✉️ ProudCloud Weekly #2

Databases. We're updating them, inserting, deleting, querying and modifying them all the time. Queries stand out as one of the most common operations for developers building customer-facing apps, and for C# developers in particular, a significant portion of the community are abstracting the SQL layer away with Entity Framework.

But just because we're using an abstraction like Entity Framework, that doesn't mean we don't have to consider SQL optimisation. For that reason, it is sometimes necessary to view the query plans initiated by SQL, even though you may not be actually writing any SQL.

This really matters. It matters because your LINQ queries in Entity Framework have a direct impact on user experience. If your query takes too many seconds to complete, it could be the difference between retaining a user, or churning. Enough churn means businesses have to downsize. It may sound dramatic, but when we think of it this way, the optimisation of your queries has an (indirect) connection to your career prospects.

Developers often ignore this point. They think that because they are at a higher level of abstraction, that they don't need to worry about query plans. They are destined to write code that is mediocre at best.

Mediocre developers ignore query plans—great developers master them.

A Visual Studio extension is now available to allows you to review query-plans from Entity Framework code, with a focus on ensuring your LINQ queries are as efficient as possible. This fantastic extension adds the ability to view debugging info for IQueryable

Obviously, if you don't know how to read a Query Plan, this is useless to you, but only in the sense that you can't optimise straight away. It's beneficial to you because it prompts you to learn something new. Learn how query plans work, and you'll have a much better relationship with the SQL you're indirectly writing from a distance.

Getting started is really simple. You install the EFCore.Visualizer extension into Visual Studio, and then you should be able to open the visualizer on any IQueryable

Microsoft's blog post provides more detail: EFCore.Visualizer - View Entity Framework Core query plan inside Visual Studio - .NET Blog​

Let me step you through an example

​ Watch on YouTube

That's it for this issue. I hope you found the content useful. Stay tuned for more updates, and don't forget to stay in touch with me on LinkedIn. My DMs are open.

Keep learning and growing,

Nick Proud ProudCloud.dev ​ Stuff you should deffo check out 😁 Courses crafted for the real world - Dometrain Subscribe on YouTube Connect with me on Linkedin ​

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