EF Core Bulk Update Optimize Entity Framework Update Performance

Description

The EF BulkUpdate extension method let you update a large number of entities in your database.

// Easy to use
context.BulkUpdate(customers);

// Easy to customize
context.BulkUpdate(customers, options => options.IncludeGraph = true);

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

Performance Comparison

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

HINT:

A lot of factors might affect the benchmark time such as index, column type, latency, throttling, etc.

Scenarios

The BulkUpdate method is fast but also flexible to let you handle various scenarios in Entity Framework such as:

• Update and include/exclude properties
• Update with custom key
• Update with related child entities (Include Graph)
• Update with future action
• More scenarios

What is supported?

• All Entity Framework Core Version: EF Core 9, EF Core 8, EF Core 7, EF Core 6, EF Core 5, EF Core 3
• All Entity Framework Version: EF6, EF5, EF4
• All Inheritances (TPC, TPH, TPT)
• Complex Type/Owned Entity Type
• Enum
• Value Converter (EF Core)
• And more!

Advantages

• Easy to use
• Flexible
• Increase performance
• Increase application responsiveness
• Reduce database load
• Reduce database round-trips

Getting Started

Bulk Update

The BulkUpdate and BulkUpdateAync methods extend your DbContext to let you update a large number of entities in your database.

context.BulkUpdate(customers);

context.BulkUpdateAsync(customers, cancellationToken);

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

Bulk Update with options

The options parameter lets you use a lambda expression to customize the way entities are updated.

context.BulkUpdate(customers, options => options.ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression = c => c.Code });

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

Why BulkUpdate is faster than SaveChanges?

Updating thousands of entities for a file importation is a typical scenario.

The SaveChanges method makes it quite impossible to handle this kind of situation due to the number of database round-trips required. The SaveChanges perform one database round-trip for every entity to update. So, if you need to update 10,000 entities, 10,000 database round-trips will be performed which is INSANELY slow.

The BulkUpdate in counterpart requires the minimum database round-trips possible. For example, under the hood for SQL Server, a SqlBulkCopy is performed first in a temporary table, then an UPDATE from the temporary table to the destination table is performed which is the fastest way available.

Real Life Scenarios

Update and include/exclude properties

You want to update your entities but only for specific properties.

• IgnoreOnUpdateExpression: This option lets you ignore properties that are auto-mapped.

context.BulkUpdate(customers, options => options.IgnoreOnUpdateExpression = c => new { c.ColumnToIgnore } );

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

Update with custom key

You want to update entities, but you don't have the primary key. The ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression let you use as a key any property or combination of properties.

context.BulkUpdate(customers, options => options.ColumnPrimaryKeyExpression = c => c.Code);

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

Update with related child entities (Include Graph)

You want to update entities but also automatically insert related child entities.

• IncludeGraph: This option lets you automatically update all entities part of the graph.
• IncludeGraphBuilder: This option lets you customize how to update entities for a specific type.

context.BulkUpdate(invoices, options => options.IncludeGraph = true);

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

Update with future action

You want to update entities, but you want to defer the execution.

By default, BulkUpdate is an immediate operation. That mean, it's executed as soon as you call the method.

FutureAction: This option lets you defer the execution of a Bulk Update. ExecuteFutureAction: This option trigger and execute all pending FutureAction.

context.FutureAction(x => x.BulkUpdate(customers));
context.FutureAction(x => x.BulkUpdate(invoices, options => options.IncludeGraph = true));

// ...code...

context.ExecuteFutureAction();

Try it in EF Core | Try it in EF6

More scenarios

Hundreds of scenarios have been solved and are now supported.

The best way to ask for a special request or to find out if a solution for your scenario already exists is by contacting us: info@zzzprojects.com

Documentation

BulkUpdate

Methods

Options

More options can be found here:

• Audit
• Batch
• Column
• Context Factory
• Execute Event
• Identity
• Include Graph
• Key
• Logging
• Temporary Table
• Transaction
• Transient Error
• SQL Server