How Can I Automatically Filter Out Soft-Deleted Entities in Entity Framework?

Automatic Filtering of Soft Deleted Entities in Entity Framework

When working with Entity Framework Code First, "soft deletion" is a common practice that allows entities to be marked as deleted without actually removing them from the database. This approach maintains historical data while logically excluding inactive entities from queries.

To achieve soft deletion, custom logic can be implemented in the DbContext's SaveChanges method, as demonstrated in the question. This ensures that entities implement the ISoftDelete interface and have the "Delete" method to mark them as deleted.

Automating Retrieval of Soft Deleted Entities

However, the question further asks how to automatically ignore soft-deleted entities when retrieving data. The solution lies in using Entity Framework Dynamic Filters, a library that provides an elegant way to create global filters that will be applied automatically to all relevant queries.

Implementing EntityFramework.DynamicFilters

To implement this functionality, follow these steps:

1. Install the EntityFramework.DynamicFilters package from NuGet.
2. Override the OnModelCreating method in the DbContext class and call the Filter method.
3. Specify the filter name, a lambda expression representing the filter condition, and a flag indicating whether the filter is enabled by default.

For example, for an "IsDeleted" filter:

modelBuilder.Filter("IsDeleted", (ISoftDelete d) => d.IsDeleted, false);

Usage

Once the filter is defined, all queries against entities implementing the ISoftDelete interface will automatically include the where clause "where IsDeleted = false". This ensures that soft-deleted entities are transparently excluded from result sets without any additional code.

Note

The Filter method provided by EntityFramework.DynamicFilters supports complex filter conditions and can be applied to navigation properties as well. By utilizing this library, developers can simplify data retrieval while maintaining the flexibility of soft deletion.

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