Interface IAuditable
Defines the contract for entities that require comprehensive audit trail capabilities. This interface ensures consistent tracking of entity lifecycle events, user accountability, and change management across the entire domain model.
public interface IAuditableExamples
// Example implementation in a custom entity
public class CustomEntity : IAuditable
{
public DateTimeOffset CreatedAt { get; init; } = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow;
public Guid CreatedBy { get; init; }
public DateTimeOffset LastUpdatedAt { get; private set; } = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow;
public Guid LastUpdatedBy { get; private set; }
public int NumberOfUpdates { get; private set; } = 0;
public bool IsSoftDeleted { get; private set; } = false;
public bool IsImportant { get; set; } = false;
public void UpdateAuditInfo(Guid updatedBy)
{
LastUpdatedAt = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow;
LastUpdatedBy = updatedBy;
NumberOfUpdates++;
}
}Remarks
The IAuditable interface provides essential audit functionality for compliance, debugging, and business intelligence purposes. It establishes a standard contract for:
Temporal Auditing: - Creation and modification timestamps for change tracking - UTC-based timestamps to ensure consistency across time zones - Immutable creation timestamps to preserve original entity state
User Accountability: - User identification for all create and update operations - Supports both human users and system processes through Guid identifiers - Enables detailed audit trails for security and compliance requirements
Change Metrics: - Update counters for frequency analysis and optimization - Soft deletion flags for data preservation and recovery - Business importance markers for prioritization and special handling
This interface is typically implemented by BaseEntity<T> but can be implemented independently for value objects or other constructs that require auditing. All domain entities should implement this interface to ensure consistent audit capabilities.
Properties
CreatedAt
Gets the date and time when the entity was originally created. This timestamp is immutable and represents the initial entity creation moment.
DateTimeOffset CreatedAt { get; init; }Property Value
- DateTimeOffset
A DateTimeOffset representing the UTC creation timestamp. This value should be set once during entity initialization and never modified.
Remarks
The creation timestamp serves multiple purposes: - Audit trail compliance for regulatory requirements - Data lifecycle management and archival policies - Business analytics and reporting on entity creation patterns - Debugging and troubleshooting by providing creation context
This property uses init-only setter to enforce immutability after object construction. The timestamp should always be in UTC to ensure consistency across different time zones and deployment environments.
CreatedBy
Gets the unique identifier of the user or system that created this entity. This provides accountability and traceability for entity creation operations.
Guid CreatedBy { get; init; }Property Value
- Guid
A Guid representing the creator's unique identifier. For system-generated entities, this may be a special system identifier. For user-created entities, this should be the authenticated user's identifier.
Remarks
The creator identifier enables: - User accountability for audit and compliance purposes - Security investigations and access pattern analysis - Business intelligence on user productivity and system usage - Data ownership and permission management
This property is immutable after entity creation to maintain audit integrity. System processes should use consistent, documented identifiers to distinguish automated actions from user-initiated operations.
IsImportant
Gets or sets a value indicating whether this entity is marked as important for business operations. This flag enables prioritization, special handling, and enhanced monitoring capabilities.
bool IsImportant { get; set; }Property Value
- bool
trueif the entity is marked as important; otherwise,false. The specific meaning of "important" is defined by the business domain context.
Remarks
The importance flag supports various business scenarios: - Prioritization in processing queues and batch operations - Enhanced monitoring and alerting for critical entities - Special backup and disaster recovery procedures - Performance optimization for high-priority data
The interpretation of this flag depends on the specific business domain: - In e-commerce: VIP customers or high-value products - In healthcare: Critical patient records or urgent cases - In finance: High-value transactions or regulatory submissions - In logistics: Priority shipments or time-sensitive deliveries
This property has a public setter to allow business rules to dynamically adjust entity importance based on changing conditions or business requirements.
IsSoftDeleted
Gets a value indicating whether this entity has been logically deleted. Soft deletion preserves data for audit purposes while excluding it from normal operations.
bool IsSoftDeleted { get; }Property Value
- bool
trueif the entity has been logically deleted; otherwise,false. Soft-deleted entities should be excluded from normal business queries and operations.
Remarks
Soft deletion provides several advantages over physical deletion: - Preserves referential integrity in complex domain models - Maintains complete audit trails for compliance requirements - Enables data recovery in case of accidental deletion - Supports business rules requiring historical data preservation
Applications should implement query filters to automatically exclude soft-deleted entities from normal operations while preserving access for audit and recovery scenarios. The soft deletion state should be considered when implementing business logic and data access patterns.
LastUpdatedAt
Gets the date and time when the entity was last modified. This timestamp is updated automatically whenever the entity undergoes changes.
DateTimeOffset LastUpdatedAt { get; }Property Value
- DateTimeOffset
A DateTimeOffset representing the UTC timestamp of the most recent modification. Initially set to the creation time and updated with each subsequent change.
Remarks
The last updated timestamp supports: - Optimistic concurrency control to prevent conflicting updates - Change frequency analysis for performance optimization - Data freshness validation for caching and synchronization - Audit trail completeness verification
Implementations should update this timestamp whenever any property of the entity changes, ensuring accurate change tracking. The timestamp should always be in UTC for consistency across different environments and time zones.
LastUpdatedBy
Gets the unique identifier of the user or system that last modified this entity. This provides accountability for the most recent changes to the entity.
Guid LastUpdatedBy { get; }Property Value
- Guid
A Guid representing the identifier of the user or system that performed the most recent update operation. Initially set to the creator's identifier.
Remarks
The last updater identifier facilitates: - Change attribution for audit and accountability purposes - Security monitoring and access pattern analysis - Collaborative editing scenarios and conflict resolution - Performance analysis of user and system operations
This identifier should be updated whenever the entity is modified, regardless of whether the modification is performed by a user or an automated system process. Consistent identifier management enables accurate audit trails and security monitoring.
NumberOfUpdates
Gets the total number of update operations performed on this entity since creation. This counter provides insights into entity change frequency and system usage patterns.
int NumberOfUpdates { get; }Property Value
- int
An integer representing the cumulative count of update operations. Starts at 0 for newly created entities and increments with each modification.
Remarks
The update counter enables: - Optimistic concurrency control in distributed scenarios - Performance monitoring and optimization opportunities identification - Business intelligence on data volatility and usage patterns - Audit trail verification and completeness checking
Implementations should increment this counter for each logical update operation, not for internal system operations like cache refreshes or metadata updates. The counter helps distinguish between frequently and rarely modified entities for optimization and archival purposes.