Entity Framework: How do I delete a record by its primary key?

Question

How do I delete a record by its primary key without first doing a SELECT statement to load the entity?

score 21 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 05 '11 at 20:55

21

You can use dummy object:

var entity = new YourEntity { Key = yourKey };
context.Entities.Attach(entity);
context.Entities.DeleteObject(entity);
context.SaveChanges();

answered Dec 05 '11 at 20:55

Ladislav Mrnka

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As of EF 5.0 you need to use context.Entities.Remove(entity); instead of context.Entities.DeleteObject(entity); – Gabriel Sep 10 '12 at 06:29
Also, `Attach` is no longer necessary before calling `Remove`. – Stephan May 24 '23 at 09:36

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 05 '11 at 20:48

Which version of the Entity Framework are you using?

If you're using Entity Framework 4.1 or above, and using the DbContext class, you can use the ExecuteSqlCommand() method to send a DELETE statement to the database. See http://blogs.msdn.com/b/adonet/archive/2011/02/04/using-dbcontext-in-ef-feature-ctp5-part-10-raw-sql-queries.aspx (look at the Sending Raw Commands to the Database section). This will look something like:

DbContext ctx = ... get your DbContext somehow...
ctx.Database.ExecuteSqlCommand("DELETE FROM Foo WHERE FooID = 17");

If you're using Entity Framework 4.0 and ObjectContext (instead of DbContext) there's a similar ExecuteStoreCommand method (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.data.objects.objectcontext.executestorecommand.aspx).

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 26 '13 at 11:36

1

Depending on when you're reading this, verify the state of this ticket before implementing any hacks.

answered Jun 26 '13 at 11:36

tne

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Interesting suggestion. Please vote for it if you can. – ygoe Sep 01 '15 at 10:32

Entity Framework: How do I delete a record by its primary key?

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