[asp.net-mvc-3] How Should I Declare Foreign Key Relationships Using Code First Entity Framework (4.1) in MVC3?

I have been searching for resources on how to declare foreign key relationships and other constraints using code first EF 4.1 without much luck. Basically I am building the data model in code and using MVC3 to query that model. Everything works via MVC which is great (kudos to Microsoft!) but now I want it NOT to work because I need to have data model constraints.

For example, I have a Order object that has a ton of properties that are external objects (tables). Right now I can create an Order no problem, but without being able to add the foreign key or external objects. MVC3 sets this up no problem.

I realize that I could just add the objects myself in the controller class prior to save, but I would like the call to DbContext.SaveChanges() to fail if the constraint relationships have not been met.

NEW INFORMATION

So, specifically, I would like an exception to occur when I attempt to save an Order object without specifying a customer object. This does not seem to be the behavior if I just compose the objects as described in most Code First EF documentation.

Latest code:

public class Order
{
    public int Id { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey( "Parent" )]
    public Patient Patient { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey("CertificationPeriod")]
    public CertificationPeriod CertificationPeriod { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey("Agency")]
    public Agency Agency { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey("Diagnosis")]
    public Diagnosis PrimaryDiagnosis { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey("OrderApprovalStatus")]
    public OrderApprovalStatus ApprovalStatus { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey("User")]
    public User User { get; set; }

    [ForeignKey("User")]
    public User Submitter { get; set; }

    public DateTime ApprovalDate { get; set; }
    public DateTime SubmittedDate { get; set; }
    public Boolean IsDeprecated { get; set; }
}

This is the error I get now when accessing the VS generated view for Patient:

ERROR MESSAGE

The ForeignKeyAttribute on property 'Patient' on type 'PhysicianPortal.Models.Order' is not valid. The foreign key name 'Parent' was not found on the dependent type 'PhysicianPortal.Models.Order'. The Name value should be a comma separated list of foreign key property names.

Regards,

Guido

You can define foreign key by:

public class Parent
{
   public int Id { get; set; }
   public virtual ICollection<Child> Childs { get; set; }
}

public class Child
{
   public int Id { get; set; }
   // This will be recognized as FK by NavigationPropertyNameForeignKeyDiscoveryConvention
   public int ParentId { get; set; } 
   public virtual Parent Parent { get; set; }
}

Now ParentId is foreign key property and defines required relation between child and existing parent. Saving the child without exsiting parent will throw exception.

If your FK property name doesn't consists of the navigation property name and parent PK name you must either use ForeignKeyAttribute data annotation or fluent API to map the relation

Data annotation:

// The name of related navigation property
[ForeignKey("Parent")]
public int ParentId { get; set; }

Fluent API:

modelBuilder.Entity<Child>()
            .HasRequired(c => c.Parent)
            .WithMany(p => p.Childs)
            .HasForeignKey(c => c.ParentId);

Other types of constraints can be enforced by data annotations and model validation.

Edit:

You will get an exception if you don't set ParentId. It is required property (not nullable). If you just don't set it it will most probably try to send default value to the database. Default value is 0 so if you don't have customer with Id = 0 you will get an exception.