DBML template

The Dbml.cst template creates a LINQ to SQL dbml file. The file conforms to Microsoft's DbmlSchema.xsd schema, the same format the LINQ to SQL designer uses, so you can also edit the generated file in the designer.

If the dbml file doesn't exist, the template creates it. If it does exist, the template reads it and updates it, so you can change the file and keep your changes when you run the template again. Only some attributes are preserved, though: see Safe attributes.

Warning

The template removes tables, columns and associations that it doesn't find in the database.

Safe attributes

You can change these attributes in the dbml file, and the template keeps your changes when it updates the file. They're listed as XPath expressions.

Attribute	Description
`Database/@Class`	The name of the generated `DataContext` class.
`Database/@EntityNamespace`	The namespace of the entity classes.
`Database/@ContextNamespace`	The namespace of the `DataContext` class.
`Table/@Member`	The name of the table's property in the `DataContext` class.
`Type/@Name`	The name of the entity class.
`Column/@Member`	The name of the column's property in the entity class.
`Column/@Storage`	The private field LINQ to SQL uses to assign values.
`Association/@Member`	The name of the association's property.
`Association/@Storage`	The private field LINQ to SQL uses to assign the association.
`Association/@DeleteOnNull`	Deletes the row when the association is set to null. The value isn't kept if the template's `IncludeDeleteOnNull` property is `False`.
`Function/@Method`	The name of the method for the database procedure.
`Parameter/@Parameter`	The method argument name that maps to the procedure parameter.

Properties

Note

The EnumList, IgnoreList and IncludeList properties take a list of regular expressions that match the full name of a table, view or command. For example, ^dbo.Account$ matches the Account table. Expresso is a useful tool for building regular expressions.

Category	Property	Description
1. Database	`CleanExpression`	Regular expressions that clean table, view, column and procedure names. Text that matches is removed from the name.
	`EnumList`	Regular expressions that identify enum tables.
	`IgnoreList`	Regular expressions for the tables, views and procedures to leave out of the mapping.
	`IncludeList`	Regular expressions for the tables, views and procedures to include in the mapping. When you set this property, `IgnoreList` is ignored and only the matching objects are used.
	`IncludeFunctions`	Includes stored procedures and user functions in the mapping.
	`IncludeViews`	Includes views in the mapping.
	`SourceDatabase`	The database to generate the dbml file for.
2. Class	`ContextNamespace`	The namespace of the `DataContext` class file.
	`DataContextName`	The name of the `DataContext` class.
	`EntityBase`	The base class of the entities.
	`EntityNamespace`	The namespace of the entity class files.
	`IncludeDeleteOnNull`	Generates the `DeleteOnNull` attribute for associations.
	`NamingConventions`	Options for naming objects in the dbml file: `AssociationNaming` adds a list suffix to associations or pluralizes them, `EntityNaming` names entities in singular or plural form, and `TableNaming` is the table naming convention your database follows.
3. Enum	`NameColumn`	Regular expressions that identify an enum table's name column.
	`DescriptionColumm`	Regular expressions that identify an enum table's description column.
4. Mapping	`DbmlFile`	The path of the dbml file to generate.
	`UserAssociations`	Associations you defined yourself, which aren't removed when the template syncs the dbml file with the database.