EntityContainer Class

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System.Data.Metadata.Edm

Assembly:: System.Data.Entity.dll

Important

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Represents an entity container in a conceptual model. An EntityContainer is a logical grouping of entity sets and association sets.

public ref class EntityContainer sealed : System::Data::Metadata::Edm::GlobalItem

public sealed class EntityContainer : System.Data.Metadata.Edm.GlobalItem

type EntityContainer = class
    inherit GlobalItem

Public NotInheritable Class EntityContainer
Inherits GlobalItem

Inheritance: Object

MetadataItem

GlobalItem
EntityContainer

Examples

The following code sample demonstrates how to get a metadata workspace from the connection and then use that metadata workspace to retrieve information about the entity containers in the specified data model. Note that the metadata workspace is a runtime service component that provides support for retrieving metadata.

The code sample uses a CSpace and a SSpace to specify the model. The CSpace represents the default name for the conceptual model. The SSpace represents the default name for the storage model.

The GetEntityContainers method gets a collection of entity containers and then iterates through the collection to get each entity set and association set in the specified container. The code sample uses the AdventureWorks Model.

using System;  
using System.Data;  
using System.Data.EntityClient;  
using System.Data.Metadata.Edm;  
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;  

class GetEntityContainerExample  
{  
  static void Main()  
  {  
    try  
    {  
       // Establish a connection to the underlying data provider by   
       // using the connection string specified in the config file.  
       using (EntityConnection connection =  
          new EntityConnection("Name=AdventureWorksEntities"))  
       {  
         // Open the connection.  
         connection.Open();  

         // Access the metadata workspace.  
         MetadataWorkspace workspace =   
            connection.GetMetadataWorkspace();  

         // Get the entity containers in the conceptual model.  
         GetEntityContainers(workspace, DataSpace.CSpace);  

         // Get the entity containers in the storage model.  
             GetEntityContainers(workspace, DataSpace.SSpace);  
       }  
    }  
    catch (MetadataException exceptionMetadata)  
    {  
      Console.WriteLine("MetadataException: {0}",   
                       exceptionMetadata.Message);  
    }  
    catch (System.Data.MappingException exceptionMapping)  
    {  
      Console.WriteLine("MappingException: {0}",  
                       exceptionMapping.Message);  
    }  
  }  

  public static void GetEntityContainers(  
      MetadataWorkspace workspace, DataSpace model)  
  {  
    // Get a collection of the entity containers.  
    ReadOnlyCollection<EntityContainer> containers =   
         workspace.GetItems<EntityContainer>(model);  

    // Iterate through the collection to get each entity container.  
    foreach (EntityContainer container in containers)  
    {  
       Console.WriteLine("EntityContainer Name: {0} ",   
                        container.Name);  

       // EntitySetBase is a super type for   
       // EntitySets and RelationshipSets.   
       // Iterate through the collection to get each EntitySetBase.  
       foreach (EntitySetBase baseSet in container.BaseEntitySets)  
       {  
          // Check if this instance is an EntitySet.  
          if (baseSet is EntitySet)  
          {  
             Console.WriteLine(  
                "  EntitySet Name: {0} , EntityType Name: {1} ",  
                baseSet.Name, baseSet.ElementType.FullName);  
          }  

         // RelationshipSet is a super type for AssociationSet.  
         // Check if this instance is an AssociationSet.  
         if (baseSet is AssociationSet)  
         {  
            Console.WriteLine(  
               "  AssociationSet Name: {0} , " +  
               "AssociationType Name: {1} ",  
                baseSet.Name, baseSet.ElementType.FullName);  

            // Get the AssociationSet.  
            AssociationSet associationSet =   
                  baseSet as AssociationSet;  

            // Iterate through the collection to get   
            // each AssociatedSetEnd.  
            foreach (AssociationSetEnd end in   
               associationSet.AssociationSetEnds)  
            {  
               Console.WriteLine(  
                  "   EntitySet Name: {0} , Name: {1} ",  
                  end.EntitySet, end.Name);  
            }  
         }  
      }  
    }  
  }  
}

Imports System  
Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel  
Imports System.Data  
Imports System.Data.EntityClient  
Imports System.Data.Metadata.Edm  

Class GetEntityContainerExample  
  Public Shared Sub Main()  
    Try  
      ' Establish a connection to the underlying data provider by   
      ' using the connection string specified in the config file.  
      Using connection As EntityConnection = _  
        New EntityConnection("Name=AdventureWorksEntities")  

        ' Open the connection.  
        connection.Open()  

        ' Access the metadata workspace.  
        Dim workspace As MetadataWorkspace = _  
           connection.GetMetadataWorkspace  

        ' Get the entity containers in the conceptual model.  
        GetEntityContainers(workspace, DataSpace.CSpace)  

        ' Get the entity containers in the storage model.  
        GetEntityContainers(workspace, DataSpace.SSpace)  
      End Using  
    Catch exceptionMetadata As MetadataException  
       Console.WriteLine("MetadataException: {0}", _  
          exceptionMetadata.Message)  
    Catch exceptionMapping As MappingException  
       Console.WriteLine("MappingException: {0}", _  
          exceptionMapping.Message)  
     End Try  
  End Sub  

  Public Shared Sub GetEntityContainers( _  
    ByVal workspace As MetadataWorkspace, ByVal model As DataSpace)  

    ' Get a collection of the entity containers.  
    Dim containers As ReadOnlyCollection(Of EntityContainer) = _  
       workspace.GetItems(Of EntityContainer)(model)  

    ' Iterate through the collection to get each entity container.  
    Dim container As EntityContainer  
    For Each container In containers  
      Console.WriteLine("EntityContainer Name: {0} ", container.Name)  

      ' EntitySetBase is a super type for   
      ' EntitySets and RelationshipSets.   
      ' Iterate through the collection to get each EntitySetBase.  
      Dim baseSet As EntitySetBase  
      For Each baseSet In container.BaseEntitySets  
         ' Check if this instance is an EntitySet.  
         If TypeOf baseSet Is EntitySet Then  
           Console.WriteLine( _  
              "  EntitySet Name: {0} , EntityType Name: {1} ", _  
              baseSet.Name, baseSet.ElementType.FullName)  
          End If  

          ' RelationshipSet is a super type for AssociationSet.  
          ' Check if this instance is an AssociationSet.  
          If TypeOf baseSet Is AssociationSet Then  
            Console.WriteLine( _  
              "  AssociationSet Name: {0} , " + _  
              "AssociationType Name: {1} ", _  
              baseSet.Name, baseSet.ElementType.FullName)  

            ' Get the AssociationSet.  
            Dim associationSet As AssociationSet = _  
               TryCast(baseSet, AssociationSet)  

            ' Iterate through the collection to get   
            '  each AssociatedSetEnd.  
            Dim endMember As AssociationSetEnd  
            For Each endMember In associationSet.AssociationSetEnds  
              Console.WriteLine( _  
                 "   EntitySet Name: {0} , Name: {1} ", _  
                 endMember.EntitySet, endMember.Name)  
            Next  
          End If  
      Next  
    Next  
  End Sub  
End Class

Remarks

On the conceptual level, the EntityContainer class represents a container that will be mapped to a database object in the storage metadata schema. In the storage level, the EntityContainer class represents a description of the table and/or key relationships that persist data for applications built on the model. For more information about the entity containers in a conceptual model, see Entity container.

Properties

BaseEntitySets	Gets a list of entity sets and association sets that this EntityContainer includes.
BuiltInTypeKind	Gets the built-in type kind for this EntityContainer.
Documentation	Gets or sets the documentation associated with this type. (Inherited from MetadataItem)
FunctionImports	Specifies a collection of EdmFunction elements. Each function contains the details of a stored procedure that exists in the database or equivalent `CommandText` that is mapped to an entity and its properties.
MetadataProperties	Gets the list of properties of the current type. (Inherited from MetadataItem)
Name	Gets the name of this EntityContainer.

Methods

Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetEntitySetByName(String, Boolean)	Returns an EntitySet object by using the specified name for the entity set.
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetRelationshipSetByName(String, Boolean)	Returns a RelationshipSet object by using the specified name for the relationship set.
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns the name of this EntityContainer.
TryGetEntitySetByName(String, Boolean, EntitySet)	Returns an EntitySet object by using the specified name for the entity set.
TryGetRelationshipSetByName(String, Boolean, RelationshipSet)	Returns a RelationshipSet object by using the specified name for the relationship set.

Applies to