Dapper Plus Relationship

In our examples, you often see us chaining multiple actions without specifying the relation parent/child even when the parent use an auto-generated identity value.

connection.BulkInsert(lefts, left => left.Rights);

connection.BulkInsert(lefts)
          .ThenBulkInsert(left => left.Rights);

In this tutorial, you will learn how to handle this kind of relation:

Foreign Key Property

A foreign key property happens when the child entity duplicates the value of the parent.

Example

public class Left
{
    public int ID { get; set; }
    public int IntColumn { get; set; }
    public List<Right> Rights { get; set; }
}

public class Right
{
    public int ID { get; set; }
    public int IntColumn { get; set; }

    // Foreign Key to Left Entity
    public int LeftID { get; set; }
}

With AfterAction Event

After an insert or merge happen on the parent, we assign the "LeftID" value of the child using the value generated "ID" from the parent.

Example

// MAP
DapperPlusManager.Entity<Left>().Table("Left")
    .Identity(x => x.ID)
    .Ignore(x => x.Rights)
    .AfterAction((kind, x) =>
    {
        if (kind == DapperPlusActionKind.Insert || kind == DapperPlusActionKind.Merge)
        {
            x.Rights.ForEach(y => y.LeftID = x.ID);
        }
    });

DapperPlusManager.Entity<Right>().Table("Right");

// EXECUTE
connection.BulkInsert(lefts)
          .ThenBulkInsert(left => left.Rights);

With ThenForEach Method

After an insert or merge happen on the parent, we assign the "LeftID" value of the child using the value generated "ID" from the parent.

Example

// MAP
DapperPlusManager.Entity<Left>().Table("Left")
    .Identity(x => x.ID)
    .Ignore(x => x.Rights);

DapperPlusManager.Entity<Right>().Table("Right");

// EXECUTE
connection.BulkInsert(lefts)
          .ThenForEach(x => x.Rights.ForEach(y => y.LeftID = x.ID))
          .ThenBulkInsert(x => x.Rights);

A navigation property happens when the child has a reference to the parent.

Example

public class Left
{
    public int ID { get; set; }
    public int IntColumn { get; set; }
    public List<Right> Rights { get; set; }
}

public class Right
{
    public int ID { get; set; }
    public int IntColumn { get; set; }

    // Navigation Property
    public Left Left { get; set; }
}

With AfterAction Event

After the action happens, we assign the Left navigation property with the parent.

Example

// MAP
DapperPlusManager.Entity<Left>().Table("Left")
    .Identity(x => x.ID)
    .Ignore(x => x.Rights)
    .AfterAction((kind, x) =>
    {
        if (kind == DapperPlusActionKind.Insert || kind == DapperPlusActionKind.Merge)
        {
            x.Rights.ForEach(y => y.Left = x);
        }
    });

DapperPlusManager.Entity<Right>().Table("Right")
    .Map(x => new
    {
        x.ID,
        LeftID = x.Left.ID,
        x.IntColumn
    });

// EXECUTE
connection.BulkInsert(lefts)
          .ThenBulkInsert(left => left.Rights);

With ThenForEach Method

After the action happens, we assign the Left navigation property with the parent.

Example

// MAP
DapperPlusManager.Entity<Left>().Table("Left")
    .Identity(x => x.ID)
    .Ignore(x => x.Rights);

DapperPlusManager.Entity<Right>().Table("Right")
    .Map(x => new
    {
        x.ID,
        LeftID = x.Left.ID,
        x.IntColumn
    });

// EXECUTE
connection.BulkInsert(lefts)
          .ThenForEach(x => x.Rights.ForEach(y => y.Left = x))
          .ThenBulkInsert(x => x.Rights);
Last updated: 2023-03-01
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