Differences between entity manager and repositories in Symfony

By duartecancela, 11 March, 2024
symfony-entity-manager-repository

In Symfony framework, the EntityManager and Repositories are both components used for interacting with the database, particularly in the context of Doctrine ORM (Object-Relational Mapping).

  1. EntityManager:
    • Responsible for managing the lifecycle of entities, including persisting, updating, and removing them from the database.
    • Handles transactions and entity relationships.
    • Used for persisting and retrieving entities directly.
  2. Repositories:
    • Provide a way to query for entities using a higher-level abstraction than direct SQL queries.
    • Encapsulate the logic for retrieving entities based on certain criteria.
    • Allow for more complex queries and filtering operations.
    • Promote separation of concerns by separating database querying logic from business logic.

In summary, EntityManager deals with the management of entities' lifecycle and transactions, while Repositories provide a structured way to query for entities based on specific criteria, promoting modularity and maintainability in your application.