The .NET Data Team announced the third preview release of EF Core 7.0 today (EF7). With it comes many new features and improvements such as the initial preview of scaffolding (database-first) templates. This preview also includes changes to the update pipeline to improve performance and streamline generated SQL, as well as TPC migration support. Let’s have a look at some of the things that are being included as well as what’s on the horizon.
Mermaid syntax generated ERD Diagrams
We now have the ability to control how Entity Framework scaffolds classes for database-first projects using T4 Templates. You can also create markdown using Mermaid syntax to generate ERD diagrams. As Jeremy Likness Senior Program Manager – .NET Data, .NET showcases:
Currently Entity Framework 7 targets .NET 6, however as general availability nears this will change to target .NET 7. On another note, EF7 will not run on .NET Framework at all.
Getting Started with EF7 Preview 3
It doesn’t take much to get started. First you need to add the SQL Server provider package to your project using the following command.
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer --version 7.0.0-preview.3.22175.1
Then you’ll have to install the CLI package
dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef --version 7.0.0-preview.3.22175.1At this point you are ready to go! As always check out the GitHub repository for known issues and breaking changes. Checking out the official documentation is also a great idea to make sure you’re making the most of the tools. For a more comprehensive overview of what changed and what is to come, check out the official blog post from Microsoft.
Are you still using something other than Entity Framework on your data-driven .NET apps? If so what is it and why? Let us know in the comments below!
