Add documentation to generated code in entity framework model first

Question

I have been using Entity Framework model first since VS 2010. When I build my project, EF generates a Model.Designer.cs file containing all entities. This designer file also

Answer 1

I think you'll have to modified the T4 file. I've got the same problem and read through the T4 file a bit, and tried to follow the instruction here: http://karlz.net/blog/index.php/2010/01/16/xml-comments-for-entity-framework/

However, we're using VS 2012 and the instruction doesn't seem to work 100%. I ended up changing the property generation code at the end of the T4 file and it works exactly how I wanted it to be. The changes are in CodeStringGenerator.Property() and CodeStringGenerator.NavigationProperty()

public string Property(EdmProperty edmProperty)
{
    string doc = "";
    if (edmProperty.Documentation != null)
    {
        doc = string.Format(
        CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
        "\n\t\t/// 
\n\t\t/// {0} - {1}\n\t\t/// 
\n\t\t",
        edmProperty.Documentation.Summary ?? "",
        edmProperty.Documentation.LongDescription ?? "");
    }

    return doc + string.Format(
        CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
        "{0} {1} {2} {{ {3}get; {4}set; }}",
        Accessibility.ForProperty(edmProperty),
        _typeMapper.GetTypeName(edmProperty.TypeUsage),
        _code.Escape(edmProperty),
        _code.SpaceAfter(Accessibility.ForGetter(edmProperty)),
        _code.SpaceAfter(Accessibility.ForSetter(edmProperty)));
}

public string NavigationProperty(NavigationProperty navigationProperty)
{
    var endType = _typeMapper.GetTypeName(navigationProperty.ToEndMember.GetEntityType());
    string doc = "";
    if (navigationProperty.Documentation != null)
    {
        doc = string.Format(
        CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
        "\n\t\t/// 
\n\t\t/// {0} - {1}\n\t\t/// 
\n\t\t",
        navigationProperty.Documentation.Summary ?? "",
        navigationProperty.Documentation.LongDescription ?? "");
    }

    return doc + string.Format(
        CultureInfo.InvariantCulture,
        "{0} {1} {2} {{ {3}get; {4}set; }}",
        AccessibilityAndVirtual(Accessibility.ForProperty(navigationProperty)),
        navigationProperty.ToEndMember.RelationshipMultiplicity == RelationshipMultiplicity.Many ? ("ICollection<" + endType + ">") : endType,
        _code.Escape(navigationProperty),
        _code.SpaceAfter(Accessibility.ForGetter(navigationProperty)),
        _code.SpaceAfter(Accessibility.ForSetter(navigationProperty)));
}

Note that it won't work with class documentation, so you have to do something like this with entity and complex type

<#=codeStringGenerator.UsingDirectives(inHeader: false)#>
<#if (!ReferenceEquals(entity.Documentation, null))
{
#>
/// 

/// <#=entity.Documentation.Summary#> – <#=entity.Documentation.LongDescription#>
/// 
<#}#>
<#=codeStringGenerator.EntityClassOpening(entity)#>