Asp.Net Mvc Crud Operations Using Ef Complete Guide

Prerequisites

1. Visual Studio installed on your machine.
2. Basic knowledge of C# and ASP.NET MVC.
3. Familiarity with SQL Server or any other database system.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create a New ASP.NET MVC Project

• Open Visual Studio.
• Go to File > New > Project.
• Choose ASP.NET Web Application (.NET Framework).
• Give your project a name, e.g., MVC_EF_CRUD and click Create.
• In the new window, choose MVC template.
• Click Create again.

2. Add a Model

We will create a Student model.

• Right-click on the Models folder.
• Select Add > Class.
• Name it Student.cs and add the following code:

using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;

namespace MVC_EF_CRUD.Models
{
    public class Student
    {
        [Key]
        public int ID { get; set; }
        [Display(Name = "First Name")]
        public string FirstName { get; set; }

        [Display(Name = "Last Name")]
        public string LastName { get; set; }

        public string EnrolllmentDate { get; set; }
    }
}

3. Create a Database Context

We will use Entity Framework to interact with the database.

• Right-click on the Models folder.
• Select Add > Class.
• Name it SchoolContext.cs and add the following code:

using System.Data.Entity;
using MVC_EF_CRUD.Models;

namespace MVC_EF_CRUD.DAL
{
    public class SchoolContext : DbContext
    {
        public DbSet<Student> Students { get; set; }
    }
}

4. Enable Migrations

We need to enable migrations so that we can create our database tables.

• Open Package Manager Console.
• Run the following commands:

  Enable-Migrations -ContextTypeName MVC_EF_CRUD.DAL.SchoolContext
  Add-Migration InitialCreate
  Update-Database
  

This will create the database and the necessary Students table.

5. Create the Controller

We will generate the controller with CRUD actions using scaffolding.

• Right-click on the Controllers folder.
• Select Add > Controller.
• Choose MVC 5 Controller with views, using Entity Framework.
• Set Model class to Student (MvcAppWithEntityFramework.Models).
• Set Data context class to SchoolContext (MvcAppWithEntityFramework.DAL).
• Enter StudentsController as the Controller name and click Add.

Visual Studio will automatically scaffold the controller and views for you.

6. Examine the Scaffolder Output

a. StudentsController.cs

using System.Data;
using System.Data.Entity;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using MVC_EF_CRUD.Models;
using MVC_EF_CRUD.DAL;

namespace MVC_EF_CRUD.Controllers
{
    public class StudentsController : Controller
    {
        private SchoolContext db = new SchoolContext();

        // GET: Students
        public ActionResult Index()
        {
            return View(db.Students.ToList());
        }

        // GET: Students/Details/5
        public ActionResult Details(int? id)
        {
            if (id == null)
            {
                return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
            }
            Student student = db.Students.Find(id);
            if (student == null)
            {
                return HttpNotFound();
            }
            return View(student);
        }

        // GET: Students/Create
        public ActionResult Create()
        {
            return View();
        }

        // POST: Students/Create
        [HttpPost]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public ActionResult Create([Bind(Include = "ID,FirstName,LastName,EnrolllmentDate")] Student student)
        {
            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                db.Students.Add(student);
                db.SaveChanges();
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }

            return View(student);
        }

        // GET: Students/Edit/5
        public ActionResult Edit(int? id)
        {
            if (id == null)
            {
                return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
            }
            Student student = db.Students.Find(id);
            if (student == null)
            {
                return HttpNotFound();
            }
            return View(student);
        }

        // POST: Students/Edit/5
        [HttpPost]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public ActionResult Edit([Bind(Include = "ID,FirstName,LastName,EnrolllmentDate")] Student student)
        {
            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                db.Entry(student).State = EntityState.Modified;
                db.SaveChanges();
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }
            return View(student);
        }

        // GET: Students/Delete/5
        public ActionResult Delete(int? id)
        {
            if (id == null)
            {
                return new HttpStatusCodeResult(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
            }
            Student student = db.Students.Find(id);
            if (student == null)
            {
                return HttpNotFound();
            }
            return View(student);
        }

        // POST: Students/Delete/5
        [HttpPost, ActionName("Delete")]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public ActionResult DeleteConfirmed(int id)
        {
            Student student = db.Students.Find(id);
            db.Students.Remove(student);
            db.SaveChanges();
            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        }

        protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
        {
            if (disposing)
            {
                db.Dispose();
            }
            base.Dispose(disposing);
        }
    }
}

b. Views Generated

• Index.cshtml: Displays list of students.
• Create.cshtml: Creates a new student.
• Edit.cshtml: Edits an existing student record.
• Details.cshtml: Displays details of a single student.
• Delete.cshtml: Deletes a student record.

7. Customize the Views

You may want to customize these views based on your needs.

Index.cshtml (Example)

@model IEnumerable<MVC_EF_CRUD.Models.Student>

@{
    ViewBag.Title = "Students";
}

<h2>Students</h2>

<p>
    @Html.ActionLink("Create New", "Create")
</p>
<table class="table">
    <tr>
        <th>@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.FirstName)</th>
        <th>@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.LastName)</th>
        <th>@Html.DisplayNameFor(model => model.EnrolllmentDate)</th>
        <th></th>
    </tr>

@foreach (var item in Model) 
{
    <tr>
        <td>@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.FirstName)</td>
        <td>@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.LastName)</td>
        <td>@Html.DisplayFor(modelItem => item.EnrolllmentDate)</td>
        <td>
            @Html.ActionLink("Edit", "Edit", new { id = item.ID }) |
            @Html.ActionLink("Details", "Details", new { id = item.ID }) |
            @Html.ActionLink("Delete", "Delete", new { id = item.ID })
        </td>
    </tr>
}

</table>

8. Configure Routing (RouteConfig.cs)

Ensure that you have a default route set up in RouteConfig.cs:

public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
    routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");

    routes.MapRoute(
        name: "Default",
        url: "{controller}/{action}/{id}",
        defaults: new { controller = "Students", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional }
    );
}

9. Build and Run the Application

• Build your application by going to Build > Build Solution.
• Run your application by pressing F5 or clicking Start button.

You should be able to see the list of students and perform all CRUD operations.

Conclusion

In this example, we created a simple MVC application with CRUD operations using Entity Framework. This included setting up the model, database context, using scaffolding to generate controllers and views, and configuring routing to set the default page to display. Feel free to explore further customization of this basic setup.