EntityCodeGenerator

EntityCodeGenerator automates the creation of entity classes by reading the database schema using SchemaSynchronizer.DefaultGetDatabaseDescription. It generates one entity per table, including operations and field attributes such as SqlDbTypeAttribute, ColumnAttribute, TableAttribute, PrimaryKeyAttribute. This ensures that, once entities are registered in the Schema, synchronizing the database will result in minimal changes.

• Multiple Entities per File: More than one entity can be written in the same class file if GetFileName returns the same value for different tables.
• MList and Embedded Entities: The generator can create MList<T> fields and EmbeddedEntity classes for certain tables. Heuristics are used, but you can override GetMListInfo to customize which tables are treated as MList<T>.
• Schema Manipulation: You can override GetTables to adjust the source database information, such as removing redundant columns or adding foreign keys, to improve the generated classes.

All key methods are protected and virtual, allowing you to override them for custom behavior.

The following call tree outlines the main workflow and extension points:

• GenerateEntitiesFromDatabaseTables
  1. GetTables
     • Uses SchemaSynchronizer.DefaultGetDatabaseDescription
  2. GetSolutionInfo
  3. For each table, grouped by GetFileName:
     • WriteFile
       • GetUsingNamespaces
       • For each table in the file:
         • WriteTableEntity
           1. If GetMListInfo is not null:
              • If trivial, returns null
              • Otherwise, calls WriteEmbeddedEntity
           2. If IsEnum, calls WriteEnum
           3. Otherwise, calls WriteEntity
              • GetEntityName
              • GetEntityAttributes
                • GetEntityKind, GetEntityData
                • GetTableNameAttribute
                • GetPrimaryKeyAttribute
                  • GetPrimaryKeyColumn
                  • GetValueType
                  • GetSqlDbTypeParts
                • GetTicksColumnAttribute
              • GetBaseClass
              • WriteBeforeFields
              • For each column in table:
                • WriteField
                  • GetRelatedEntity
                  • GetFieldType
                  • GetFieldName
                  • GetFieldAttributes
                    • HasNotNullableAttribute
                    • GetSqlTypeAttribute
                      • GetSqlDbTypeParts
                    • DefaultColumnName
                    • HasUniqueIndex
                  • GetPropertyAttributes
                    • HasNotNullValidator
                  • IsReadonly
              • For each related table referencing this table:
                • If GetMListInfo is null, skip
                • WriteFieldMList
                  • If MList of EmbeddedEntities:
                    • GetEntityName
                  • Else (MList of trivial Entity relationships or values):
                    • GetRelatedEntity
                    • GetFieldType
                    • GetFieldAttributes
                  • GetPrimaryKeyAttribute
                  • GetTableNameAttribute
                  • GetBackColumnNameAttribute
                  • GetFieldMListName
              • WriteAfterFields
              • WriteToString
                • GetToStringColumn
              • WriteOperations
                • If GetEntityKind is not Main, Shared, or String, skip
                • GetOperationName

Override the relevant methods to customize entity generation for your database schema and project conventions.