PostgreSQL – Mapping arrays

One of the cool features that PostgreSQL has to offer is the support for array data types. This allows you to store an array in a single column without the need to either use a separate table or concatenate the values in a single  string.

To use this in Entity Framework through Npgsql you simply need to define a regular .NET array or List<> property:

	public class Post
	{
	public int Id { get; set; }
	public string Name { get; set; }
	public string[] Tags { get; set; }
	public List<string> AlternativeTags { get; set; }
	}

view raw Post.cs hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The provider will create text[] columns for the above two properties, and will properly detect changes in them - if you load an array and change one of its elements, calling SaveChanges() will automatically update the row in the database accordingly.

More information: https://www.npgsql.org/efcore/mapping/array.html