Update (Stupidity Fail)
So then, in all of my convoluted formula code, I neglected the fundamental principles of C#.
Methods may return a value.
static dynamic Construct<T>(T expression){
return expression;
}
Then just use that, instead of a variable ...
Method = Construct<Action<Context, string, int>>(
(context, key, change) =>
{
context.Saved[key] += change;
Console.WriteLine("{0}'s saved value of {1} was changed by {2}, resulting in {3}",
context.Name, key, change, context.Saved[key]);
}
)
I have a situation where I need to call upon methods that don't exist as compiled methods, but rather need to be able to accept an array of parameters and execute as an anonymous function. I thought I had it worked out, but I am running into an issue with the following..
public static IDictionary<string, Function> Expressions =
new Dictionary<string, Function> {
{
"Increase [X] by value of [Y]",
new Function {
Name = "Increase [X] by [Y]",
Parameters = 2,
Types = new List<Type>{
typeof(Param),
typeof(Param)
},
Method = (Expression<Func<Context, Param, Param, bool>>)
((context, x, y) => {
Console.WriteLine("test"); // this is where I need to do stuff...
})
}
}
};
I am being told that a Method name is expected on this. The problem is that Context will be passed in by the object that takes the function and runs its method, because the Context object cannot be pre-bound (it has to be late bound). So basically I package up the trailing 2 parameters (Param) and (Param) in this case and create a function to execute against them.
The database stores those parameters, and then invokes the method passing in the appropriate Context as the first parameter by using Compile().DynamicInvoke(object[] params).
Can anyone give me a hand here as to why I cannot put any kind of logic in between my { }?
UPDATE
Okay, since I've been told this example is unclear, here is an entire program running start to finish that illustrates what I am trying to accomplish.
public class Program {
static void Main(string[] args) {
// simple object stored in database.
var ctx = new Context {
Name = "Ciel",
Saved = new Dictionary<string, int> {
{ "First", 10 },
{ "Second", 20 }
}
};
// simple object stored in database.
var rule = new Rule {
Equations = new List<Equation> {
new Equation {
Parameters = new List<object>{
"First",
5
},
Name = "Increase [X] by value of [Y]"
}
}
};
// =======================================
// runtime environment!!!
// =======================================
var method = Evaluations.Expressions[rule.Equations[0].Name].Method;
var parameters = rule.Equations[0].Parameters;
// insert the specific context as the first parameter.
parameters.Insert(0, ctx);
method.DynamicInvoke(parameters.ToArray());
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
public class Function {
public string Name { get; set; }
public dynamic Method { get; set; }
}
public class Equation {
public string Name { get; set; }
// these objects will be simple enough to serialize.
public IList<object> Parameters { get; set; }
public Function Function { get; set; }
}
public class Context {
public string Name { get; set; }
// this is a crude example, but it serves the demonstration purposes.
public IDictionary<string, int> Saved { get; set; }
}
public class Rule {
// again, a crude example.
public IList<Equation> Equations { get; set; }
}
public static class Evaluations {
static Action<Context, string, int> expr = (context, key, change) =>
{
context.Saved[key] += change;
Console.WriteLine("{0}'s saved value of {1} was changed by {2}, resulting in {3}",
context.Name, key, change, context.Saved[key]);
};
public static IDictionary<string, Function> Expressions =
new Dictionary<string, Function> {
{
"Increase [X] by value of [Y]",
new Function {
Name = "Increase [X] by [Y]",
Method = expr
}
}
};
}
Four problems:
You're trying to create an expression tree from a lambda expression with a statement body (i.e. braces). C# doesn't allow this - you can only convert a statement lambda into a delegate, not an expression tree
Your lambda body doesn't return a Boolean value
You're trying to call an Expression<Func<Context, Param, Param, bool>> as if it were a method with a bool parameter. It's not at all clear what you're trying to do there.
Even if the third point were valid, I suspect you'd need more brackets.
If you refactor your code to make it a little more readable and manageable, you'll probably be well on your way to solving your problem. Rather than having one mammoth C# statement with a single semicolon, split it up into several lines. Something like this:
public static Dictionary<string, Function> Expressions = getExpressions();
private static Dictionary<string, Function> getExpressions()
{
var method = (Expression<Func<Context, Param, Param, bool>>)
((context, x, y) => {
Console.WriteLine("test"); // this is where I need to do stuff...
})(true);
var func = new Function()
{
Name = "Increase [X] by [Y]",
Parameters = 2,
Types = new List<Type>
{
typeof(Param),
typeof(Param)
},
Method = method
};
var dict = new Dictionary<string, Function>();
dict["Increase [X] by value of [Y]"] = func;
return dict;
}
Note: my syntax could be incorrect, but you get the general idea.
Related
If I have a class like this
`
class Person
{
public string First;
public string Last;
public bool IsMarried;
public int Age;
}`
Then how can I write a LINQ Expression where I could select properties of a Person. I want to do something like this (user can enter 1..n properties)
SelectData<Person>(x=>x.First, x.Last,x.Age);
What would be the input expression of my SelectData function ?
SelectData(Expression<Func<TEntity, List<string>>> selector); ?
EDIT
In my SelectData function I want to extract property names and then generate SELECT clause of my SQL Query dynamically.
SOLUTION
Ok, so what I have done is to have my SelectData as
public IEnumerable<TEntity> SelectData(Expression<Func<TEntity, object>> expression)
{
NewExpression body = (NewExpression)expression.Body;
List<string> columns = new List<string>();
foreach(var arg in body.Arguments)
{
var exp = (MemberExpression)arg;
columns.Add(exp.Member.Name);
}
//build query
And to use it I call it like this
ccc<Person>().SelectData(x => new { x.First, x.Last, x.Age });
Hopefully it would help someone who is looking :)
Thanks,
IY
I think it would be better to use delegates instead of Reflection. Apart from the fact that delegates will be faster, the compiler will complain if you try to fetch property values that do not exist. With reflection you won't find errors until run time.
Luckily there is already something like that. it is implemented as an extension function of IEnumerable, and it is called Select (irony intended)
I think you want something like this:
I have a sequence of Persons, and I want you to create a Linq
statement that returns per Person a new object that contains the
properties First and Last.
Or:
I have a sequence of Persns and I want you to create a Linq statement
that returns per Person a new object that contains Age, IsMarried,
whether it is an adult and to make it difficult: one Property called
Name which is a combination of First and Last
The function SelectData would be something like this:
IEnumerable<TResult> SelectData<TSource, TResult>(this IEnumerable<TSource> source,
Func<TSource, TResult> selector)
{
return source.Select(selector);
}
Usage:
problem 1: return per Person a new object that contains the
properties First and Last.
var result = Persons.SelectData(person => new
{
First = person.First,
Last = person.Last,
});
problem 2: return per Person a new object that contains Age, IsMarried, whether he is an adult and one Property called Name which is a combination
of First and Last
var result = Persons.SelectData(person => new
{
Age = person.Name,
IsMarried = person.IsMarried,
IsAdult = person.Age > 21,
Name = new
{
First = person.First,
Last = person.Last,
},
});
Well let's face it, your SelectData is nothing more than Enumerable.Select
You could of course create a function where you'd let the caller provide a list of properties he wants, but (1) that would limit his possibilities to design the end result and (2) it would be way more typing for him to call the function.
Instead of:
.Select(p => new
{
P1 = p.Property1,
P2 = p.Property2,
}
he would have to type something like
.SelectData(new List<Func<TSource, TResult>()
{
p => p.Property1, // first element of the property list
p -> p.Property2, // second element of the property list
}
You won't be able to name the returned properties, you won't be able to combine several properties into one:
.Select(p => p.First + p.Last)
And what would you gain by it?
Highly discouraged requirement!
You could achive similar result using Reflection and Extension Method
Model:
namespace ConsoleApplication2
{
class Person
{
public string First { get; set; }
public string Last { get; set; }
public bool IsMarried { get; set; }
public int Age { get; set; }
}
}
Service:
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
namespace Test
{
public static class Service
{
public static IQueryable<IQueryable<KeyValuePair<string, object>>> SelectData<T>(this IQueryable<T> queryable, string[] properties)
{
var queryResult = new List<IQueryable<KeyValuePair<string, object>>>();
foreach (T entity in queryable)
{
var entityProperties = new List<KeyValuePair<string, object>>();
foreach (string property in properties)
{
var value = typeof(T).GetProperty(property).GetValue(entity);
var entityProperty = new KeyValuePair<string, object>(property, value);
entityProperties.Add(entityProperty);
}
queryResult.Add(entityProperties.AsQueryable());
}
return queryResult.AsQueryable();
}
}
}
Usage:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
namespace Test
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var list = new List<Person>()
{
new Person()
{
Age = 18,
First = "test1",
IsMarried = false,
Last = "test2"
},
new Person()
{
Age = 40,
First = "test3",
IsMarried = true,
Last = "test4"
}
};
var queryableList = list.AsQueryable();
string[] properties = { "Age", "Last" };
var result = queryableList.SelectData(properties);
foreach (var element in result)
{
foreach (var property in element)
{
Console.WriteLine($"{property.Key}: {property.Value}");
}
}
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Result:
Age: 18
Last: test2
Age: 40
Last: test4
I have a class with a property that is another class. I also have an Expression that maps each from other classes. How do I combine these two expressions into one expression without compiling the second Expression?
public class ClassA
{
public int SomeProperty { get; set; }
}
public class MappedClassA
{
public int MappedProperty { get; set; }
}
public class ClassB
{
public ClassA ClassAProperty { get; set; }
//snip...
}
public class MappedClassB
{
public MappedClassA MappedClassAProperty {get; set; }
}
public Expression<Func<ClassA, MappedClassA>> MapAExpression()
{
return a => new MappedClassA()
{
MappedProperty = a.SomeProperty
};
}
public Expression<Func<ClassB, MappedClassB>> MapBExpression()
{
return b => new MappedClassB()
{
//this should be done with the above expression
MappedClassAProperty = new MappedClassA()
{
MappedProperty = b.ClassAProperty.SomeProperty
}
};
}
This is possible without compiling the expression, but unfortunately not by using the simple lambda syntax to construct the expression.
You will have to create the expression tree "by hand", using expression methods like Expression.New() and Expression.Lambda().
This can get unreadable very quickly.
I tried assembling such an expression from memory below, but I lack practice; this is untested and there are possibly some bugs left.
public Expression<Func<ClassB, MappedClassB>> MapBExpression()
{
// generate a parameter of type ClassB.
// This is the parameter "b" our final lambda expression will accept.
var classBparam = Expression.Parameter(typeof(ClassB));
// access b.ClassAProperty; this is the property
// that we want to pass to the expression returned by MapAExpression()
var memberAccess = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(
classBparam,
typeof(ClassB).GetProperty("ClassAProperty"));
// invoke the lambda returned by MapAExpression()
//with the parameter b.ClassAProperty
var invocation = Expression.Invoke( MapAExpression(), memberAccess );
// create a new MappedClassB(), this is the object that will be returned
// by the expression we are currently creating
var ctor = Expression.New(typeof(MappedClassB));
// We want to assign something to the MappedClassB.MappedClassAProperty
var mappedClassAProperty =
typeof(MappedClassB).GetProperty("MappedClassAProperty");
// specifically, we want to assign the result of our MapAExpression(),
// when invoked with the parameter b.ClassAProperty
var mappedClassAAssignment =
Expression.Bind(mappedClassAProperty, invocation);
// Here we initialize the MappedClassAProperty,
// after creating the new MappedClassB.
// We initialize it with the assignment we just created
var memberInit = Expression.MemberInit(ctor, mappedClassAAssignment);
// finally, we construct the lambda
//that does all of the above, given a parameter of type ClassB
return Expression.Lambda<Func<ClassB, MappedClassB>>(memberInit, classBparam);
// this expression should now be equivalent to:
// return b => new MappedClassB()
// {
// MappedClassAProperty = new MappedClassA()
// {
// MappedProperty = b.ClassAProperty.SomeProperty
// }
// };
}
I have two unrelated classes. One is exposed as API, and the other is used internally by 3rd party API.
Entity is exposed from our API, while EntityProvider is from the 3rd party assembly.
class Entity
{
public A { get; set; }
}
class EntityProvider
{
public A { get; set; }
}
Consumers of our API will provide predicates of the form Expression <Func<Entity, bool>> and I need to modify it to Expression <Func<EntityProvider, bool>> so that I can pass the same to internal 3rd party assembly.
Please help with this conversion.
Since Expressions in .NET are immutable, the only way to do this is to rebuild the whole expression. To do this usually involves inheriting from the ExpressionVisitor class. Depending on the complexity of the expressions you have to convert this could be quite complicated.
This is a simple example of a visitor that will work with simple expressions( like x=>x.Someproperty == somevalue ). It's just an example to get you started and it's in no way finished or tested(it won't handle method calls in the expression for example)
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
//Type from which to convert
public class A
{
public int Property1 { get; set; }
public int Property2 { get; set; }
}
//Type to which we want the Expression converted
public class B
{
public int Property1 { get; set; }
public int Property2 { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//the expression we want to convert expresion
Expression<Func<A, bool>> expA = x => x.Property1 == 6 && x.Property2 == 3;
var visitor = new ParameterTypeVisitor<A,B>(expA);
var expB = visitor.Convert();
var b = new B() { Property1 = 6, Property2 = 3 };
//try the converted expression
var result = expB.Compile().Invoke(b);
}
}
public class ParameterTypeVisitor<TFrom,TTo> : ExpressionVisitor
{
private Dictionary<string, ParameterExpression> convertedParameters;
private Expression<Func<TFrom, bool>> expression;
public ParameterTypeVisitor(Expression<Func<TFrom,bool>> expresionToConvert )
{
//for each parameter in the original expression creates a new parameter with the same name but with changed type
convertedParameters = expresionToConvert.Parameters
.ToDictionary(
x => x.Name,
x => Expression.Parameter(typeof (TTo), x.Name)
);
expression = expresionToConvert;
}
public Expression<Func<TTo,bool>> Convert()
{
return (Expression<Func<TTo, bool>>)Visit(expression);
}
//handles Properties and Fields accessors
protected override Expression VisitMember(MemberExpression node)
{
//we want to replace only the nodes of type TFrom
//so we can handle expressions of the form x=> x.Property.SubProperty
//in the expression x=> x.Property1 == 6 && x.Property2 == 3
//this replaces ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^
if (node.Member.DeclaringType == typeof(TFrom))
{
//gets the memberinfo from type TTo that matches the member of type TFrom
var memeberInfo = typeof (TTo).GetMember(node.Member.Name).First();
//this will actually call the VisitParameter method in this class
var newExp = Visit(node.Expression);
return Expression.MakeMemberAccess(newExp, memeberInfo);
}
else
{
return base.VisitMember(node);
}
}
// this will be called where ever we have a reference to a parameter in the expression
// for ex. in the expression x=> x.Property1 == 6 && x.Property2 == 3
// this will be called twice ^ ^
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
var newParameter = convertedParameters[node.Name];
return newParameter;
}
//this will be the first Visit method to be called
//since we're converting LamdaExpressions
protected override Expression VisitLambda<T>(Expression<T> node)
{
//visit the body of the lambda, this will Traverse the ExpressionTree
//and recursively replace parts of the expression we for which we have matching Visit methods
var newExp = Visit(node.Body);
//this will create the new expression
return Expression.Lambda(newExp,convertedParameters.Select(x=>x.Value));
}
}
I am having to generically build a comparative predicate for an Entity Framework Linq query. I'm using reflection and am able to build a single level Lambda expression without any trouble. However where I am starting to get stuck is I have an Entity that has a relationship
public class Parent {
public virtual Child child { get; set; }
.... Other Stuff...
}
public class Child {
public int property { get; set; }
public virtual Parent parent { get; set; }
.... Other Stuff.....
}
How can I can I pass in "Child.property" into Reflection to be able to create a lambda expression comparing and come up with a lambda expression similar to item => item.Child.property == value?
I think you are looking for this:
ParameterExpression parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Parent), "item");
Expression child = Expression.PropertyOrField(parameter, "child");
Expression childProperty = Expression.PropertyOrField(child, "property");
int value = 1;
Expression comparison = Expression.Equal(childProperty, Expression.Constant(value));
Expression<Func<Parent, bool>> lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<Parent, bool>>(comparison, parameter);
var sample = new[] { new Parent() { child = new Child() { property = 1 } } };
var result = sample.Where(lambda.Compile());
I assume you are wanting a generic solution supporting nested properties:
public Expression buildLambda(Type startingType, string propertyPath, object value) {
var parameter=Expression.Parameter(startingType,"item");
var valueExpression = Expression.Constant(value);
var propertyExpression=propertyPath.Split('.').Aggregate(parameter,(Expression parent,string path)=>Expression.Property(parent,path));
return Expression.Lambda(Expression.Equal(propertyExpression,valueExpression),parameter);
}
I realize that a lot of questions have been asked relating to full text search and Entity Framework, but I hope this question is a bit different.
I am using Entity Framework, Code First and need to do a full text search. When I need to perform the full text search, I will typically have other criteria/restrictions as well - like skip the first 500 rows, or filter on another column, etc.
I see that this has been handled using table valued functions - see http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/simons/archive/2008/12/18/LINQ-to-SQL---Enabling-Fulltext-searching.aspx. And this seems like the right idea.
Unfortunately, table valued functions are not supported until Entity Framework 5.0 (and even then, I believe, they are not supported for Code First).
My real question is what are the suggestions for the best way to handle this, both for Entity Framework 4.3 and Entity Framework 5.0. But to be specific:
Other than dynamic SQL (via System.Data.Entity.DbSet.SqlQuery, for example), are there any options available for Entity Framework 4.3?
If I upgrade to Entity Framework 5.0, is there a way I can use table valued functions with code first?
Thanks,
Eric
Using interceptors introduced in EF6, you could mark the full text search in linq and then replace it in dbcommand as described in http://www.entityframework.info/Home/FullTextSearch:
public class FtsInterceptor : IDbCommandInterceptor
{
private const string FullTextPrefix = "-FTSPREFIX-";
public static string Fts(string search)
{
return string.Format("({0}{1})", FullTextPrefix, search);
}
public void NonQueryExecuting(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<int> interceptionContext)
{
}
public void NonQueryExecuted(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<int> interceptionContext)
{
}
public void ReaderExecuting(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<DbDataReader> interceptionContext)
{
RewriteFullTextQuery(command);
}
public void ReaderExecuted(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<DbDataReader> interceptionContext)
{
}
public void ScalarExecuting(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<object> interceptionContext)
{
RewriteFullTextQuery(command);
}
public void ScalarExecuted(DbCommand command, DbCommandInterceptionContext<object> interceptionContext)
{
}
public static void RewriteFullTextQuery(DbCommand cmd)
{
string text = cmd.CommandText;
for (int i = 0; i < cmd.Parameters.Count; i++)
{
DbParameter parameter = cmd.Parameters[i];
if (parameter.DbType.In(DbType.String, DbType.AnsiString, DbType.StringFixedLength, DbType.AnsiStringFixedLength))
{
if (parameter.Value == DBNull.Value)
continue;
var value = (string)parameter.Value;
if (value.IndexOf(FullTextPrefix) >= 0)
{
parameter.Size = 4096;
parameter.DbType = DbType.AnsiStringFixedLength;
value = value.Replace(FullTextPrefix, ""); // remove prefix we added n linq query
value = value.Substring(1, value.Length - 2);
// remove %% escaping by linq translator from string.Contains to sql LIKE
parameter.Value = value;
cmd.CommandText = Regex.Replace(text,
string.Format(
#"\[(\w*)\].\[(\w*)\]\s*LIKE\s*#{0}\s?(?:ESCAPE N?'~')",
parameter.ParameterName),
string.Format(#"contains([$1].[$2], #{0})",
parameter.ParameterName));
if (text == cmd.CommandText)
throw new Exception("FTS was not replaced on: " + text);
text = cmd.CommandText;
}
}
}
}
}
static class LanguageExtensions
{
public static bool In<T>(this T source, params T[] list)
{
return (list as IList<T>).Contains(source);
}
}
For example, if you have class Note with FTS-indexed field NoteText:
public class Note
{
public int NoteId { get; set; }
public string NoteText { get; set; }
}
and EF map for it
public class NoteMap : EntityTypeConfiguration<Note>
{
public NoteMap()
{
// Primary Key
HasKey(t => t.NoteId);
}
}
and context for it:
public class MyContext : DbContext
{
static MyContext()
{
DbInterception.Add(new FtsInterceptor());
}
public MyContext(string nameOrConnectionString) : base(nameOrConnectionString)
{
}
public DbSet<Note> Notes { get; set; }
protected override void OnModelCreating(DbModelBuilder modelBuilder)
{
modelBuilder.Configurations.Add(new NoteMap());
}
}
you can have quite simple syntax to FTS query:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var s = FtsInterceptor.Fts("john");
using (var db = new MyContext("CONNSTRING"))
{
var q = db.Notes.Where(n => n.NoteText.Contains(s));
var result = q.Take(10).ToList();
}
}
}
That will generate SQL like
exec sp_executesql N'SELECT TOP (10)
[Extent1].[NoteId] AS [NoteId],
[Extent1].[NoteText] AS [NoteText]
FROM [NS].[NOTES] AS [Extent1]
WHERE contains([Extent1].[NoteText], #p__linq__0)',N'#p__linq__0 char(4096)',#p__linq__0='(john)
Please notice that you should use local variable and cannot move FTS wrapper inside expression like
var q = db.Notes.Where(n => n.NoteText.Contains(FtsInterceptor.Fts("john")));
I have found that the easiest way to implement this is to setup and configure full-text-search in SQL Server and then use a stored procedure. Pass your arguments to SQL, allow the DB to do its job and return either a complex object or map the results to an entity. You don't necessarily have to have dynamic SQL, but it may be optimal. For example, if you need paging, you could pass in PageNumber and PageSize on every request without the need for dynamic SQL. However, if the number of arguments fluctuates per query, it will be the optimal solution.
As the other guys mentioned, I would say start using Lucene.NET
Lucene has a pretty high learning curve, but I found an wrapper for it called "SimpleLucene", that can be found on CodePlex
Let me quote a couple of codeblocks from the blog to show you how easy it is to use. I've just started to use it, but got the hang of it really fast.
First, get some entities from your repository, or in your case, use Entity Framework
public class Repository
{
public IList<Product> Products {
get {
return new List<Product> {
new Product { Id = 1, Name = "Football" },
new Product { Id = 2, Name = "Coffee Cup"},
new Product { Id = 3, Name = "Nike Trainers"},
new Product { Id = 4, Name = "Apple iPod Nano"},
new Product { Id = 5, Name = "Asus eeePC"},
};
}
}
}
The next thing you want to do is create an index-definition
public class ProductIndexDefinition : IIndexDefinition<Product> {
public Document Convert(Product p) {
var document = new Document();
document.Add(new Field("id", p.Id.ToString(), Field.Store.YES, Field.Index.NOT_ANALYZED));
document.Add(new Field("name", p.Name, Field.Store.YES, Field.Index.ANALYZED));
return document;
}
public Term GetIndex(Product p) {
return new Term("id", p.Id.ToString());
}
}
and create an search index for it.
var writer = new DirectoryIndexWriter(
new DirectoryInfo(#"c:\index"), true);
var service = new IndexService();
service.IndexEntities(writer, Repository().Products, ProductIndexDefinition());
So, you now have an search-able index. The only remaining thing to do is.., searching! You can do pretty amazing things, but it can be as easy as this: (for greater examples see the blog or the documentation on codeplex)
var searcher = new DirectoryIndexSearcher(
new DirectoryInfo(#"c:\index"), true);
var query = new TermQuery(new Term("name", "Football"));
var searchService = new SearchService();
Func<Document, ProductSearchResult> converter = (doc) => {
return new ProductSearchResult {
Id = int.Parse(doc.GetValues("id")[0]),
Name = doc.GetValues("name")[0]
};
};
IList<Product> results = searchService.SearchIndex(searcher, query, converter);
The example here http://www.entityframework.info/Home/FullTextSearch is not complete solution. You will need to look into understand how the full text search works. Imagine you have a search field and the user types 2 words to hit search. The above code will throw an exception. You need to do pre-processing on the search phrase first to pass it to the query by using logical AND or OR.
for example your search phrase is "blah blah2" then you need to convert this into:
var searchTerm = #"\"blah\" AND/OR \"blah2\" ";
Complete solution would be:
value = Regex.Replace(value, #"\s+", " "); //replace multiplespaces
value = Regex.Replace(value, #"[^a-zA-Z0-9 -]", "").Trim();//remove non-alphanumeric characters and trim spaces
if (value.Any(Char.IsWhiteSpace))
{
value = PreProcessSearchKey(value);
}
public static string PreProcessSearchKey(string searchKey)
{
var splitedKeyWords = searchKey.Split(null); //split from whitespaces
// string[] addDoubleQuotes = new string[splitedKeyWords.Length];
for (int j = 0; j < splitedKeyWords.Length; j++)
{
splitedKeyWords[j] = $"\"{splitedKeyWords[j]}\"";
}
return string.Join(" AND ", splitedKeyWords);
}
this methods uses AND logic operator. You might pass that as an argument and use the method for both AND or OR operators.
You must escape none-alphanumeric characters otherwise it would throw exception when a user enters alpha numeric characters and you have no server site model level validation in place.
I recently had a similar requirement and ended up writing an IQueryable extension specifically for Microsoft full text index access, its available here IQueryableFreeTextExtensions