Entity Framework Classic Bulk Merge

Description

The EF Bulk Merge feature lets you update thousands of entities in your database efficiently.

This feature is provided by the library EF Extensions (Included with EF Classic). EF Extensions is used by over 2000 customers all over the world and supports all Entity Framework versions (EF4, EF5, EF6, EF Core, EF Classic).

// Easy to use
context.BulkMerge(customers);

// Easy to customize
context.BulkMerge(customers, options => options.ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression = customer => customer.Code);

Try it: NET Core | NET Framework

Performance Comparison

Try it: NET Core | NET Framework

HINT:

Performance may differ from a database to another. A lot of factors might affect the benchmark time such as index, column type, latency, throttling, etc.

Why BulkMerge is faster than AddOrUpdate + SaveChanges?

Merging thousands of entities for a file importation is a typical scenario.

The AddOrUpdate method performs a database round-trip for every entity to check if it already exists. The DetectChanges change method is also called for every entity which makes this method even slower (it's like using the Add method instead of AddRange).

The SaveChanges method performs one database round-trip for every entity to update.

So if you need to merge 10,000 entities, 20,000 database round-trips will be performed + 10,000 DetectChanges calls which is INSANELY slow.

The BulkMerge in counterpart requires the minimum database round-trips possible. For example, under the hood of SQL Server, a SqlBulkCopy is performed first in a temporary table, then a MERGE from the temporary table to the destination table is performed which is the most effective tactic available.

Real-Life Scenarios

Bulk Merge with custom key

You need to update a list of Customer but you don't have the IDs, you only have the unique customer codes. The ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression lets you choose the key to use.

context.BulkMerge(customers, options => options.ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression = customer => customer.Code);

Try it: NET Framework | NET Core

Bulk Merge specific columns

You need to update a list of Customer but only update some specific columns such as FirstName and LastName. The ColumnInputExpression option let you to choose columns to update.

context.BulkMerge(customers, options => { 
    options.ColumnInputExpression = customer => new { customer.FirstName, customer.LastName };
    options.ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression = customer => customer.Code;
});

Try it: NET Core | NET Framework

Bulk Merge specific columns on Update or Insert

You need to update a list of Customer but only save the CreatedDate on insert and save the ModifiedDate on update.

• The IgnoreOnMergeInsert option let you ignore column when an insert is performed.
• The IgnoreOnMergeUpdate option let you ignore column when an update is performed.

context.BulkMerge(customers, options => { 
    options.IgnoreOnMergeInsertExpression = customer => customer.ModifiedDate;
    options.IgnoreOnMergeUpdateExpression = customer => customer.CreatedDate;
});

Try it: NET Core | NET Framework

Bulk Merge invoice and related invoice items (Include Graph)

You need to update a list of Invoice and include related InvoiceItem. By default, the BulkUpdate doesn't include the graph but you can enable it with the IncludeGraph option.

context.BulkMerge(invoices, options => options.IncludeGraph = true);

Try it: NET Core | NET Framework

Documentation

BulkMerge

Methods

Learn more

More documentation can be found here: EF Extensions - Bulk Merge