Factories, services, repository in DDD

Question

I have some questions regarding factories, repositories and services in DDD. I have the following entities: Folder, file, FileData.

In my opinion the "Folder" is an aggregate root and should have the responsibility of creating the File and FileData object.

So my first question is should I use a factory to create this aggreate or is it up to the repository? At this time I have 2 repositories, one for Folder and another for File, but it seems to me I should merge them together. The following code snippet, shows my Folder Repository, which is located in my infrastructure layer:

public class FolderRepository : IFolderRepository
{
    #region Fields

    private readonly IFolderContext _context;
    private readonly IUnitOfWork _unitOfWork;

    #endregion

    #region Constructor

    public FolderRepository(IUnitOfWork unitOfWork)
    {
        _unitOfWork = unitOfWork;
        _context = _unitOfWork.Context as IFolderContext;
    }

    #endregion

    public IUnitOfWork UnitOfWork
    {
        get { return _unitOfWork; }
    }

    public IQueryable<Folder> All
    {
        get { return _context.Folders; }
    }

    public Folder Find(Guid id)
    {
        return _context.Folders.Find(id);
    }

    public void InsertGraph(Folder entity)
    {
        _context.Folders.Add(entity);
    }

    public void InsertOrUpdate(Folder entity)
    {
        if (entity.Id == Guid.Empty)
        {
            _context.SetAdd(entity);
        }
        else
        {
            _context.SetModified(entity);
        }
    }

    public bool Delete(Guid id)
    {
        var folder = this.Find(id) ?? _context.Folders.Find(id);
        _context.Folders.Remove(folder);

        return folder == null;
    }

    public int AmountOfFilesIncluded(Folder folder)
    {
        throw new NotImplementedException();
        //return folder.Files.Count();
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        _context.Dispose();
    }
}

Next I have created a service in my application layer, this is called "IoService". I have my doubts about the location of the service. Should it be moved to the domain layer?

public class IoService : IIoService
{
    #region Fields

    private readonly IFolderRepository _folderRepository;
    private readonly IFileRepository _fileRepository;
    private readonly IUserReferenceRepository _userReferenceRepository;

    #endregion

    #region Constructor

    public IoService(IFolderRepository folderRepository, IFileRepository fileRepository, IUserReferenceRepository userReferenceRepository)
    {
        if(folderRepository == null)
            throw new NullReferenceException("folderRepository");
        if(fileRepository == null)
            throw new NullReferenceException("fileRepository");
        if (userReferenceRepository == null)
            throw new NullReferenceException("userReferenceRepository");

        _folderRepository = folderRepository;
        _fileRepository = fileRepository;
        _userReferenceRepository = userReferenceRepository;
    }

    #endregion

    #region Folder Methods

    /// <summary>
    /// Create a new 'Folder'
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="userReference"></param>
    /// <param name="name"></param>
    /// <param name="parentFolder"></param>
    /// <param name="userIds">The given users represent who have access to the folder</param>
    /// <param name="keywords"></param>
    /// <param name="share"></param>
    public void AddFolder(UserReference userReference, string name, Folder parentFolder = null, IList<Guid> userIds = null, IEnumerable<string> keywords = null, bool share = false)
    {
        var userReferenceList = new List<UserReference> { userReference };

        if (userIds != null && userIds.Any())
        {
            userReferenceList.AddRange(userIds.Select(id => _userReferenceRepository.Find(id)));
        }

        var folder = new Folder
        {
            Name = name,
            ParentFolder = parentFolder,
            Shared = share,
            Deleted = false,
            CreatedBy = userReference,
            UserReferences = userReferenceList
        };

        if (keywords != null)
        {
            folder.Keywords = keywords.Select(keyword =>
                new Keyword
                {
                    Folder = folder,
                    Type = "web",
                    Value = keyword,
                }).ToList();
        }

        //insert into repository
        _folderRepository.InsertOrUpdate(folder);

        //save
        _folderRepository.UnitOfWork.Save();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get 'Folder' by it's id
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="id"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public Folder GetFolder(Guid id)
    {
        return _folderRepository.Find(id);
    }

    #endregion

    #region File Methods

    /// <summary>
    /// Add a new 'File'
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="userReference"></param>
    /// <param name="folder"></param>
    /// <param name="data"></param>
    /// <param name="name"></param>
    /// <param name="title"></param>
    /// <param name="keywords"></param>
    /// <param name="shared"></param>
    public void AddFile(UserReference userReference, Folder folder, FileData data, string name, string title = "", IEnumerable<string> keywords = null, bool shared = false)
    {
        var file = new File
        {
            Name = name,
            Folder = folder,
            FileData = data,
            CreatedBy = userReference,
            Type = data.Type
        };

        if (keywords != null)
        {
            file.Keywords = keywords.Select(keyword =>
                new Keyword
                {
                    File = file,
                    Type = "web",
                    Value = keyword,
                }).ToList();
        }

        folder.Files.Add(file);
        folder.Updated = DateTime.UtcNow;

        _folderRepository.InsertOrUpdate(folder);

        //save
        _folderRepository.UnitOfWork.Save();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Get 'File' by it's id
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="id"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public File GetFile(Guid id)
    {
        return _fileRepository.Find(id);
    }

    #endregion
}

To summarize: Should I use the service for creating the folder object. Or should the service just use a factory, which have the responsibility of creating the object and send the created object to the repository? What about dependency injection in the service, should I inject my services from the UI layer with IOC containers like Unity or should I just hardcode the dependencies in the service?

Thanks

Answer 1

So my first question is should I use a factory to create this aggregate or is it up to the repository?

A factory is responsible for creation while a repository is responsible for persistence. Upon reconstitution, the repository will effectively create instances. However, often times this creation process is done with reflection and doesn't go through a factory to prevent initialization that should only occur at creation time.

At this time I have 2 repositories, one for Folder and another for File, but it seems to me I should merge them together.

In DDD, you'd have a repository for each aggregate. This repository would be responsible for persisting all entities and value objects that are part of the aggregate.

I have my doubts about the location of the service. Should it be moved to the domain layer?

IMO, an application service can be placed into the domain layer since it already serves as a facade and keeping them together would bring the benefits of cohesion. One thought about the IoService is that methods such as AddFile would usually be parameterized by aggregate identities as opposed to instances. Since the application service already references a repository, it can load the appropriate aggregates as needed. Otherwise, calling code would be responsible for calling the repository.

Should I use the service for creating the folder object. Or should the service just use a factory, which have the responsibility of creating the object and send the created object to the repository?

The IoService looks good as is except for the previous comment about being parameterized by identities rather than instances.

What about dependency injection in the service, should I inject my services from the UI layer with IOC containers like Unity or should I just hardcode the dependencies in the service?

This is a matter of preference. If you can benefit from using an IoC container then use it. However, don't use it just to use it. You are already doing dependency injection, just without a fancy IoC container.

SAMPLE

class File
{
    public File(string name, Folder folder, FileData data,  UserReference createdBy, IEnumerable<string> keywords = null)
    {
        //...
    }
}

...

class Folder
{
    public File AddFile(string name, FileData data, UserReference createdBy, IEnumerable<string> keywords = null)
    {
        var file = new File(name, this, data, createdBy, keywords)
        this.Files.Add(file);
        this.Updated = DateTime.UtcNow;
        return file;
    }
}

...

public void AddFile(UserReference userReference, Guid folderId, FileData data, string name, string title = "", IEnumerable<string> keywords = null, bool shared = false)
{
    var folder = _folderRepository.Find(folderId);
    if (folder == null)
        throw new Exception();

    folder.AddFile(name, data, keywords);

    _folderRepository.InsertOrUpdate(folder);
    _folderRepository.UnitOfWork.Save();
}

In this example, more of the behavior is delegated to the Folder aggregate and File entity. The application service simple calls the appropriate methods on the aggregate.