Find falls back to DbBase.Context singleton when no context passed

DbBase.Find<T> now uses db ?? Context, and Client.FindByName's context
parameter becomes optional — call sites read like Client.FindByName("Jane
Doe") without context threading. A null result now overwhelmingly means
"no match"; the residual "no context configured at all" ambiguity is
documented in remarks as part of the ActiveRecord-leak cost this exercise
illustrates.

src/Before.Console/Program.cs

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ using Before;
 // The console app sets DbBase.Context (the shared singleton) once at startup,
 // then creates client/order entities, saves them through the context, and
 // queries back using the ActiveRecord entry points:
-//   • Client.FindByName(name, context)
+//   • Client.FindByName(name) — no context argument: rides the
+//     DbBase.Context singleton
 //   • listing via DbBase.Context!.Tracked
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -42,7 +43,11 @@ foreach (var client in DbBase.Context!.Tracked.OfType<Client>())
 
 // ----- find by name -------------------------------------------------------
 Console.WriteLine("\n=== Find by Name ===");
-var found = Client.FindByName("Jane Doe", DbBase.Context);
+// No context argument: FindByName falls back to the DbBase.Context singleton.
+// This is the ActiveRecord ergonomic — call sites don't carry the context,
+// but the null that comes back on a miss can't tell "no such client" from
+// "nobody configured the context".
+var found = Client.FindByName("Jane Doe");
 if (found is not null)
 {
     Console.WriteLine($"Found: {found.Name} [{found.Id}]");

src/Before/Client.cs

@@ -25,16 +25,20 @@ public class Client : DbBase
     }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Convenience lookup: walks the <paramref name="db"/>'s tracked entities,
-    /// finds the first <see cref="Client"/> whose <see cref="Name"/>
-    /// equals <paramref name="name"/>.  Returns <c>null</c> when no match.
+    /// Convenience lookup: finds the first <see cref="Client"/> whose
+    /// <see cref="Name"/> equals <paramref name="name"/>.  Returns
+    /// <c>null</c> when no match.
     ///
     /// This mirrors how an ActiveRecord-style ORM might surface a static
-    /// finder on the domain class itself — it rides the <c>DbContext</c> leak
-    /// from the entity's back-reference. Delegates to
+    /// finder on the domain class itself — it rides the <c>DbContext</c>
+    /// leak from the entity's back-reference. Delegates to
     /// <see cref="DbBase.Find{T}"/> for the common traversal logic.
+    ///
+    /// The context is optional: when omitted, the <see cref="DbBase.Context"/>
+    /// singleton is used, so call sites read like
+    /// <c>Client.FindByName("Jane Doe")</c> — no context threading required.
     /// </summary>
-    public static Client? FindByName(string name, DbContext? db)
+    public static Client? FindByName(string name, DbContext? db = null)
         => DbBase.Find<Client>(c => c.Name == name, db);
 }
 

src/Before/DbBase.cs

@@ -57,11 +57,22 @@ public class DbBase
     /// <param name="predicate">Filter applied to candidates of type <typeparamref name="T"/>.
     /// </param>
     /// <param name="db">The context whose tracked entities to search.
+    /// When <c>null</c>, falls back to the <see cref="Context"/> singleton —
+    /// so a caller only passes a context explicitly when it must differ from
+    /// the ambient one.
     /// </param>
     /// <returns>The first matching entity, or <c>null</c> when no match.
     /// </returns>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// Note the (deliberate, ActiveRecord-style) ambiguity this still leaves:
+    /// a <c>null</c> result means "no match — or no context configured at
+    /// all". The caller cannot distinguish the two; that is part of the cost
+    /// of the static-singleton leak this exercise illustrates.
+    /// </remarks>
     public static T? Find<T>(Predicate<T> predicate, DbContext? db) where T : DbBase
     {
+        db ??= Context;
+
         if (db is null)
             return default;
 

tests/BeforeAfter.Tests/BeforeTests.cs

@@ -229,7 +229,8 @@ public class BeforeTests
     }
 
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-    // (13) DbBase.Find handles a null context gracefully.
+    // (13) DbBase.Find handles a null context gracefully — with no explicit
+    //       context AND no singleton configured, it returns default (null).
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
     [Fact]
     public void DbBase_Find_with_null_context_returns_default()
@@ -238,6 +239,29 @@ public class BeforeTests
         Assert.Null(result);
     }
 
+    // (13b) When no explicit context is passed, Find falls back to the
+    //       DbBase.Context singleton instead of returning null.
+    [Fact]
+    public void DbBase_Find_falls_back_to_Context_singleton_when_db_is_null()
+    {
+        var db = new DbContext();
+        var acme = new Client { Name = "SingletonCo" };
+        db.Attach(acme);
+
+        DbBase.Context = db;
+        try
+        {
+            var result = DbBase.Find<Client>(c => c.Name == "SingletonCo", null);
+
+            Assert.NotNull(result);
+            Assert.Same(acme, result);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            DbBase.Context = null;   // cleanup
+        }
+    }
+
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
     // (14) Client.FindByName delegates to DbBase.Find and works correctly.
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -268,6 +292,28 @@ public class BeforeTests
         Assert.Null(result);
     }
 
+    // (15b) FindByName with no context argument uses the Context singleton.
+    [Fact]
+    public void Client_FindByName_uses_Context_singleton_when_db_omitted()
+    {
+        var db = new DbContext();
+        var acme = new Client { Name = "Acme Corp" };
+        db.Attach(acme);
+
+        DbBase.Context = db;
+        try
+        {
+            var result = Client.FindByName("Acme Corp");
+
+            Assert.NotNull(result);
+            Assert.Same(acme, result);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            DbBase.Context = null;   // cleanup
+        }
+    }
+
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
     // (16) The class-level DbBase.Context singleton can be used as the
     //       implicit context source for Find operations — the classic