unexpected GetType() result for entity entry

Question

While I iterating through ObjectStateEntries I expected [t] variable name will be MY_ENTITY

foreach (ObjectStateEntry          


        

Answer 1

You can use

Type t = entry.Entity.GetType().BaseType;

or

ObjectContext.GetObjectType(entity.GetType())

But the second way is a better way from my point of view. If you call Type() request inside a Mapper method, for example DTO mapper (from entity object to DTO class or from in-memory objects to DTO class), ObjectContext.GetObjectType(..) will grant you always the expected result contrary to what will .GetType().BaseType

For example, if you use a TPT (Table per Type) strategy for EF Entity Model, call BaseType() on in-memory object will return the base class in hierarchy contrary to what will ObjectContext.GetObjectType(..)

Answer 2

You can get the original entity type of a proxy type by

ObjectContext.GetObjectType(entity.GetType())

This is a static method of ObjectContext, so you can readily use in in a DbContext environment.

If for some reason you need the actual entity as its original type you can use the pattern

var entity = entry.Entity as MyEntity;
if (entity != null)
{
    ...
}

This is slightly more efficient than

if (entry.Entity is MyEntity)
{
    var entity = (MyEntity)entry.Entity;
    ...
}

because the latter snippet casts the object twice.

Answer 3

Another way is to access the BaseType property of the returned proxy type:

Type t = entry.Entity.GetType().BaseType;