Custom organized data accessing via classes and constructors - c#

struggling To achieve a solution for a basic Task:
working with more than one Sql Data table, as a source, for a WebSite application...
that's what leads me here once again... seeking for an Experienced C# .net Developers Help.
i was just trying to add some basic logic for a proper implementation,Like using
a dedicated namespace & classes, To Hold reference for All DATABASE tables,
(before i try working / learning about Entities Framework approach.)
i would like to try implement same of basic features of EF ...by my self, and that way... i will also learn how to properly work with classes.
as it is so far ... structured : with my little knowledge
a 'helper'.. namespace , say the company name is: HT technologies
so I've named the namespace HT_DbSchema ...that contains :
tables names
public sealed class HTDB_Tables
{
public const string Customers= "Customers";
public const string Times= "Times";
}
tables IDs
public sealed class HT_tblIDs
{
public const int tblCustomersID = 1, tblTimesID = 2;
}
tables Columns Lists ...(just one example)
public class HTDB_Cols
{
public class tblCustomers
{
public const string CustId = "custId",
CustName = "custName",
CellPhone = "cellPhone" .... etc'
}
}
and as all those 3 classes are serving all projects ..
there's another helper class for constructor Per Table For the Current Project
public class DBMetaDetails
{
public struct DbTable
{
public string TableName { get; set; }
public int TableID { get; set; }
}
}
so still these are all construction / helpers Classes and are separated from the project,
now for current project
What is The Appropriate way to get it done, using above Classes and constructor within a project
(i could name those templates)
what i was doing so far to implement some order is :
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if(!Page.IsPostBack)
{
.... some other App inits here
}
else
{
}
// this method should be the one that instanciates the DbTable struct
//and set the values of tables name and "ID"
setTablesReferences();
}
And Here's where the confusion starts :
in a day by day usage i want to try implement it in a WebSite application :
public void setTableReferences()
{
DBMetaDetails.DbTable CustMeta = new DBMetaDetails.DbTable();
DBMetaDetails.DbTable TimesMeta = new DBMetaDetails.DbTable();
}
so now i need to set CustMeta & TimesMeta details(ids & names)
the struct has a kind of a template structure a kind'a systematic technique to initialize and assign values, so it brings some decent order to my logic with it's existence .
so what is the confusing part ?
from one point of view(safety), i need those tables detailes to be readonly
so DbTable.TableID, and DbTable.TableName would not get overWriten by mistake.
having said that, there should be only one place it could be SET ... a dedicated section of the application, like setTableReferences() above,... there i might add :
CustMeta.TableID = HT_tblIDs.tblCustomersID
CustMeta.TableName = HTDB_Tables.Customers;
on the other hand, i need the information of the tables to be Accessible,
so if let's say i would like to add those DataTables into a DataSet
DataSet ALLTablesSet = new DataSet();
// assuming the SQL actions already been taken in another method previosly...
// so DataTable is already retrived from DB
//...but only as a short usage example:
AllTablesSet.Tables.Add(new DataTable(CustMeta.TableName));
My Question is What is the Correct Way to work with structs ... as in My Scenario,
So in one section of app: you would initialize - assign it with a value privately.
and from other sections of the app you could use its value (Only For Readings)
so that way, the application will not be able to access it's value for writing,
only by reading values, i think it should be trough another (Public ReadOnly) Variable.
so that variable was meant to be exposed ...and it's value could not be "harmed"

If I understand the question correctly, the way I would prevent other code from modifying it is by removing the setters on the properties. However, you still need to set them at some point, so rather than removing the setters completely, you can just make them private. For example:
public string TableName { get; private set; }
If you do this, the only place you can set this data is within the struct itself, so you would need to create a constructor that took the initial values you wanted. So something like:
public struct DbTable
{
public DbTable(string tableName, int tableId)
{
this.TableName = tableName;
this.TableID = tableId;
}
public string TableName { get; private set; }
public int TableID { get; private set; }
}

Related

Assigning Dynamic Variables from an Input Model C#

I am having some issues understanding how I can assign dynamic values from another class into other variables - I have tried using the correct namespaces, correct syntax and reading up on the documentation that the error provides - however no luck even when trying to implement examples shown. I have very little knowledge in regards to C# as I am mainly doing front end, however have to step up and start picking up some Back end oriented things at the company I work at
The current code I have is as follows:
BrazeConnectionInputs.cs
namespace Workflow.Connector.Braze.Models
{
public class BrazeConnectionInputs
{
public string Username { get; set; }
public string Password { get; set; }
}
}
CreateCampaign.cs
public class CreateCampaignRunner
{
private const string Username = BrazeConnectionInputs.Username; // BrazeConnectionInputs.Username errors
private const string Password = BrazeConnectionInputs.Password; // BrazeConnectionInputs.Username errors
}
You need to learn about objects vs classes. You should have an instance of the source class (BrazeConnectionInputs) that might be called something like model.
You can then explicitly assign across by creating a new instance of CreateCampaignRunner like var runner = new CreateCampaignRunner() and then assign the values in a number of ways:
Explicitly like runner.UserName = model.UserName
By using an explicit constructor var runner = new CreateCampaignRunner(model)
Object initializer syntax
Other ways are available
Highly recommend you do a basic C# course

How do I change an auto-implemented property to use a private member variable while keeping the table/column association unchanged?

I want to change a C# class member from being an auto-implemented property (auto-property?) to use a private member variable instead, in my Windows Phone C#-based app. The change is simple except that the class represents a database table. A simplified version of the original class looks like this:
[Table]
public class ResourceItem
{
[Column(IsPrimaryKey=true, IsDbGenerated=true)]
public long m_ItemId { get; set; }
[Column(CanBeNull=true)]
private int? m_Order;
}
A bad decision years ago has led to me now need a custom getter method for m_Order. The new class looks like this:
[Table]
public class ResourceItem
{
[Column(IsPrimaryKey=true, IsDbGenerated=true)]
public long m_ItemId { get; set; }
private int? _order;
[Column(CanBeNull=true)]
public int? m_Order
{
set { _order = value; }
get { return _order == 999999 ? 0 : _order; }
}
}
This all works fine and when the unwanted 999999 value is discovered, the code returns 0, which is totally appropriate.
The original bug is not the issue, nor is the change to the class in regards to C#. The problem is with this being a database column. When I run the new app with a database created by the old version of the app, I get "Row not found or changed" errors when an object of this type is updated in the database.
Why does the update cause a problem? Shouldn't the database schema remain completely unchanged by this class change?
Using [Column(CanBeNull=true, UpdateCheck=UpdateCheck.Never)] as the column definition gets rid of the error but I would like to know why the error shows up in the first place.
Is there a different way to specify the Column attribute to avoid the error? Should I use the Column attribute on the private member instead?
And most importantly, are my database updates working correctly now that I've taken away the update check on this column?

linq2db specify custom conversions for fields going to / from the database to convert to/from specific C# types

In the database we have to work with (which is DB2) there are fields stored as character but are in fact other objects, the most common being custom ways the underlying application stores dates and times. For example:
[Table]
public class ExampleTable {
// This is stored in the DB as a char in the format: 2016-01-11-11.39.53.492000
[Column(Name = "WTIMESTAMP")] public string WriteTimestamp { get; set; }
}
Would there be a way to tell linq2db a conversion method to use when converting to / from the database, that would also allow us to access those properties as an object we want (for instance, a C# DateTime object), but get saved back in the proper format?
One thing I thought of was something like:
[Table]
public class ExampleTable {
public DateTime WriteTimestamp { get; set; }
// This is stored in the DB as a char in the format: 2016-01-11-11.39.53.492000
[Column(Name = "WTIMESTAMP")] public string WriteTimestampRaw
{
get {
return ConvertWriteTimestampToDb2Format(WriteTimestamp);
}
set {
WriteTimestamp = ConvertWriteTimestampToDateTime(value);
}
}
}
And then we access WriteTimestamp, but the linq2db uses WriteTimestampRaw in the queries.
But, I'm not sure if that's the best or only option. Thanks in advance.
Well... just noticed that you said linq2db and not Entity Framework after I posted my answer. Maybe it will still give you some ideas, though.
What I have done before with Entity Framework (although not specifically with DB2, but I think it should still work), is to use the code provided in this answer to allow private properties to be mapped to a database column. Then, I have something similar to your code, except the getters and setters are reversed:
[Table("ExampleTable")]
public class ExampleTable
{
[NotMapped]
public DateTime WriteTimestamp
{
get
{
var db2Tstamp = DB2TimeStamp.Parse(WriteTimestampRaw);
return db2Tstamp.Value;
}
set
{
var db2Tstamp = new DB2TimeStamp(value);
WriteTimestampRaw = db2Tstamp.ToString();
}
}
// This is stored in the DB as a char in the format: 2016-01-11-11.39.53.492000
[Column("WTIMESTAMP")]
private string WriteTimestampRaw { get; set; }
}
I used the DB2TimeStamp class to handle the conversion between string and DateTime values, but you could probably do it however you're comfortable.
You can use MappingSchema.SetConverter method to set conversion between specific types on client side. Or MappingSchema.SetConverterExpression to create converters as a part of query tree.

How do I add a new table to a Telerik Open Access MVC project?

I've inherited a MVC project that seems to use Telerik Open Access to handle data instead of using something I'm more familiar with like entity framework. I'm trying to understand the whole concept of how to work with this data method, but right now I'm just needing to find out how to add a table. I've limited my code examples to one table, but in reality there are dozens of them.
So I see that the class OpenAccessContext.cs has a database connection string, but it also has a IQueryable item made up of the class tblMaterial. The tblMaterial class is defined in tblMaterial.cs. I don't understand how this class is connected to the SQL database version of tblMaterial (so feel free to educate me on that).
I have a table called tblContacts in the SQL database. What do I need to do to connect it to my project? There's no "update from database" option when I right click any object in the solution (because they're all just classes). Will I need to create a new class manually called tblContacts.cs? If so, how do I connect it to the database version of tblContacts? Am I going to need to manually change multiple classes to add the table (OpenAccessContext, MetadataSources, Repository, etc.)?
I tried to keep this as one simple question (how do I add a table) so I don't get dinged, but any light you can shine on the Telerik Open Access would be helpful. (Please don't ding me for asking that!) I checked out the Telerik documentation here: http://docs.telerik.com/data-access/developers-guide/code-only-mapping/getting-started/fluent-mapping-getting-started-fluent-mapping-api , but it's related to setting up a new open access solution. I need to know how to modify one (without ruining the already working code). Thank you in advance for your help!
Here's the solution as seen in Visual Studio:
Open Access
Properties
References
OpenAccessContext.cs
OpenAccessMetadataSources.cs
Repository.cs
tblMaterial.cs
Here's the code:
OpenAccessContext.cs
namespace OpenAccess
{
public partial class OpenAccessContext : OpenAccessContext
{
static MetadataContainer metadataContainer = new OpenAccessMetadataSource().GetModel();
static BackendConfiguration backendConfiguration = new BackendConfiguration()
{
Backend = "mssql"
};
private static string DbConnection = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["ConnString"].ConnectionString;
private static int entity = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Entity"] == "" ? 0 : int.Parse(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Entity"]);
public OpenAccessContext() : base(DbConnection, backendConfiguration, metadataContainer)
{
}
public IQueryable<tblMaterial> tblMaterials
{
get
{
return this.GetAll<tblMaterial>(); //.Where(a => a.EntityId == entity);
}
}
}
}
OpenAccessMetadataSources.cs
namespace OpenAccess
{
public class OpenAccessMetadataSource : FluentMetadataSource
{
protected override IList<MappingConfiguration> PrepareMapping()
{
var configurations = new List<MappingConfiguration>();
// tblMaterial
var materialConfiguration = new MappingConfiguration<tblMaterial>();
materialConfiguration.MapType(x => new
{
MaterialId = x.MaterialId,
MaterialName = x.MaterialName,
MaterialDescription = x.MaterialDescription,
MaterialActive = x.MaterialActive,
MaterialUsageType = x.MaterialUsageType,
AddDate = x.AddDate,
AddBy = x.AddBy,
ModDate = x.ModDate,
ModBy = x.ModBy
}).ToTable("tblMaterial");
materialConfiguration.HasProperty(x => x.MaterialId).IsIdentity(KeyGenerator.Autoinc);
}
}
}
Repository.cs
namespace OpenAccess
{
public class Repository : IRepository
{
#region private variables
private static OpenAccessContext dat = null;
#endregion private varibles
#region public constructor
/// <summary>
/// Constructor
/// </summary>
public Repository()
{
if (dat == null)
{
dat = new OpenAccessContext();
}
}
#endregion public constructor
#region Material (tblMaterials)
public int CreateMaterial(tblMaterial itm)
{
try
{
dat.Add(itm);
dat.SaveChanges();
return itm.MaterialId;
}
catch (Exception)
{
return 0;
}
}
}
}
tblMaterial.cs
namespace OpenAccess
{
public class tblMaterial
{
public int MaterialId { get; set; }
public string MaterialName { get; set; }
public string MaterialDescription { get; set; }
public bool MaterialActive { get; set; }
public int MaterialUsageType { get; set; }
public DateTime? AddDate { get; set; }
public string AddBy { get; set; }
public DateTime? ModDate { get; set; }
public string ModBy { get; set; }
}
}
In the case of tblContacts, I would suggest to you the following workflow for extending the model:
Add a new class file that will hold the definition of the tblContact POCO class. In this class add properties that will correspond to the columns of the table. The types of the properties should logically match the datatypes of the table columns.
In the OpenAccessMetadataSource class, add a new MappingConfiguration<tblContact> for the tblContact class and using explicit mapping provide the mapping details that logically connect the tblContact class with the tblContacts table. Make sure to add both the existing and the new mapping configurations to the configurations list.
Expose the newly added class through an IQueryable<tblContact> property in the context. This property will allow you to compose LINQ queries against the tblContacts table.
Regarding the Repository class, it seems like it is related to the custom logic of the application. It surely is not a file generated by Data Access. Therefore, you need to discuss it in your team.
I also strongly advise you against using OpenAccess in the namespaces of your application. This is known to interfere with the Data Access' namespaces during build time and at some point it causes runtime errors.
I hope this helps.

ASP.NET maintaining static variables

Recently we learned about AppDomain Recycling of IIS and how it affects static variables setting them to their primary values (nulls, 0s, etc).
We use some static variables that are initialized in a static constructor (for first time initialization, configuration values like "number of decimal places", "administrator email", etc... that are retrieved from DB) and then only read their value along the website execution.
Whats the best way of solving this problem? Some possible ideas:
Checking if variable is null/0 at each retrieval (don't like it because of a possible performance impact + time spent to add this check to each variable + code overload added to the project)
Somehow preventing AppDomain Recycling (this reset logic doesn't happen in Windows forms with static variables, shouldn't it work similarly as being the same language in both environments? At least in terms of standards as static variables management)
Using some other way of holding these variables (but we think that for being some values used for info as global reference for all users, static variables were the best option performance/coding wise)
Subscribing to an event that is triggered in those AppDomain Recycling so we can reinitialize all those variables (maybe best option if recycling can't be prevented...)
Ideas?
I would go with the approach that you don't like.
Checking if variable is null/0 at each retrieval (don't like it because of a possible performance impact + time spent to add this check to each variable + code overload added to the project)
I think it's faster than retireving from web.config.
You get a typed object
Its not a performance impact as you are not going to database on every retrieval request. You'll go to database (or any source) only when you find that current value set to its default value.
Checking the null wrapped into code:
public interface IMyConfig {
string Var1 { get; }
string Var2 { get; }
}
public class MyConfig : IMyConfig {
private string _Var1;
private string _Var2;
public string Var1 { get { return _Var1; } }
public string Var2 { get { return _Var2; } }
private static object s_SyncRoot = new object();
private static IMyConfig s_Instance;
private MyConfig() {
// load _Var1, _Var2 variables from db here
}
public static IMyConfig Instance {
get {
if (s_Instance != null) {
return s_Instance;
}
lock (s_SyncRoot) {
s_Instance = new MyConfig();
}
return s_Instance;
}
}
}
Is there any reason why you can't store these values in your web.config file and use ConfiguationManager.AppSettings to retrieve them?
ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["MySetting"] ?? "defaultvalue";
In view of your edit, why not cache the required values when they're first retrieved?
var val = HttpContext.Cache["MySetting"];
if (val == null)
{
val = // Database retrieval logic
HttpContext.Cache["MySetting"] = val;
}
It sounds like you need a write-through (or write-behind) cache, which can be done with static variables.
Whenever a user changes the value, write it back to the database. Then, whenever the AppPool is recycled (which is a normal occurrence and shouldn't be avoided), the static constructors can read the current values from the database.
One thing you'll have to consider: If you ever scale out to a web farm, you'll need to have some sort of "trigger" when a shared variable changes so the other servers on the farm can know to retrieve the new values from the server.
Comments on other parts of your question:
(don't like [Checking if variable is null/0 at each retrieval] because of a possible performance impact + time spent to add this check to each variable + code overload added to the project
If you use a write-through cache you won't need this, but in either case The time spent to check a static variable for 0 or null should be negligible.
[AppDomain recycling] doesn't happen in Windows forms with static variables, shouldn't it work similarly as being the same language in both environments?
No, WebForms and WinForms are completely different platforms with different operating models. Web sites should be able to respond to many (up to millions) of concurrent users. WinForms are built for single-user access.
've resolved this kind of issue, following a pattern similar to this. This enabled me to cater for handling circumstances where the data could change. I set up my ISiteSettingRepository in the bootstrapper. In 1 application I get the configuration from an XML file but in others I get it from the database, as and when I need it.
public class ApplicationSettings
{
public ApplicationSettings()
{
}
public ApplicationSettings(ApplicationSettings settings)
{
ApplicationName = settings.ApplicationName;
EncryptionAlgorithm = settings.EncryptionAlgorithm;
EncryptionKey = settings.EncryptionKey;
HashAlgorithm = settings.HashAlgorithm;
HashKey = settings.HashKey;
Duration = settings.Duration;
BaseUrl = settings.BaseUrl;
Id = settings.Id;
}
public string ApplicationName { get; set; }
public string EncryptionAlgorithm { get; set; }
public string EncryptionKey { get; set; }
public string HashAlgorithm { get; set; }
public string HashKey { get; set; }
public int Duration { get; set; }
public string BaseUrl { get; set; }
public Guid Id { get; set; }
}
Then a "Service" Interface to
public interface IApplicaitonSettingsService
{
ApplicationSettings Get();
}
public class ApplicationSettingsService : IApplicaitonSettingsService
{
private readonly ISiteSettingRepository _repository;
public ApplicationSettingsService(ISiteSettingRepository repository)
{
_repository = repository;
}
public ApplicationSettings Get()
{
SiteSetting setting = _repository.GetAll();
return setting;
}
}
I would take a totally different approach, one that doesn't involve anything static.
First create a class to strongly-type the configuration settings you're after:
public class MyConfig
{
int DecimalPlaces { get; set; }
string AdministratorEmail { get; set; }
//...
}
Then abstract away the persistence layer by creating some repository:
public interface IMyConfigRepository
{
MyConfig Load();
void Save(MyConfig settings);
}
The classes that can read and write these settings can then statically declare that they depend on an implementation of this repository:
public class SomeClass
{
private readonly IMyConfigRepository _repo;
public MyClass(IMyConfigRepository repo)
{
_repo = repo;
}
public void DoSomethingThatNeedsTheConfigSettings()
{
var settings = _repo.Load();
//...
}
}
Now implement the repository interface the way you want (today you want the settings in a database, tomorrow might be serializing to a .xml file, and next year using a cloud service) and the config interface as you need it.
And you're set: all you need now is a way to bind the interface to its implementation. Here's a Ninject example (written in a NinjectModule-derived class' Load method override):
Bind<IMyConfigRepository>().To<MyConfigSqlRepository>();
Then, you can just swap the implementation for a MyConfigCloudRepository or a MyConfigXmlRepository implementation when/if you ever need one.
Being an asp.net application, just make sure you wire up those dependencies in your Global.asax file (at app start-up), and then any class that has a IMyConfigRepository constructor parameter will be injected with a MyConfigSqlRepository which will give you MyConfigImplementation objects that you can load and save as you please.
If you're not using an IoC container, then you would just new up the MyConfigSqlRepository at app start-up, and manually inject the instance into the constructors of the types that need it.
The only thing with this approach, is that if you don't already have a DependencyInjection-friendly app structure, it might mean extensive refactoring - to decouple objects and eliminate the newing up of dependencies, making unit tests much easier to get focused on a single aspect, and much easier to mock-up the dependencies... among other advantages.

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