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Perspective Table Naming

Verified by tests

NamingConventionUtilitiesTests, TypeNameUtilitiesTests, ConfigurationUtilitiesTests — library CI run #31657041675 (2026-08-13)

Whizbang automatically generates database table names for your perspectives using configurable naming conventions. By default, common suffixes like Projection, Model, and Dto are stripped to create cleaner, shorter table names.

Default Behavior

Table names are derived from the perspective's model type -- the TModel in IPerspectiveFor<TModel, ...> -- not from the perspective class itself. Whizbang strips any configured suffix, converts the remaining name to snake_case, and adds the wh_per_ prefix:

Model Type Name Default Table Name
OrderProjection wh_per_order
CustomerDto wh_per_customer
ProductReadModel wh_per_product
ActivityView wh_per_activity
InventoryModel wh_per_inventory

Why Strip Suffixes?

Suffixes like Projection, Model, Dto, and View describe what the class is in your codebase, but add no value in the database. Stripping them results in:

  • Shorter table names: Easier to work with in SQL queries
  • Cleaner schema: wh_per_order is clearer than wh_per_order_projection
  • Consistent naming: Different teams may use Dto vs Model vs View - all become the same

Configuring Suffix Stripping

MSBuild Properties

Configure suffix stripping in your project file:

MSBuild Properties

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Enable/disable suffix stripping (default: true) -->
  <WhizbangStripTableNameSuffixes>true</WhizbangStripTableNameSuffixes>

  <!-- Suffixes to strip (default list shown; first match wins, so put longer
       suffixes like ReadModel before their substrings like Model) -->
  <WhizbangTableNameSuffixesToStrip>ReadModel,Model,Projection,Dto,View</WhizbangTableNameSuffixesToStrip>
</PropertyGroup>

Disabling Suffix Stripping

To keep the full class name in table names:

Disabling Suffix Stripping

<PropertyGroup>
  <WhizbangStripTableNameSuffixes>false</WhizbangStripTableNameSuffixes>
</PropertyGroup>

With stripping disabled:

C# Class Name Table Name
OrderProjection wh_per_order_projection
CustomerDto wh_per_customer_dto

Custom Suffixes

Add or modify the suffixes to strip:

Custom Suffixes

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Add custom suffixes (first match wins - order longer suffixes first) -->
  <WhizbangTableNameSuffixesToStrip>ViewModel,ReadModel,Model,Projection,Dto,View,State</WhizbangTableNameSuffixesToStrip>
</PropertyGroup>

Explicit Table Names

There is no per-perspective attribute for overriding the generated table name at this commit. The table name is always derived from the model type name plus the MSBuild suffix configuration. To control a table name:

  • Rename the model type -- the table name follows it
  • Adjust the suffix list -- add or remove suffixes project-wide via WhizbangTableNameSuffixesToStrip

Naming Convention Details

Conversion Rules

  1. PascalCase to snake_case: OrderDetails → order_details
  2. Every uppercase letter gets an underscore (acronyms are NOT collapsed): APIResponse → a_p_i_response
  3. Numbers preserved: Order2024 → order2024
  4. Suffix stripping: OrderProjection → order (suffix removed before conversion)
  5. Nested model types: the containing type name is merged in (ActiveJob.Details → base name ActiveJobDetails); when the nested name starts with the containing name (ActiveAccount.ActiveAccountModel), just the containing name is used to avoid duplication

Examples

Model Type Name Suffix Stripped Snake Case Final Table
OrderProjection Order order wh_per_order
CustomerAccountDto CustomerAccount customer_account wh_per_customer_account
ProductInventoryModel ProductInventory product_inventory wh_per_product_inventory
APIUsageView APIUsage a_p_i_usage wh_per_a_p_i_usage
Order2024Projection Order2024 order2024 wh_per_order2024

Avoid consecutive-uppercase acronyms in model type names -- each uppercase letter becomes its own snake_case segment.

Edge Cases

Model Type Name Notes Table Name
Model Name is only a suffix - strips to empty wh_per_ (avoid this)
OrderModelProjection Only the first matching suffix stripped (single pass) wh_per_order_model
OrderMODEL Suffix matching is case-sensitive - no strip wh_per_order_m_o_d_e_l

Table Name Conflicts

If two perspective model types would generate the same table name, both perspectives end up mapped to the same table -- there is no compile-time duplicate-name diagnostic at this commit:

Table Name Conflicts

// Both model types generate wh_per_order
public class OrderPerspective : IPerspectiveFor<OrderDto, OrderCreatedEvent> { }
public class OrderAdminPerspective : IPerspectiveFor<OrderModel, OrderCreatedEvent> { }
// OrderDto -> Order -> wh_per_order; OrderModel -> Order -> wh_per_order

Resolve by renaming one of the model types so the stripped base names differ (e.g., OrderModel → OrderAdminModel gives wh_per_order_admin).

Renaming Perspectives

Renaming the perspective class has no effect on the table name -- only the model type name matters. Two rename scenarios behave differently:

Changing suffix configuration (registry-managed rename)

When suffix configuration changes the generated name for the same model type, the perspective registry automatically renames the table on next application start:

  1. Registry detects table name changed for the model's clr_type_name
  2. Executes ALTER TABLE IF EXISTS wh_per_customer_data RENAME TO wh_per_customer
  3. Data preserved, no migration needed

Renaming the model type itself

Renaming the model type (e.g., CustomerData → Customer) changes the registry key, so the registry sees a new perspective and creates a fresh table -- the old table and its data are left behind. Plan a manual migration if you need the data carried over.

Prefix Configuration

The wh_per_ prefix is fixed at this commit. It is hardcoded in the source generators and schema initializers (SchemaConfiguration defaults to PerspectivePrefix = "wh_per_", and all built-in providers pass that value). There is no supported runtime or MSBuild option to change it.

Best Practices

  1. Use descriptive model type names: OrderSummaryDto is better than OrdSum
  2. Let suffix stripping work: Don't manually abbreviate names
  3. Avoid acronyms in model names: ApiUsage gives wh_per_api_usage; APIUsage gives wh_per_a_p_i_usage
  4. Be consistent: Pick one suffix convention (Projection, Dto, etc.) for your team
  5. Never name a model exactly a suffix: Model or Dto alone strips to an empty table base name

See Also