How to: Use EntityConnection with an Object Context

This topic provides an example of how to supply an existing EntityConnection for the object context to use. For more information, see Connection Strings.

The example in this topic is based on the AdventureWorks Sales Model. To run the code in this example, you must have already added the AdventureWorks Sales Model to your project and configured your project to use the Entity Framework. To do this, complete the procedure in How to: Use the Entity Data Model Wizard.

Example

This example creates an EntityConnection that is passed into the constructor of a long-running ObjectContext. The connection is opened manually. Both the EntityConnection ObjectContext are disposed manually.

' Define the order ID for the order we want. 
Dim orderId As Integer = 43680

' Create an EntityConnection. 
Dim conn As New EntityConnection("name=AdventureWorksEntities")

' Create a long-running context with the connection. 
Dim context As New AdventureWorksEntities(conn)

Try
    ' Explicitly open the connection. 
    If conn.State <> ConnectionState.Open Then
        conn.Open()
    End If

    ' Execute a query to return an order. 
    Dim order As SalesOrderHeader = context.SalesOrderHeaders.Where("it.SalesOrderID = @orderId", _
                                        New ObjectParameter("orderId", orderId)).Execute(MergeOption.AppendOnly).First()

    ' Change the status of the order. 
    order.Status = 1

    ' You do not have to call the Load method to load the details for the order, 
    ' because lazy loading is set to true 
    ' by the constructor of the AdventureWorksEntities object. 
    ' With lazy loading set to true the related objects are loaded when 
    ' you access the navigation property. In this case SalesOrderDetails. 

    ' Delete the first item in the order. 
    context.DeleteObject(order.SalesOrderDetails.First())

    ' Save changes. 
    If 0 < context.SaveChanges() Then
        Console.WriteLine("Changes saved.")
    End If

    ' Create a new SalesOrderDetail object. 
    ' You can use the static CreateObjectName method (the Entity Framework 
    ' adds this method to the generated entity types) instead of the new operator: 
    ' SalesOrderDetail.CreateSalesOrderDetail(1, 0, 2, 750, 1, (decimal)2171.2942, 0, 0, 
    ' Guid.NewGuid(), DateTime.Today)); 
    Dim detail = New SalesOrderDetail With
    {
        .SalesOrderID = 0,
        .SalesOrderDetailID = 0,
        .OrderQty = 2,
        .ProductID = 750,
        .SpecialOfferID = 1,
        .UnitPrice = CDec(2171.2942),
        .UnitPriceDiscount = 0,
        .LineTotal = 0,
        .rowguid = Guid.NewGuid(),
        .ModifiedDate = DateTime.Now
    }

    order.SalesOrderDetails.Add(detail)

    ' Save changes again. 
    If 0 < context.SaveChanges() Then
        Console.WriteLine("Changes saved.")
    End If
Catch ex As InvalidOperationException
    Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString())
Finally
    ' Explicitly dispose of the context and the connection. 
    context.Dispose()
    conn.Dispose()

// Define the order ID for the order we want.
int orderId = 43680;

// Create an EntityConnection.
EntityConnection conn =
    new EntityConnection("name=AdventureWorksEntities");

// Create a long-running context with the connection.
AdventureWorksEntities context =
    new AdventureWorksEntities(conn);

try
{
    // Explicitly open the connection.
    if (conn.State != ConnectionState.Open)
    {
        conn.Open();
    }

    // Execute a query to return an order.
    SalesOrderHeader order =
        context.SalesOrderHeaders.Where(
        "it.SalesOrderID = @orderId", new ObjectParameter("orderId", orderId))
        .Execute(MergeOption.AppendOnly).First();

    // Change the status of the order.
    order.Status = 1;

    // You do not have to call the Load method to load the details for the order,
    // because  lazy loading is set to true 
    // by the constructor of the AdventureWorksEntities object. 
    // With  lazy loading set to true the related objects are loaded when
    // you access the navigation property. In this case SalesOrderDetails.

    // Delete the first item in the order.
    context.DeleteObject(order.SalesOrderDetails.First());

    // Save changes.
    if (0 < context.SaveChanges())
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Changes saved.");
    }

    // Create a new SalesOrderDetail object.
    // You can use the static CreateObjectName method (the Entity Framework
    // adds this method to the generated entity types) instead of the new operator:
    // SalesOrderDetail.CreateSalesOrderDetail(1, 0, 2, 750, 1, (decimal)2171.2942, 0, 0,
    //                                         Guid.NewGuid(), DateTime.Today));
    SalesOrderDetail detail = new SalesOrderDetail
    {
        SalesOrderID = 1,
        SalesOrderDetailID = 0,
        OrderQty = 2,
        ProductID = 750,
        SpecialOfferID = 1,
        UnitPrice = (decimal)2171.2942,
        UnitPriceDiscount = 0,
        LineTotal = 0,
        rowguid = Guid.NewGuid(),
        ModifiedDate = DateTime.Now
    };

    order.SalesOrderDetails.Add(detail);

    // Save changes again.
    if (0 < context.SaveChanges())
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Changes saved.");
    }
}
catch (InvalidOperationException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
finally
{
    // Explicitly dispose of the context and the connection. 
    context.Dispose();
    conn.Dispose();
}

See Also

Tasks

How to: Manage the Connection in a Long-Running Object Context
How to: Manually Open the Connection from the Object Context