Repository or ActiveEntity

bITdevKit supports repositories and ActiveEntity. Repositories expose persistence through an injected dependency. ActiveEntity exposes entity-scoped persistence methods backed by a configured provider.

Choose Repository when

• the application layer must control query composition
• different persistence implementations need separate contracts
• workflows span multiple entity types
• operations require database-specific APIs

For details, see Domain Repositories.

Choose ActiveEntity when

• operations belong to one entity type
• one configured provider can serve that entity type
• the entity API should expose common persistence operations directly
• generated specifications or the query DSL cover the required queries

For details, see ActiveEntity.

Comparison

Concern	Repository	ActiveEntity
Dependency	Injected repository interface	Static entity methods backed by a provider
Query composition	Repository methods and specifications	Entity methods, generated specifications, and query DSL
Persistence contracts	Supports separate interfaces and implementations	Uses one configured provider per entity type
Cross-entity operations	Can be expressed through application services and repository contracts	Belong in an application service, repository, or database API
Shared capabilities	Typed IDs, domain events, specifications, paging, and EF Core mapping	Typed IDs, domain events, specifications, paging, and EF Core mapping

Decision rule

Choose Repository when the application layer needs explicit persistence dependencies or database-specific contracts.

Choose ActiveEntity for entity-scoped operations that fit one provider. A module can use both patterns.