Entity Framework Core Interview Question #158

How does EF Core support inheritance mapping?

Advanced Mapping, Interceptors, Value Conversions & Architecture Senior Advanced

Quick Interview Answer

EF Core can map .NET inheritance hierarchies to relational tables using supported inheritance strategies. Common strategies include table-per-hierarchy, table-per-type, and table-per-concrete-type. Each has different query, storage, and performance characteristics, so the mapping should match both the domain and expected workload.

Detailed Explanation

Code Example

public abstract class Payment { public int Id { get; set; } }
public class CardPayment : Payment { public string Last4 { get; set; } = ""; }
public class CashPayment : Payment { }