How to configure many-to-many (EF Core 5+)?

Short answer: In EF Core 5.0+, you can define many-to-many relationships without an explicit join entity: public class Student

Example code

{
public ICollection<Course> Courses { get; set; }
}
public class Course
{
public ICollection<Student> Students { get; set; }
} EF will automatically create a join table CourseStudent behind the scenes. If you want to customize the join table, define a join entity explicitly.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s order service uses EF Core to save an Order and its line items in one SaveChangesAsync() call inside a transaction.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.