entity-framework-4.1

I have an ASP.NET MVC3 web application with UI, Business (entities), and Data (DbContext) layers. I am using Entity Framework 4.1 Code First. Right now, I am overriding the DbContext.SaveChanges() in the Data layer so that I can set the ModifiedDate for all changes made to any entity objects that implement my IAuditable interface. I have a static DateProvider class and method (GetCurrentDate) that returns DateTime.Now (unless I'm running a test, in which case, it returns whatever I told it to). I would like to automatically set the ModifiedBy property to the current user as well. What is the

I'm laying out a new data layer using EF 4.1 Code First, migrating from an older homebrew data layer. I have set up two assemblies, one for my context and one for all the POCO code first classes. I have some business logic, for instance, a query against one table (or a few tables) that is used in several different places. Where should I put it? It can't go in a POCO class because it joins a couple tables and so needs a context. It could go in the context, but that context would become bloated with hundreds of disorganized queries. Is there a common pattern or arrangement for all the business

Let's just suppose I have a valid need for directly executing a sql command in Entity Framework. I am having trouble figuring out how to use parameters in my sql statement. The following example (not my real example) doesn't work. var firstName = "John"; var id = 12; var sql = @"Update [User] SET FirstName = @FirstName WHERE Id = @Id"; ctx.Database.ExecuteSqlCommand(sql, firstName, id); The ExecuteSqlCommand method doesn't allow you to pass in named parameters like in ADO.Net and the documentation for this method doesn't give any examples on how to execute a parameterized query. How do I

How can I build a query where I would retrieve random rows? If I were to write it in SQL then I would put an order by on newid() and chop off n number of rows from the top. Anyway to do this in EF code first? I have tried creating a query that uses newid() and executing it using DbSet.SqlQuery(). while it works, its not the cleanest of solutions. Also, tried retrieve all the rows and sorting them by a new guid. Although the number of rows are fairly small, its still not a good solution. Any ideas? SLaks Just call: something.OrderBy(r => Guid.NewGuid()).Take(5) Comparing two options: Skip

Currently when I need to run a query that will be used w/ paging I do it something like this: //Setup query (Typically much more complex) var q = ctx.People.Where(p=>p.Name.StartsWith("A")); //Get total result count prior to sorting int total = q.Count(); //Apply sort to query q = q.OrderBy(p => p.Name); q.Select(p => new PersonResult { Name = p.Name }.Skip(skipRows).Take(pageSize).ToArray(); This works, but I wondered if it is possible to improve this to be more efficient while still using linq? I couldn't think of a way to combine the count w/ the data retrieval in a single trip to the DB w