Using ADO.NET Entity Framework in Domain-Driven Design: A Pattern Approach

Abstract

In the object community domain-driven design philosophy has recently gained prominence. The application of domain-driven design practices in iterative software development projects promises to conquer complexity inherent in building software. And with the reduced complexity comes more intimate understanding of a problem domain, which results in better software, capable of effectively addressing user needs and concerns. The ADO.NET Entity Framework with its emphasis on modeling conceptual business entities and handling persistence can potentially facilitate domain-driven design. However, it is not clear exactly how the framework should be used in the context of domain-driven development. This exploratory case study was commissioned by Volvo Information Technology (Volvo IT) and it sought to provide guidance on using the Entity Framework in domain-driven design at the company. The study produced a number of important results. Firstly, a total of 15 guidelines were proposed for adopting the framework at Volvo IT. These guidelines address such issues as domain modeling during requirements engineering, efficient mapping among various models, reverseengineering of legacy databases, and a number of others. Secondly, six critical factors (performance, abstraction, competence, features, simplicity and support for multiple data sources) were identified that must be considered in adopting the Entity Framework in domain-driven design at the company. Finally, based on one of these factors, performance evaluation