ef when update model from database, how to update DomainService without recreating a new DomainService file?

Question

I added two new tables to the database: EmailCampaign and EmailTemplate. I updated the EDMX with Update Model From Database. The EDMX is in a RIA Services class library.

Now from the client side (a silverlight library) i cannot see the newly created entities only the old ones. I checked the EF Designer.cs generated code and the new entities are there, i just cannot access them from the client.

I tried deleting and readding the EDMX but it didn't work.

UPDATE I figured out that the entities are exposed trough a Domain Service. I recreated the Domain Service and everything worked. But the problem becomes each time I have new tables in the database how do I regenerate the Domain Service without generating a new Domain Service .cs file and copy pasting my old code into the newly generated and solving all the errors that appear (each time the same). So it's a burden. Are there some tools out there or some frameworks?

Answer 1

Partial classes are your friend! I broke my domain service class into smaller ones, grouping entities that I often use together - which is parralleled with my client side Model classes. So my main domain service class looks like this...

  [EnableClientAccess()]
  public partial class xxx_DomainService : LinqToEntitiesDomainService<xxxEntities>
  {
  }

then each file contains this:

      public partial class xxx_DomainService : LinqToEntitiesDomainService<xxxEntities>
      {
         public IQueryAble<Address> GetAddresses()
         {
            return this.ObjectContext.Addressess;
         }
        ....more code

      }

That way, if I change a table, I only have to re-create the domain service for the tables selected.

This means that when I create the "new" table, I just use some bogus name, create the files, and subsequently replace the "public partial class " line. The buddy files requires no changes at all. Just be careful of your namespaces!

HTH, Richard