The Evolution of Data Storage: Why MongoDB?
As applications evolve to handle semi-structured data and massive scale, document-oriented NoSQL databases like MongoDB have become indispensable. Unlike traditional relational databases, MongoDB stores data in dynamic, JSON-like documents (BSON), allowing for rapid schema evolution and superior horizontal scaling.
Essential Infrastructure Configuration
Before orchestrating your .NET application, ensure your local MongoDB environment is initialized.
- Deployment: Download MongoDB Community Server.
- Initialization: Establish a data directory and initialize the
mongoddaemon. - Visualization: Utilize tools like Compass or Studio 3T (formerly Robomongo) for database administration and visual query building.
Integrating MongoDB with .NET
The official MongoDB .NET driver provides a feature-rich, strongly-typed interface for executing CRUD operations.
Installation via NuGet
Install-Package MongoDB.Driver
Architecting the Domain Model
In MongoDB, every document requires an _id field. We utilize attributes to map our C# property names to the underlying BSON document structure.
public class Employee
{
[BsonId]
public ObjectId Id { get; set; }
[BsonElement("firstName")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[BsonElement("lastName")]
public string Surname { get; set; }
[BsonElement("officeEmail")]
public string Email { get; set; }
}
Establishing the Repository Layer
The following MongoDBRepository encapsulates the logic for establishing a connection and performing structured queries.
public class EmployeeRepository
{
private readonly IMongoCollection<Employee> _collection;
public EmployeeRepository()
{
// Initializing the MongoDB context and targeting the 'hr' database
var client = new MongoClient("mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017");
var database = client.GetDatabase("hr");
_collection = database.GetCollection<Employee>("records");
}
public async Task<List<Employee>> GetAllAsync() =>
await _collection.Find(_ => true).ToListAsync();
public async Task CreateAsync(Employee employee) =>
await _collection.InsertOneAsync(employee);
public async Task UpdateAsync(ObjectId id, Employee updatedEmployee) =>
await _collection.ReplaceOneAsync(e => e.Id == id, updatedEmployee);
public async Task RemoveAsync(ObjectId id) =>
await _collection.DeleteOneAsync(e => e.Id == id);
}
Modern Query Paradigms
- Typed Filters: Leverage LINQ expressions (e.g.,
_collection.Find(x => x.Name == "Kemal")) for compile-time safety. - Asynchronous Orchestration: Always utilize the
*Asyncmethods to ensure your application remains responsive during I/O operations. - Projection: Optimize performance by projecting only the necessary fields using
.Project(e => new { e.Name, e.Email }).
Deep Dive: Explore the full implementation and advanced query patterns on GitHub.