C# How to insert array into object mongodb

Question

Currently I am working on an application using C# where I want to add some data to a MongoDB collection. I am trying to add an array to an Employee object but I am struggling to get it working correctly.

When I am looking at other posts, I come across syntax using BsonDocument, something like this:

var document = new BsonDocument {
{ "author", "joe" },
{ "comments", new BsonArray {
    new BsonDocument { { "author", "jim" }, { "comment", "I disagree" } },
    new BsonDocument { { "author", "nancy" }, { "comment", "Good post" } }
}}

I want to add an array to Function attribute to add a description and other detailed info.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using MongoDB.Driver;
using MongoDB.Bson;
using MongoDB.Driver.Core;

namespace Application
{
    class Program
    {
        public class Employee
        {
            public ObjectId Id { get; set; }
            public string BSN { get; set; }
            public string Name { get; set; }
            public string Function { get; set; 
        }

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            MongoClient client = new MongoClient();
            var server = client.GetServer();
            var db = server.GetDatabase("Database_Assignment");
            var collection = db.GetCollection<Employee>("Collection_Employees");

            Random random = new Random();

            List<string> names = new List<string>()        // Predefined list of names
            {
                "John Smith",
                "Matthew Williams",
                "David Harris",
                "Christopher Martin",
                "Paul Shark"
            };

            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
            {
                int nameIndex      = random.Next(0, 5);         // Range in list of names
                int ageIndex       = random.Next(18, 67);       // Range for possible ages
                int funcIndex      = random.Next(0, 3);

                string nameValue   = names[nameIndex];         // Add index to string based on list of names
                string funcValue   = functions[funcIndex];     // Add index to string based on list of functions

                Employee employee = new Employee
                {
                    BSN = "BSN" + i,
                    Name = nameValue,
                    Function = funcValue
                };

                collection.Save(employee);
            }
        }
    }
}

Edit 1

This is what I currently have screenshot

This is what I am trying to accomplish screenshot

Taking the second screenshot for example, I want 'sensor_colle' to be Function and add some specific details to it. Hope this helps.

pieperu · Accepted Answer · 2016-10-17 13:19:05Z

4

If you want Function to be an array you should change it to that in your model, as it's currently just a string property, so:

public string[] Function { get; set; }

If an employee can have more than one function, or

public List<SomeFunctionObj> Function { get; set;

If they can have multiple functions, and each function has multiple properties.

Have a look at

Builders<YourModel>.Update.Push

You will need to use the Update method instead of Save on the Collection if you are wanting to update an existing item instead of inserting it.

Alternatively

Builders<YourModel>.Update.AddToSet

may be more appropriate if you are wanting to add an object to an array

I hope this helps, if i have misunderstood your question please let me know and i'll modify the answer as necessary

Update

If you want to add more information to the Function you will need to create an embedded model:

public class Employee
{
    public ObjectId Id { get; set; }
    public string BSN { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public EmployeeFunction Function { get; set; 
}

public class EmployeeFunction 
{
    public string FunctionDesc { get; set; }
    public string MoreInfo { get; set; }
}

So to populate it using your example code:

Employee employee = new Employee
            {
                BSN = "BSN" + i,
                Name = nameValue,
                Function = new EmployeeFunction 
                { 
                    FunctionDesc = funcValue, 
                    MoreInfo = "Some other info" 
                }
            };

This way, your mongodb document will look something like this:

{
...
    "Function" : {
        "FunctionDesc" : "Developer",
        "MoreInfo" : "Some other info"
    },
...
}

edited Oct 17, 2016 at 13:19

answered Oct 17, 2016 at 11:35

pieperu

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4 Comments

Jason Hall Over a year ago

Thanks for responding. My program don't have to be updated every time, just inserting is enough for now. I've edited my original post to explain what I am trying to accomplish.

pieperu Over a year ago

I updated the answer to explain an embedded model. This is how you can save more information under the Function property. This is one of the beauties of nosql, traditionally in RDBMS we would need a whole new table for this and store a foreign key against the Employee entity. With MongoDb you can just embed it. One of the most important questions to ask when deciding whether to embedd or reference is "how often will the embedded data change", if it will change frequently, perhaps a traditional reference would be best, in this instance however i feel embedding will work fine.

Jason Hall Over a year ago

This is exactly what I needed. It worked perfectly. Thank you very much!

pieperu Over a year ago

No problem, glad I could help

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