Reference external type enum and contains method

Question

Since I have switched to .net 4.5 and EF 5.0 I have started using enums mapping. In my project I'm using model first. Because all of enums were declared earlier so I have decided to user option "Reference external type" while I was converting fields to enums in EDM. Everything works fine but when I'm trying to execute code like

public enum SomeEnum : int
{
    value1 = 0,
    value2 = 1
}

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        TestDbEntities context = new TestDbEntities();
        var enumList = new List<SomeEnum>() { SomeEnum.value1, SomeEnum.value2 };
        var items = context.Table1.Where(e => enumList.Contains(e.EnumField));
        foreach (var item in items)
        {
            Console.Write(item.Id);
        }
        context.Dispose();
    }
}

I'm getting ArgumentException with message:

The type 'SomeEnum' does not match the EDM enumeration type 'SomeEnum' or its underlying type 'Int32' Parameter name: value.

What is wired is that when I'm not using reference external type everything is okay. I'm understand what is behind in EDM, but I cannot understand why this code is working when the enum is defined in model and later generated by T4

  <EntityContainer Name="TestDbEntities" p1:LazyLoadingEnabled="true">
      <EntitySet Name="Table1" EntityType="TestDbModel.Table1" />
    </EntityContainer>
    <EntityType Name="Table1">
      <Key>
        <PropertyRef Name="Id" />
        <PropertyRef Name="EnumField" />
      </Key>
      <Property Name="Id" Type="Int32" Nullable="false" />
      <Property Name="EnumField" Type="TestDbModel.SomeEnum" Nullable="false" />
    </EntityType>
    <EnumType Name="SomeEnum" a:ExternalTypeName="ConsoleApplication1.SomeEnum" xmlns:a="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ado/2006/04/codegeneration" />

I would like to use reference external type but this is some limitation. I know that I can cast to underlying type, but this is a hack.

----edit Here is a stack trace

at System.Data.Common.CommandTrees.ExpressionBuilder.Internal.ArgumentValidation.ValidateConstant(TypeUsage constantType, Object value)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.ConstantTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, ConstantExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.NewArrayInitTranslator.<>c__DisplayClass88.<TypedTranslate>b__86(Expression e)
at System.Linq.Enumerable.WhereSelectEnumerableIterator`2.MoveNext()
at System.Data.Common.CommandTrees.ExpressionBuilder.Internal.EnumerableValidator`3.Validate(IEnumerable`1 argument, String argumentName, Int32 expectedElementCount, Boolean allowEmpty, Func`3 map, Func`2 collect, Func`3 deriveName)
at System.Data.Common.CommandTrees.ExpressionBuilder.Internal.EnumerableValidator`3.Validate()
at System.Data.Common.CommandTrees.ExpressionBuilder.Internal.ArgumentValidation.CreateExpressionList(IEnumerable`1 arguments, String argumentName, Boolean allowEmpty, Action`2 validationCallback)
at System.Data.Common.CommandTrees.ExpressionBuilder.Internal.ArgumentValidation.ValidateNewCollection(IEnumerable`1 elements, DbExpressionList& validElements)
at System.Data.Common.CommandTrees.ExpressionBuilder.DbExpressionBuilder.CreateNewCollection(IEnumerable`1 elements)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.NewArrayInitTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, NewArrayExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.ConstantTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, ConstantExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.ContainsTranslator.TranslateContains(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression sourceExpression, Expression valueExpression)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.ContainsTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.SequenceMethodTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call, SequenceMethod sequenceMethod)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateLambda(LambdaExpression lambda, DbExpression input)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateLambda(LambdaExpression lambda, DbExpression input, DbExpressionBinding& binding)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.OneLambdaTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call, DbExpression& source, DbExpressionBinding& sourceBinding, DbExpression& lambda)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.OneLambdaTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.SequenceMethodTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call, SequenceMethod sequenceMethod)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.Convert()
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ELinqQueryState.GetExecutionPlan(Nullable`1 forMergeOption)
at System.Data.Objects.ObjectQuery`1.GetResults(Nullable`1 forMergeOption)
at System.Data.Objects.ObjectQuery`1.System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<T>.GetEnumerator()
at System.Data.Entity.Internal.Linq.InternalQuery`1.GetEnumerator()
at System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.DbQuery`1.System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<TResult>.GetEnumerator()
at ConsoleApplication1.Program.Main(String[] args) in c:\Users\Pawel\Documents\Visual Studio 2012\Projects\ClassLibrary1\ConsoleApplication1\Program.cs:line 22
at System.AppDomain._nExecuteAssembly(RuntimeAssembly assembly, String[] args)
at System.AppDomain.ExecuteAssembly(String assemblyFile, Evidence assemblySecurity, String[] args)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.HostingProcess.HostProc.RunUsersAssembly()
at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context(Object state)
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state, Boolean preserveSyncCtx)
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run(ExecutionContext executionContext, ContextCallback callback, Object state)
at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart()

Can you post the full stacktrace? Can you replace `enumList.Contains(e.EnumField))` with `e.EnumField == SomeEnum.value1 || e.EnumField == SomeEnum.value2` and let me know if it works. Another thing I would like you to check is if it works if you add CLR Type enum members to the CSDL Enum Type. I suspect there might be a bug here. — Pawel, Oct 25 '12 at 04:14
To replicate my problem you can simply create some EDM model and then convert some int to enum using "Reference external type" option. The solution: e.EnumField == SomeEnum.value1 || e.EnumField == SomeEnum.value2 works, but since I have refactor existing code to have enums it will be hard to find all places. Mapping CLR Type enum members to the CSDL Enum Type works like a charm as I mention before — Paweł Madurski, Oct 25 '12 at 07:10

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 25 '12 at 16:16

This is a bug. I filed it on the EntityFramework Codeplex site: http://entityframework.codeplex.com/workitem/623. For now the workaround is to either use || or specify all the members you have in the CLR enum type in the EDM enum type. Setting external enum type adds an annotation to the EDM enum type (a:ExternalTypeName="ConsoleApplication1.SomeEnum") that tells code gen to not generate this type but use the value of the attribute everywhere in the generated code where the type is used. Without this annotation a CLR enum that exactly matches the EDM enum type will be generated. Btw. I wrote a blogpost on EF5 and external enum types some time ago. You can find it here: http://blog.3d-logic.com/2012/09/11/using-exisiting-enum-types-in-entity-framework-5/. I will add information about the bug on the blog. Feel free to comment on it as well.

So, in the current available version of EF6 you don't have to specify all the enum values in the edmx? — Martijn, Sep 23 '13 at 14:57
In EF6 it is not necessary (in fact in EF5 it was only necessary if you have a query that hit the bug). An alternative is to use Code First and not to have to worry about edmx at all. — Pawel, Sep 23 '13 at 17:30

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 04 '13 at 06:55

2

Not a direct solution, but this workaround is working for my requirements.

var enumList = new List<int>() { (int)SomeEnum.value1, (int)SomeEnum.value2 }; 
var items = context.Table1.Where(e => enumList.Contains((int)e.EnumField));

edited Mar 04 '13 at 06:55

alxx

9,897
4
26
41

answered Mar 04 '13 at 06:34

ahamedminhaj

21
1

Reference external type enum and contains method

2 Answers2