initial commit

docs/dotnet/database-seed.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Database Seeding in .NET
+
+Often in development and testing, you need to seed your database with some data. This can be done manually, but it's a tedious process. In this article, we'll see how to seed a database in .NET.
+
+The best way to seed the database in .NET is to first check that the application is running in development mode. 
+
+Most of the time such a check will already exist in your `Program.cs`:
+
+```csharp [Program.cs]
+// ...
+
+if (builder.Environment.IsDevelopment()) {
+    // ...
+}
+
+// ...
+```
+
+To seed your database first add a SeedData file (personally I usually place this in a helpers folder):
+
+```csharp [Helpers/SeedData.cs]
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;
+using MySampleApp.Models;
+
+namespace MySampleApp.Helpers;
+
+public class SeedData
+{
+    public static async Task InitializeAsync(IServiceProvider serviceProvider)
+    {
+        using var context = new AppContext(serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<DbContextOptions<AppContext>>());
+
+        context.Add(new Movie { Name = "Batman Begins", Genre = "Action" });
+        context.Add(new Movie { Name = "The Dark Knight", Genre = "Action" });
+        context.Add(new Movie { Name = "The Dark Knight Rises", Genre = "Action" });
+
+        await context.SaveChangesAsync();
+    }
+}
+```
+
+In the `SeedData` class, we have a static method `InitializeAsync` that takes an `IServiceProvider` as a parameter. This method initializes the database with some sample data.
+
+Next, we need to call this method in the `Program.cs` file:
+
+```csharp [Program.cs]
+// ...
+
+if (builder.Environment.IsDevelopment()) {
+    // Seed the database
+    await using var scope = app.Services.CreateAsyncScope();
+    await SeedData.InitializeAsync(scope.ServiceProvider);
+
+    // ...
+}
+
+// ...
+```