Calling Stored Procedures - (EF Stored Procedures and Functions)

Entity Framework (EF) is a popular Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) framework that allows developers to work with databases using .NET objects. EF supports calling stored procedures and functions, which can be useful for improving database performance and security. In this tutorial, we'll discuss how to call stored procedures and functions in EF.

Syntax

The syntax for calling stored procedures and functions in EF is as follows:

var result = context.Database
                     .SqlQuery<T>("name", params)
                     .ToList();

Where:

• name is the name of the stored procedure or function to call.
• params is a list of parameters to pass to the stored procedure or function.
• T is the type of the result set returned by the stored procedure or function.

Example

Suppose we have a stored procedure called GetCustomersByCity that retrieves all customers from a specific city. Here's an example of how we can call this stored procedure in EF:

public IList<Customer> GetCustomersByCity(string city)
{
    var sql = "EXEC GetCustomersByCity @city";
    var customers = context.Database
                            .SqlQuery<Customer>(sql, new SqlParameter("@city", city))
                            .ToList();
    return customers;
}

In this example, we're passing a city parameter to the GetCustomersByCity stored procedure using EF. We're also using EF to map the result set to a list of Customer objects.

Explanation

Calling stored procedures and functions in EF allows developers to leverage existing database code and improve performance and security. With stored procedures and functions, developers can move complex database operations to the database, which can improve performance. Additionally, stored procedures and functions can be used to encapsulate data access, which can improve security.

Use

Using stored procedures and functions in EF is a good choice when you have existing database code that you want to leverage in your .NET application, or when you want to encapsulate data access in the database for improved security.

Important Points

Here are some important points to keep in mind when using stored procedures and functions in EF:

• Stored procedures and functions can improve database performance by moving complex operations to the database.
• Stored procedures and functions can improve security by encapsulating data access in the database.
• EF supports calling stored procedures and functions using the SqlQuery method.

Summary

In this tutorial, we discussed how to call stored procedures and functions in EF. We covered syntax, examples, explanation, use, and important points of calling stored procedures and functions in EF. With this knowledge, you can use stored procedures and functions to leverage existing database code and improve performance and security in your .NET applications.