Some developers complain that the Entity Framework is horribly slow.

But what they don’t tell you is that they use EF Core to return:

• 25 table fields,
• 1,000,000 rows at once,
• including data from all related tables.

If you learn how to use EF Core properly, it’s a powerful tool for querying the database.

Here are 7 tips for more efficient EF Core queries.

​

1) Projection

Projection means you only select the specific columns you need. Instead of retrieving the entire entities.

This dramatically improves performance.

​

2) Split Query

.AsSplitQuery() breaks down a query involving a large number of related entities into multiple SQL queries, reducing the size of the result set.

​

3) Use Async methods

If you want to have a more responsive application, use the asynchronous methods that EF Core provides.

They free up threads to handle other requests while waiting for I/O operations to complete.

​
​4) Use AsNoTracking()

AsNoTracking() tells EF Core not to track the entities retrieved.

It saves memory and improves performance for read-only operations.

​

5) Use Count(), Any()

Using methods like Count() and Any() allows EF Core to generate more efficient SQL queries.

They are more efficient than retrieving and counting entities in memory.

​

6) Call SaveChangesAsync() once

By calling SaveChangesAsync() once after all updates, you reduce the number of trips to the database.

This process dramatically improves performance in bulk operations.

​

7) Reuse query with IQueryable

This means you create an initial IQueryable query.

Then, use it in different ways to avoid multiple query variables.

​

If your app loads slowly, don’t add a loading spinner on the frontend.

And call it a day.

Fix the queries in the backend instead.

The above 7 tips should help.

​

Enjoy your weekend.

Kristijan

​

​

​