migrating-data-edm-to-odata

name	migrating-data-edm-to-odata
description	Migrates the obsolete Microsoft.Data.Edm (OData v1–v3 EDM types) to Microsoft.OData.Edm for OData v4. Use ONLY when Microsoft.Data.Edm has been flagged as obsolete or deprecated and must be replaced — not for version-bump scenarios where Microsoft.Data.Edm is still supported.
metadata	{"discovery":"lazy","traits":".NET|CSharp|VisualBasic|DotNetCore"}

Microsoft.Data.Edm to Microsoft.OData.Edm Migration

Overview

Migrate projects from the OData v1–v3 EDM library (Microsoft.Data.Edm) to the OData v4 EDM library (Microsoft.OData.Edm). The primary change is a namespace rename, but several model interfaces gained new members and some types were renamed to align with the OData v4 specification.

Related skills: migrating-data-odata-to-odata-core, migrating-data-services-client

Package Reference Changes

Old Reference (Remove)

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Data.Edm" Version="5.*" />

New Reference (Add)

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.OData.Edm" Version="{latest-stable-version}" />

Use tools or NuGet to find the latest stable version.

Workflow

Migration Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Detect Microsoft.Data.Edm usage
- [ ] Step 2: Update package references
- [ ] Step 3: Update namespace declarations
- [ ] Step 4: Handle API differences
- [ ] Step 5: Update validation calls
- [ ] Step 6: Build and verify

Step 1: Detect Microsoft.Data.Edm Usage

Scan the project for:

• using Microsoft.Data.Edm; and sub-namespace imports (Microsoft.Data.Edm.Library, Microsoft.Data.Edm.Validation, etc.)
• Types such as IEdmModel, EdmCoreModel, IEdmEntityType, IEdmComplexType
• Package reference to Microsoft.Data.Edm in the project file

If the project already references Microsoft.OData.Edm, no migration is needed.

Step 2: Update Package References

In the project file, replace the old package reference with the new one (see "Package Reference Changes" above). If the project uses centralized package management (Directory.Packages.props), update the version there instead.

Step 3: Update Namespace Declarations

Replace all namespace references:

Old Namespace	New Namespace
Microsoft.Data.Edm	Microsoft.OData.Edm
Microsoft.Data.Edm.Library	Microsoft.OData.Edm
Microsoft.Data.Edm.Validation	Microsoft.OData.Edm.Validation
Microsoft.Data.Edm.Csdl	Microsoft.OData.Edm.Csdl

The Library sub-namespace was merged into the root Microsoft.OData.Edm namespace in v4.

Step 4: Handle API Differences

Old API (v1–v3)	New API (v4)	Action
EdmMultiplicity enum	EdmMultiplicity (values renamed)	Update enum member references; EdmMultiplicity.Many is now consistent across all usage sites
IEdmEntityType.DeclaredKey	IEdmEntityType.DeclaredKey (returns IEnumerable<IEdmStructuralProperty>)	Verify key property type alignment — v4 uses structural properties exclusively
EdmCoreModel.Instance	EdmCoreModel.Instance (expanded primitive types)	Review usages; v4 includes additional primitive types like Edm.Date and Edm.TimeOfDay
IEdmModel.SchemaElements	IEdmModel.SchemaElements (additional element kinds)	Handle new element kinds such as EdmSchemaElementKind.TypeDefinition and EdmSchemaElementKind.Term
IEdmEntityContainer.FindEntitySet(string)	IEdmEntityContainer.FindEntitySet(string) (returns IEdmEntitySet with navigation bindings)	Adapt code that inspects entity set metadata to account for navigation property bindings

Step 5: Update Validation Calls

The validation API changed:

// Old (v1-v3)
IEnumerable<EdmError> errors;
bool isValid = model.Validate(out errors);

// New (v4)
IEnumerable<EdmError> errors;
bool isValid = CsdlReader.TryParse(reader, out model, out errors);
// Or validate an existing model:
bool isValid = model.Validate(out errors);

The EdmError type moved to Microsoft.OData.Edm.Validation. Update any error inspection code accordingly.

Step 6: Build and Verify

1. Build the project:

   dotnet build
   

2. Resolve any remaining compilation errors — most will be namespace or type-rename issues
3. Run existing tests to verify EDM model construction and query behavior

Troubleshooting

Missing Types After Namespace Change

Some types from Microsoft.Data.Edm.Library moved directly into Microsoft.OData.Edm. If a type is not found after updating namespaces, search for it in the root namespace rather than a sub-namespace.

New Primitive Types Cause Unexpected Behavior

OData v4 introduced Edm.Date, Edm.TimeOfDay, and Edm.Duration as distinct primitive types. Code that enumerates primitive types or switches on EdmPrimitiveTypeKind needs to handle these new values.

Validation Errors on Previously Valid Models

The v4 validation rules are stricter. Review validation errors carefully — they often indicate model constructs that were tolerated in v3 but are invalid under the OData v4 specification.