Defining Query Paths (EntityDataSource)

You can define which objects return along with the specifically queried object by using the Include property of the EntityDataSource control to specify a comma-separated list of query paths. Each comma-separated value in the string is passed, without modification, as a separate call to the Include method of the ObjectQuery<T> that is the data source for the EntityDataSource control.

The string supplied to the Include property uses the same format as the string passed to the Include method of ObjectQuery<T>. For examples of how to use query paths to automatically load related objects, see How to: Use Query Paths to Shape Results (Entity Framework).

Example

The following XML markup defines a query path that returns SalesOrderHeader objects that are related to the returned Contact object. With each SalesOrderHeader, the related SalesOrderDetail and Address objects are also returned.

<asp:EntityDataSource ID="ContactDataSource" runat="server" 
    AutoGenerateWhereClause="True" ConnectionString="name=AdventureWorksEntities" 
    DefaultContainerName="AdventureWorksEntities" EnableDelete="True" 
    EnableInsert="True" EnableUpdate="True" EntitySetName="Contact" 
    Include="SalesOrderHeader.SalesOrderDetail, SalesOrderHeader.Address">
    <WhereParameters>
        <asp:ControlParameter ControlID="customerId" Name="ContactID" 
            PropertyName="Text" />
    </WhereParameters>
</asp:EntityDataSource>

The previous XML example is the same as the following ObjectQuery<T> named contacts:

ObjectQuery<Contact> contacts = 
      context.Contact
       .Where("it.ContactID = @ContactID",
         new ObjectParameter("ContactID", customerId))
        .Include("SalesOrderHeader.SalesOrderDetail")
        .Include("SalesOrderHeader.Address");

See Also

Concepts

Configuring the EntityDataSource Control

Filtering Data (EntityDataSource)

EntityDataSource Designer

Other Resources

Shaping Query Results (Entity Framework)

Change History