EntityState

EntityState is a concept often encountered in software development, particularly within the context of data persistence and Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) frameworks. It represents the current status of an entity object as it relates to its data source, such as a database. When an entity object is first created in memory, it is typically considered to be in an Added state, indicating that it does not yet exist in the persistent store.

As an entity object is loaded from the data source, it is usually in an Unchanged state. This signifies that the object's current values match those stored in the database. If a property of an Unchanged entity object is modified, its state transitions to Modified. This signals to the persistence mechanism that the changes should be synchronized with the data source.

An entity object can also be explicitly removed from the data source. In such cases, its state becomes Deleted. This instructs the persistence layer to remove the corresponding record from the database. Finally, if an entity object is no longer being tracked by the persistence context, it may be considered Detached. This state implies that any changes made to the object will not be automatically persisted. Understanding these states is crucial for managing data operations effectively and ensuring data integrity.