Namespace: RA.Utilities.Data.Entities

SoftDeleteEntity<TKey>

SoftDeleteEntity<TKey> inherits from WriteEntity<TKey> and implements the soft-delete pattern for your data models.

Instead of executing a physical SQL DELETE statement that removes records from the database table, entities marked for soft deletion toggle the IsDeleted boolean flag to true. This preserves relational history, simplifies data restoration, and prevents unintended foreign-key cascading issues.

Why Use Soft Deletion?

1. Preserving Audit History: Retains historical transaction records for regulatory compliance and auditing.
2. Safe Recovery: Allows accidentally deleted records to be restored simply by flipping IsDeleted back to false.
3. Foreign Key Integrity: Avoids database foreign-key constraint violations when deleting parent records referenced by other tables.
4. Lifecycle Timestamps: Because it inherits from WriteEntity<TKey>, every soft-deleted entity maintains its CreatedAt and LastModifiedAt timestamps.

Type Parameters

Parameter	Description
TKey	The data type of the entity's primary key identifier.

Properties

Property	Type	Description	Source
Id	TKey	The unique identifier for the entity.	Inherited from CoreEntity<TKey>
CreatedAt	DateTime	Gets or sets the creation timestamp of the entity.	Inherited from WriteEntity<TKey>
LastModifiedAt	DateTime?	Gets or sets the last modification timestamp of the entity.	Inherited from WriteEntity<TKey>
IsDeleted	bool	Gets or sets a value indicating whether the entity is marked as deleted.	Defined in SoftDeleteEntity<TKey>

Class Definition

namespace RA.Utilities.Data.Entities;

/// <summary>
/// Base class for entities that support soft deletion, inheriting common properties from <see cref="WriteEntity{TKey}"/>.
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="TKey">The type of the unique identifier.</typeparam>
public abstract class SoftDeleteEntity<TKey> : WriteEntity<TKey>
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Gets or sets a value indicating whether the entity is marked as deleted.
    /// </summary>
    public bool IsDeleted { get; set; }
}

Usage Example

using System;
using RA.Utilities.Data.Entities;

namespace MyApp.Domain.Entities;

public class Article : SoftDeleteEntity<Guid>
{
    public string Title { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public string Content { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    public string Author { get; set; } = string.Empty;
}

EF Core Global Query Filter Integration

To automatically exclude soft-deleted entities from all queries in Entity Framework Core, apply a query filter in OnModelCreating:

using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;

protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
    base.OnModelCreating(modelBuilder);

    modelBuilder.Entity<Article>()
        .HasQueryFilter(a => !a.IsDeleted);
}

To query soft-deleted records when needed (such as in an admin portal or recycle bin):

var deletedArticles = await dbContext.Articles
    .IgnoreQueryFilters()
    .Where(a => a.IsDeleted)
    .ToListAsync();