Data Annotations code generation template

The following code library applies only to versions  prior to Q2 2013. As of Q2 2013 Telerik OpenAccess ORM supports generation of DataAnnotation attributes out of the box.

Requirements
OpenAccess version	Q1 2012 SP1 (2012.1.301.2)
.NET version	4.0
Visual Studio version	2010
Programming language	C#, VB.Net

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This project demonstrates how to generate data annotation for your domain types based on the domain model schema.
Data annotations are generated using custom text template that should be included in the domain model project.

This domain model is based on SofiaCarRental21 sample database.
SofiaCarRental21 database can be created using the SofiaCarRental21.sql script.

Data annotation attributes that are supported by this custom code generation template are:
- KeyAttribute
- RequiredAttribute
- StringLenghtAttribute

In order to achieve the desired result please:
1. Create a domain model

2. Add the DataAnnotations.tt template to the project. Set its Custom Tool to "TextTemplatingFileGenerator" if not set.

3. Edit the template file:
3.1 Please change line 11:
For Visual Studio 2010 it should be:
and for Visual Studio 2012:


You should replace the value of the assembly name with the full path to Telerik.OpenAccess.Common.UI assembly on YOUR machine.

3.2 Please change line 13:

You should replace the value of the assembly name with the full path to Telerik.OpenAccess assembly on YOUR machine.

3.3 OPTIONAL: Edit the name of the .rlinq file on line 62:

By default the template will search the directory where it resides for .rlinq files. If it finds one it will use it. 
You have to change the rlinq file path if:
- there are more than one domain models in your project
- the rlinq file discovery routine fails to find your rlinq file for some reason

4. Transform the DataAnnotations.tt template either by saving it or by invoking the Transform All Templates command in Visual Studio.

5. Enjoy your auto-generated data annotations.

If you make any changes in the domain model that affect the data annotation (like addition of new column or change of the allowed string length) you should consider regenerating the data annotation code by invoking Transform All Templates.

Keep in mind that changes made in the generated code file could easily get lost if the file is regenerated!
If you need one-time code generation please delete/exclude from project the DataAnnotations.tt in order to prevent any code loss in the generated file.

If you want to add additional data annotation attributes you can do it in the generated file, but make sure that the text template won't overwrite your changes.

Hi

I've just used the code generation template and I got to admit it is pretty awesome, saves a lot of time when you got over 15 entities in the diagram. Cheers for the template.

One query, I've downloaded the .zip file, and ran the template and looked at the data annotations generated. Looking at Employee entity and for the HourlySalary field it generated the following:

       [Required]
       public System.Decimal HourlySalary { get; set; }

but looking at the entity diagram and looking at the properties for the HourlySalary field it is nullable so why has it put an annotation of [Required]? Surely that shouldn't be there. Looking at the DataAnnotations.tt is it because you calculate isNullable on whether the primative type is nullable? Is it possible to include to check if the property of the field is nullable instead?


bool isNullable = false;
MetaPrimitiveType primitiveType = primitiveMember.MemberType as MetaPrimitiveType;
if(primitiveType != null)
{
isNullable = primitiveType.IsNullable;
}


Regards Nikesh

Hi Nikesh,

Thank you for your good catch about the redundant use of Required attribute.
I have updated the T4 templates to add the attribute based on the definition of the underlying database column rather than the nullability of the entity property.

Please download the updated templates (DataAnnotationSample-CS/VB-v2.zip) and apply them in your project.

Greetings,
Viktor Zhivkov
the Telerik team

Thanks Viktor

I will download and rerun. Will give you feedback on any problems if I find any. Thanks again!

Hi, 

When i configure and run this .tt , nothing happens. No file gets modified, no error messages are thrown. 
I can debug the custom tool and see that it runs and goes through all it's methods. 
Any idea on how to bring this to life? 

Greets, Tys

Sorry, I thought i had to see some modifications in the original .generated files under my EntitiesModel. But now i see, it creates it's own DataAnnotations.generated.cs! 
So, thanks anyway, i can continue from here on.

Hello Tys,

I am glad that you were able to resolve the issue.
You are welcome to share your feedback about the DataAnnotations template or contact us if you have any other questions.

Greetings,
Viktor Zhivkov
the Telerik team

Hi,

I use the Q2 2013 Sp1. I try to build the simple win form to learn the data annotation.
I read and download this file also.
DataAnnotationSample-CS-v2.zip

I seem work fine. how can I call it from win form app?
Telerik has generated these clases from my domain model

Category.generated.cs


and

DataAnnotations.generated.cs



And I call it from win form:



It does NOT works. whatever the data i entered it's always Valid
but when i move these 2 lines
           [StringLength(100, MinimumLength = 1, ErrorMessage = " note  1 - 100")]
           [Required(AllowEmptyStrings = false, ErrorMessage = "Notes is required.")]
to the Category.generated.cs file, it works fine.

How can I resolve these problem?

regards.
Md5

Hello,

The approach described in this article along with the attached sample projects are applicable only for versions of OpenAccess ORM which are older than Q2 2013. As of Q2 2013, OpenAccess supports generation of Data Annotations out of the box - the Data Annotation attributes can be added directly to the generated classes. To see how to do that please refer to this documentation article.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Kristian Nikolov
Telerik