i'm using a query to see if a user already exists in the database. if it finds a user, it adds it to the list (not database), and presents a message. if the user does NOT already exist, the program moves on to add the user.
the problem exists when adding the query result to a list, when the result found nothing. if the query found nothing (user does not yet exist) the returned value isn't null or 0, so i'm not sure how to check for this.
my code works fine, but my problem is trying to find a more elegant approach. i try to add the query results to a list. if it his the "catch", it means the user does not exist and it shall be added. right now my code is:
var userIsNew =
from f in controlEntities.Users
where (f.UserId == userIdTextBox.Text)
select f;
List<Users> temp = new List<Users>();
try
{
temp = userIsNew.ToList<Users>();
}
catch
{
//do nothing
}
if (temp.Count > 0)
{
MessageBox.Show("This UserId already exists in the Database. \nPlease try another UserId.");
}
thank you for your help!
var userIsNew = (from f in controlEntities.Users
where (f.UserId == userIdTextBox.Text)
select f).FirstOrDefault();
if (userIsNew != null)
{
MessageBox.Show("This UserId already exists in the Database. \nPlease try another UserId.");
}
Another way would be:
bool userIsNew = controlEntities.Users.
Count(f => f.UserId == userIdTextBox.Text) == 0;
if (!userIsNew)
{
MessageBox.Show("This UserId already exists in the Database. \nPlease try another UserId.");
}
It's efficient because the data server returns only a number instead of a resulset.
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 method where I need to retrieve using EF the last ten entries in the database and check to see if there is a match between the value and the current term. Here is what I have thus far
public static int ValidatePassword(string username, string password, int securityUserId)
{
int validResult = 0;
/*Need to pass to client a value based upon success or failure of validation
* 0 - success
* 1 - password has already been used in the last 10 entries
* 2 - password does not meet CJIS requirements
*/
IEnumerable<string> oldpassword = null;
// Create a Regular Expression to determine whether or not special characters are present.
Regex regularExpression = new Regex("[^a-z0-9]");
//if id exists pull last ten passwords
if (securityUserId > 0)
{
long id = Convert.ToInt64(securityUserId);
using (var context = new SecurityEntities(string.Empty))
{
try
{
oldpassword = (from p in context.SecurityAudits
where p.SecurityUserId == id &&
p.OldPassword == password
orderby p.ActionDate descending
select p.OldPassword.Take(10).ToString()).ToList();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
string err = string.Format("ValidateCJISPassword() was unable to return an object msg:{0}", ex.Message);
throw new Exception(err, ex.InnerException);
}
finally
{
context.Dispose();
}
}
}
else if (oldpassword == null)
{
//no matching record found now check other requirements
if ((password.Length >= DEFAULT_CJIS_PASSWORD_MIN_LENGTH) && regularExpression.IsMatch(password) && (password != username))
{
//success
validResult = 0;
}
else
{
//password does not meet standard CJIS requirements
validResult = 2;
}
}
else
{
//matching record was found
validResult = 1;
}
return validResult;
}
}
Where I am currently hung up is the query throws an exception on the ToString() method
LINQ to Entities does not recognize the method 'System.String ToString()' method, and this method cannot be translated into a store expression.
I'm still learning EF and how linq works so I'm not sure what the best approach here is. Should I try to set the result to something other than IEnumerable like an array or List or is there another approach I should consider?
Thanks in advance,
Cheers,
Change this
oldpassword = (from p in context.SecurityAudits
where p.SecurityUserId == id &&
p.OldPassword == password
orderby p.ActionDate descending
select p.OldPassword.Take(10).ToString()).ToList();
To this
oldpassword = (from p in context.SecurityAudits
where p.SecurityUserId == id &&
p.OldPassword == password
orderby p.ActionDate descending
select p.OldPassword).Take(10).ToList();
The problem was that your Take(10) clause was not part of the whole result but inside the actual linq statement.. it goes on the outside of it to take the top 10 of the entire resultset.. then you do the ToList() which turns the whole thing into an array
The next problem is that you just created an array and assigned it to oldpassword
I don't see anything here that does anything with the array...
You need to do something like:
declare your array of strings
assign the array to the return of the linq query
evaluate the return for > 0 results
if > 0 then the password has been used in the last 10
if = 0 then new password should be ok, correct?
Now that I have an understanding of what I needed in the query I was able to also update the linq statement as follows:
var lastTenPassword = (from p in context.SecurityAudits.Take(10)
orderby p.ActionDate descending
where p.SecurityUserId == id
select p.OldPassword).ToList();
string oldpassword = lastTenPassword.Where(a => a == password).FirstOrDefault();
Testing is further down the line but now by moving the .Take() method inside the query I am explicitly grabbing the top ten where as my first attempt would have retrieved all the records and then grabbed the top ten.
For testing you can also see where I broke out the initial where() to first grab all records by id and then perform a filter on that set by looking for a matching password within that set.
Thanks again for your help
I need to update all rows of my table when user visits one specific page.
All fields need to be updated to "false".
I tried this code:
var history = db.UserHistory.Where(m => m.UserID == id);
TryUpdateModel(history);
history.IsActive = false;
db.SaveChanges();
But it throws me an error message.
Anyone could help me with this update?
I couldn't get at first that LINQ didn`t update many rows at once, I have to make a loop and update each one. My final code is this one:
var history = db.UserHistory.Where(m => m.UserID == id).ToList();
TryUpdateModel(history);
history.ForEach(m => m.IsActive = false);
db.SaveChanges();
Since it seems like you're just selecting a single entry you want to probably want to append .FirstOrDefault() to your first line, which should appear with intellisense.
var history = db.UserHistory.Where(m => m.UserID == id).FirstOrDefault();
TryUpdateModel(history);
history.IsActive = false;
db.SaveChanges();
Right now you're returning an IQueryable as opposed to a single entry. FirstOrDefault will return a single UserHistory entity, so at least you'd be passing a single item to TryUpdateModel.
I have a strange problem when deleteting records using linq, my suspicion is that it has something to do with the range variable (named source). After deleting a record all targets for a customer are retrieved using the following statement:
var q = from source in unitOfWork.GetRepository<db_Target>().Find()
where source.db_TargetBase.db_Person.fk_Customer == customerID
select source.FromLinq();
where FromLinq is in extention method on db_target:
public static Target FromLinq(this db_Target source)
{
return new Target
{
id = source.id,
LastModified = source.db_TargetBase.LastModified,
...
}
}
When a record is deleted both db_Target and db_TargetBase are deleted. When, for example, two users are deleting records, linq tries to retrieve a record for user2 which is deleted by user1, causing a crash on the LastModified = source.db_TargetBase.LastModified line because db_TargetBase is null.
When using the following code the problem does not occure and only the non-deleted records are retrieved:
var q = from source in unitOfWork.GetRepository<db_Target>().Find()
where source.db_TargetBase.db_Person.fk_Customer == customerID
select new Target
{
id = source.id,
LastModified = source.db_TargetBase.LastModified,
...
};
This spawns two questions:
What is happening here? Am I making a copy of the range variable source because I'm using it in a extention method?
How can I "wrap" the return new Target code? I am using this in multiple places and do not want to copy it every time. Making my code harder to maintain.
TIA,
JJ
In the first set of code - since the initializer lives an a non-translatable method (extension or otherwise), it cannot be translated - so it is run locally.
In the second set of code - the initializer is represented by an elementinit expression, which is translated (examine/compare the select clause of the generated sql for proof).
if you want to wrap this, you need to have an Expression<Func<db_Target, Target>> that anyone can grab and use in thier query. Fortunately, that's easy to do:
public Expression<Func<db_Target, Target>> GetFromLinqExpressionForTarget()
{
return
source => new Target
{
id = source.id,
LastModified = source.db_TargetBase.LastModified,
...
}
}
Which may be used like so:
var FromLinq = GetFromLinqExpressionForTarget();
var q =
(
from source in ...
...
...
select source
).Select(FromLinq);
Now ... I'm really running on a guess here and am only about 60% confident that my answer is correct. So if someone wants to confirm this, that'll make my day. :)
I just asked this question. Which lead me to a new question :)
Up until this point, I have used the following pattern of selecting stuff with Linq to SQL, with the purpose of being able to handle 0 "rows" returned by the query:
var person = (from p in [DataContextObject].Persons
where p.PersonsID == 1
select new p).FirstOrDefault();
if (person == null)
{
// handle 0 "rows" returned.
}
But I can't use FirstOrDefault() when I do:
var person = from p in [DataContextObject].Persons
where p.PersonsID == 1
select new { p.PersonsID, p.PersonsAdress, p.PersonsZipcode };
// Under the hood, this pattern generates a query which selects specific
// columns which will be faster than selecting all columns as the above
// snippet of code does. This results in a performance-boost on large tables.
How do I check for 0 "rows" returned by the query, using the second pattern?
UPDATE:
I think my build fails because I am trying to assign the result of the query to a variable (this._user) declared with the type of [DataContext].User.
this._user = (from u in [DataContextObject].Users
where u.UsersID == [Int32]
select new { u.UsersID }).FirstOrDefault();
Compilation error: Cannot implicitly convert type "AnonymousType#1" to "[DataContext].User".
Any thoughts on how I can get around this? Would I have to make my own object?
Why can you keep doing the samething? Is it giving you an error?
var person = (from p in [DataContextObject].Persons
where p.PersonsID == 1
select new { p.PersonsID, p.PersonsAdress, p.PersonsZipcode }).FirstOrDefault();
if (person == null) {
// handle 0 "rows" returned.
}
It is still a reference object just like you actual object, it is just anonymous so you don't know the actual type before the code is compiled.
Update:
I see now what you were actually asking! Sorry, my answer no longer applies. I thought you were not getting a null value when it was empty. The accepted response is correct, if you want to use the object out of scope, you need to create a new type and just use New MyType(...). I know DevEx's RefactorPro has a refactoring for this, and I think resharper does as well.
Call .FirstOrDefault(null) like this:
string[] names = { "jim", "jane", "joe", "john", "jeremy", "jebus" };
var person = (
from p in names where p.StartsWith("notpresent") select
new { Name=p, FirstLetter=p.Substring(0,1) }
)
.DefaultIfEmpty(null)
.FirstOrDefault();
MessageBox.Show(person==null?"person was null":person.Name + "/" + person.FirstLetter);
That does the trick for me.
Regarding your UPDATE: you have to either create your own type, change this._user to be int, or select the whole object, not only specific columns.
if (person.Any()) /* ... */;
OR
if (person.Count() == 0) /* ... */;
You can still use FirstOrDefault. Just have
var PersonFields = (...).FirstOrDefault()
PersonFields will be be null or an object with those properties you created.