EF Core is a modern object-database mapper for .NET.
It supports LINQ queries, change tracking, updates, and schema migrations. EF Core works with many databases, including SQL Database (on-premises and Azure), SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Azure Cosmos DB. It supports other databases through a database provider plugin model.
EF Core is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Creating a model:
- Basic class mapping.
- Constructors with parameters.
- Property value conversions.
- Mapped types with no keys.
- Conventions.
- Custom conventions.
- Data annotations.
- Fluent API.
- Inheritance: Table per hierarchy.
- Inheritance: Table per type.
- Inheritance: Table per concrete class.
- Shadow state properties.
- Alternate keys.
- Many-to-many navigations.
- Many-to-many without join entity.
- Key generation: Database.
- Key generation: Client.
- Complex/owned types.
- Spatial data.
- Model format: Code.
- Create model from database: Command line.
- Global query filters.
- Table splitting.
- Database scalar function mapping.
- Database table valued function mapping.
- Field mapping.
- Nullable reference types.
- Querying data:
- LINQ queries.
- Readable generated SQL.
- GroupBy translation.
- Loading related data: Eager.
- Loading related data: Eager loading for derived types.
- Loading related data: Lazy.
- Loading related data: Explicit.
- Raw SQL queries: Entity types.
- Raw SQL queries: Keyless entity types.
- Raw SQL queries: Composing with LINQ.
- Explicitly compiled queries.
- await foreach.
- Saving data:
- Change tracking: Snapshot.
- Change tracking: Notification.
- Change tracking: Proxies.
- Accessing tracked state.
- Optimistic concurrency.
- Transactions.
- Batching of statements.
- Disconnected graph low-level APIs.
- Disconnected graph End-to-end.
- Other features:
- Migrations.
- Database creation/deletion APIs.
- Seed data.
- Connection resiliency.
- Interceptors.
- Events.
- Simple Logging.
- DBContext pooling.
Website: docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/ef
Support: GitHub Code Repository
Developer: .NET Foundation and Contributors
License: MIT License
Entity Framework Core is written in C#. Learn C# with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| C# Object-Relational Mapping Software | |
|---|---|
| Entity Framework Core | Modern object-database mapper for .NET. |
| Dapper | Simple object mapper for .NET |
| NHibernate | Mature, open source object-relational mapper for .NET |
| LINQ to DB | LINQ database access library |
| RepoDB | Hybrid ORM library for .NET |
| Venflow | Fast and lightweight ORM for PostgreSQL |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |

