Introduction

This article demonstrates an interesting and very useful concept in Entity Framework.

Question: What is a complex type?

In simple terms "Theey help to group a set of properties under a single complex type, that later can be used to get the specific property based on the requested complex type group".

Step 1: Create a new web application

ComplexType1.png

Step 2: New Employee Table is created

TableForComplexTypeData.png

Step 3: Adding New Entity Data Model Framework

ComplexType2.png

Step 4: Adding New Complex Type

ComplexType4.png
ComplexType5.png

For Select Operation

Step 1: The complete code of WebForm1.aspx looks as this:

<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="WebForm1.aspx.cs" Inherits="ComplexTypeSelectDataApp.WebForm1" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
 <title></title>
</head>
<body>
 <form id="form1" runat="server">
 <div>
 <center>
 <table>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" Text="Complex Type - Select Data" Font-Bold="true" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana"
ForeColor="Maroon"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" Text="Select Data" Font-Names="Verdana" Width="213px" BackColor="Orange" Font-Bold="True" OnClick="Button1_Click" /></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
<asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" CssClass="grid" BackColor="LightGoldenrodYellow" BorderColor="Tan" BorderWidth="1px" CellPadding="2"ForeColor="Black" GridLines="None">
 <AlternatingRowStyle BackColor="PaleGoldenrod" />
 <FooterStyle BackColor="Tan" />
 <HeaderStyle BackColor="Tan" Font-Bold="True" />
 <PagerStyle BackColor="PaleGoldenrod" ForeColor="DarkSlateBlue" HorizontalAlign="Center" />
 <SelectedRowStyle BackColor="DarkSlateBlue" ForeColor="GhostWhite" />
 <SortedAscendingCellStyle BackColor="#FAFAE7" />
 <SortedAscendingHeaderStyle BackColor="#DAC09E" />
 <SortedDescendingCellStyle BackColor="#E1DB9C" />
 <SortedDescendingHeaderStyle BackColor="#C2A47B" />
 <EmptyDataTemplate>No Records Found!</EmptyDataTemplate>
 </asp:GridView>
 </td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 </center>
 </div>
 </form>
</body>
</html>

Step 2: The complete code of WebForm1.aspx.cs looks as this:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
namespace ComplexTypeSelectDataApp
{
public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page
 {
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var query = from r in objEntities.tblEmployee select new
{ FirstName = r.EmployeeDetails.FirstName, LastName = r.EmployeeDetails.LastName, Age = r.EmployeeDetails.Age };
GridView1.DataSource = query;GridView1.DataBind();
}
 #region Instance MembersCompanyEntities objEntities = new CompanyEntities();
 #endregion
 }
}

Step 3: The select data output of the application looks as this:

ComplexType6.png

For Insert Operation

Step 1: The code of WebForm1.aspx looks as this:

<body>
 <form id="form1" runat="server">
 <div>
 <center>
 <table>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" Text="Complex Type - Insert Data" Font-Bold="true"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 <br />
 <br />
 <table>
 <tr>
 <td>
<asp:Label ID="Label2" runat="server" Text="Please Enter FirstName: " ForeColor="Brown" Font-Bold="true" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label3" runat="server" Text="Please Enter LastName: " ForeColor="Brown" Font-Bold="true" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox2" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label4" runat="server" Text="Please Enter Age: " ForeColor="Brown" Font-Bold="true" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox3" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
<asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" Text="Insert Data" OnClick="Button1_Click" BackColor="Orange" Font-Bold="true" /><br />
 <br />
 </td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 <br />
 <br />
 <table>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="3">
 <asp:Label ID="Label5" runat="server" Font-Bold="true"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 </center>
 </div>
 </form>
</body>

Step 2: The code of WebForm1.aspx.cs looks as this:

public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ }
protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox1.Text) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox2.Text) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox3.Text))
{
Label5.Text = "Please Enter Some Values";
Label5.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.Red;
 }
else
 {
objEmployee.EmployeeDetails.FirstName = TextBox1.Text;
objEmployee.EmployeeDetails.LastName = TextBox2.Text;
objEmployee.EmployeeDetails.Age = int.Parse(TextBox3.Text);
objEntities.AddTotblEmployee(objEmployee);
objEntities.SaveChanges();
Label5.Text = "Data Inserted Successfully";
Label5.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.Green;
 TextBox1.Text = string.Empty;
 TextBox2.Text = string.Empty;
 TextBox3.Text = string.Empty;
 }
}
 #region Instance MembersCompanyEntities objEntities = new CompanyEntities();
tblEmployee objEmployee = new tblEmployee();
 #endregion
}

Step 3: The select data output of the application looks as this:

ComplexType7.png

ComplexType8.png

For Update Operation

Step 1: The code of WebForm1.aspx looks as this:

<body>
 <form id="form1" runat="server">
 <center>
 <div>
 <table>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2">
 <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" Text="Update Data - Complex Type" Font-Bold="true" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana"
ForeColor="Maroon"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label6" runat="server" Text="Please Enter Id" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox4" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label2" runat="server" Text="Please Enter First Name" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label3" runat="server" Text="Please Enter Last Name" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox2" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label4" runat="server" Text="Please Enter Age" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana" Font-Italic="true"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox3" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" Text="Update" Font-Names="Verdana" Width="213px" BackColor="Orange" Font-Bold="True" OnClick="Button1_Click" /></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Label ID="Label5" runat="server" Font-Bold="true" Font-Names="Verdana" ForeColor="Maroon"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 </div>
 </center>
 </form>
</body>

Step 2: The code of WebForm1.aspx.cs looks as this:

public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e){ }
protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox1.Text) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox2.Text) ||string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox3.Text) ||
string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox4.Text))
{
Label5.Text = "Please Enter Some Data";
Label5.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.Red;
 }
else
 {
var id1 = Convert.ToInt32(TextBox4.Text);
var objEmployee = objEntities.tblEmployee.Where(a => a.EmpId == id1).FirstOrDefault();
objEmployee.EmployeeDetails.FirstName = TextBox1.Text;
objEmployee.EmployeeDetails.LastName = TextBox2.Text;
objEmployee.EmployeeDetails.Age = int.Parse(TextBox3.Text);
objEntities.SaveChanges();
Label5.Text = "Data Updated Successfully";
Label5.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.Green;
 TextBox1.Text = string.Empty;TextBox2.Text = string.Empty;
 TextBox3.Text = string.Empty;TextBox4.Text = string.Empty;
 }
}
 #region Instance MembersCompanyEntities objEntities = new CompanyEntities();
 #endregion
}

Step 3: The select data output of the application looks as this:

ComplexType9.png

ComplexType10.png

For Delete Operation

Step 1: The code of WebForm1.aspx looks as this:

<body>
 <form id="form1" runat="server">
 <center>
 <div>
 <table>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Label ID="Label1" runat="server" Text="Delete Data - Complex Type App" Font-Bold="true" Font-Size="Large" Font-Names="Verdana"
ForeColor="Maroon"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 <asp:Label ID="Label2" runat="server" Text="Please Enter Employee FirstName" ForeColor="Brown" Font-Bold="true" Font-Size="Medium" Font
Names="Verdana"></asp:Label></td>
 <td>
 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server"></asp:TextBox></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" Text="Delete Data" Font-Names="Verdana" Width="213px" BackColor="Orange" Font-Bold="True" OnClick="Button1_Click"
/></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td colspan="2" align="center">
 <asp:Label ID="Label3" runat="server" Font-Bold="true" Font-Size="Medium" Font-Names="Verdana"></asp:Label></td>
 </tr>
 </table>
 </div>
 </center>
 </form>
</body>

Step 2: The code of WebForm1.aspx.cs looks as this:

public partial class WebForm1 : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e){ }
protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(TextBox1.Text))
{
Label3.Text = "Please Enter Some Values";
Label3.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.Red;
 }
else
 {
var query = (from r in objEntities.tblEmployee where
r.EmployeeDetails.FirstName == TextBox1.Text select r).Single();
objEntities.DeleteObject(query);
objEntities.SaveChanges();
Label3.Text = "Data Deleted Successfully";
Label3.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.Green;TextBox1.Text = string.Empty;
 }
}
 #region Instance MembersCompanyEntities objEntities = new CompanyEntities();
 #endregion
}

Step 3: The select data output of the application looks as this:

ComplexType11.png

ComplexType12.png

I hope this article was useful for you. I look forward for your comments and feedback. Thanks Vijay.