If I write a query for example:
var query = (from a in this.Context.Addresses where a.Active select a.Name);
then is it correct to say
if(query.Any())
return query.ToList();
return null;
notice the query didn't have a FirstOrDefault() or ToList() so I am wndering if .Any() runs the query?
Yes - it has to, given that it's got to return true or false. It can't possibly do that without running the query.
If you're going to conditionally return ToList(), you'd be better off writing:
var list = query.ToList();
return list.Any() ? list : null;
... or I'd actually recommend that you just return query.ToList() anyway, as it's a lot easier to write code which uses an empty list than to have to special-case a null value.
Related
I am working on a web service. I am using linq to query a database. Seemingly simple, but I've run into an issue. Here is my code for reference:
List<Comment> res = new List<Comment>();
using (ApplicationHistoryEntities ahe = new ApplicationHistoryEntities())
{
res = (from columns in ahe.Comments
where columns.NetforumId == actionuniqueid
select columns).ToList();
}
If I have no entries in the database, will my .ToList() throw an error? I could deploy it, and just try it out but I want to know more about the mechanism that my linq is using. If ahe.Comments database has no rows... what will the (from...) section return?
I could just add a null reference check, use dynamics etc but I want to really understand it.
I found this Q: how to know if my linq query returns null but it seems like all of the answers are in conflict on how it really should be done...
example answers:
Either you can convert it to list and then check the count
Best approach is to check there is null(no items) in list use Any() instead of count()
LINQ queries should never return null and you should not get an exception if the result is empty. You probably have an error in your code.
You can realise the result as a list then check the items.
You can see why I question how it works.
Edit:
Final code looks like this:
List<Comment> res;
using (ApplicationHistoryEntities ahe = new ApplicationHistoryEntities())
{
res = ahe.Comments?.Where(rowItem => rowItem.NetforumId == actionuniqueid).ToList() ??
new List<Comment>().ToList();
}
Look at this example:
List<string> test = new List<string>();
var test1 = test.Where(x => x == "a").ToList();
If test exists but is empty the query returns an empty list. If test is null the query throws an error. So you can adapt the query as follows
List<string> test = new List<string>();
test = null;
var test1 = test?.Where(x => x == "a") ?? new List<string>().ToList();
The query is now 'safe'. Both of the above examples return an empty list i.e. test1.Count() will return zero but will be usable.
You can also look at the definitions of Where and ToList
I have a linq query which I want to add some additional, optional WHERE conditions to using LinqKit Predicate Builder. However, I an struggling to get the additional predicate to work
This is my initial query:
var query = (from OP in ctx.OrganisationProducts
where OP.OrganisationID == orgID
orderby OP.Product.Name, OP.Product.VersionName
select OP).Include("Product");
As you can see, there is JOIN in there.
I then wish to add additional predicates if required:
if(!includeDisabledP42Admin || !includeDisabledOrgAdmin)
{
var pred = PredicateBuilder.True<OrganisationProduct>();
if (!includeDisabledP42Admin)
pred.And(op => op.Enabled);
if (!includeDisabledOrgAdmin)
pred.And(op => op.AccessLevel == "NA" || op.AccessLevel == "NU");
query = query.Where(pred);
}
However, the generated SQL is unchanged and the query returns the same number of rows.
I thought I might have had to do the Expand conversion as so:
query = query.AsExpandable().Where(pred);
But this causes a runtime error.
I think the issue is the fact that I am adding the predicate to a query that is already no longer a pure OrganisationProduct object, however I would like advise on how I insert my predicate at the right place.
Thanks and all :-)
You have to assign the return value of And to the predicate:
pred = pred.And(op => op.Enabled);
Side note: you may like this predicate builder that works without Expand/AsExpandable, but has the same syntax.
I am trying to return the results of a query into a List object, however the following code, as I normally use, does not work. Still relatively new to Linq, can someone explain the correct syntax/what's going on? This will work if I change the data type of productTraining to var...
List<AgentProductTraining> productTraining = new List<AgentProductTraining>();
productTraining = from records in db.CourseToProduct
where records.CourseCode == course.CourseCode
select records;
Select() and Where() will return IQueryable<T>, not List<T>. You've got to convert it to a List<T> - which actually executes the query (instead of just preparing it).
You just need to call ToList() at the end of the query. For example:
// There's no need to declare the variable separately...
List<AgentProductTraining> productTraining = (from records in db.CourseToProduct
where records.CourseCode == course.CourseCode
select records).ToList();
Personally I wouldn't use a query expression though, when all you're doing is a single Where clause:
// Changed to var just for convenience - the type is still List<AgentProductTraining>
var productTraining = db.CourseToProduct
.Where(records => records.CourseCode == course.CourseCode)
.ToList();
I'm programming a search for a SQLite-database using C# and LINQ.
The idea of the search is, that you can provide one or more keywords, any of which must be contained in any of several column-entries for that row to be added to the results.
The implementation consists of several linq-queries which are all put together by union. More keywords and columns that have to be considered result in a more complicated query that way. This can lead to SQL-code, which is to long for the SQLite-parser.
Here is some sample code to illustrate:
IQueryable<Reference> query = null;
if (searchAuthor)
foreach (string w in words)
{
string word = w;
var result = from r in _dbConnection.GetTable<Reference>()
where r.ReferenceAuthor.Any(a => a.Person.LastName.Contains(word) || a.Person.FirstName.Contains(word))
orderby r.Title
select r;
query = query == null ? result : query.Union(result);
}
if (searchTitle)
foreach (string word in words)
{
var result = from r in _dbConnection.GetTable<Reference>()
where r.Title.Contains(word)
orderby r.Title
select r;
query = query == null ? result : query.Union(result);
}
//...
Is there a way to structure the query in a way that results in more compact SQL?
I tried to force the creation of smaller SQL-statments by calling GetEnumerator() on the query after every loop. But apparently Union() doesn't operate on data, but on the underlying LINQ/SQL statement, so I was generating to long statements regardless.
The only solution I can think of right now, is to really gather the data after every "sub-query" and doing a union on the actual data and not in the statement. Any ideas?
For something like that, you might want to use a PredicateBuilder, as shown in the chosen answer to this question.
I want to add the where clause to a linq statement, but it doesn't behave as i would expected it to.
When i use this code:
IQueryable<Employee> EmpQuery = from e in Session.Query<Employee>() where e.Surname == "Test" select e;
EmpQuery.ToList();
or i use this code:
IQueryable<Employee> EmpQuery = (from e in Session.Query<Employee>() select e).Where(e => e.Surname == "Test");
EmpQuery.ToList();
The where clause is included in the SQL command, but when i try it this way:
IQueryable<Employee> EmpQuery = from e in Session.Query<Employee>() select e;
EmpQuery.Where(e => e.Surname == "Test");
The where clause is not included in the SQL command. Why is this? Is there another way to dynamically add criteria to a Nhibernate Linq query?
You're not using the return value of Where. LINQ is designed around functional concepts - calling Where doesn't modify the existing query, it returns a new query which applies the filter. The existing query remains as it was - which means you can reuse it for (say) a different filter.
Note that your current query expression (from x in y select x, effectively) is pretty pointless. I would suggest simply writing:
var query = Session.Query<Employee>().Where(e => e.Surname == "Test");
Just to clarify on Jon's remark, your implementation would be fine with the following tweak:
IQueryable<Employee> modifiedQuery = EmpQuery.Where(e => e.Surname == "Test");
Then just invoke the appropriate enumerator (ToList, ToArray, foreach) on modifiedQuery. And I wouldn't say that it create a complete new query, but instead creates a query which wraps around the original (kind of along the lines of the adapter pattern). Granted, your example doesn't need the additions, but this is how you would add additional criteria onto an existing LINQ expression, and that is what your question actually asked.