c# - Entity Framework - how do I get the columns?

Question

I wish to get a list of columns names, types and whether the column is a PK of a table object in Entity Framework.

How do I do this in C# (4.0) (ideally generically)?

The winning answer will be one that does it efficiently and most importantly generically.

Answer 1

Got it - I used a linq based reflection query:

IEnumerable<FieldList> properties = from p in typeof(T).GetProperties()
                                    where (from a in p.GetCustomAttributes(false)
                                    where a is EdmScalarPropertyAttribute   
                                    select true).FirstOrDefault()

Sorted! Thanks for the suggestions all.

FYI - I am creating a dynamic where clause using LINQ, dynamic lambda expressions to build e.g. search which will automatically search through all columns by default. But I also needed the column names to verify because I will allow this to be overridden and these calls will be done via javascript ajax post whose input cannot be trusted - so needed to verify the column names.

I used the above to place the results into a custom object with properties called FieldName, FieldType, PrimaryKey. Ta daaa.

Customise it further with

IEnumerable<FieldList> properties = from p in typeof(T).GetProperties()
                                    where (from a in p.GetCustomAttributes(false)
                                    where a is EdmScalarPropertyAttribute
                                    select true).FirstOrDefault()
                                    select new FieldList
                                    {
                                       FieldName = p.Name,
                                       FieldType = p.PropertyType,
                                       FieldPK = p.GetCustomAttributes(false).Where(a => a is EdmScalarPropertyAttribute && ((EdmScalarPropertyAttribute)a).EntityKeyProperty).Count() > 0
                                     };