Introducing The Dynamic Data Store

Ok, so maybe “Introducing” was a bit optimistic in this case as the cat has been out of the bag for a few weeks on this subject.

The Dynamic Data Store is a new component which will be shipped with EPiServer CMS 6 but forms part of a framework we are building up here at EPiServer so it should also be available in the future with other EPiServer products such as EPiServer Community.

A typical conversation about the Dynamic Data Store normally goes something like this:

Fred: So what is the Dynamic Data Store?

Jim: It’s a store for storing dynamic data obviously!

Fred: Hmm, isn’t most data dynamic in some way?

Jim: Yeah I guess.

Fred: So what makes your store so special?

Jim: Well, the dynamic in Dynamic Data Store actually refers to the structure or shape of the data.

Fred: What are you talking about?

Jim: For example, storing data in a database using Entity Framework or NHibernate requires you to design and compile a class when developing your application. This works really well when you know the shape or structure of your data at compile time. EPiServer CMS has a few features where the shape or structure of the data isn’t actually known until runtime.

Fred: Examples please!

Jim: XForms and Page Types for starters!

Fred: Ok, so you’ve cracked the mind boggling problem of storing name/value pairs in a database. Congratulations!

Jim: Basically yes. Well….there is a bit more to it that than.

Fred: Go on.

Jim: We’ve sprinkled a little bit of magic powder on top of it.

Fred: Have you been drinking again?

Jim: That would be telling. Anyways….what I’m trying to say is that, yes, the Dynamic Data Store stores names/value pairs or property bags as we like to call them, BUT the magic is that they are treated exactly the same way internally as compile time objects.

Fred: Compile time objects?

Jim: .NET classes to you my friend. Actually to put it more correctly, compile time objects are treated exactly the same as property bags internally.

Fred: How many have you had?

Jim: One or two but the point is now we have a way of storing our dynamic data structures such as XForms in a relational database in relational form.

Fred: And that is good because?

Jim: Well, searching for one. For example, an XForm post suddenly becomes a first class artifact in the EPiServer CMS database. Think of all the useful reports and queries you could do with them.

Jim: Then there’s LINQ support.

Fred: LINQ?

Jim: Yeah you know, Language INtegrated Query. With the Dynamic Data Store you can can make queries against property bags using LINQ.

Fred: Sounds interesting. If I wanted, could I store my own data in the Dynamic Data Store?

Jim: Yes you can my friend. Both dynamic / property bags / name-value pairs (whatever you want to call them) and normal .NET class instances can be saved in the Dynamic Data Store.

Fred: Sounds like a configuration nightmare. I bet there are 50 XML files to edit every time you want to save a new type right?

Jim: Nope. It’s a code only solution. No XML files (web.config apart), just create your property bag or .NET class instance at runtime, create a store and save.

Fred: Got any code examples?

Jim: Sure. Here’s how you save a property bag:

using EPiServer.Data;
using EPiServer.Data.Dynamic;

PropertyBag pb = new PropertyBag();
pb.Add("FirstName", "Jack");
pb.Add("LastName", "Williams");
pb.Add("DateOfBirth", new DateTime(1973, 05, 25));
pb.Add("Gender", 'm');

DynamicDataStore store = DynamicDataStore.CreateStore("People", true, pb.GenerateTypeBag());
Identity id = store.Save(pb);

Fred: How about reading it back?

Jim: There are 3 ways. Directly by the Id returned from the Save method:

PropertyBag pb2 = store.Load(id);

or using Find:

var propertyBags = store.Find("FirstName", "Jack");

or using LINQ

var propertyBags = from pb in store where pb["FirstName"] == "Jack" select pb;

Fred: Cool. Can I do more complex stuff with the LINQ support?

Jim: What like:

var propertyBags = from pb in store
                   where 
                   ((DateTime)pb["DateOfBirth"]) > new DateTime(1976, 01, 01) &&
                   ((string)pb["Gender"]) == "m"                               
                   select pb;

Fred: Yeah

Jim: Nah!

Fred: What?

Jim: Just kidding. Actually the LINQ support is quite extensive. In many cases better than a well know LINQ toolkit you can download from CodePlex.

Fred: Ok, you said I could also store normal .NET class instances in it like I can with Entity Framework or NHibernate.

Jim: Sure. Like this:

Person p = new Person()
{
  FirstName = "Jack",
  LastName = "Williams",
  DateOfBirth = new DateTime(1973, 05, 25)
};

DynamicDataStore<Person> store = DynamicDataStore<Person>.CreateStore("People", true);
Identity id = store.Save(p);

So there you go. That’s the introduction to the Dynamic Data Store or DDS as we call it internally. I will post more detailed information over the coming days and weeks.

Code samples can be found here and documentation here

Have fun!