Differences between Entity Manager and Repositories in Symfony

Differences between Entity Manager and Repositories in Symfony
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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).

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.

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.