This article is useful because it provides a comprehensive guide on how to integrate PostgreSQL, a popular open-source relational database management system, with the .NET 8 Web API, the latest version of Microsoft’s framework for building web applications. The article specifically focuses on using the public partial class Product the dotConnect product to integrate PostgreSQL in two different ways: by using the Entity Framework Core and by using ADO.NET.
By providing step-by-step instructions and examples, the article makes it easy for developers to learn how to use the dotConnect product to build robust, data-driven .NET 8 web applications that connect to PostgreSQL databases.
Contents
- Requirements
- What is Entity Framework (EF) Core?
- What is ADO.NET?
- Create Connection to PostgreSQL Database
- Conclusion
Requirements
Here are the tools required for integrating PostgreSQL with .NET 8 Web API using the Entity Framework Core and ADO.NET with examples:
• .NET 8 SDK: This is the primary software development kit for building applications in .NET 8. It includes the runtime, libraries, and tools for building and running .NET 8 applications. You can download the .NET 8 SDK from the Microsoft website.
• dotConnect for PostgreSQL (ADO.NET provider): This is a data provider that enables .NET 8 applications to interact with PostgreSQL databases. It provides a high-performance and feature-rich ADO.NET data access architecture and a complete solution for developing .NET applications that work with PostgreSQL databases. You can download dotConnect for PostgreSQL from the Devart website.
• Visual Studio (or any other code editor): This is the integrated development environment (IDE) that you’ll use to build and run your .NET 8 application. You can download Visual Studio from the Microsoft website.
Example: You can install the .NET 8 SDK, dotConnect for PostgreSQL, and Visual Studio on your development machine and then use Visual Studio to create a new .NET 8 Web API project. You can then use the Entity Framework Core to connect to a PostgreSQL database, query data, and perform CRUD operations.
What is Entity Framework (EF) Core?
The Entity Framework Core (EF Core) is a popular Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool that simplifies database interaction in .NET applications. By using dotConnect for PostgreSQL, a PostgreSQL ADO.NET provider from Devart, you can easily integrate PostgreSQL with a .NET 8 Web API using EF Core.
To integrate PostgreSQL with a .NET 8 Web API using EF Core and dotConnect for PostgreSQL, you will need to install the .NET 8 SDK, EF Core, and dotConnect for PostgreSQL. You can then use EF Core to define your database schema using C# classes, interact with your PostgreSQL database using LINQ, and perform CRUD operations. EF Core can also automatically handle tasks such as database migrations, making it easy to manage your database schema as your application evolves.
With dotConnect for PostgreSQL, you can take advantage of its high-performance and feature-rich ADO.NET data access architecture to build fast and reliable data-driven .NET applications that interact with PostgreSQL databases.
What is ADO.NET?
ADO.NET is a data access technology that enables .NET applications to interact with databases. It provides a set of classes and APIs that enable you to connect to a database, execute commands, and retrieve data. ADO.NET supports various databases, including PostgreSQL.
To integrate PostgreSQL with a .NET 8 Web API using ADO.NET, you will need to install the .NET 8 SDK and a suitable ADO.NET provider that enables ADO.NET to interact with PostgreSQL databases. Devart provides such a provider, called dotConnect for PostgreSQL, that enables you to interact with PostgreSQL databases using ADO.NET in .NET 8 Web API applications.
With dotConnect for PostgreSQL, you can use ADO.NET classes such as SqlConnection, SqlCommand, and SqlDataReader to interact with your PostgreSQL database. You can use these classes to perform CRUD operations, execute raw SQL commands, and retrieve data.
dotConnect for PostgreSQL provides a high-performance and feature-rich ADO.NET data access architecture that enables you to build fast and reliable data-driven .NET 8 Web API applications that interact with PostgreSQL databases.
Create Connection to PostgreSQL Database
Code First Approach: In this approach, you can create a new .NET 8 API project and then use Entity
Framework Core (EF Core) to generate the database context and entities from your model classes.
Here’s a sample code to get started:
using System;
using Devart.Data.PostgreSql;
using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
namespace PostgreSQLAPI.Models
{
public class AppDbContext : DbContext
{
public AppDbContext(DbContextOptions<AppDbContext> options)
: base(options)
{ }
public DbSet<Product> Products { get; set; }
protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder optionsBuilder)
{
optionsBuilder.UsePostgreSql("User
ID=postgres;Password=password;Host=localhost;Port=5432;Database=database;Pooling=true;");
}
}
public class Product
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public decimal Price { get; set; }
}
} Then, you can use the model classes in your API controllers:
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using PostgreSQLAPI.Models;
namespace PostgreSQLAPI.Controllers
{
[ApiController]
[Route("[controller]")]
public class ProductsController : ControllerBase
{
private readonly AppDbContext _context;
public ProductsController(AppDbContext context)
{
_context = context;
}
[HttpGet]
public IEnumerable<Product> Get()
{
return _context.Products;
}
}
}Database First Approach: In this approach, you can use dotConnect for PostgreSQL’s Entity Developer tool to reverse engineer the database into EF Core model classes. Here’s a sample code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Devart.Data.PostgreSql;
namespace PostgreSQLAPI.Models
{
public partial class Product
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public decimal Price { get; set; }
}
}Then, you can use the model classes in your API controllers:
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using PostgreSQLAPI.Models;
namespace PostgreSQLAPI.Controllers
{
[ApiController]
[Route("[controller]")]
public class ProductsController : ControllerBase
{
private readonly AppDbContext _context;
public ProductsController(AppDbContext context)
{
_context = context;
}
[HttpGet]
public IEnumerable<Product> Get()
{
return _context.Products;
}
}
}Note: You will need to install the Devart.Data.PostgreSql NuGet package to use dotConnect for PostgreSQL with .NET 8 API.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the integration of PostgreSQL with a .NET 8 Web API can be done in two different ways, either by using the Entity Framework Core or by using ADO.NET. Both methods have their own unique advantages and can be used depending on the specific requirements of the project. The Entity Framework Core is a popular Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool that provides a convenient way to interact with databases using C# classes. It makes it easy to define the database schema, perform CRUD operations, and handle tasks such as database migrations.
On the other hand, ADO.NET provides a low-level data access technology that enables .NET applications to interact with databases using raw SQL commands. ADO.NET provides more control over the database interactions and can be a good choice for projects that require more direct database interactions.
By using dotConnect for PostgreSQL, a PostgreSQL ADO.NET provider from Devart, you can take advantage of its high-performance and feature-rich data access architecture to build fast and reliable data-driven .NET 8 Web API applications that interact with PostgreSQL databases. dotConnect for PostgreSQL supports both Entity Framework Core and ADO.NET, so you can choose the method that best suits your needs.
In summary, the integration of PostgreSQL with a .NET 8 Web API provides a powerful and flexible solution for building data-driven .NET applications. Whether you choose to use Entity Framework Core or ADO.NET, dotConnect for PostgreSQL provides a high-performance and feature-rich data access architecture that enables you to build fast and reliable data-driven .NET 8 Web API applications that interact with PostgreSQL databases.
