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Convert Expression<Func<TDerived, out TResult>> to Expression<Func<TBase, out TResult>>

All is said in the title, more precisely I am searching a way to convert an
Expression<Func<TDerived, out bool>> to Expression<Func<TBase, out bool>>,
with TDerived deriving from TBase.
How can I achieve this?

Given an Expression replacer like this one:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
// A simple expression visitor to replace some nodes of an expression
// with some other nodes. Can be used with anything, not only with
// ParameterExpression
public class SimpleExpressionReplacer : ExpressionVisitor
{
public readonly Dictionary<Expression, Expression> Replaces;
public SimpleExpressionReplacer(Expression from, Expression to)
{
Replaces = new Dictionary<Expression, Expression> { { from, to } };
}
public SimpleExpressionReplacer(Dictionary<Expression, Expression> replaces)
{
// Note that we should really clone from and to... But we will
// ignore this!
Replaces = replaces;
}
public SimpleExpressionReplacer(IEnumerable<Expression> from, IEnumerable<Expression> to)
{
Replaces = new Dictionary<Expression, Expression>();
using (var enu1 = from.GetEnumerator())
using (var enu2 = to.GetEnumerator())
{
while (true)
{
bool res1 = enu1.MoveNext();
bool res2 = enu2.MoveNext();
if (!res1 || !res2)
{
if (!res1 && !res2)
{
break;
}
if (!res1)
{
throw new ArgumentException("from shorter");
}
throw new ArgumentException("to shorter");
}
Replaces.Add(enu1.Current, enu2.Current);
}
}
}
public override Expression Visit(Expression node)
{
Expression to;
if (node != null && Replaces.TryGetValue(node, out to))
{
return base.Visit(to);
}
return base.Visit(node);
}
}
now we can, given
public class Base
{
public int ValueBase { get; set; }
}
public class Derived : Base
{
public int ValueDerived { get; set; }
}
and a
Expression<Func<Derived, bool>> exp = x => x.ValueBase == 0;
then
ParameterExpression parOld = exp.Parameters[0];
ParameterExpression parNew = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Base));
// Replace the parOld with the parNew
Expression body2 = new SimpleExpressionReplacer(parOld, parNew).Visit(exp.Body);
// Note that we have to rebuild the Expression.Lambda<>
Expression<Func<Base, bool>> expNew = Expression.Lambda<Func<Base, bool>>(body2, parNew);
This will produce a
Expression<Func<Base, bool>> exp = x => x.ValueBase == 0;
Note that if you want instead to do:
Expression<Func<Derived, bool>> exp = x => x.ValueDerived == 0;
to
Expression<Func<Base, bool>> exp = x => ((Derived)x).ValueDerived == 0;
then you need something like:
ParameterExpression parOld = exp.Parameters[0];
ParameterExpression parNew = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Base));
UnaryExpression convert = Expression.Convert(parNew, typeof(Derived));
Expression body2 = new SimpleExpressionReplacer(parOld, convert).Visit(exp.Body);
Expression<Func<Base, bool>> expNew = Expression.Lambda<Func<Base, bool>>(body2, parNew);

You need to wrap the inner expression. Something like
var argument = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TDerived));
Expression.Lambda<Func<TDerived, bool>>
(
Expression.Invoke(innerExpression, argument),
argument
);
Of course, depending on the direction, you might need an explicit cast on the argument to innerExpression - this is quite simple, just use Expression.Cast.
EDIT:
To accomodate for your edit, the inverted variant:
var argument = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TBase));
Expression.Lambda<Func<TBase, bool>>
(
Expression.Invoke(innerExpression, Expression.Convert(argument, typeof(TDerived))),
argument
);
Note that this will obviously only work if the runtime type of the parameter is derived from TDerived.

Linq query : Translate local variable reference

I have a situation where I need to translate the local variables reference in a linq query to its values.
For this I'm using this class to do a translate local variable reference in a query :
public static class Evaluator
{
public static Expression PartialEval(Expression expression, Func<Expression, bool> fnCanBeEvaluated)
{
return new SubtreeEvaluator(new Nominator(fnCanBeEvaluated).Nominate(expression)).Eval(expression);
}
public static Expression PartialEval(Expression expression)
{
return PartialEval(expression, Evaluator.CanBeEvaluatedLocally);
}
private static bool CanBeEvaluatedLocally(Expression expression)
{
return expression.NodeType != ExpressionType.Parameter;
}
class SubtreeEvaluator: ExpressionVisitor
{
HashSet<Expression> candidates;
internal SubtreeEvaluator(HashSet<Expression> candidates)
{
this.candidates = candidates;
}
internal Expression Eval(Expression exp)
{
return this.Visit(exp);
}
protected override Expression Visit(Expression exp)
{
if (exp == null)
{
return null;
}
if (this.candidates.Contains(exp))
{
return this.Evaluate(exp);
}
return base.Visit(exp);
}
private Expression Evaluate(Expression e)
{
if (e.NodeType == ExpressionType.Constant)
{
return e;
}
LambdaExpression lambda = Expression.Lambda(e);
Delegate fn = lambda.Compile();
return Expression.Constant(fn.DynamicInvoke(null), e.Type);
}
}
class Nominator : ExpressionVisitor
{
Func<Expression, bool> fnCanBeEvaluated;
HashSet<Expression> candidates;
bool cannotBeEvaluated;
internal Nominator(Func<Expression, bool> fnCanBeEvaluated)
{
this.fnCanBeEvaluated = fnCanBeEvaluated;
}
internal HashSet<Expression> Nominate(Expression expression)
{
this.candidates = new HashSet<Expression>();
this.Visit(expression);
return this.candidates;
}
protected override Expression Visit(Expression expression)
{
if (expression != null)
{
bool saveCannotBeEvaluated = this.cannotBeEvaluated;
this.cannotBeEvaluated = false;
base.Visit(expression);
if (!this.cannotBeEvaluated)
{
if (this.fnCanBeEvaluated(expression))
{
this.candidates.Add(expression);
}
else
{
this.cannotBeEvaluated = true;
}
}
this.cannotBeEvaluated |= saveCannotBeEvaluated;
}
return expression;
}
}
}
And after to translate local variable reference , is used like this :
public class DbQueryProvider : QueryProvider
{
// …
private string Translate(Expression expression)
{
expression = Evaluator.PartialEval(expression);
return new QueryTranslator().Translate(expression);
}
}
For example if I have this expression :
string ct = "London";
var query = db.Customers.Where(c => c.City == ct);
the returned expression after translation will be :
SELECT * FROM (SELECT * FROM Customers) AS T WHERE (City = 'London')
The code is working ok , with all the types of variables , except of DateTime.
In my database I save only the Date part ( without time ) , for example 02/03/2012.
Now if I have this query :
DateTime dt1 = Convert.ToDateTime("01/01/2012");
var query = db.Orders.Where(c => c.dt == dt1);
If I try to translate , the returned expression is :
SELECT * FROM (SELECT * FROM Orders) AS T WHERE (dt = '01/01/2012 12:00:00 AM')
As you can see the translated query contains the time at the end , and my query everytime return no records.
What can I do ?

var query = db.Orders.Where(c => c.dt == dt1.ToString("MM/dd/yyyy"));

Using linq to perform text-based search when number of search words can be variable [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Closed 10 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
LINQ To SQL exception: Local sequence cannot be used in LINQ to SQL implementation of query operators except the Contains operator
I am trying the following query:
var data = (from bk in DataContext.Book
where ((searchArray.Count() == 0 || searchArray.ToList().Any(x => bk.Name.Contains(x))) ||
(searchArray.Count() == 0 || searchArray.ToList().Any(x => bk.Genre.Contains(x)))))
where searchArray is a Array containing the individual words that I want to search for, I split the string the user entered and put the results in this array. Whenever I try to run this I get the following error:
"Local sequence cannot be used in LINQ to SQL implementations of query operators except the Contains operator."
Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong and what is the correct way to perform this search?
In a nutshell, I am trying to allow a user to enter a string like "Hello World" and for a query to be generated that will look for either hello or world or both. But, a user can enter any number of words.

The simplest option is probably to build the lambda expression by hand:
static class ContainsAny
{
private static readonly MethodInfo StringContains
= typeof(string).GetMethod("Contains", new[] { typeof(string) });
public static Builder<T> Words<T>(IEnumerable<string> words)
{
return new Builder<T>(words);
}
public static Builder<T> Words<T>(params string[] words)
{
return new Builder<T>(words);
}
public sealed class Builder<T>
{
private static readonly ParameterExpression Parameter
= Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "obj");
private readonly List<Expression> _properties = new List<Expression>();
private readonly List<ConstantExpression> _words;
internal Builder(IEnumerable<string> words)
{
_words = words
.Where(word => !string.IsNullOrEmpty(word))
.Select(word => Expression.Constant(word))
.ToList();
}
public Builder<T> WithProperty(Expression<Func<T, string>> property)
{
if (_words.Count != 0)
{
_properties.Add(ReplacementVisitor.Transform(
property, property.Parameters[0], Parameter));
}
return this;
}
private Expression BuildProperty(Expression prop)
{
return _words
.Select(w => (Expression)Expression.Call(prop, StringContains, w))
.Aggregate(Expression.OrElse);
}
public Expression<Func<T, bool>> Build()
{
if (_words.Count == 0) return (T obj) => true;
var body = _properties
.Select(BuildProperty)
.Aggregate(Expression.OrElse);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(body, Parameter);
}
}
private sealed class ReplacementVisitor : ExpressionVisitor
{
private ICollection<ParameterExpression> Parameters { get; set; }
private Expression Find { get; set; }
private Expression Replace { get; set; }
public static Expression Transform(
LambdaExpression source,
Expression find,
Expression replace)
{
var visitor = new ReplacementVisitor
{
Parameters = source.Parameters,
Find = find,
Replace = replace,
};
return visitor.Visit(source.Body);
}
private Expression ReplaceNode(Expression node)
{
return (node == Find) ? Replace : node;
}
protected override Expression VisitConstant(ConstantExpression node)
{
return ReplaceNode(node);
}
protected override Expression VisitBinary(BinaryExpression node)
{
var result = ReplaceNode(node);
if (result == node) result = base.VisitBinary(node);
return result;
}
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
if (Parameters.Contains(node)) return ReplaceNode(node);
return Parameters.FirstOrDefault(p => p.Name == node.Name) ?? node;
}
}
}
With this code in place, you can call:
Expression<Func<Book, bool>> filter = ContainsAny
.Words<Book>(searchArray)
.WithProperty(book => book.Name)
.WithProperty(book => book.Genre)
.Build();
var data = DataContext.Book.Where(filter);
For example, if the searchArray contains { "Hello", "World" }, the generated lambda will be:
obj => (obj.Name.Contains("Hello") || obj.Name.Contains("World"))
|| (obj.Genre.Contains("Hello") || obj.Genre.Contains("World")))

If I understand what you're trying to do correctly, you should be able to condense your query down to:
from bk in DataContext.Book
where searchArray.Contains(bk.Name) || searchArray.Contains(bk.Genre)
select bk
This is basically equivalent to the SQL:
select bk.*
from Book bk
where bk.Name in (...) or bk.Genre in (...)

In your case you must combine interpreted and local queries which can hurt performance or use SQL CLR integration by creating CLR function on database.

Partial application of an expression tree

I have an Expression in the following form:
Expression<Func<T, bool>> predicate = t => t.Value == "SomeValue";
Is it possible to create a 'partially applied' version of this expression:
Expression<Func<bool>> predicate = () => t.Value == "SomeValue";
NB This expression is never actually compiled or invoked, it is merely inspected to generate some SQL.

This could be easily achieved by writing a custom ExpressionVisitor and replacing the parameter with a constant expression that you have captured in a closure:
public class Foo
{
public string Value { get; set; }
}
public class ReplaceVisitor<T> : ExpressionVisitor
{
private readonly T _instance;
public ReplaceVisitor(T instance)
{
_instance = instance;
}
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
return Expression.Constant(_instance);
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
Expression<Func<Foo, bool>> predicate = t => t.Value == "SomeValue";
var foo = new Foo { Value = "SomeValue" };
Expression<Func<bool>> result = Convert(predicate, foo);
Console.WriteLine(result.Compile()());
}
static Expression<Func<bool>> Convert<T>(Expression<Func<T, bool>> expression, T instance)
{
return Expression.Lambda<Func<bool>>(
new ReplaceVisitor<T>(instance).Visit(expression.Body)
);
}
}

I think this should work:
Expression predicate2 = Expression.Invoke(predicate, Expression.Constant(new T() { Value = "SomeValue"}));
Expression<Func<bool>> predicate3 = Expression.Lambda<Func<bool>>(predicate2);
Don't know if this is easily parseable to generate SQL however (it works when compiled - I tried).

Append to an expression

I followed this thread: link text
Jason gives an example:
public static Expression<TDelegate> AndAlso<TDelegate>(this Expression<TDelegate> left, Expression<TDelegate> right)
{
return Expression.Lambda<TDelegate>(Expression.AndAlso(left, right), left.Parameters);
}
and its usage as such:
Expression<Func<Client, bool>> clientWhere = c => true;
if (filterByClientFName)
{
clientWhere = clientWhere.AndAlso(c => c.ClientFName == searchForClientFName);
}
if (filterByClientLName)
{
clientWhere = clientWhere.AndAlso(c => c.ClientLName == searchForClientLName);
}
I have a orders table and i followed the above example, changing column names, and i get the similar error that the post creator had
The binary operator AndAlso is not defined for the types 'System.Func2[Models.Order,System.Boolean]' and 'System.Func2[Models.Order,System.Boolean]'.
Anyone have any thoughts on what I am missing?
UPDATED:
Eric, I further followed what the user of the previous post was asking, here link text
The user has this
Expression<Func<Client, bool>> clientWhere = c => true;
Expression<Func<Order, bool>> orderWhere = o => true;
Expression<Func<Product, bool>> productWhere = p => true;
if (filterByClient)
{
clientWhere = c => c.ClientID == searchForClientID;
}
Now if he were to have various conditions in filterByClient, say he either has clientid and/or some other column name, how would one build the clientWhere expression?

You're attempting to build an expression tree that represents this:
c => true && c.ClientFName == searchForClientFName
You are actually building an expression tree that represents this:
c => c=> true && c => c.ClientFName == searchForClientFName
which makes no sense at all.
Now, you might naively think that this will work:
public static Expression<TDelegate> AndAlso<TDelegate>(this Expression<TDelegate> left, Expression<TDelegate> right)
{
// NOTICE: Combining BODIES:
return Expression.Lambda<TDelegate>(Expression.AndAlso(left.Body, right.Body), left.Parameters);
}
That would produce in your case something representing
c => true && c.ClientFName == searchForClientFName
Which looks right. But in fact this is fragile. Suppose you had
... d => d.City == "London" ...
... c => c.ClientName == "Fred Smith" ...
and you used this method to combine them. You'd get an object representing
c => d.City == "London" && c.ClientName == "Fred Smith"
What the heck is d doing in there?
Furthermore, parameters are matched by object identity, not by parameter name. If you do this
... c => c.City == "London" ...
... c => c.ClientName == "Fred Smith" ...
and combine them into
c => c.City == "London" && c.ClientName == "Fred Smith"
you're in the same boat; the "c" in "c.City" is a different c than the other two.
What you actually need to do is make a third parameter object, substitute it in the bodies of both lambdas for every occurence of their parameters, and then build up a new lambda expression tree from the resulting substituted bodies.
You can build a substitution engine by writing a visitor that passes over the expression tree body, rewriting it as it goes.

It was difficult for me to understand hvd's answer so I created some code to explain it in a different way. hvd should get the credit for suggesting the ExpressionVisitor. I just couldn't understand the example in the context of Linq to X type input functions I was using.
I hope this helps somebody else coming to the question from that perspective.
Also, I created the combining code as extension methods to make it a little easier to use.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
namespace ConsoleApplication3
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var combined = TryCombiningExpressions(c => c.FirstName == "Dog", c => c.LastName == "Boy");
Console.WriteLine("Dog Boy should be true: {0}", combined(new FullName { FirstName = "Dog", LastName = "Boy" }));
Console.WriteLine("Cat Boy should be false: {0}", combined(new FullName { FirstName = "Cat", LastName = "Boy" }));
Console.ReadLine();
}
public class FullName
{
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
}
public static Func<FullName, bool> TryCombiningExpressions(Expression<Func<FullName, bool>> func1, Expression<Func<FullName, bool>> func2)
{
return func1.CombineWithAndAlso(func2).Compile();
}
}
public static class CombineExpressions
{
public static Expression<Func<TInput, bool>> CombineWithAndAlso<TInput>(this Expression<Func<TInput, bool>> func1, Expression<Func<TInput, bool>> func2)
{
return Expression.Lambda<Func<TInput, bool>>(
Expression.AndAlso(
func1.Body, new ExpressionParameterReplacer(func2.Parameters, func1.Parameters).Visit(func2.Body)),
func1.Parameters);
}
public static Expression<Func<TInput, bool>> CombineWithOrElse<TInput>(this Expression<Func<TInput, bool>> func1, Expression<Func<TInput, bool>> func2)
{
return Expression.Lambda<Func<TInput, bool>>(
Expression.AndAlso(
func1.Body, new ExpressionParameterReplacer(func2.Parameters, func1.Parameters).Visit(func2.Body)),
func1.Parameters);
}
private class ExpressionParameterReplacer : ExpressionVisitor
{
public ExpressionParameterReplacer(IList<ParameterExpression> fromParameters, IList<ParameterExpression> toParameters)
{
ParameterReplacements = new Dictionary<ParameterExpression, ParameterExpression>();
for (int i = 0; i != fromParameters.Count && i != toParameters.Count; i++)
ParameterReplacements.Add(fromParameters[i], toParameters[i]);
}
private IDictionary<ParameterExpression, ParameterExpression> ParameterReplacements { get; set; }
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
ParameterExpression replacement;
if (ParameterReplacements.TryGetValue(node, out replacement))
node = replacement;
return base.VisitParameter(node);
}
}
}
}

If you need it i created a small fluent library to create lambda functions on the fly without directly coping with System.Linq.Expressions. And it can easily handle the kind of situation. Just to give an example:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var firstNameCompare = ExpressionUtil.GetComparer<FullName>((a) => a.FirstName);
var lastNameCompare = ExpressionUtil.GetComparer<FullName>((a) => a.LastName);
Func<FullName, bool> combined = (a) => firstNameCompare(a, "Dog") && lastNameCompare(a, "Boy");
var toCheck = new FullName {FirstName = "Dog", LastName = "Boy"};
Console.WriteLine("Dog Boy should be true: {0}", combined(toCheck));
toCheck = new FullName {FirstName = "Cat", LastName = "Boy"};
Console.WriteLine("Cat Boy should be false: {0}", combined(toCheck));
Console.ReadLine();
}
The GetComparer methods seek for the property passed as expression and find ho to get its value, then it builds a new Expression that will handle the comparaison.
At the end the two functions are evaluated calling the "combined" function.
If you need more verifications you could use an array and iterate on it inside the "combined lambda"
The code and documentation for the library are here: Kendar Expression Builder
While the nuget package is here: Nuget Expression Builder

I tried to implement this kind of stuff. Took me a day to find out.
My solution is based on filter in a loop based on a Array of predicate.
As a note, it s totally Generic and based Reflection because the only information about class and field are String.
To make it simple, i call directly the Model class but in a project you should go by a controler who is calling the Model.
So here we go :
The Model part where T is a Generic in the class
public class DALXmlRepository<T> where T : class
{
public T GetItem(Array predicate)
{
IQueryable<T> QueryList = null;
QueryList = ObjectList.AsQueryable<T>().Where((Expression<Func<T, bool>>)predicate.GetValue(0));
for (int i = 1; i < predicate.GetLength(0); i++)
{
QueryList = QueryList.Where((Expression<Func<T, bool>>)predicate.GetValue(i));
}
if (QueryList.FirstOrDefault() == null)
throw new InvalidOperationException(this.GetType().GetGenericArguments().First().Name + " not found.");
return QueryList.FirstOrDefault();
}
}
Now the LambdaExpression Builder, it's a base one(with String type or something else) , you can improve it with more functionnality :
private static Expression BuildLambdaExpression(Type GenericArgument, string FieldName, string FieldValue)
{
LambdaExpression lambda = null;
Expression Criteria = null;
Random r = new Random();
ParameterExpression predParam = Expression.Parameter(GenericArgument, r.Next().ToString());
if (GenericArgument.GetProperty(FieldName).PropertyType == typeof(string))
{
Expression left = Expression.PropertyOrField(predParam, FieldName);
Expression LefttoUpper = Expression.Call(left, "ToUpper", null, null);
//Type du champ recherché
Type propType = GenericArgument.GetProperty(FieldName).PropertyType;
Expression right = Expression.Constant(FieldValue, propType);
Expression RighttoUpper = Expression.Call(right, "ToUpper", null, null);
Criteria = Expression.Equal(LefttoUpper, RighttoUpper);
}
else
{
Expression left = Expression.PropertyOrField(predParam, FieldName);
Type propType = GenericArgument.GetProperty(FieldName).PropertyType;
Expression right = Expression.Constant(Convert.ChangeType(FieldValue, propType), propType);
Criteria = Expression.Equal(left, right);
}
lambda = Expression.Lambda(Criteria, predParam);
return lambda;
}
Now the Calling function :
public static Hashtable GetItemWithFilter(string Entity, XMLContext contextXML, Hashtable FieldsNameToGet, Hashtable FieldFilter)
{
//Get the type
Type type = Type.GetType("JP.Model.BO." + Entity + ", JPModel");
Type CtrlCommonType = typeof(CtrlCommon<>).MakeGenericType( type );
//Making an instance DALXmlRepository<xxx> XMLInstance = new DALXmlRepository<xxx>(contextXML);
ConstructorInfo ci = CtrlCommonType.GetConstructor(new Type[] { typeof(XMLContext), typeof(String) });
IControleur DalInstance = (IControleur)ci.Invoke(new object[] { contextXML, null });
//Building the string type Expression<func<T,bool>> to init the array
Type FuncType = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType( type ,typeof(bool));
Type ExpressType = typeof(Expression<>).MakeGenericType(FuncType);
Array lambda = Array.CreateInstance(ExpressType,FieldFilter.Count);
MethodInfo method = DalInstance.GetType().GetMethod("GetItem", new Type[] { lambda.GetType() });
if (method == null)
throw new InvalidOperationException("GetItem(Array) doesn't exist for " + DalInstance.GetType().GetGenericArguments().First().Name);
int j = 0;
IDictionaryEnumerator criterias = FieldFilter.GetEnumerator();
criterias.Reset();
while (criterias.MoveNext())
{
if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(criterias.Key.ToString()))
{
lambda.SetValue(BuildLambdaExpression(type, criterias.Key.ToString(), criterias.Value.ToString()),j);
}
else
{
throw new JPException(JPException.MessageKey.CONTROLER_PARAMFIELD_EMPTY, "GetItemWithFilter", criterias.Key.ToString());
}
j++;
}
Object item = method.Invoke(DalInstance, new object[] { lambda });
}
The argument are :
String Entity : Entity class name.
XMLContext : it s the unit of work of the repository, argument i use to initialize the Model class
Hashtable FieldsNameToGet : Index/value of the list of the field i want to get back
Hashtable FieldFilter : the key/Value with FieldName/Content used to make the Lambda expression
Good Luck.