EF: Update entity stored in session - asp.net

I'm using EF 5 with Web Forms (ASP.NET 4.5), with the "one DbContext instance per request" approach.
But this situation is a bit complicated: I have a multi-step create/edit screen, and I store the current entity in Session, then I manipulate it and in the final step, I commit it to the Database.
Creating a new instance was fine, but I can't for the life of me edit an existing entity... Because it's another request, my original DbContext instance was lost and when I attach it to a new one, I get the An entity object cannot be referenced by multiple instances of IEntityChangeTracker error.
My code is far too complex to post here, but I'll try and summarize it accurately:
My DbContext:
public class AppContext : DbContext
{
// DbSet declarations...
public static AppContext Current {
get { var context = HttpContext.Current.Items["Contexts.AppContext"] as AppContext;
if (context == null)
{
context = new AppContext();
HttpContext.Current.Items["Contexts.AppContext"] = context;
}
return context;
}
}
}
An example of what the page code looks like:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
int? id = null; // After this, I try to get it from the QueryString, parse it, etc.. Omitted for sake of brevity
// If I have an ID, it means I'm editing...
Session["Product"] = id.HasValue ? new Product() : AppContext.Current.Products.Find(id));
MethodToPopulateFields(); // Internally, it uses the Session variable
}
protected void Step1(){ // through n
// Manipulates the Session["Product"] based on page input...
}
protected void Save(){
var product = Session["Product"] as Product;
if(product.ID == 0)
product = AppContext.Current.Products.Add(product);
// throws an exception:
// AppContext.Current.Entry(product).State = EntityState.Modified;
// this too:
// AppContext.Products.Attach(product);
AppContext.Current.SaveChanges();
}
I know I can get the old entity from the database, update it manually and save, all in the last step, but I really don't want to do that...
Thank you.

Try calling
AppContext.Current.Entry(product).State = EntityState.Detached;
in the first method.

Related

accessing httpcontext properties from System.Timers.Timer

I have a problem when accessing httpcontext.current value at application_start method.
There is a lots of discussions about this topic.
But I want to share my business logic and I need some advice how to handle problem.
Let's look at this business logic together step by step
1-I want to design "custom object" which has "static global List" property and any user can add "LogObj" object to this list whereever actions occured.
public class MyLog
{
public static void List<LogObj> LogObjList {get;set;}
static MyLog()
{
LogObjList = new List<LogObj>();
}
}
2- If I have a "System.Timers.Timer" object which checks the "static global List" every X milliseconds and performs some action which defined in the code
public static init(){
System.Timers.Timer t = new System.Timers.Timer();
t.Elapsed += T_Elapsed;
t.Interval = 3000;
t.Start();
}
private void T_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
{
//perform some code.
var s = HttpContext.Current.Session["test"];
var logObj = MyLog.LogObjList[0] + s;
//save as text file ...
}
3- If I start init() method in application_start event at global.asax I get this error "object reference ..." where the line of "..HttpContext.Current.Session" started.
So
If I do not want to access any httpcontext.current's properties I have no problem at this situation.
But If I need to access any properties of httpcontext.current at Timer_Elapsed event I have problem about it.
So I need your advice or alternative way to making my algorithm.
Thank you

WF 4 OnUnhandledException not hit

I've created a custom activity which contains as a Body another Activity.
[Browsable(false)]
public Activity Body { get; set; }
protected override void Execute(NativeActivityContext context)
{
ActivityInstance res = context.ScheduleActivity(Body, new CompletionCallback(OnExecuteComplete), OnFaulted);
}
private void OnFaulted(NativeActivityFaultContext faultContext, Exception propagatedException, ActivityInstance propagatedFrom)
{
throw new Exception(propagatedException.Message);
}
When an exception is thrown during the execution of the Body, ma handler for the OnFaulted is hit.
My execution starts with a call to static method Run of the WorkflowApplication class. My WorkflowApplication instance has a handler associated for the OnUnhandledException event.
instance.OnUnhandledException +=
delegate(WorkflowApplicationUnhandledExceptionEventArgs args)
{
Console.WriteLine(args.ExceptionSource);
waitEvent.Set();
return UnhandledExceptionAction.Cancel;
};
But regardless of what happens when the Activity hosted in the Body is executed, i never reach the handler defined above. I thought that if i throw an exception from the OnFaulted, i will be able to redirect the flow to the OnUnhandledException but i was wrong. Any ideas ?
I need this in order to centralize my errors, check them and display messages accordingly. Also i need a way to stop the execution and so on and i don't want to define handlers all over the application. Is there any way to accomplish this ?
As Will suggested, i will post what i did to handle my scenario.
Basically, in my custom activity i have hosted an Assign :
[Browsable(false)]
public Activity Body { get; set; }
Activity System.Activities.Presentation.IActivityTemplateFactory.Create(System.Windows.DependencyObject target)
{
return new Assignment()
{
Body = new Assign() { DisplayName = "" }
};
}
I've added this code to my Execute method :
ActivityInstance res = context.ScheduleActivity(Body, new CompletionCallback(OnExecuteComplete), OnFaulted);
I was trying to run this Assignment by giving an array a negative value as index and and an exception was thrown. This, somehow ended my execution but no handler for the events of my WorkflowApplication instance were hit.
Here is the method given as a callback when executing the body ( in our case the Assign activity ) :
private void OnFaulted(NativeActivityFaultContext faultContext, Exception propagatedException, ActivityInstance propagatedFrom)
{
faultContext.HandleFault();
CommunicationExtension ce = faultContext.GetExtension<CommunicationExtension>();
ITextExpression toTextExpression = (propagatedFrom.Activity as Assign).To.Expression as ITextExpression;
string valueTextExpression = string.Empty;
if ((propagatedFrom.Activity as Assign).Value != null)
{
if ((propagatedFrom.Activity as Assign).Value.Expression != null)
valueTextExpression = (propagatedFrom.Activity as Assign).Value.Expression.ToString();
}
if (ce != null)
{
ce.AddData(string.Format("{0} found on Assignment definition [{1} = {2}]", propagatedException.Message, toTextExpression.ExpressionText, valueTextExpression));
}
}
The trick was to call :
faultContext.HandleFault();
and use CommunicationExtension to allow me to to display the erros in the GUI.
The code for this class is trivial :
public class CommunicationExtension
{
public List<string> Messages { get; set; }
public CommunicationExtension()
{
Messages = new List<string>();
}
public void AddData(string message)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(message))
return;
Messages.Add(message);
}
}
Use this to add the extension:
CommunicationExtension ce = new CommunicationExtension();
instance.Extensions.Add(ce);
where instance is my WorkflowApplication instance.
I understood that for each instance of the workflow application we have one instance of its extension class. So i can send messages like this from all my custom activities in order to display their status.
I hope this scenario can help other people too.

ASP.net cache access causing Collection Modified exception in foreach loop

Ok first things first. This is some exception information given by the support team. I know the line and code where it happens. It happens in a FirstOrDefault call over a dictionary obtained from cache.
1) Exception Information
*********************************************
Exception Type: System.InvalidOperationException
Message: Collection was modified; enumeration operation may not execute.
Data: System.Collections.ListDictionaryInternal
Now I wanted to simulate the problem and I could do it in a simple ASP.net application.
My page has 2 Buttons - Button_Process and Button_Add
The code behind is as follows:
public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (!IsPostBack)
{
var data = Cache["key"];
if (data == null)
{
var dict = new Dictionary<int, string>();
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
dict.Add(i, "i");
}
Cache["key"] = dict;
}
}
}
protected void ButtonProcess_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var data = Cache["key"] as Dictionary<int, string>;
if (data != null)
{
foreach (var d in data.Values) //In actual code there is FirstOrDefault here
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
if (d.Contains("5"))
{
//some operation
}
}
}
}
protected void Button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var data = Cache["key"] as Dictionary<int, string>;
if (data != null)
{
data.Add(new Random().Next(), "101");
Cache["key"] = data;
}
}
}
Now assume there are 2 requests:
Request 1 - Someone clicks on button_Process and some operation on cache object is taking place
Request 2 - Someone clicks on button_Add and the first person gets an exception - collection modified blah blah
I understand the problem - it is happening because we are accessing same bit of memory. I have 2 solutions in my mind:
1. I use a for loop instead of for each (to replace FirstOrDefault in actual code) - I dunno how efficient this operation will be after I make the changes. - I don't ever delete any item from cache so I was thinking of this solution
2. I put some lock over cache object or something on those lines - but I dunno exactly where and how should I lock this object.
Please help me with this. I am not able to figure out an efficient solution. What is the best way to handle such situations?
This happens because you're working directly with object, locating in cache. Good practise, to avoid those exceptions and other wierd behavior (when you accidentally modify cache object) is working with copy of cache data. And there are several ways of achieving it, like doing clone or some kind of deep copy. What i prefer is keeping objects in cache serialized (any kind you like - json/xml/binary or w/e else), since (de)serialization makes a deep copy of your object. Following small code snippet will clarify things:
public static class CacheManager
{
private static readonly Cache MyCache = HttpRuntime.Cache;
public static void Put<T>(T data, string key)
{
MyCache.Insert(key, Serialize(data));
}
public static T Get<T>(string key)
{
var data = MyCache.Get(key) as string;
if (data != null)
return Deserialize<T>(data);
return default(T);
}
private static string Serialize(object data)
{
//this is Newtonsoft.Json serializer, but you can use the one you like
return JsonConvert.SerializeObject(data);
}
private static T Deserialize<T>(string data)
{
return JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<T>(data);
}
}
And usage:
var myObj = new Dictionary<int, int>();
CacheManager.Put(myObj, "myObj");
//...
var anotherObj = CacheManager.Get<Dictionary<int, int>>("myObj");
Check Task Parallel Library for .NET 3.5. It has Concurrent Collections such as ConcurrentStack, ConcurentQueue and ConcurrentDictionary.
http://www.nuget.org/packages/TaskParallelLibrary
The problem is that the cache object is global for appdomain and the data stored in are shared between all request.
The only solution to this problem is to activate a lock when you want to access to the collection and then release the lock (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/c5kehkcz%28v=vs.100%29.aspx).
(sorry form my bad english)

Strange Guid.NewGuid() behaviour

I have searched the site for an answer to this question, but I cannot seem to figure this one out.
I have use the NewGuid() method many times and it has worked greate. But now for some reason it creates an empty Guid.
Here is my code:
// Class of the Guid Object
public class CardUserAccount
{
// User ID of the user's profile
public Guid UserId { get; set; }
}
//Page object where method is called
Public partial class CreateSale : System.Web.UI.UserControl
{
// Create the UserProfile object
public CardUserAccount profile = new CardUserAccount();
protected void ContinueButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Guid _userId = Guid.NewGuid();
profile.UserId = _userId;
}
protected void SubmitButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Method to add object to database
SubmitProfile(profile);
}
I then call a simple linq to entities method to add the object to the entity object.
I have double checked it and I am not overwriting it anywhere.
However could it be a problem that I am creating the profile object outside of the page_load method. I thought this would not affect the object during postback.
I would appreciate the help
Is this actual code? Because you declare and initialize the variable, then do nothing with it.
If you intend to overwrite a field value, you should not declare that field inside this method.

Password Field with Asp.Net Dynamic Data

I have a User table that I want to use with Dynamic Data. The Problem is that I have the Password Field that I need to encrypt using MD5. I am Using Entity Framework, How I do this?
On alternate idea would be to create a custom FieldTemplate (use UIHint to override the field field template) to encrypt this field.
I found this solution, but If anyone has a better Idea, let me know
public partial class SigecRendicionesEntities
{
partial void OnContextCreated()
{
// Register the handler for the SavingChanges event.
this.SavingChanges
+= new EventHandler(context_SavingChanges);
}
// SavingChanges event handler.
private static void context_SavingChanges(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// Validate the state of each entity in the context
// before SaveChanges can succeed.
foreach (ObjectStateEntry entry in
((ObjectContext)sender).ObjectStateManager.GetObjectStateEntries(
EntityState.Added | EntityState.Modified))
{
// Find an object state entry for a SalesOrderHeader object.
if (entry.Entity.GetType() == typeof(Usuario))
{
Usuario usr = entry.Entity as Usuario;
string hashProvider = "MD5CryptoServiceProvider";
usr.Clave = Cryptographer.CreateHash(hashProvider, usr.Clave);
}
}
}
}

Resources