ASP.NET Core Complete Tutorial (ShopNest)

Lesson 13 of 75 17% of course

Entity Framework Core — Introduction and Setup

Learn Entity Framework Core — Introduction and Setup in our free ASP.NET Core Complete Tutorial (ShopNest) series. Step-by-step explanations, examples, and interview tips on Toolliyo Academy.

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Entity Framework Core — Introduction and Setup — ShopNest — Article 13 of 75 · Module 2: Entity Framework Core · ShopNest Inventory Management

Target keyword: entity framework core tutorial · Read time: ~28 min · .NET: 8 / 9 · Project: ShopNest Inventory Management

Introduction

Entity Framework Core is Microsoft's ORM — map C# classes to SQL Server tables and query with LINQ instead of raw SQL. ShopNest Inventory starts here.

After this article you will

Compare EF Core vs Dapper vs ADO.NET
Install packages and configure DbContext
Define DbSet entities for inventory
Verify database connection on startup

Prerequisites

Article 12 — Static Files, Bundling and Minification
ShopNest.Web project from prior lessons

Concept deep-dive

Approach	When
EF Core	Full CRUD apps, migrations, LINQ — default for ShopNest
Dapper	Micro-ORM, hand-tuned SQL, read-heavy reports
ADO.NET	Legacy, full control, no ORM overhead

public class InventoryDbContext : DbContext
{
    public InventoryDbContext(DbContextOptions<InventoryDbContext> options) : base(options) { }
    public DbSet<Product> Products => Set<Product>();
    public DbSet<Warehouse> Warehouses => Set<Warehouse>();
}

// Program.cs
builder.Services.AddDbContext<InventoryDbContext>(options =>
    options.UseSqlServer(builder.Configuration.GetConnectionString("DefaultConnection")));

Hands-on — ShopNest Inventory Management

dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
Connection string in appsettings.json
Create Product entity and DbContext
dotnet ef database update (after first migration in Article 14)

Common errors & best practices

Connection string wrong — test with SSMS first.
DbContext registered as Singleton — must be Scoped.

Interview questions

Q: What is DbContext?
A: Unit of work + session to database; tracks changes and SaveChanges persists.

Summary

EF Core maps classes to tables via DbContext
Use SQL Server provider for ShopNest inventory
Choose ORM based on app complexity

Previous: Static Files, Bundling and Minification
Next: EF Core Code First

FAQ

Code First vs Database First?

Code First: C# models drive schema — ShopNest default. Database First: scaffold from existing DB.

Interview Q&A for this course

Test your knowledge

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On this page

Introduction After this article you will Prerequisites Concept deep-dive Hands-on — ShopNest Inventory Management Common errors & best practices Interview questions Summary FAQ Code First vs Database First?

Module 1: Foundations

What is ASP.NET Core? Complete Guide Setting Up ASP.NET Core Development Environment ASP.NET Core Project Structure Explained MVC Architecture in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Controllers and Actions in ASP.NET Core Routing in ASP.NET Core — Conventional and Attribute Routing Views and Razor Syntax in ASP.NET Core Layouts, Partial Views and View Components Models and ViewModels in ASP.NET Core Forms, Model Binding and Validation in ASP.NET Core Tag Helpers in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Static Files, Bundling and Minification in ASP.NET Core

Module 2: Entity Framework Core

Entity Framework Core — Introduction and Setup EF Core Code First — Models, Migrations, Database EF Core CRUD Operations — Create, Read, Update, Delete EF Core LINQ Queries — Beginner to Advanced EF Core Relationships — One-to-One, One-to-Many, Many-to-Many EF Core Fluent API — Advanced Configuration EF Core Repository Pattern and Unit of Work EF Core Performance Optimization Database First Approach with EF Core (Scaffold) EF Core with SQL Server — Advanced Features

Module 3: Dependency Injection & Middleware

Dependency Injection in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Middleware in ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide Configuration in ASP.NET Core — appsettings, Environment Variables, Secrets Filters in ASP.NET Core — Action, Authorization, Exception, Resource, Result Logging in ASP.NET Core — ILogger, Serilog, NLog Error Handling and Exception Management in ASP.NET Core

Module 4: Authentication & Security

ASP.NET Core Identity — Complete Setup Guide Authentication in ASP.NET Core — Cookie and JWT Authorization in ASP.NET Core — Roles, Policies, Claims JWT Authentication with Refresh Tokens — Complete Implementation OAuth2 and External Login (Google, Facebook, Microsoft) Data Protection and Encryption in ASP.NET Core HTTPS, SSL Certificates and Security Best Practices

Module 5: Web API

Building REST APIs with ASP.NET Core — Complete Guide API Versioning in ASP.NET Core Swagger / OpenAPI Documentation in ASP.NET Core Input Validation in Web APIs — FluentValidation and Data Annotations Pagination, Filtering and Sorting in ASP.NET Core APIs HTTP Client and Consuming External APIs in ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs in ASP.NET Core .NET 8 SignalR — Real-Time Web Applications

Module 6: Advanced Architecture

Clean Architecture in ASP.NET Core CQRS Pattern with MediatR in ASP.NET Core Repository Pattern — Deep Dive with Generic Repository Background Services and Hosted Services in ASP.NET Core Caching in ASP.NET Core — In-Memory, Distributed, Redis Health Checks in ASP.NET Core AutoMapper in ASP.NET Core Microservices with ASP.NET Core — Introduction Message Queues with RabbitMQ / Azure Service Bus in ASP.NET Core gRPC with ASP.NET Core

Module 7: Testing

Unit Testing ASP.NET Core with xUnit and Moq Integration Testing in ASP.NET Core Testing EF Core — In-Memory vs SQLite Performance Testing and Load Testing ASP.NET Core APIs Test-Driven Development (TDD) in ASP.NET Core

Module 8: Deployment & DevOps

Deploying ASP.NET Core to IIS on Windows Server Docker and Containerization for ASP.NET Core Deploying ASP.NET Core to Azure App Service CI/CD with GitHub Actions for ASP.NET Core Azure SQL Database with ASP.NET Core Environment Configuration and Secrets Management

Module 9: Real-World Projects

Build a Complete Blog Website with ASP.NET Core MVC Build an E-Commerce Product Catalog API (ASP.NET Core Web API) Build a Student Management System (Complete CRUD App) Build a Job Portal (Full Stack ASP.NET Core) Build a REST API with Clean Architecture — Complete Guide Build a Real-Time Chat App with SignalR and ASP.NET Core

Module 10: Advanced Topics

Blazor WebAssembly and Blazor Server — Complete Guide gRPC, GraphQL and Alternative API Styles in ASP.NET Core Rate Limiting and API Throttling in ASP.NET Core .NET 8 Output Caching in ASP.NET Core .NET 8 ASP.NET Core .NET 9 New Features — Complete Guide