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entity-framework-4properties

entity framework check if property is navigation property

Is there any way to see if property of an entity is navigation property, from its metadata?

I can determine if property is entity collection by inspecting if it implements ICollection and from there i can conclude if it is navigation property.

But what about if property is not entity collection but only reference to another entity?

Solution

  • You can get the O-Space EDM entity type from MetdataWorkspace and it has NavigationProperties property. Here is an example:

    var workspace = ((IObjectContextAdapter) ctx).ObjectContext.MetadataWorkspace;
var itemCollection = (ObjectItemCollection)(workspace.GetItemCollection(DataSpace.OSpace));
var entityType = itemCollection.OfType<EntityType>().Single(e => itemCollection.GetClrType(e) == typeof(MyEntity));
foreach(var navigationProperty in entityType.NavigationProperties)
{
    Console.WriteLine(navigationProperty.Name);
}