Entity Framework: simple solution for cryptic error message “System.NotSupportedException: Unable to create a constant value of type ‘System.Object’”
Posted by jpluimers on 2011/09/06
The drawback of using ORM layers is that often the error messages are very cryptic, and it takes some getting used to in order to find the (often deceptively) simple solution.
This case was an Entity Framework wrapper around a SQL Server database where the primary and foreign keys were all GUIDs, and some of the foreign keys were optional.
So the generated model has a mixed use of Guid? and Guid data types.
Below is the full stack trace, but here is the exception class and message:
System.NotSupportedException: Unable to create a constant value of type ‘System.Object’. Only primitive types (‘such as Int32, String, and Guid’) are supported in this context.
The exception is caused by a piece of code like this:
public static long CountChildren(ParentEntity parentEntity)
{
using (EntitiesObjectContext objectContext = new EntitiesObjectContext())
{
Guid? parentId = parentEntity.ID;
if (null == parentId)
throw new ArgumentNullException("parentEntity.Id");
IQueryable<ChildEntity> ChildEntitys =
from content in objectContext.ChildEntity
where content.ParentID.Equals(parentId)
select content;
long result = ChildEntitys.Count(); // BOOM!
return result;
}
}
The stack trace at the end of this post contains a truckload of ExpressionConverter lines. Since the LINQ expression contained only one WHERE clause, the mentioning of the list of primitive types in the message (Int32, String, and Guid) made me change the code into the one below.
Note that it would have been much harder if I had a more complex where clause: the exception message does not indicate which portion of the expression, or which source data type it trying to generate a constant from.
public static long CountChildren(ParentEntity parentEntity)
{
using (EntitiesObjectContext objectContext = new EntitiesObjectContext())
{
Guid? parentId = parentEntity.ID;
if (null == parentId)
throw new ArgumentNullException("parentEntity.Id");
IQueryable<ChildEntity> ChildEntitys =
from content in objectContext.ChildEntity
where content.ParentID.Equals(parentId.Value)
select content;
long result = ChildEntitys.Count();
return result;
}
}
It immediately worked.
But it would have been so much easier if the exception message tried to tell me from which type it was trying to generate a constant value.
System.NotSupportedException: Unable to create a constant value of type 'System.Object'. Only primitive types ('such as Int32, String, and Guid') are supported in this context.
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.ConstantTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, ConstantExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.EqualsTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, BinaryExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateLambda(LambdaExpression lambda, DbExpression input)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateLambda(LambdaExpression lambda, DbExpression input, DbExpressionBinding& binding)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.OneLambdaTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call, DbExpression& source, DbExpressionBinding& sourceBinding, DbExpression& lambda)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.OneLambdaTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.SequenceMethodTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call, SequenceMethod sequenceMethod)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.AggregateTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.SequenceMethodTranslator.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression call, SequenceMethod sequenceMethod)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.MethodCallTranslator.TypedTranslate(ExpressionConverter parent, MethodCallExpression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TypedTranslator`1.Translate(ExpressionConverter parent, Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.TranslateExpression(Expression linq)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ExpressionConverter.Convert()
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ELinqQueryState.GetExecutionPlan(Nullable`1 forMergeOption)
at System.Data.Objects.ObjectQuery`1.GetResults(Nullable`1 forMergeOption)
at System.Data.Objects.ObjectQuery`1.System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<T>.GetEnumerator()
at System.Linq.Enumerable.Single[TSource](IEnumerable`1 source)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ObjectQueryProvider.<GetElementFunction>b__3[TResult](IEnumerable`1 sequence)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ObjectQueryProvider.ExecuteSingle[TResult](IEnumerable`1 query, Expression queryRoot)
at System.Data.Objects.ELinq.ObjectQueryProvider.System.Linq.IQueryProvider.Execute[S](Expression expression)
at System.Linq.Queryable.Count[TSource](IQueryable`1 source)
–jeroen
Erik van Appeldoorn said
Hi Jeroen
Why don’t you use the regular strongly typed version: where content.ParentID.== parentId.Value where there is compiler checking?
jpluimers said
I think I did that because originally in the DB both IDs had incompatible types.
–jeroen
Craig said
I’m working on a wiki of how to resolve EF error messages. Contributions welcome!
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3908.aspx