Navigation Editors

Navigation Editors provide a zero-allocation-by-default, type-safe API for navigating and mutating parent-child entity relationships. The manual compiler emits them from parent-side @@navigation declarations in your .conjure schema or from legacy inferred child-side metadata, producing ref struct types that live entirely on the stack.

See also: Transactions · Reactive Queries · Query Language

Overview

For each entity with child relationships, the code generator produces three types:

Generated Type	Kind	Purpose
`{Entity}Editor`	`ref struct`	Write proxy for reading, updating, and deleting an entity
`{Child}CollectionHandle`	`ref struct`	Handle for the child collection scoped to a parent FK
`{Entity}EditorFactory`	`ref struct`	Indexer factory accessed via `ctx.Entity[id]`

All types are stack-only (ref struct). The default traversal and mutation path stays allocation-free and boxing-free. Explicit snapshot helpers such as ToArray() and ToList() allocate by design when you need an owned copy.

Comparison with Other Patterns

Pattern	Allocations	Type Safety	Navigation	Cascading
Navigation Editors	Zero by default (snapshot helpers allocate)	✅ Compile-time	✅ Fluent	✅ Generated
Entity Framework Navigation	Yes (tracked proxies)	✅	✅	✅ (runtime)
Raw DbSet operations	Zero	❌ Manual FK management	❌	❌
Repository pattern	Varies	✅	Varies	Manual

Setup

1. Define Entities with Relationships

table Customer(persistence: local, capacity: 10000) {
    Id: int @id
    Name: string

    @@navigation(name: "Orders", references: Order.CustomerId)
}

table Order(persistence: local, capacity: 50000) {
    Id: int @id
    CustomerId: int @relation(references: Customer.Id)
    TotalAmount: decimal
    Status: string

    @@index(fields: [CustomerId], name: "Order_Customer", kind: lookup)
    @@navigation(name: "OrderItems", references: OrderItem.OrderId)
}

table OrderItem(persistence: local, capacity: 200000) {
    Id: int @id
    OrderId: int @relation(references: Order.Id)
    ProductId: int
    Quantity: int
    UnitPrice: decimal

    @@index(fields: [OrderId], name: "OrderItem_Order", kind: lookup)
}

Key schema annotations:

Annotation	Purpose
`@@navigation(name: ..., references: Child.Fk)`	Preferred parent-side declaration for generated child collection navigation
`@relation(references: Parent.Id)`	Declares the FK relationship for compiler/optimizer metadata
`@@index(fields: [Fk], kind: lookup)`	Creates the lookup index used by `CollectionHandle`
`@id`	Marks the primary-key field used by Editors and CollectionHandles

2. Generate Code

dotnet run --project ConjureDB.Compiler -- generate MyProject/MyProject.csproj \
  --output MyProject/Generated

This produces:

CustomerEditor.g.cs — Editor for Customer
OrderCollectionHandle.g.cs — Handle for Customer's Orders
OrderItemCollectionHandle.g.cs — Handle for Order's OrderItems
NavigationExtensions.g.cs — Factory structs and context properties

3. Automatic Lookup Index Synthesis

If the relationship metadata identifies a child FK but no explicit lookup index exists, the generator calls SynthesizeMissingLookupIndexes() to create the required lookup index automatically. This works both for explicit @@navigation declarations and for legacy inferred relationships.

Editor API

Creating an Editor

Access an Editor through the DbContext indexer:

// By primary key
var customer = Context.Customer[1];

// By entity reference
var alice = Context.Customers.FindById(1);
var customer = Context.Customer[alice];

Properties

Member	Type	Description
`Value`	`T`	Reads the current entity snapshot from the DbSet
`Id`	`int`	The entity's primary key
`Exists`	`bool`	Whether this entity exists in the DbSet

Methods

Method	Returns	Description
`Update(T value)`	`void`	Replaces the entity in its DbSet
`Remove()`	`bool`	Removes the entity, returns success
`RemoveCascade()`	`bool`	Removes all children recursively, then the entity
`Modify(Func<T, T>)`	`Editor`	Read-modify-update in one call. Returns `this` for chaining

Implicit Conversion

Editors implicitly convert to their entity type:

Customer alice = Context.Customer[1]; // equivalent to Context.Customer[1].Value

Fluent Chaining

Modify returns the Editor, enabling expressive chains:

Context.Customer[1]
    .Modify(c => c with { Name = "Alice Updated" })
    .Orders.Add(new Order { TotalAmount = 100m, Status = "New" });

When an entity has a FK to another entity, the Editor exposes a navigation property that returns the parent's Editor. The property name is derived from the FK (e.g., CustomerId -> Customer):

// Navigate: Order -> Customer
var customer = Context.Order[orderId].Customer;
Console.WriteLine(customer.Value.Name);

// Full round-trip: Order -> Customer -> Orders -> OrderItems
var items = Context.Order[2].Customer.Orders.Editor(1).OrderItems;

Parent references return an Editor, so all Editor operations are available.

CollectionHandle API

Access a child collection through the Editor's navigation property:

var orders = Context.Customer[1].Orders;

Properties

Member	Type	Description
`this[childId]`	`T`	Finds a child by primary key (throws if not found)
`Count`	`int`	Number of children belonging to this parent
`Any`	`bool`	`true` if at least one child exists
`IsEmpty`	`bool`	`true` if no children exist

CRUD Methods

Method	Returns	Description
`Add(T item)`	`Editor` or `int`	Adds child, auto-sets FK. Returns Editor (aggregate-root) or id (leaf)
`AddRange(T[] items)`	`void`	Batch add. Auto-sets FK on each item
`TryGet(childId, out T)`	`bool`	Safe lookup without exceptions
`First()`	`T`	Returns the first child. Throws if empty
`TryGetFirst(out T)`	`bool`	Safe first-child access
`Last()`	`T`	Returns the last child in current enumeration order. Throws if empty
`TryGetLast(out T)`	`bool`	Safe last-child access
`Update(T item)`	`void`	Updates a child entity
`Remove(childId)`	`bool`	Removes a child by id
`Modify(childId, Func<T,T>)`	`void`	Read-modify-update a child
`ModifyAll(Func<T,T>)`	`void`	Applies a transform to every child
`Transfer(childId, newParentId)`	`void`	Reparents a child by updating its FK
`RemoveAll()`	`int`	Removes all children, returns count
`Editor(childId)`	`Editor`	Returns Editor for aggregate-root child
`GetAll()`	`GroupEnumerable`	Returns the zero-allocation enumerable for querying
`ToArray()`	`T[]`	Explicitly materializes the current children into an array
`ToList()`	`List<T>`	Explicitly materializes the current children into a list

FK Auto-Assignment

When you call Add(), the CollectionHandle automatically sets the FK property to the parent's ID:

// CustomerId is automatically set to 1
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Add(new Order
{
    TotalAmount = 100m,
    Status = "New"
    // CustomerId is set automatically — do not set it manually
});

This uses zero-copy with patterns on record types for efficient value assignment.

Enumeration

CollectionHandles support direct foreach without calling GetAll():

foreach (var order in Context.Customer[1].Orders)
    Console.WriteLine($"Order {order.Id}: {order.TotalAmount:C}");

First(), TryGetFirst(), Last(), and TryGetLast() all use this current enumeration order. They do not sort or lazy-load anything.

GetAll() vs explicit materialization

Use GetAll() or direct foreach as the default read path when you want zero-allocation traversal inside the current transaction:

var orders = Context.Customer[1].Orders.GetAll();
if (orders.HasItems)
    Console.WriteLine($"First visible order id: {Context.Customer[1].Orders.First().Id}");

foreach (var order in Context.Customer[1].Orders)
    Console.WriteLine(order.Status);

Use ToArray() or ToList() only when you explicitly need an owned snapshot, for example to hand data to an API that requires T[]/List<T> or to sort a copy without changing the underlying collection contract:

var orderArray = Context.Customer[1].Orders.ToArray();
var orderList = Context.Customer[1].Orders.ToList();
orderList.Sort((left, right) => right.TotalAmount.CompareTo(left.TotalAmount));

ToArray() and ToList() are escape hatches:

They allocate on the heap.
They snapshot the current transaction state only.
They do not lazy-load or keep a live link to the handle.

Cascading Deletes

Entity-Level Cascade

RemoveCascade() recursively removes all children before removing the entity:

// Removes Customer + all Orders + all OrderItems of those Orders
Context.Customer[1].RemoveCascade();

Cascade Behavior

Entity Type	Cascade Action
Aggregate root (has children)	Recursively cascade to children first
Leaf (no children)	`RemoveAll()` on the collection

Example: Multi-Level Cascade

Customer 1
├── Order 10
│   ├── OrderItem 100
│   ├── OrderItem 101
│   └── OrderItem 102
├── Order 11
│   └── OrderItem 103
└── Review 20

RemoveCascade(Customer 1):
  1. RemoveCascade(Order 10) → Remove OrderItems 100, 101, 102 → Remove Order 10
  2. RemoveCascade(Order 11) → Remove OrderItem 103 → Remove Order 11
  3. RemoveAll(Reviews of Customer 1) → Remove Review 20
  4. Remove Customer 1

Batch Operations

AddRange — Batch Insert

Context.Customer[1].Orders.AddRange(new Order[]
{
    new() { TotalAmount = 10m, Status = "New" },
    new() { TotalAmount = 20m, Status = "New" },
    new() { TotalAmount = 30m, Status = "New" },
});
// All three orders have CustomerId = 1 set automatically

Uses DbSet.Add(T[]) with pre-sized capacity for zero-resize insertion.

ModifyAll — Batch Transform

// Cancel all orders for a customer
Context.Customer[1].Orders.ModifyAll(o => o with { Status = "Cancelled" });

Iterates all children and applies the transform. Each modification goes through the transaction buffer.

RemoveAll — Batch Delete

int removed = Context.Customer[1].Orders.RemoveAll();
Console.WriteLine($"Removed {removed} orders");

Returns the count of removed entities. Uses stack-allocated spans for zero-GC batching.

Transfer / Reparenting

Move a child from one parent to another by updating its FK:

// Move order 5 from Customer 1 to Customer 2
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Transfer(orderId: 5, newParentId: 2);

Transfer Semantics

Aspect	Behavior
FK update	Sets the child's FK to `newParentId`
Children of transferred entity	Unaffected (they reference the child's PK, not the grandparent)
Old parent subscription	Notified of removal
New parent subscription	Notified of addition
Transaction required	Yes

Example: Transfer with Notification

// Subscribe to both parents' order collections
Context.Customer[1].Orders.OnChanged(c =>
    Console.WriteLine($"Customer 1 orders: {c.Type}"));
Context.Customer[2].Orders.OnChanged(c =>
    Console.WriteLine($"Customer 2 orders: {c.Type}"));

Context.BeginTransaction();
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Transfer(orderId: 5, newParentId: 2);
Context.Commit();
// Output:
// Customer 1 orders: Remove
// Customer 2 orders: Add

Dual-FK Disambiguation

When a child entity has FK references to multiple parents, handles are disambiguated with the parent name:

table Review(persistence: local) {
    Id: int @id
    CustomerId: int @relation(references: Customer.Id)
    ProductId: int @relation(references: Product.Id)
    Rating: int
    Text: string
}

This generates:

Generated Type	FK	Index
`ReviewByCustomerCollectionHandle`	Sets `CustomerId`	Queries `ReviewCustomerIndex`
`ReviewByProductCollectionHandle`	Sets `ProductId`	Queries `ReviewProductIndex`

Access:

// All reviews by Customer 1
var customerReviews = Context.Customer[1].ReviewsByCustomer;

// All reviews for Product 42
var productReviews = Context.Product[42].ReviewsByProduct;

Single-FK children keep the simpler name: OrderCollectionHandle.

Reactive Subscriptions

Editors and CollectionHandles support per-entity and per-parent change notifications. Under the hood, a single ChangeRouter<T> subscribes once to the DbSet and dispatches to subscribers by key — O(batch_size) per commit, not O(subscribers x batch_size).

Entity-Level Subscription (`OnChanged`)

Subscribe to changes for a specific entity by ID:

IDisposable sub = Context.Customer[1].OnChanged((in StateChange<Customer> change) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Customer 1: {change.Type}");
});

context.BeginTransaction();
Context.Customer[1].Update(Context.Customers.FindById(1) with { Name = "Updated" });
context.Commit(); // handler fires here (synchronous, during Commit)

sub.Dispose(); // stop listening

Collection-Level Subscription (`OnChanged`)

Subscribe to changes for children of a specific parent:

IDisposable sub = Context.Customer[1].Orders.OnChanged((in StateChange<Order> change) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Order {change.Id} of Customer 1: {change.Type}");
});

// Fires on add, update, remove, AND transfers
context.BeginTransaction();
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Add(new Order { TotalAmount = 50m, Status = "New" });
context.Commit(); // handler fires

Weak Subscriptions (`OnChangedWeak`)

Subscribe with a weak reference to a target object. The subscription auto-cleans when the target is garbage-collected:

IDisposable sub = Context.Customer[1].OnChangedWeak(panel,
    static (p, change) => p.Refresh(change));

The callback must be static (or non-capturing) — it receives the target as the first argument. This prevents capturing the target, which would defeat the weak reference.

Batched Subscriptions (`OnBatchChanged`)

Accumulate all changes during a commit and deliver as a single list:

IDisposable sub = Context.Customer[1].Orders.OnBatchChanged(changes =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Received {changes.Count} order changes");
    foreach (var change in changes)
        Console.WriteLine($"  {change.Type}: Order {change.Id}");
});

context.BeginTransaction();
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Add(new Order { TotalAmount = 10m, Status = "New" });
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Add(new Order { TotalAmount = 20m, Status = "New" });
context.Commit(); // handler fires ONCE with list of 2 changes

Deep Watch (`OnDeepChanged`)

Subscribe to changes on an entity AND all its child collections. Child changes are forwarded as synthetic Update notifications on the parent:

IDisposable sub = Context.Customer[1].OnDeepChanged((in StateChange<Customer> change) =>
{
    // Fires when:
    // - Customer 1 is updated
    // - Any Order of Customer 1 is added/updated/removed
    // - Any Review of Customer 1 is added/updated/removed
    Console.WriteLine("Customer 1 or its children changed");
});

// Disposing unsubscribes from ALL sub-subscriptions (entity + children)
sub.Dispose();

The returned IDisposable is a CompositeDisposable that groups the entity subscription and all child FK router subscriptions.

No-Op Update Suppression

Updates that produce a value-equal entity are automatically suppressed:

var alice = Context.Customers.FindById(1);
context.BeginTransaction();
Context.Customer[1].Update(alice with { }); // identical copy
context.Commit(); // OnChanged does NOT fire

Uses EqualityComparer<T>.Default.Equals (leveraging record value equality).

Subscription Comparison

Mode	Scope	Delivery	Allocation	Use Case
`OnChanged` (entity)	Single entity	Per-change	Zero (in-delegate)	Entity detail view
`OnChanged` (collection)	Parent's children	Per-change	Zero (in-delegate)	Child list view
`OnChangedWeak`	Single entity/collection	Per-change	Zero (weak ref)	UI with lifecycle
`OnBatchChanged`	Parent's children	Batched (once/commit)	List allocation	Batch UI update
`OnDeepChanged`	Entity + all children	Per-change (synthetic)	CompositeDisposable	Aggregate views

Design Notes

Indexed routing — ChangeRouter<T> subscribes once to the DbSet and dispatches by int key (entity ID or FK value).
Main-thread delivery — handlers fire synchronously during Commit().
Transfer notifications — both old and new parent subscribers are notified.
Constraint — do not Subscribe or Dispose from within a handler callback (deadlock risk — EventDispatcher dispatches under lock).

Navigate multiple levels of the entity hierarchy:

// Customer -> Orders -> pick an order -> OrderItems
var items = Context.Customer[1].Orders.Editor(orderId).OrderItems.GetAll();

// Create order + items in one chain
Context.Customer[1].Orders.Add(new Order { TotalAmount = 200m, Status = "New" })
    .OrderItems.Add(new OrderItem { ProductId = 1, Quantity = 2, UnitPrice = 99.99m });

Pattern	Code
Parent -> Children	`Context.Customer[1].Orders`
Child -> Parent	`Context.Order[1].Customer`
Parent -> Child -> Grandchildren	`Context.Customer[1].Orders.Editor(1).OrderItems`
Child -> Parent -> Siblings	`Context.Order[1].Customer.Orders`
Create + navigate	`Context.Customer[1].Orders.Add(order).OrderItems.Add(item)`

Transaction Safety

All mutations through Editors and CollectionHandles require an active transaction:

Context.BeginTransaction();

Context.Customer[1]
    .Modify(c => c with { Name = "Updated" })
    .Orders.Add(new Order { TotalAmount = 50m, Status = "New" });

Context.Commit();   // or Context.Rollback()

Rollback reverts all mutations made through Editors and Handles, because they operate on the same StateChangeBuffer<T> as direct DbSet operations.

See Transactions for full transaction semantics.

Performance Characteristics

Operation	Time Complexity	Allocations
`Context.Entity[id]` (create Editor)	O(1)	Zero (stack)
`Editor.Value` (read entity)	O(1)	Zero (returns by value)
`Editor.Update(value)`	O(1)	Zero
`Editor.Remove()`	O(1)	Zero
`Editor.RemoveCascade()`	O(children)	Zero
`Editor.Modify(func)`	O(1)	1 delegate (if not cached)
`Handle.Add(item)`	O(1) amortized	Zero
`Handle.AddRange(items)`	O(N)	Zero
`Handle[childId]`	O(1)	Zero (lookup index)
`Handle.Count`	O(1)	Zero (index-maintained)
`Handle.GetAll()`	O(1)	Zero
`Handle.First()` / `Handle.TryGetFirst()`	O(1)	Zero
`Handle.Last()` / `Handle.TryGetLast()`	O(children)	Zero
`Handle.ToArray()`	O(children)	Array allocation
`Handle.ToList()`	O(children)	List allocation
`Handle.RemoveAll()`	O(children)	Zero (stack span)
`Handle.ModifyAll(func)`	O(children)	1 delegate
`Handle.Transfer(id, newParent)`	O(1)	Zero
`foreach (var x in handle)`	O(children)	Zero (struct enumerator)

Error Handling

Error Condition	Exception	When
Entity not found	`KeyNotFoundException`	`Editor.Value` on non-existent entity
Child not found	`KeyNotFoundException`	`Handle[childId]` on non-existent child
No active transaction	`InvalidOperationException`	Any mutation without `BeginTransaction()`
Empty collection	`InvalidOperationException`	`Handle.First()` or `Handle.Last()` on empty collection

Use Exists and TryGet for safe access:

var editor = Context.Customer[999];
if (editor.Exists)
{
    // Safe to access .Value
    Console.WriteLine(editor.Value.Name);
}

if (Context.Customer[1].Orders.TryGet(orderId, out var order))
{
    Console.WriteLine(order.TotalAmount);
}

Complete Example

Context.BeginTransaction();

// Create a customer with orders and items in one transaction
var newCustomer = new Customer { Name = "Alice" };
Context.Customers.Add(newCustomer);
var customer = Context.Customer[newCustomer.Id];

var order = customer.Orders.Add(new Order
{
    OrderDate = DateTime.UtcNow,
    TotalAmount = 149.98m,
    Status = "Pending",
    ShippingCountry = "US"
});

order.OrderItems.AddRange(new OrderItem[]
{
    new() { ProductId = 1, Quantity = 1, UnitPrice = 99.99m },
    new() { ProductId = 3, Quantity = 2, UnitPrice = 24.99m },
});

Context.Commit();

// ---- Read back ----
Customer alice = Context.Customer[customer.Id]; // implicit conversion
Console.WriteLine($"{alice.Name}: {customer.Orders.Count} orders");

foreach (var o in customer.Orders)
    Console.WriteLine($"  Order {o.Id}: {o.TotalAmount:C}");

// ---- Batch cancel all orders ----
Context.BeginTransaction();
customer.Orders.ModifyAll(o => o with { Status = "Cancelled" });
Context.Commit();

// ---- Transfer an order to another customer ----
Context.BeginTransaction();
var newBob = new Customer { Name = "Bob" };
Context.Customers.Add(newBob);
var bob = Context.Customer[newBob.Id];
customer.Orders.Transfer(orderId: order.Id, newParentId: bob.Id);
Context.Commit();

// ---- Deep watch for dashboard ----
IDisposable watch = Context.Customer[customer.Id].OnDeepChanged(
    (in StateChange<Customer> _) => RefreshDashboard());

// ---- Clean up ----
Context.BeginTransaction();
customer.RemoveCascade(); // removes customer + remaining orders + items
bob.RemoveCascade();
Context.Commit();

watch.Dispose();

Generated Code Annotations

All generated types are marked with:

[GeneratedCode("ConjureDB.CodeGen", "1.0")]
#pragma warning disable CS1591 (suppresses missing XML doc warnings)

This ensures clean static analysis integration and clear identification of generated vs hand-written code.

Overview​

Comparison with Other Patterns​

Setup​

1. Define Entities with Relationships​

2. Generate Code​

3. Automatic Lookup Index Synthesis​

Editor API​

Creating an Editor​

Properties​

Methods​

Implicit Conversion​

Fluent Chaining​

Parent Reference Navigation​

CollectionHandle API​

Properties​

CRUD Methods​

FK Auto-Assignment​

Enumeration​

GetAll() vs explicit materialization​

Cascading Deletes​

Entity-Level Cascade​

Cascade Behavior​

Example: Multi-Level Cascade​

Batch Operations​

AddRange — Batch Insert​

ModifyAll — Batch Transform​

RemoveAll — Batch Delete​

Transfer / Reparenting​

Transfer Semantics​

Example: Transfer with Notification​

Dual-FK Disambiguation​

Reactive Subscriptions​

Entity-Level Subscription (OnChanged)​

Collection-Level Subscription (OnChanged)​

Weak Subscriptions (OnChangedWeak)​

Batched Subscriptions (OnBatchChanged)​

Deep Watch (OnDeepChanged)​

No-Op Update Suppression​

Subscription Comparison​

Design Notes​

Chained Navigation​

Navigation Patterns​

Transaction Safety​

Performance Characteristics​

Error Handling​

Complete Example​

Generated Code Annotations​

Overview

Comparison with Other Patterns

Setup

1. Define Entities with Relationships

2. Generate Code

3. Automatic Lookup Index Synthesis

Editor API

Creating an Editor

Properties

Methods

Implicit Conversion

Fluent Chaining

Parent Reference Navigation

CollectionHandle API

Properties

CRUD Methods

FK Auto-Assignment

Enumeration

GetAll() vs explicit materialization

Cascading Deletes

Entity-Level Cascade

Cascade Behavior

Example: Multi-Level Cascade

Batch Operations

AddRange — Batch Insert

ModifyAll — Batch Transform

RemoveAll — Batch Delete

Transfer / Reparenting

Transfer Semantics

Example: Transfer with Notification

Dual-FK Disambiguation

Reactive Subscriptions

Entity-Level Subscription (`OnChanged`)

Collection-Level Subscription (`OnChanged`)

Weak Subscriptions (`OnChangedWeak`)

Batched Subscriptions (`OnBatchChanged`)

Deep Watch (`OnDeepChanged`)

No-Op Update Suppression

Subscription Comparison

Design Notes

Chained Navigation

Navigation Patterns

Transaction Safety

Performance Characteristics

Error Handling

Complete Example

Generated Code Annotations