asp.net Entity Framework/ Update from database/ The table/view does not have a primary key defined and no valid primary key could be inferred

Question

One of the database view I am trying to import using entity framework contains only two columns, one is an integer type of column and another one is an aggregate function. I am getting the following error.

The table/view does not have a primary key defined and no valid primary key could be inferred. This table/view has been excluded. To use the entity, you will need to review your schema, add the correct keys, and uncomment it.

I understand it is a known scenario and it can be fixed by either including a Key column in the view or modifying the edmx file manually.

I just wanted to know if there is some other solution other than the above two? I do not want to include an additional column in my query and making changes in edmx is not feasible as DB changes are very frequent and the edmx will be overwritten every time I update from db.

Possible solution: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1013333/entity-framework-and-sql-server-view-question/2715299#2715299 — Quinton Bernhardt, Aug 29 '12 at 12:26

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 29 '12 at 12:52

You can mark both properties as entity key directly in the designer but you must ensure that the composite value of these two properties will be always unique. If you cannot ensure that you must add another unique column anyway or you may have some other problems when working with such entity set.

asp.net Entity Framework/ Update from database/ The table/view does not have a primary key defined and no valid primary key could be inferred

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