"*Mediates between the domain and data mapping layers using a collection-like interface for accessing domain objects*" (Martin Fowler).
Repositories, in practice, are used to perform database operations for domain objects (see [Entities](Entities.md)). Generally, a separated repository is used for each **aggregate root** or entity.
### Generic Repositories
## Generic Repositories
ABP can provide a **default generic repository** for each aggregate root or entity. You can [inject](Dependency-Injection.md) `IRepository<TEntity, TKey>` into your service and perform standard **CRUD** operations. Example usage:
@ -54,12 +54,6 @@ Generic Repositories provides some standard CRUD features out of the box:
* Implements `IQueryable<TEntity>`, so you can use LINQ and extension methods like `FirstOrDefault`, `Where`, `OrderBy`, `ToList` and so on...
* Have **sync** and **async** versions for all methods.
#### Generic Repository without a Primary Key
If your entity does not have an Id primary key (it may have a composite primary key for instance) then you cannot use the `IRepository<TEntity, TKey>` defined above. In that case, you can inject and use `IRepository<TEntity>` for your entity.
> `IRepository<TEntity>` has a few missing methods those normally works with the `Id` property of an entity. Because of the entity has no `Id` property in that case, these methods are not available. One example is the `Get` method that gets an id and returns the entity with given id. However, you can still use `IQueryable<TEntity>` features to query entities by standard LINQ methods.
### Basic Repositories
Standard `IRepository<TEntity, TKey>` interface extends standard `IQueryable<TEntity>` and you can freely query using standard LINQ methods. However, some ORM providers or database systems may not support standard `IQueryable` interface.
@ -70,15 +64,25 @@ Depending on `IBasicRepository` but not depending on `IRepository` has an advant
So, working with `IRepository` is the **suggested** way for typical applications. But reusable module developers may consider `IBasicRepository` to support a wider range of data sources.
### Custom Repositories
### Read Only Repositories
There are also `IReadOnlyRepository<TEntity, TKey>` and `IReadOnlyBasicRepository<Tentity, TKey>` interfaces for who only want to depend on querying capabilities of the repositories.
### Generic Repository without a Primary Key
If your entity does not have an Id primary key (it may have a composite primary key for instance) then you cannot use the `IRepository<TEntity, TKey>` (or basic/readonly versions) defined above. In that case, you can inject and use `IRepository<TEntity>` for your entity.
> `IRepository<TEntity>` has a few missing methods those normally works with the `Id` property of an entity. Because of the entity has no `Id` property in that case, these methods are not available. One example is the `Get` method that gets an id and returns the entity with given id. However, you can still use `IQueryable<TEntity>` features to query entities by standard LINQ methods.
## Custom Repositories
Default generic repositories will be sufficient for most cases. However, you may need to create a custom repository class for your entity.
#### Custom Repository Example
### Custom Repository Example
ABP does not force you to implement any interface or inherit from any base class for a repository. It can be just a simple POCO class. However, it's suggested to inherit existing repository interface and classes to make your work easier and get the standard methods out of the box.
##### Custom Repository Interface
#### Custom Repository Interface
First, define an interface in your domain layer:
@ -91,7 +95,7 @@ public interface IPersonRepository : IRepository<Person, Guid>
This interface extends `IRepository<Person, Guid>` to take advantage of pre-built repository functionality.
##### Custom Repository Implementation
#### Custom Repository Implementation
A custom repository is tightly coupled to the data access tool type you are using. In this example, we will use Entity Framework Core: