I've got a code base that uses EF Core and Dapper to perform actions on a database.
I want to set up a new copy of the site to develop some features and I want this site to connect to a new isolated copy of the database (dbConnectionDEBUG
).
At the moment, I use the following setup:
startup.cs
...
services.AddDbContext<ApplicationDbContext>(options =>
options.UseSqlServer(
Configuration.GetConnectionString("dbConnectionMain")));
services.Configure<ConnectionStrings>(Configuration.GetSection("ConnectionStrings"));
...
I have a ConnectionStrings
class which is being populated correctly via the DI in startup:
public class ConnectionStrings
{
public string dbConnectionMain { get; set; }
public string dbConnectionDEBUG { get; set; }
public ConnectionStrings()
{
this.dbConnectionMain = "";
this.dbConnectionDEBUG = "";
}
}
Then, throughout my controllers/services I have access to ConnectionStrings
and 99% of the time I'm doing the following to make DB calls:
using (var conn = new SqlConnection(_connectionStrings.dbConnectionMain))
{
conn.Open();
...
This would amount to a lot of code changes if I were to want to switch over to the 'DEBUG' db.
How do I easily switch between the connection strings in my code depending on what version of the system I'm working on. If I could somehow do this dynamically that'd be great. The obvious determining factor would be the URL the site is operating on.
Alternatively, (as a single change) do I just manually change the connection string at the source (e.g keystore/appsettings). I'm not keen on this as it leaves room for human error.
Based on what @Nkosi mentioned I am pursuing this path:
dbConnection
) used throughoutI have another question:
If I have the following...
"MYAPPNAME": {
"commandName": "Project",
"launchBrowser": true,
"environmentVariables": {
"ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
},
"applicationUrl": "http://localhost:12345/;https://myapptestdomain.com/"
}
and:
WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
.ConfigureAppConfiguration((context, config) =>
{
IHostingEnvironment env = context.HostingEnvironment;
config.AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env.EnvironmentName.ToLower()}.json", optional: true);
})
.UseStartup<Startup>();
...will this automatically pick up my site is in the Development
mode based on the applicationUrl
values OR will I have to manually add ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT
with a value Development
on the server I deploy the app to?
Additional: My app is running in an Azure App Service.
Just to finalise this question (in case anyone needs to know this), I have the following setup based on recommendations made by @Nkosi.
dbConnection
which is used in all appSettings (see below)appSettings.json
with dbConnection
that looks at the live databaseappSettings.Playground.json
file with dbConnection
that looks at my testing databaseplayground
development slot I have added an App Setting for ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT with the value 'Playground'Program.cs
file I have: config.AddJsonFile($"appsettings.json", optional: true,reloadOnChange: true);
and
config.AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{env.EnvironmentName.ToLower()}.json", optional: true,reloadOnChange: true);
Just to note, I do also initialise a Vault on Azure which stores all my Keys and Secrets for the Azure based apps. Locally User Secrets
is used.
ASP.NET Core reads the environment variable ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT at app startup and stores the value in
IHostingEnvironment.EnvironmentName
.
Since the environment is being loaded, then it should be available from the hosting environment via the builder context
WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
.ConfigureAppConfiguration((context, config) => {
string environment = context.HostingEnvironment.EnvironmentName; //get current environment
//load config based on environment.
config.AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{environment}.json", optional: true);
//...
})
//...
I think if you add 2 connection for debug and main then you will have face some difficulty because more member working in you team. may be some own wrongly use release mode for code development.
you can try this webconfig method:
public class ConnectionStrings { public string dbConnection { get; set; }
public ConnectionStrings()
{
bool Ismain = bool.Parse(System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["HasLive"]);
if (Ismain)
{
dbConnection = "";// get Main connectionstring
}
else
{
dbConnection = "";// get Debug connectionstring
}
}
}
web.config:
<connectionStrings>
<add name="dbConnectionMain" connectionString="" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
<add name="dbConnectionDEBUG" connectionString="" roviderName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>
<appSettings>
<add key="HasLive" value="false"/>
</appSettings>
</connectionStrings>