id);
public IEnumerable<T> GetAll()
{
return _objectSet.Where(e => !e.IsDeleted).OrderByDescending(o => o.ModifiedOn);
}
public IEnumerable<T> Query(Expression<Func<T, bool>> filter)
{
return _objectSet.Where(filter);
}
public void Add(T entity)
{
_objectSet.AddObject(entity);
}
public void Update(T entity)
{
//some code here; not working
//What do I need to put here?
}
public void Remove(T entity)
{
_objectSet.DeleteObject(entity);
}
}
Controller:
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Edit(Student stud)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
_unitOfWork.Students.Update(stud);
_unitOfWork.Commit();
return RedirectToAction("Index");
}
return View(stud);
}
Before, I try to update my record using this:
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Edit(Student stud)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
var i = _unitOfWork.Students.GetById(stud.StudentID);
TryUpdateModel(i);
_unitOfWork.Commit();
return RedirectToAction("Index");
}
return View(stud);
}
Sure it works, but I am certain that this is not the proper way to do it. Just want to ask what do I need to make the Update method on my repository work?
You need to keep reference to the context in your repository and use this:
public void Update(T entity)
{
_objectSet.Attach(entity);
_context.ObjectStateManager.ChangeObjectState(entity, EntityState.Modified);
}
This is happening because when the Student object gets posted back to the controller it is no longer attached to the entity framework context due to the stateless nature of HTTP.
Your second approach of getting the record from the DB and modifying it is fine but obviously involves an extra round trip to the database.
I normally use Dbcontext rather than ObjectContext which I belive is essentially a wrapper around ObjectContext with some extra functionality. I'm not sure if this helps or not but if you were to use DbContext you would be able to do this....
dbContext.Entry(stud).State = EntityState.Modified;
dbContext.SaveChanges();
The same can be achieved through the ObjectContext by calling AttachTo to re-attach the returned Student back to the context and then set it's state to modified before you call SaveChanges.

Ninject + ASP.net MVC + Entity Framework - when is my context disposed?

I am using Ninject in my MVC 3 application and one of my dependencies is on Entity Framework:
interface IFooRepository
{
Foo GetFoo(int id);
}
public EFFooRepository : IFooRepository
{
private FooDbContext context;
public EFFooRepository(FooDbContext context)
{
this.context = context;
}
}
I set up a binding like so in Ninject, so if I have more than one dependency and they both need a data context they end up sharing the same context:
Bind<FooDbContext>().ToSelf().InRequestScope();
I am uncertain of when my context will be disposed. Since I am not the one that instantiates it, will it ever get disposed of or will it just get disposed of when it is garbage collected? Does Ninject know to Dispose of anything when it is done with it?
If the FooDbContext implements IDisposable, Ninject will automatically call the Dispose method on it at the end of the request.
Here's how you can verify it:
Create a new ASP.NET MVC 3 application using the default template
Install the Ninject.Mvc3 NuGet package
Have the following:
public interface IFooRepository
{
}
public class FooDbContext: IDisposable
{
public void Dispose()
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
public class EFFooRepository : IFooRepository
{
private FooDbContext _context;
public EFFooRepository(FooDbContext context)
{
_context = context;
}
}
public class HomeController : Controller
{
private readonly IFooRepository _repo;
public HomeController(IFooRepository repo)
{
_repo = repo;
}
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View();
}
}
Add the following in the RegisterServices method of ~/App_Start/NinjectMVC3.cs:
private static void RegisterServices(IKernel kernel)
{
kernel.Bind<FooDbContext>().ToSelf().InRequestScope();
kernel.Bind<IFooRepository>().To<EFFooRepository>();
}
Run the application. As expected at the end of the request, the FooDbContext instance is disposed and the NotImplementedException exception is thrown.

Implementing UnitOfWork with Castle.Windsor

Simple question.
How do I use UnitOfWork with Castle.Windsor, nHibernate, and ASP.NET MVC?
Now for the extended details. In my quest to understand the UnitOfWork pattern, I'm having difficulty coming across anything that uses a direct example in conjunction with Castle.Windsor, specifically in regards to the way it needs to be installed.
Here is my understanding so far.
IUnitOfWork
The IUnitOfWork interface is used to declare the pattern
The UnitOfWork class must Commit and Rollback transactions, and Expose a Session.
So with that said, here is my IUnitOfWork. (I am using Fluent nHibernate)
public interface IUnitOfWork : IDisposable
{
ISession Session { get; private set; }
void Rollback();
void Commit();
}
So here is my Castle.Windsor Container Bootstrapper (ASP.NET MVC)
public class WindsorContainerFactory
{
private static Castle.Windsor.IWindsorContainer container;
private static readonly object SyncObject = new object();
public static Castle.Windsor.IWindsorContainer Current()
{
if (container == null)
{
lock (SyncObject)
{
if (container == null)
{
container = new Castle.Windsor.WindsorContainer();
container.Install(new Installers.SessionInstaller());
container.Install(new Installers.RepositoryInstaller());
container.Install(new Installers.ProviderInstaller());
container.Install(new Installers.ControllerInstaller());
}
}
}
return container;
}
}
So now, in my Global.asax file, I have the following...
protected void Application_Start()
{
AreaRegistration.RegisterAllAreas();
RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilters.Filters);
RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
// Register the Windsor Container
ControllerBuilder.Current
.SetControllerFactory(new Containers.WindsorControllerFactory());
}
Repository
Now I understand that I need to pass the ISession to my Repository. So then, let me assume IMembershipRepository.
class MembershipRepository : IMembershipRepository
{
private readonly ISession session;
public MembershipRepository(ISession session)
{
this.session = session;
}
public Member RetrieveMember(string email)
{
return session.Query<Member>().SingleOrDefault( i => i.Email == email );
}
}
So I am confused, now. Using this method, the ISession doesn't get destroyed properly, and the UnitOfWork never gets used.
I've been informed that UnitOfWork needs to go in the Web Request Level - but I cannot find anything explaining how to actually go about this. I do not use a ServiceLocator of any sort ( as when I tried, I was told this was also bad practice... ).
Confusion -- How does a UnitOfWork get created?
I just don't understand this, in
general. My thought was that I would
start passing UnitOfWork into the
Repository constructors - but if it
has to go in the Web Request, I'm not
understanding where the two relate.
Further Code
This is extra code for clarification, simply because I seem to have a habit of never providing the right information for my questions.
Installers
public class ControllerInstaller : IWindsorInstaller
{
public void Install(IWindsorContainer container, IConfigurationStore store)
{
container.Register(
AllTypes.FromThisAssembly()
.BasedOn<IController>()
.Configure(c => c.LifeStyle.Transient));
}
}
public class ProviderInstaller : IWindsorInstaller
{
public void Install(IWindsorContainer container, IConfigurationStore store)
{
container.Register(
Component
.For<Membership.IFormsAuthenticationProvider>()
.ImplementedBy<Membership.FormsAuthenticationProvider>()
.LifeStyle.Singleton
);
}
}
public class RepositoryInstaller : IWindsorInstaller
{
public void Install(IWindsorContainer container, IConfigurationStore store)
{
container.Register(
Component
.For<Membership.IMembershipRepository>()
.ImplementedBy<Membership.MembershipRepository>()
.LifeStyle.Transient
);
container.Register(
Component
.For<Characters.ICharacterRepository>()
.ImplementedBy<Characters.CharacterRepository>()
.LifeStyle.Transient
);
}
}
public class SessionInstaller : Castle.MicroKernel.Registration.IWindsorInstaller
{
private static ISessionFactory factory;
private static readonly object SyncObject = new object();
public void Install(Castle.Windsor.IWindsorContainer container, IConfigurationStore store)
{
container.Register(
Component.For<ISessionFactory>()
.UsingFactoryMethod(SessionFactoryFactory)
.LifeStyle.Singleton
);
container.Register(
Component.For<ISession>()
.UsingFactoryMethod(c => SessionFactoryFactory().OpenSession())
.LifeStyle.Transient
);
}
private static ISessionFactory SessionFactoryFactory()
{
if (factory == null)
lock (SyncObject)
if (factory == null)
factory = Persistence.SessionFactory.Map(System.Web.Configuration.WebConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Remote"].ConnectionString);
return factory;
}
}
UnitOfWork
Here is my UnitOfWork class verbatim.
public class UnitOfWork : IUnitOfWork
{
private readonly ISessionFactory sessionFactory;
private readonly ITransaction transaction;
public UnitOfWork(ISessionFactory sessionFactory)
{
this.sessionFactory = sessionFactory;
Session = this.sessionFactory.OpenSession();
transaction = Session.BeginTransaction();
}
public ISession Session { get; private set; }
public void Dispose()
{
Session.Close();
Session = null;
}
public void Rollback()
{
if (transaction.IsActive)
transaction.Rollback();
}
public void Commit()
{
if (transaction.IsActive)
transaction.Commit();
}
}
Your NH Session is a Unit of Work already http://nhforge.org/wikis/patternsandpractices/nhibernate-and-the-unit-of-work-pattern.aspx
So I'm not sure why you would ever need to abstract this out any further. (if anyone reading this answer know's why I would be happy to hear, I've honestly never heard of any reason why you would need to...)
I would implement a simple Session Per Request. I don't know how you would do that with Windsor since I've never used it, but with It's rather simple with StructureMap.
I wrap the structuremap factory to hold my session factory and inject the session into the repositories as required.
public static class IoC
{
static IoC()
{
ObjectFactory.Initialize(x =>
{
x.UseDefaultStructureMapConfigFile = false;
// NHibernate ISessionFactory
x.ForSingletonOf<ISessionFactory>()
.Use(new SessionFactoryManager().CreateSessionFactory());
// NHibernate ISession
x.For().HybridHttpOrThreadLocalScoped()
.Use(s => s.GetInstance<ISessionFactory>().OpenSession());
x.Scan(s => s.AssembliesFromApplicationBaseDirectory());
});
ObjectFactory.AssertConfigurationIsValid();
}
public static T Resolve<T>()
{
return ObjectFactory.GetInstance<T>();
}
public static void ReleaseAndDisposeAllHttpScopedObjects()
{
ObjectFactory.ReleaseAndDisposeAllHttpScopedObjects();
}
}
In the global.asax file on Request_End I call the ReleaseAndDisposeAllHttpScopedObjects() method.
protected void Application_EndRequest(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
IoC.ReleaseAndDisposeAllHttpScopedObjects();
}
So the session is opened when I call my first repository, and when the request is ended it's disposed of. The repositories have a constructor which takes ISession and assigns it to a property. Then I just resolve the repo like:
var productRepository = IoC.Resolve<IProductRepository>();
Hope that helps. There are many other ways of doing it, this is what works for me.
Is it a linguistic/impedence mismatch issue that the library terms don't jive with the lingo you are familiar with?
I am pretty new to this [fluent] nhibernate, too, so I am still trying to figure it out, but my take is this:
Normally, associate the ISession with an Application session (eg, if it were a web app, you would might consider associating the creation of the session with the Application_Start event, and dispose when the app shuts down -- gracefully or not). When the scope of the app goes away, so should the repository.
The UnitOfWork is just a way of wrapping/abstraction transactions, where you have more than one action to perform during an update, and to remain consistent they must both complete, in sequence, and each successfully. Such as when applying more than trivial business rules to data creation, analysis, or transforms...
Here is a link to a blog post that provides an example of using ISession and UnitOfWork in a fluent style.
http://blog.bobcravens.com/2010/06/the-repository-pattern-with-linq-to-fluent-nhibernate-and-mysql/#comments
EDIT: Just to emphasize, I don't think you -must- use a unit of work for every operation against a repository. The UnitOfWork is only really needed when a transaction is the only reasonably choice, but I am just starting with this, too.

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