How do I map lists of nested objects with Dapper

Question

I'm currently using Entity Framework for my db access but want to have a look at Dapper. I have classes like this:

public class Course{
   public string Title{get;set;}
   public IList<Location> Locations {get;set;}
   ...
}

public class Location{
   public string Name {get;set;}
   ...
}

So one course can be taught at several locations. Entity Framework does the mapping for me so my Course object is populated with a list of locations. How would I go about this with Dapper, is it even possible or do I have to do it in several query steps?

Answer 1

Alternatively, you can use one query with a lookup:

var lookup = new Dictionary<int, Course>();
conn.Query<Course, Location, Course>(@"
    SELECT c.*, l.*
    FROM Course c
    INNER JOIN Location l ON c.LocationId = l.Id                    
    ", (c, l) => {
        Course course;
        if (!lookup.TryGetValue(c.Id, out course))
            lookup.Add(c.Id, course = c);
        if (course.Locations == null) 
            course.Locations = new List<Location>();
        course.Locations.Add(l); /* Add locations to course */
        return course;
     }).AsQueryable();
var resultList = lookup.Values;

See here https://www.tritac.com/blog/dappernet-by-example/