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Dynamically Modifying a LINQ Query Based on a Related Table

I am dynamically creating a LINQ query based on various search criteria.
As an example, let's say I am searching a Automobiles table, and I have an option to filter by ratings. I have two controls:
Compare type: [At least], [At most], [Less than], [Greater than], and [Equal].
Value: The value to compare the rating against.
So the user could, for example, select the compare type [At least] and the value 3, and my code needs to create a query that limits results to automobile ratings greater than or equal to 3.
I found a great solution given by VinayC in the question How to implement search functionality in C#/ASP.NET MVC. His DynamicWhere() method dynamically creates part of the expression that would produce the correct filter.
My problem is that my primary query type is Automobile but my ratings are in a separate table (Automobile.Ratings). How could I implement this same technique and filter on a type other than my primary query type?
Thanks for any tips.

Since the number of operations that you have is small, finite, and known at comiple time, you can simply handle it with a switch:
IQueryable<Something> query = GetQuery();
int ratingToComareWith = 1;
string operation = "Equal";
switch (operation)
{
case ("Equal"):
query = query.Where(item => item == ratingToComareWith);
break;
case ("Less Than"):
query = query.Where(item => item < ratingToComareWith);
break;
}

Here's an Entity Framework friendly alternative to expression building. Of course you will want to validate column and op to prevent SQL injection.
// User provided values
int value = 3;
string column = "Rating";
string op = "<";
// Dynamically built query
db.Database.SqlQuery<Automobile>(#"select distinct automobile.* from automobile
inner join ratings on ....
where [" + column + "] " + op + " #p0", value);

Here is a method to build conditions for nested collections or types for linq-to-entities.
Restructured for your needs:
public static Expression GetCondition(Expression parameter, object value, OperatorComparer operatorComparer, params string[] properties)
{
Expression resultExpression = null;
Expression childParameter, navigationPropertyPredicate;
Type childType = null;
if (properties.Count() > 1)
{
//build path
parameter = Expression.Property(parameter, properties[0]);
var isCollection = typeof(IEnumerable).IsAssignableFrom(parameter.Type);
//if it´s a collection we later need to use the predicate in the methodexpressioncall
if (isCollection)
{
childType = parameter.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0];
childParameter = Expression.Parameter(childType, childType.Name);
}
else
{
childParameter = parameter;
}
//skip current property and get navigation property expression recursivly
var innerProperties = properties.Skip(1).ToArray();
navigationPropertyPredicate = GetCondition(childParameter, test, innerProperties);
if (isCollection)
{
//build methodexpressioncall
var anyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods().Single(m => m.Name == "Any" && m.GetParameters().Length == 2);
anyMethod = anyMethod.MakeGenericMethod(childType);
navigationPropertyPredicate = Expression.Call(anyMethod, parameter, navigationPropertyPredicate);
resultExpression = MakeLambda(parameter, navigationPropertyPredicate);
}
else
{
resultExpression = navigationPropertyPredicate;
}
}
else
{
var childProperty = parameter.Type.GetProperty(properties[0]);
var left = Expression.Property(parameter, childProperty);
var right = Expression.Constant(value,value.GetType());
if(!new List<OperatorComparer> {OperatorComparer.Contains,OperatorComparer.StartsWith}.Contains(operatorComparer))
{
navigationPropertyPredicate = Expression.MakeBinary((ExpressionType)operatorComparer,left, right);
}
else
{
var method = GetMethod(childProperty.PropertyType, operatorComparer); //get property by enum-name from type
navigationPropertyPredicate = Expression.Call(left, method, right);
}
resultExpression = MakeLambda(parameter, navigationPropertyPredicate);
}
return resultExpression;
}
private static MethodInfo GetMethod(Type type,OperatorComparer operatorComparer)
{
var method = type.GetMethod(Enum.GetName(typeof(OperatorComparer),operatorComparer));
return method;
}
public enum OperatorComparer
{
Equals = ExpressionType.Equal,
Contains,
StartsWith,
GreaterThan = ExpressionType.GreaterThan
....
}
private static Expression MakeLambda(Expression parameter, Expression predicate)
{
var resultParameterVisitor = new ParameterVisitor();
resultParameterVisitor.Visit(parameter);
var resultParameter = resultParameterVisitor.Parameter;
return Expression.Lambda(predicate, (ParameterExpression)resultParameter);
}
private class ParameterVisitor : ExpressionVisitor
{
public Expression Parameter
{
get;
private set;
}
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
Parameter = node;
return node;
}
}
}
You could replace the params string[] with params Expression(Func(T,object)), if you want. Would need some more work to do it that way. You would need to definie nested collections with a syntax like
item => item.nestedCollection.Select(nested => nested.Property)
and rewrite the expression with the help of an expressionvisitor.

Dynamic expression tree to filter on nested collection properties

I'm using Entity Framework and building queries using navigation properties dynamically.
For most of my use cases, the following works fine:
private static MethodCallExpression GetNavigationPropertyExpression<T>(string propertyName, int test,
ParameterExpression parameter, string subParameter)
{
var navigationPropertyCollection = Expression.Property(parameter, propertyName);
var childType = navigationPropertyCollection.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0];
var anyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods().Single(m => m.Name == "Any" && m.GetParameters().Length == 2).MakeGenericMethod(childType);
var aclAttribute = GetAclAttribute(typeof(T), propertyName);
var childProperty = aclAttribute.ChildProperty;
var propertyCollectionGenericArg = childType;
var serviceLocationsParam = Expression.Parameter(propertyCollectionGenericArg, subParameter);
var left = Expression.Property(serviceLocationsParam, childProperty);
var right = Expression.Constant(test, typeof(int));
var isEqual = Expression.Equal(left, right);
var subLambda = Expression.Lambda(isEqual, serviceLocationsParam);
var resultExpression = Expression.Call(anyMethod, navigationPropertyCollection, subLambda);
return resultExpression;
}
I use a custom AclAttribute class assigned to properties via metadata type and partial classes. For navigation properties, a ChildProperty is provided so that the expression builder knows to look deeper for the desired property.
For example: the table Services references another table called ServiceLocations. I need the LocationId value(s) from the ServiceLocations reference. This part works fine.
My problem is when there is more than 1 nested property to go through. Another example: the table ServiceCategories references Services which, again, references ServiceLocations. Like before, I need the LocationId value(s) from ServiceLocations.
I've done this manually by using two "Any" methods, combining, and returning the resulting expression, but there will be times where navigation properties won't be collections, or a child of a navigation property may be a collection. For those cases, I need some kind of recursive option. I've been trying for a while now, and coming up short.
Since I mentioned it, here's the test method I put together for my second example. This works, but I'm violating DRY. (Note: I didn't name the tables):
private static MethodCallExpression GetNestedNavigationPropertyExpression(int test, ParameterExpression rootParameter)
{
var servicesProperty = Expression.Property(rootParameter, "tblServices");
var servicesParameter = Expression.Parameter(servicesProperty.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0], "ss");
var serviceLocationsProperty = Expression.Property(servicesParameter, "tblServiceLocations");
var serviceLocationsParameter = Expression.Parameter(serviceLocationsProperty.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0], "s");
var servicesAnyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods().Single(m => m.Name == "Any" && m.GetParameters().Length == 2).MakeGenericMethod(servicesProperty.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0]);
var serviceLocationsAnyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods().Single(m => m.Name == "Any" && m.GetParameters().Length == 2).MakeGenericMethod(serviceLocationsProperty.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0]);
var aclAttribute = GetAclAttribute(typeof(tblService), "tblServiceLocations");
var left = Expression.Property(serviceLocationsParameter, aclAttribute.ChildProperty);
var right = Expression.Constant(test, typeof(int));
var isEqual = Expression.Equal(left, right);
var subLambda = Expression.Lambda(isEqual, serviceLocationsParameter);
var endExpression = Expression.Call(serviceLocationsAnyMethod, serviceLocationsProperty, subLambda);
var intermediaryLamba = Expression.Lambda(endExpression, servicesParameter);
var resultExpression = Expression.Call(servicesAnyMethod, servicesProperty, intermediaryLamba);
return resultExpression;
}

With this it should be possible to build your queries:
public static Expression GetNavigationPropertyExpression(Expression parameter, int test, params string[] properties)
{
Expression resultExpression = null;
Expression childParameter, navigationPropertyPredicate;
Type childType = null;
if (properties.Count() > 1)
{
//build path
parameter = Expression.Property(parameter, properties[0]);
var isCollection = typeof(IEnumerable).IsAssignableFrom(parameter.Type);
//if it´s a collection we later need to use the predicate in the methodexpressioncall
if (isCollection)
{
childType = parameter.Type.GetGenericArguments()[0];
childParameter = Expression.Parameter(childType, childType.Name);
}
else
{
childParameter = parameter;
}
//skip current property and get navigation property expression recursivly
var innerProperties = properties.Skip(1).ToArray();
navigationPropertyPredicate = GetNavigationPropertyExpression(childParameter, test, innerProperties);
if (isCollection)
{
//build methodexpressioncall
var anyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods().Single(m => m.Name == "Any" && m.GetParameters().Length == 2);
anyMethod = anyMethod.MakeGenericMethod(childType);
navigationPropertyPredicate = Expression.Call(anyMethod, parameter, navigationPropertyPredicate);
resultExpression = MakeLambda(parameter, navigationPropertyPredicate);
}
else
{
resultExpression = navigationPropertyPredicate;
}
}
else
{
//Formerly from ACLAttribute
var childProperty = parameter.Type.GetProperty(properties[0]);
var left = Expression.Property(parameter, childProperty);
var right = Expression.Constant(test, typeof(int));
navigationPropertyPredicate = Expression.Equal(left, right);
resultExpression = MakeLambda(parameter, navigationPropertyPredicate);
}
return resultExpression;
}
private static Expression MakeLambda(Expression parameter, Expression predicate)
{
var resultParameterVisitor = new ParameterVisitor();
resultParameterVisitor.Visit(parameter);
var resultParameter = resultParameterVisitor.Parameter;
return Expression.Lambda(predicate, (ParameterExpression)resultParameter);
}
private class ParameterVisitor : ExpressionVisitor
{
public Expression Parameter
{
get;
private set;
}
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
Parameter = node;
return node;
}
}
Call it like:
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(A), "A");
var expression = ExpressionBuilder.GetNavigationPropertyExpression(parameter, 8,"CollectionOfB", "CollectionOfC", "ID");

How to search through all fields of a table in Lambda

This is a ASP.NET MVC project.
I want to query a database table with a specific value of a textbox from the view.
This queries two fields:
public ActionResult Index(string search)
{
return View(db.KDtable
.Where(x =>
x.Name.StartsWith(search)
|| x.Description.StartsWith(search)
|| search == null)
.ToList()
);
}
string search is the value of the textbox.
Question:
How can I, instead of adding all fields manually to the lambda expression e.g. x.City.StartsWith(search), just plain and simple query all the table fields with the input from the textbox.
Thx

Try this:
public static Expression<Func<T,bool>> CreateTextSearch<T>(string searchText)
{
Type t = typeof(T);
var props = t.GetProperties().Cast<PropertyInfo>().Where(p => p.PropertyType == typeof(string));
var searchTextExpr = Expression.Constant(searchText);
var tParameterExpr = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T));
Expression expr = null;
foreach(var prop in props)
{
var criteria = Expression.Call(
Expression.Property(tParameterExpr, prop),
typeof(string).GetMethod("StartsWith", new Type[] { typeof(string) }),
searchTextExpr);
if(expr == null)
expr = criteria;
else
expr = Expression.Or(expr, criteria);
}
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T,bool>>(expr, tParameterExpr);
}
call it like this: MySet.Where(CreateTextSearch<MyType>("DDD")); for IQueryables and MySet.Where(CreateTextSearch<MyType>("DDD").Compile()); for regular IEnumerables.

dynamic orderBy using linq dynamic

I am trying to convert this Func to use string values using linq.dynamic.
Currently I have
Func<IQueryable<Customer>, IOrderedQueryable<Customer>> orderBy = o => o.OrderBy(c => c.Postcode);
But I want to do
string sortItem = "customer";
string order = "ASC"
Func<IQueryable<Customer>, IOrderedQueryable<Customer>> orderBy = o => o.OrderBy(sortItem + " " + order);
I am using the Linq.Dynamic library but I am unable to get it to work with the function.
Any help...

Like the other answer suggests, this may not be possible. However, I wanted to post some code which I wrote recently to do something similar:
// single column sorting support
var sortColumnIndex = Convert.ToInt32(Request["iSortCol_0"]);
Func<LegalComplianceDatatable, string> orderingFunction = (c => sortColumnIndex == 0 ? c.HomeCountry :
sortColumnIndex == 1 ? c.HostCountry :
sortColumnIndex == 2 ? c.YearOneRate :
sortColumnIndex == 3 ? c.YearOtherRate :
sortColumnIndex == 4 ? c.RateType :
c.HostCountry);
if (Request["sSortDir_0"] == "desc")
{
filteredResults = filteredResults.OrderByDescending(orderingFunction);
}
else
{
filteredResults = filteredResults.OrderBy(orderingFunction);
}

I haven't used Linq.Dynamic but you can achieve this if you are comfortable building your own expression tree. For example:
public static class IQueryableExtension
{
public static IOrderedQueryable<T> OrderBy<T>(this IQueryable<T> query, string propertyName)
{
var memberProp = typeof(T).GetProperty(propertyName);
var method = typeof(IQueryableExtension).GetMethod("OrderByInternal")
.MakeGenericMethod(typeof(T), memberProp.PropertyType);
return (IOrderedQueryable<T>)method.Invoke(null, new object[] { query, memberProp });
}
public static IOrderedQueryable<T> OrderByInternal<T, TProp>(IQueryable<T> query, PropertyInfo memberProperty)
{
if (memberProperty.PropertyType != typeof(TProp)) throw new Exception();
var thisArg = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T));
var lamba = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, TProp>>(Expression.Property(thisArg, memberProperty), thisArg);
return query.OrderBy(lamba);
}
}
And you can use this like:
IQueryable<Customer> query; // Some query
query = query.OrderBy("Name"); // Will return an IOrderedQueryable<Customer>
This is the logic for ascending sort, without checking (you will need to make sure the property exists, and so on) and some things can be optimized (the reflected method invocation for example). It should get you started.

Call Ignore Case for Contains Method using a generic LINQ Expression

I am using below code for Generic Filter, any search text passed but the contains method is Case sensitive, how can I write to ignore case.
public static class QueryExtensions
{
public static IQueryable<T> Filter<T>(this IQueryable<T> query, string search)
{
var properties = typeof(T).GetProperties().Where(p =>
/*p.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(System.Data.Objects.DataClasses.EdmScalarPropertyAttribute),true).Any() && */
p.PropertyType == typeof(String));
var predicate = PredicateBuilder.False<T>();
foreach (var property in properties )
{
predicate = predicate.Or(CreateLike<T>(property,search));
}
return query.AsExpandable().Where(predicate);
}
private static Expression<Func<T,bool>> CreateLike<T>( PropertyInfo prop, string value)
{
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "f");
var propertyAccess = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(parameter, prop);
var like = Expression.Call(propertyAccess, "Contains", null, Expression.Constant(value,typeof(string)));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(like, parameter);
}
}

Instead of calling String.Contains, call String.IndexOf with a case insensitive StringComparison parameter. Then compare its result with 0, with the Expression.GreaterThanOrEqual expression. You need to provide the extra parameter in your Expression.Call as an Expression.Constant.
You can decide to hardcode one of the case-insensitive StringComparison options, or export it as a parameter of the Filter method, allowing users to decide whether they want case-insensitive search or not.
You can do something like this:
private static Expression<Func<T, bool>> CreateLike<T>(PropertyInfo prop, string value)
{
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "f");
var propertyAccess = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(parameter, prop);
var indexOf = Expression.Call(propertyAccess, "IndexOf", null, Expression.Constant(value, typeof(string)),Expression.Constant(StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase));
var like=Expression.GreaterThanOrEqual(indexOf, Expression.Constant(0));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(like, parameter);
}
or, with the StringComparison parameter
private static Expression<Func<T, bool>> CreateLike<T>(PropertyInfo prop,
string value,
StringComparison comparison=StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase)
{
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "f");
var propertyAccess = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(parameter, prop);
var indexOf = Expression.Call(propertyAccess, "IndexOf", null,
Expression.Constant(value, typeof(string)),
Expression.Constant(comparison));
var like=Expression.GreaterThanOrEqual(indexOf, Expression.Constant(0));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(like, parameter);
}
By using a default value for comparison you avoid creating two overloads for the same job.

You could try using String.IndexOf instead.
string x,y = string.Empty;
x.IndexOf(y,0,x.Length, StringComparison.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase) > -1
As it has a StringComparison parameter.
This would return an integer
var like = Expression.Call(propertyAccess, "IndexOf", null, Expression.Constant(value, typeof(string)), Expression.Constant(StringComparison.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase,typeof(StringComparison)));

Please refer to the following code if you want to filter or search for a value from the list. In addition, it is a generic method that will help you filter any type of class or object from the list. It is working as a like clause in SQL such as (column1 like '%abc%' or column2 like '%abc%').
public static class Filter<T>
{
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>> FilterExpression(string searchValue)
{
Expression finalExpression = Expression.Constant(false);
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "x");
PropertyInfo[] propertyInfos = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (PropertyInfo propertyInfo in propertyInfos)
{
if (propertyInfo.PropertyType == typeof(string))
{
var propertyExpn = Expression.Property(parameter, propertyInfo.Name.Trim().ToLower());
var containsExpn = Expression.Call(propertyExpn, "Contains", null, Expression.Constant(searchValue, typeof(string)), Expression.Constant(StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase));
var nullCheckExpn = Expression.NotEqual(propertyExpn, Expression.Constant(null, typeof(string)));
var andAlsoExpn = Expression.AndAlso(nullCheckExpn, containsExpn);
finalExpression = Expression.Or(finalExpression, andAlsoExpn);
}
}
var rowFilterLambdaExpression = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(finalExpression, new ParameterExpression[] { parameter });
return rowFilterLambdaExpression;
}
}
Usage E.g.,
var result =
dataItems.Where(Filter<T>.FilterExpression(model.FilterValue).Compile()).ToList();

It's probably simplest to convert both parameters to upper case first (upper case conversions are optimized better than lower case ones in .NET). You can then do your comparison.
Upper case conversion can be done like this:
var expression = Expression.Call(property, typeof(string).GetMethod("ToUpperInvariant", System.Type.EmptyTypes));