CRUD Application using ASP.NET Core, C#, Entity Framework DB-First Approach

Step-by-Step CRUD Application using ASP.NET Core, C#, Entity Framework DB-First Approach

Introduction: In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of creating a CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) application using ASP.NET Core, C#, and Entity Framework with the Database-First approach. We will cover the essential steps to set up the project, create the necessary database tables, implement the CRUD operations, and explain the code along the way.

Prerequisites: Before you begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites installed:

1. Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code with .NET Core SDK
2. ASP.NET Core
3. Entity Framework Core

Step 1: Set up the Project

1. Open Visual Studio and create a new ASP.NET Core Web Application project.
2. Select the "Web Application (Model-View-Controller)" template and proceed.
3. Choose the appropriate ASP.NET Core version and configure the project settings.
4. Click "Create" to generate the project structure.

Step 2: Set up Entity Framework with DB-First Approach

1. Install the Entity Framework Core NuGet package for your project.
2. Create a new folder named "Models" in the project.
3. Open the Package Manager Console (PMC) and run the following command:

   arduino
   Scaffold-DbContext "connection-string" Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer -OutputDir Models
   

   Replace "connection-string" with the appropriate connection string for your database.
4. Entity Framework will generate the model classes and the DbContext in the "Models" folder.

Step 3: Create Database Tables

1. Open the generated DbContext class (e.g., "YourDbContext.cs") in the "Models" folder.
2. Implement the OnModelCreating method and define the database tables using Fluent API or data annotations.

Step 4: Implement CRUD Operations

1. Create a new folder named "Controllers" in the project.
2. Add a new controller class (e.g., "YourController.cs") in the "Controllers" folder.
3. Implement the necessary action methods for CRUD operations (e.g., Create, Edit, Delete).
   • In the Create method, create a new instance of the model, populate its properties, and save it to the database using the DbContext.
   • In the Edit method, retrieve the entity from the database, update its properties, and save the changes.
   • In the Delete method, find the entity by its ID, remove it from the DbContext, and save the changes.

Step 5: Create Views

1. Create a new folder named "Views" in the project.
2. Inside the "Views" folder, create a subfolder with the same name as your controller (e.g., "Your").
3. For each action method in your controller, create a corresponding view file (e.g., Create.cshtml, Edit.cshtml, Delete.cshtml) inside the subfolder.
   • Use HTML and Razor syntax to build the user interface for each view.
   • Utilize form elements, model binding, and tag helpers to capture and display data.

Step 6: Test the Application

1. Build and run the application.
2. Open your web browser and navigate to the appropriate URL to access the CRUD functionality.
3. Perform the CRUD operations (insert, update, delete) and verify that the changes are reflected in the database.

Conclusion: Congratulations! You have successfully implemented a CRUD application using ASP.NET Core, C#, and Entity Framework with the Database-First approach. This tutorial covered the steps for setting up the project, generating the model classes with Entity Framework, implementing CRUD operations, and creating the views for user interaction. You can further enhance the application by adding validation, authentication, and additional features based on your requirements.