In this article I will explain a simple tutorial with an example, how to use simple
Entity Framework in ASP.Net Web Forms with C# and VB.Net.
Database
Here I am making use of Microsoft’s Northwind Database. You can download it from here.
Configuring and connecting Entity Framework to database
1. Inside the Solution Explorer, right click on Project and then click on Add and then click on Add New Item.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
2. Then, inside the Add New Item window, select ADO.NET Entity Data Model option.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
3. As soon as you add the Entity Data Model to your project you will be prompted with the following dialog and you need to click YES button.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
4. Then, the Entity Data Model Wizard will open up where you need to select EF Designer from database.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
5. After that, click on New Connection Button.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
6. Now the wizard will ask you to connect and configure the connection string to the database.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
After connecting to the database, click on Test Connection and if connection was successful it will display the Success message.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
7. Then, click on Next Button to move on to the Next step.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
8. Now, you need to select the Table you need to connect and work with Entity Framework and click on Finish Button.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
Finally, the Entity Data Model ready with the Customers Table of the Northwind database.
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
HTML Markup
The HTML Markup consists of following control:
GridView – For displaying data.
<h4>Customers</h4>
<hr />
<asp:GridView ID="gvCustomers" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false">
<Columns>
<asp:BoundField DataField="CustomerID" HeaderText="Customer Id" />
<asp:BoundField DataField="ContactName" HeaderText="ContactName" />
<asp:BoundField DataField="City" HeaderText="City" />
<asp:BoundField DataField="Country" HeaderText="Country" />
</Columns>
</asp:GridView>
Binding GridView with Entity Framework using C# and VB.Net
Inside the
Page Load event handler, the Top 10 records from the
Customers table are fetched using
Entity Frameworkand assigned to the DataSource property of the GridView control.
C#
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (!this.IsPostBack)
{
using (NORTHWINDEntities entities = new NORTHWINDEntities())
{
gvCustomers.DataSource = (from customer in entities.Customers.Take(10)
select customer).ToList();
gvCustomers.DataBind();
}
}
}
VB.Net
Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
If Not Me.IsPostBackThen
Using entities As NORTHWINDEntities = New NORTHWINDEntities()
gvCustomers.DataSource = (From customer In entities.Customers.Take(10) Select customer).ToList()
gvCustomers.DataBind()
End Using
End If
End Sub
Screenshot
![Simple Entity Framework Tutorial in ASP.Net Web Forms with example]()
Downloads
