5 Essential EF Core Performance Tips

Optimizing EF Core for better performance is crucial for developing responsive applications. Here are five key strategies, as highlighted by Milan Jovanović, to enhance your EF Core queries, complete with straightforward code examples.

1. No Tracking Queries

Why: EF Core's default behavior tracks changes to entities, which is unnecessary for read-only operations and can slow down performance.

Solution: Use .AsNoTracking() for queries where you don't need to track changes, reducing memory usage and improving query speed.

Code Example:

var users = context.Users.AsNoTracking().ToList();

2. Selecting the Right Columns

Why: Retrieving all columns when you only need a few can lead to inefficient data transfer.

Solution: Use .Select() to specify exactly which columns to retrieve, minimizing data transfer and speeding up the query.

Code Example:

var userNames = context.Users.Select(u => new { u.Id, u.Name }).ToList();

3. Leveraging Relationships Effectively

Why: Loading related data inefficiently can significantly impact performance.

Solution: Use .Include() carefully. Consider lazy loading or explicit loading to fetch related data as needed, rather than all at once.

Code Example:

var usersWithOrders = context.Users.Include(u => u.Orders).ToList();

4. Using Split Queries

Why: Complex queries involving multiple joins can be more efficiently executed as separate queries.

Solution: For EF Core 5.0 and later, use .AsSplitQuery() for complex joins to break them into multiple queries, potentially reducing execution time.

Code Example:

var orders = context.Orders.Include(o => o.Items).AsSplitQuery().ToList();

5. Implementing Pagination

Why: Loading large datasets in one go can overwhelm your application and lead to long load times.

Solution: Implement pagination to load data in manageable chunks, improving user experience and reducing server load.

Code Example:

int pageSize = 10;
var page = context.Users.Skip((pageNumber - 1) * pageSize).Take(pageSize).ToList();

Conclusion

By applying these EF Core performance tips, you can make your applications more efficient and responsive. Each strategy addresses a common performance pitfall, helping you to optimize data access patterns and improve overall application performance.