We shall study Entity Framework Transactions in this article.

 Let's begin, then.

Comprehending Transactions

  • Transactions treat several activities as a single unit, ensuring data integrity.
  • They are crucial for preserving uniformity, particularly in intricate applications.

Built-in Transaction Management
Entity Framework (EF) provides built-in transaction management through the DbContext.
EF automatically handles transactions for single SaveChanges calls.
using (var context = new AppDbContext())

using (var context = new AppDbContext())
  {
     // Operations
     context.SaveChanges(); // EF handles transaction automatically
  }


Handling Multiple Operations as a Unit
Transactions are crucial for ensuring data integrity when performing multiple related operations. For instance, transferring money between accounts involves debiting one account and crediting another. Both operations should be part of a single transaction.

Example
using (var context = new AppDbContext())
  {
     using (var transaction  = context.Database.BeginTransaction())
       {
         try
          {
             // Debit one account
             // Credit another account

             context.SaveChanges();
             transaction.commit();
          }
         catch(Exception ex)
          {
            transaction.Rollback();
            // Handle the exception
          }
       }
   }


Rollback Strategies

Rollbacks revert all changes if any operation fails.
Essential for maintaining data integrity in case of errors.
using (var context = new AppDbContext())
  {
     using (var transaction  = context.Database.BeginTransaction())
       {
         try
          {
            // Operations
            transaction.commit();
          }
         catch(Exception ex)
          {
            transaction.Rollback();
          }
       }
  }


Commit Strategies

Use Commit to finalize transactions after successful operations.
Always wrap Commit within a try catch block to handle exception.
using (var context = new AppDbContext())
  {
     using (var transaction  = context.Database.BeginTransaction())
       {
         try
          {
            // Operations
            transaction.commit();
          }
         catch(Exception ex)
          {
            transaction.Rollback();
            // Log or Handle the exception
          }
       }
  }

Combining Explicit Transactions with Multiple Contexts
Handle transactions across multiple DbContext instances.
Ensure consistency across different data sources.
using (var context1 = new AppDbContext1())
using (var context2 = new AppDbContext2())
 {
    using (var transaction  = context1.Database.BeginTransaction())
     {
        try
         {
            // Operations on context1
            context1.SaveChanges();

            // Operations on context2
            context2.Database.UseTransaction(transaction.GetDbTransation());
            context2.SaveChanges();

            transaction.commit();
         }
        catch(Exception ex)
         {
            transaction.Rollback();
         }
     }
 }


Points to be taken

  • Transactions are critical for data integrity.
  • EF provides built-in and explicit transaction management.
  • Rollbacks and commits ensure consistency and handle errors effectively.

Conclusion
In this article, I have tried to cover how to handle Entity Framework Transactions.