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The DbContext API captures Entity Framework’s (EF) most commonly used features and tasks, simplifying development with EF. This concise book shows you how to use the API to perform set operations with the DbSet class, handle change tracking and resolve concurrency conflicts with the Change Tracker API, and validate changes to your data with the Validation API. With DbContext, you’ll be able to query and update data, whether you’re working with individual objects or graphs of objects and their related data. You’ll find numerous C# code samples to help you get started. All you need is experience with Visual Studio and database management basics.     Use EF’s query capabilities to retrieve data, and use LINQ to sort and filter data     Learn how to add new data, and change and delete existing data     Use the Change Tracker API to access information EF keeps about the state of entity instances     Control change tracking information of entities in disconnected scenarios, including NTier applications     Validate data changes before they’re sent to the database, and set up validation rules     Bypass EF’s query pipeline and interact directly with the database About the Authors Julia Lerman is the leading independent authority on the Entity Framework and has been using and teaching the technology since its inception in 2006. She is well known in the .NET community as a Microsoft MVP, ASPInsider, and INETA Speaker. Julia is a frequent presenter at technical conferences around the world and writes articles for many well-known technical publications including the Data Points column in MSDN Magazine. Julia lives in Vermont with her husband, Rich, and gigantic dog, Sampson, where she runs the Vermont.NET User Group. You can read her blog at www.thedatafarm.com/blog and follow her on Twitter at julielerman. Rowan Miller is based in Seattle, Washington and works as a Program Manager for the ADO.Net Entity Framework team at Microsoft. Prior to moving to the US he resided in the small state of Tasmania in Australia. Rowan speaks at technical conferences and blogs at http://romiller.com. Outside of technology Rowan's passions include snowboarding, mountain biking, horse riding, rock climbing and pretty much anything else that involves being active. The primary focus of his life, however, is to follow Jesus. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introducing the DbContext API     Getting the DbContext API into Your Project     Looking at Some Highlights of the DbContext API     Working with the BreakAway Model     Ensuring DbContext Instances Get Disposed Chapter 2 Querying with DbContext     Writing Queries with LINQ to Entities     Querying All the Data from a Set     Using LINQ for Sorting, Filtering, and More     Finding a Single Object     Querying Local Data     Loading Related Data     Querying Contents of a Collection Navigation Property Chapter 3 Adding, Changing, and Deleting Entities     Working with Single Entities     Working with Relationships     Working with Change Tracking     Using Snapshot Change Tracking     Enabling and Working with Change Tracking Proxies     Fetching Entities Without Change Tracking Chapter 4 Working with Disconnected Entities Including N-Tier Applications     A Simple Operation on a Disconnected Graph     Exploring the Challenges of N-Tier     Understanding How DbContext Responds to Setting the State of a Single Entity     Setting the State for Multiple Entities in an Entity Graph     Building a Generic Approach to Track State Locally     Tracking Individually Modified Properties Chapter 5 Change Tracker API     Change Tracking Information and Operations for a Single Entity     Working with the State Property     Working with Current, Original, and Database Values     Working with Individual Properties     Refreshing an Entity from the Database     Change Tracking Information and Operations for Multiple Entities     Using the Change Tracker API in Application Scenarios Chapter 6 Validating with the Validation API     Defining and Triggering Validation: An Overview     Validating a Single Object on Demand with GetValidationResult     Specifying Property Rules with ValidationAttribute Data Annotations     Inspecting Validation Result Details     Exploring More ValidationAttributes     Validating Individual Properties on Demand     Specifying Type-Level Validation Rules     Understanding How EF Combines Validations     Validating Multiple Objects     Validating When Saving Changes Chapter 7 Customizing Validations     Overriding ValidateEntity in the DbContext     Considering Different Ways to Leverage ValidateEntity     Updating Data During SaveChanges     Overriding SaveChanges When Validation Occurs     Using the IDictionary Parameter of ValidateEntity     Controlling Which Entities Are Validated in ValidateEntity Chapter 8 Using DbContext in Advanced Scenarios     Moving Between ObjectContext and DbContext     Leveraging SQL Server Operators Exposed in SqlFunctions     Querying Derived Types with DbSet     Understanding the Interface Property Limitation     Considering Automated Testing with DbContext     Reducing Database Hits in Testing with IDbSet     Accessing the Database Directly from DbContext     Providing Multiple Targeted Contexts in Your Application Chapter 9 What’s Coming Next for Entity Framework     Understanding Entity Framework’s Version Numbers     Entity Framework 5.0