Looking for an Entity Framework (Core) alternative? Try XPO.

While reading through some comments on a discussion forum, I noticed a discussion about EF Core. They were talking about a specific feature that was missing(can’t remember the feature).

My answer was to try NHibernate but I know that the learning curve is quite steep. Another  person on the forum suggested XPO (eXpress Persistent Objects), a free(!) ORM from DevExpress.

From the site:

eXpress Persistent Objects (XPO) is an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) tool that handles all aspects of database creation and object persistence, allowing you to concentrate on your application's business logic rather than database complexities. It offers Code First, Model First and Database First development workflows.

Getting started

• Install the DevExpress XPO nuget package:

dotnet add package DevExpress.Xpo

• Create a new class that inherits from XPLiteObject or XPObject:

	public class Product : XPLiteObject {
	public Product(Session session)
	: base(session) {
	}
	Guid key;
	[Key(true)]
	public Guid Key {
	get { return key; }
	set { SetPropertyValue(nameof(Key), ref key, value); }
	}
	string description;
	[Size(255)]
	public string Description {
	get { return description; }
	set { SetPropertyValue(nameof(Description), ref description, value); }
	}
	}

view raw Product.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

• Configure the XPO data layer:

XpoDefault.DataLayer = XpoDefault.GetDataLayer(connectionString, AutoCreateOption.DatabaseAndSchema);

view raw XPODataLayer.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

• Create a unit of work and execute a query:

	using (var uow = new UnitOfWork()) {
	var products = uow.Query<Product>()
	.Select(p => $"{p.Description}");
	foreach (var productDescription in products) {
	Console.WriteLine(productDescription);
	}
	}

view raw UnitOfWork.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub