Operational Entity Framework Interview Questions & Answers:

1. What is DefiningQuery in Entity Framework?

A defining query allows you to execute a native SQL statement that is specified in the DefiningQuery element in the EntitySet element in the SSDL.



A defining query is commonly used to provide functionality similar to that provided by a database view, but this native SQL statement will be in the .edmx file, not in the database. The entityset in CSDL is used to surface data exposed by the defining query.



So here, we will see how we can execute same SQL using DifiningQuery which we used in database view in previous chapter and get the same functionality as database view.

We will perform following three steps to create and use DefiningQuery:

Add DefiningQuery in SSDL
Add EntitySet in CSDL
Mapping between Conceptual and Storage EntitySets

2. What is Entity Graph?

When an entity has relation with other entities then it called entity graph because more entities are involved, for example Student entity graph includes many other entities like Standard, StudentAddress & Course.

3. What is Disconnected Scenario?

Disconnected scenario is when an entity is retrieved from the database and modified in the different context. Disconnected scenario is complex because context doesn't know anything about modified entity so you have to tell to ObjectContext that what has changed in entity.

4. What is Connected Scenario?

Connected scenario is when an entity is retrieved from the database and modified in the same context.

5. Explain Entity Lifecycle?

During entity's lifetime, each entity has an entity state based on operation performed on it via Context (ObjectContext). The entity state is an enum of type System.Data.EntityState that declares the following values:


Added
Deleted
Modified
Unchanged
Detached

6. What is Model First?

In Model First approach, you create Entities, relationships, and inheritance hierarchies directly on the design surface of EDMX. So in Model First approach, when you add ADO.NET Entity Data Model, you should select ‘Empty Model' instead of ‘Generate from database'.

7. What is Code First?

In Code First approach, you avoid working with visual model designer (EDMX) completely. You write your POCO classes first and then create database from these POCO classes. Developers who follow the path of Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles prefer to begin by coding their classes first and then generating the database required to persist their data.

8. What is POCO Proxy?

POCO Proxy is a runtime proxy class of POCO entity. POCO entity becomes POCO Proxy entity if it meets certain requirements to enable lazy loading proxy and instant change tracking. It adds some methods at runtime to your POCO class which does instant change tracking and lazy loading stuff.
POCO entity should meet the following requirement to become POCO proxy:

A custom data class must be declared with public access.
A custom data class must not be sealed (NotInheritable in Visual Basic)
A custom data class must not be abstract (MustInherit in Visual Basic).
A custom data class must have a public or protected constructor that does not have parameters.
The class cannot implement the IEntityWithChangeTracker or IEntityWithRelationships interfaces because the proxy classes implement these interfaces.
The ProxyCreationEnabled option must be set to true.
Each navigation property must be declared as public, virtual

9. What is EntityTypes?

Now if you expand ‘Entities' region, you can see many partial classes that are derived from EntityObject. This classes are EntityTypes of you model.

10. What is IObjectSet?

IObjectSet is a interface which gives collection like functionality. ObjectSet<> also implements IObjectSet. IObjectSet is useful in unit testing where you can create fake EntitySet (of type IObjectSet<>). We have used IObjectSet in our sample project.