Why should you care?

ShopNest finance still uses sp_GenerateMonthlySettlement on SQL Server — EF integrates without rewriting years of T-SQL.

See it live — copy this example

Paste into a .NET project with EF Core packages, then run with LocalDB/SQL Server (dotnet ef / dotnet run).

var month = new SqlParameter("@Month", SqlDbType.Int) { Value = 7 };
var year = new SqlParameter("@Year", SqlDbType.Int) { Value = 2026 };

await _context.Database.ExecuteSqlRawAsync(
    "EXEC dbo.sp_RecalculateCategoryStats @Month, @Year", month, year);

var rows = await _context.Set<CategoryStatsResult>()
    .FromSqlRaw("EXEC dbo.sp_GetCategoryStats @Month, @Year", month, year)
    .ToListAsync();

What happened?

• ExecuteSqlRawAsync runs proc without result mapping.
• FromSqlRaw on keyless CategoryStatsResult maps result sets to CLR type.

Practice next

1. Create proc in SSMS and grant execute to app login.
2. Define keyless entity matching result columns exactly.
3. Pass SqlParameter objects — never string concat.
4. Register CategoryStatsResult with HasNoKey in OnModelCreating.
5. Output parameter via SqlParameter Direction Output.

Remember

ExecuteSqlRaw for action procs. FromSqlRaw maps result sets to types. Keyless entities for proc results.

ShopNest month-end stats

Job executes sp_RecalculateCategoryStats nightly via ExecuteSqlRawAsync.

Outcome: Finance keeps trusted proc; .NET orchestrates schedule only.