How can I have read-only properties in my EntityFramework classes?

David Thielen 3,211 Reputation points
2023-03-09T23:50:18.3366667+00:00

Is there a way in my EF classes to have properties that are read only? The best example is the PK Id property - that needs to be read only and changing that would be bad.

Up to now I've used ADO.NET and it was a piece of cake in that. But I can't find a way to accomplish it in EF.

??? - thanks - dave

Developer technologies | .NET | Entity Framework Core
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Accepted answer
  1. Zeeshan Nasir Bajwa 656 Reputation points Student Ambassador
    2023-03-13T05:43:01.24+00:00

    Yes, it is possible to create read-only properties in Entity Framework (EF) classes.

    One way to achieve this is to use the private set modifier on the property declaration. This allows the property to be set only within the class itself, but not by external code.

    Here's an example of how you could define a read-only Id property in an EF class:

    public class MyEntity
    {
        public int Id { get; private set; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
        // Other properties and methods...
    }
    
    

    In this example, the Id property has a private set modifier, which means it can only be set within the MyEntity class itself. The Name property, on the other hand, has a public setter and can be set from external code.

    Note that this approach assumes that the Id property is set by the database when the entity is inserted, and cannot be changed afterwards. If you need to modify the Id property after it has been assigned, you will need to modify the underlying database record, which is generally not recommended.

    Alternatively, you could also use constructor injection to set the Id property when the object is constructed. This would allow you to create read-only properties without using the private set modifier:

    public class MyEntity
    {
        public int Id { get; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
    
        public MyEntity(int id)
        {
            Id = id;
        }
        // Other properties and methods...
    }
    
    

    In this example, the Id property is set only once, during the construction of the MyEntity object. Once set, it cannot be modified from external code.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

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