How to do it?
A:
I would recommend using the visual designer built into VS2008, as updating the dbml also updates the code that is generated for you. Modifying the dbml outside of the visual designer would result in the underlying code being out of sync.
Jason Miesionczek
2009-07-10 15:20:31
Yeah, but the visual designer in VS2008 cannot detect and respond to changes in your underlying database :-( Short of deleting and re-adding, there's no support for updating your model :-(
marc_s
2009-07-10 16:09:44
While that is true, the question was very vague and did not specifically mention how to update a model when the database changes.
Jason Miesionczek
2009-07-10 16:50:06
+20
A:
There are three ways to keep the model in sync.
Delete the modified tables from the designer, and drag them back onto the designer surface from the Database Explorer. I have found that, for this to work reliably, you have to:
a. Refresh the database schema in the Database Explorer (right-click, refresh)
b. Save the designer after deleting the tables
c. Save again after dragging the tables back.Use SQLMetal to regenerate the schema from your database. I have seen a number of blog posts that show how to script this.
Make changes directly in the Properties pane of the DBML. This works for simple changes, like allowing nulls on a field.
Robert Harvey
2009-07-10 15:30:37
+2
A:
You could also check out the PLINQO set of code generation templates, based on CodeSmith, which allow you to do a lot of neat things for and with Linq-to-SQL:
- generate one file per class (instead of a single, huge file)
- update your model as needed
- many more features
Check out the PLINQO site at http://www.plinqo.com and have a look at the intro videos.
The second tool I know of are the Huagati DBML/EDMX tools, which allow update of DBML (Linq-to-SQL) and EDMX (Entity Framework) mapping files, and more (like naming conventions etc.).
Marc
marc_s
2009-07-10 16:08:45
A:
There is a nuance to updating tables then updating the DBML... Foreign key relationships are not immediately always brought over if changes are made to existing tables. The work around is to do a build of the project and then re-add the tables again. I reported this to MS and its being fixed in VS2010.