MVC, ORM, and data access patterns

Question

I think I've hit that "paralysis by analysis" state. I have an MVC app, using EF as an ORM. So I'm trying to decide on the best data access pattern, and so far I'm thinking putting all data access logic into controllers is the way to go.. but it kinda doesn't sound right. Another option is creating an external repository, handling data interactions. Here's my pros/cons:

If embedding data access to controllers, I will end up with code like this:

using (DbContext db = new DbContext())
{
    User user = db.Users.Where(x=>x.Name == "Bob").Single();
    user.Address.Street = "some st";
    db.SaveChanges();
}

So with this, I get full benefits of lazy loading, I close connection right after I'm done, I'm flexible on where clause - all the niceties. The con - I'm mixing a bunch of stuff in a single method - data checking, data access, UI interactions.

With Repository, I'm externalizing data access, and in theory can just replace repos if I decide to use ado.net or go with different database. But, I don't see a good clean way to realize lazy loading, and how to control DbContext/connection life time. Say, I have IRepository interface with CRUD methods, how would I load a List of addresses that belong to a given user ? Making methods like GetAddressListByUserId looks ugly, wrong, and will make me to create a bunch of methods that are just as ugly, and make little sense when using ORM.

I'm sure this problem been solved like million times, and hope there's a solution somewhere..

---

And one more question on repository pattern - how do you deal with objects that are properties ? E.g. User has a list of addresses, how would you retrieve that list ? Create a repository for the address ? With ORM the address object doesn't have to have a reference back to user, nor Id field, with repo - it will have to have all that. More code, more exposed properties..

Answer 1

The approach you choose depends a lot on the type of project you are going to be working with. For small projects where a Rapid Application Development (RAD) approach is required, it might almost be OK to use your EF model directly in the MVC project and have data access in the controllers, but the more the project grows, the more messy it will become and you will start running into more and more problems. In case you want good design and maintainability, there are several different approaches, but in general you can stick to the following:

Keep your controllers and Views clean. Controllers should only control the application flow and not contain data access or even business logic. Views should only be used for presentation - give it a ViewModel and it will present it as Html (no business logic or calculations). A ViewModel per view is a pretty clean way of doing it.

A typical controller action would look like:

public ActionResult UpdateCompany(CompanyViewModel model)
{
    if (ModelState.IsValid)
    {
        Company company = SomeCompanyViewModelHelper.
                          MapCompanyViewModelToDomainObject(model);
        companyService.UpdateCompany(company);
        return RedirectToRoute(/* Wherever you go after company is updated */);
    }
    // Return the same view with highlighted errors
    return View(model);
}

Due to the aforementioned reasons, it is good to abstract your data access (testability, ease of switching the data provider or ORM or whatever, etc.). The Repository pattern is a good choice, but here you also get a few implementation options. There's always been a lot of discussion about generic/non-generic repositories, whether or not one should return IQueryables, etc. But eventually it's for you to choose.

Btw, why do you want lazy loading? As a rule, you know exactly what data you require for a specific view, so why would you choose to fetch it in a deferred way, thus making extra database calls, instead of eager loading everything you need in one call? Personally, I think it's okay to have multiple Get methods for fetching objects with or without children. E.g.

public class CompanyRepository
{
    Get(int Id);
    Get(string name);
    GetWithEmployees(int id);
    ...
}

It might seem a bit overkill and you may choose a different approach, but as long as you have a pattern you follow, maintaining the code is much easier.

Answer 2

Personally I do it this way:

I have an abstract Domain layer, which has methods not just CRUD, but specialized methods, for example UsersManager.Authenticate(), etc. It inside uses data access logic, or data-access layer abstraction (depending on the level of abstraction I need to have).

It is always better to have an abstract dependency at least. Here are some pros of it:

• you can replace one implementation with another at a later time.
• you can unit test your controller when needed.

As of controller itself, let it have 2 constructors: one with an abstract domain access class (e.g. facade of domain), and another (empty) constructor which chooses the default implementation. This way your controller lives well during web application run-time (calling empty constructor) and during the unit-testing (with mock domain layer injected).

Also, to be able to easily switch to another domain at a later time, be sure to inject the domain creator, instead of domain itself. This way, localizing the domain layer construction to the domain creator, you can switch to another implementation at any time, by just reconstructing the domain creator (by creator I mean some kind of factory).

I hope this helps.

Addition:

• I would not recommend having CRUD methods in domain layer, because this will become a nightmare whenever you rich the unit-testing phase, or even more, when you need to change the implementation to the new one at a later time.

Answer 3

It really comes down to where you want your code. If you need to have data access for an object you can put it behind an IRepository object or in the controller doesn't matter: you will still wind up with either a series of GetByXXX calls or the equivilent code. Either way you can lazy load and control the lifetime of the connection. So now you need to ask yourself: where do I want my code to live?

Personally, I would argue to get it out of the controller. By that I mean moving it to another layer. Probably using an IRespository type of pattern where you have a series of GetByXXX calls. Sure they are ugly. Wrong? I would argue otherwise. At least they are all contained within the same logical layer together rather than being scattered throughout the controllers where they are mixed in with validation code, etc.