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Add a where clause to IQueryable without using generics

I'm trying to write a piece of code that is going to be used to select a value from a database. As a test I have already created this test version of the method that "works" but isn't great.
private object? FindObjectByProperty(IQueryable query, PropertyInfo primaryKeyProperty, object lookupValue)
{
object? result = null;
foreach (var value in query)
{
if (!primaryKeyProperty.GetValue(value)!.Equals(lookupValue))
continue;
result = value;
break;
}
return result;
}
The code will iterate through the query and find the first entry that matches the Equals. However, if the query contains millions of rows, as it's likely to when the IQueryable is really a DbSet (Which in this use case it is. Only I don't know what T, as it could be any of the DbSets on my EF Core data context.
What I'd like to end up with is something that looks something along these lines....
private object? FindObjectByProperty(IQueryable query, PropertyInfo primaryKeyProperty, object lookupValue)
{
return query.Where( x => x.*primaryKeyProperty* == lookupValue).FirstOrDefault();
}
The above code is pseudo code, the problems that I have is that query does not have a .Where available. Also primaryKeyProperty will need to be translated to the actual property.
The idea is that when this code is executed, ultimately executing the query, will generate a sql statement which selects a single item and returns it.
Can anyone help with solving this?
Update:
I'm working on a solution to this, so far this is what I've come up with
//using System.Linq.Dynamic.Core;
private object? FindObjectByProperty(IQueryable query, PropertyInfo primaryKeyProperty, object lookupValue)
{
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(query.ElementType);
var e1 = Expression.Equal(Expression.Property(parameter, primaryKeyProperty.Name), Expression.Constant(lookupValue));
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<object, bool>>(e1, parameter);
return query.Where(lambda).FirstOrDefault();
}
This is failing on the because the func uses Object, when it really needs the real type. Trying to figure that bit out. This is getting closer.
Update #2:
Here's the answer that I needed
private object? FindObjectByProperty(IQueryable query, PropertyInfo primaryKeyProperty, object lookupValue)
{
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(query.ElementType);
var propExpr = Expression.Property(parameter, primaryKeyProperty);
var lambdaBody = Expression.Equal(propExpr, Expression.Constant(lookupValue, primaryKeyProperty.PropertyType));
var filterEFn = Expression.Lambda(lambdaBody, parameter);
return query.Where(filterEFn).FirstOrDefault();
}
The difference is that the Expression.Lambda no longer tries to define the func using generics. This is the only change that I needed to do to make the code function as I wanted.
In the test case that I was using, the T-SQL produced to lookup the value looks like this...
SELECT TOP(1) [g].[Id], [g].[Deleted], [g].[Guid], [g].[Name], [g].[ParentId]
FROM [Glossaries].[Glossaries] AS [g]
WHERE [g].[Id] = CAST(3 AS bigint)
The table [Glossaries].[Glossaries] is provided by the input query. The column name Id is provided by the primaryKeyProperty, and the number 3 is provided by the lookupValue.
This is perfect for my needs as I simply needed to select that one row and nothing else, so that I can effectively lazy load the my object property when I need it, and not before.
Also this code will be reused for many different tables.

In order to build add Where to an IQueryable where you don't have access to the actual IQueryable<T>, you need to take a step back (or up?) from calling Where at compile-time, and build the Where call at runtime, as well as the predicate lambda:
public static class DBExt {
public static IQueryable WherePropertyIs<T2>(this IQueryable src, PropertyInfo propInfo, T2 propValue) {
// return src.Where(s => s.{propInfo} == propValue)
// (T s)
var sParam = Expression.Parameter(src.ElementType, "s");
// s.propInfo
var propExpr = Expression.Property(sParam, propInfo);
// s.{propInfo} == propValue
var lambdaBody = Expression.Equal(propExpr, Expression.Constant(propValue));
// (T s) => s.{PropInfo} == propValue
var filterEFn = Expression.Lambda(lambdaBody, sParam);
var origQuery = src.Expression;
// IQueryable<Tx>.Where<Tx, Expression<Func<Tx, bool>>>()
var whereGenericMI = typeof(Queryable).GetMethods("Where", 2).Where(mi => mi.GetParameters()[1].ParameterType.GenericTypeArguments[0].GenericTypeArguments.Length == 2).First();
// IQueryable<T>.Where<T, Expression<Func<T, bool>>>()
var whereMI = whereGenericMI.MakeGenericMethod(src.ElementType);
// src.Where(s => s.{propertyInfo} == propValue)
var newQuery = Expression.Call(whereMI, origQuery, filterEFn);
return src.Provider.CreateQuery(newQuery);
}
}

Create an expression dynamically to sort Linq to Entities ascending/descending based on a dynamically provided property name

Here is what I am trying to do. I have done a few simple expressions, but this one is a little too much for me right now.
public static Expression<Func<IQueryable<TEntityType>, IOrderedQueryable<TEntityType>>> SortMeDynamically<TEntityType>(bool isAsc, string propertyname)
{
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TEntityType), "x");
var prop = Expression.PropertyOrField(param, propertyname);
var sortLambda = Expression.Lambda(prop, param);
string sortOrder = isAsc ? "OrderBy" : "OrderByDescending";
var selector = Call(
typeof(Queryable),
sortOrder,
new[] { prop.Type},
sortLambda);
var lambda = Lambda<Func<IQueryable<TEntityType>, IOrderedQueryable<TEntityType>>>(selector, param);
return lambda;
}
The error I get is the following.
System.InvalidOperationException: No generic method 'OrderBy' on type 'System.Linq.Queryable' is compatible with the supplied type arguments and arguments. No type arguments should be provided if the method is non-generic
The closest solution I found was the one below.
LINQ to Entities OrderBy Expression Tree

Calling the various .OrderBy linq methods dynamically is quite a pain.
The most difficult part of this process is locating the MethodInfo of the four relevant Queryable.OrderBy methods, with the correct generic constraints. There are a number of ways to achieve this.
You could pull the method out of a template Expression<Func<...>>, as in your linked answer;
Expression<Func<IOrderedEnumerable<TEntityType>>> sortMethod =
(() => query.OrderBy<TEntityType, object>(k => null));
var methodCallExpression = (sortMethod.Body as MethodCallExpression);
var method = methodCallExpression.Method.GetGenericMethodDefinition();
You could use Type.GetMethods and filter the results. Though you'd have to worry about future runtime changes breaking this approach.
var method = typeof(Queryable).GetMethods()
.Where(m => m.IsGenericMethod
&& m.Name == nameof(Queryable.OrderBy)
&& m.GetParameters().Length == 2)
.Single();
In both cases you'd then need to call .MakeGenericMethod to supply the correct generic parameters.
var genericSortMethod = method.MakeGenericMethod(typeof(TEntityType), prop.Type);
Or you could create a delegate and pull the method from there. Again, getting the generic constraints correct is a bit fiddly. But can be easier with a helper method. Which is similar to how the linq runtime locates this MethodInfo.
public MethodInfo GetOrderFunc<T, V>(Func<IQueryable<T>, Expression<Func<T, V>>, IOrderedQueryable<T>> func)
=> func.Method;
var genericSortMethod = GetOrderFunc<TEntityType, V>(Queryable.OrderBy);
If you don't know the argument value type, you could call that method via reflection.
Now you can either invoke the method;
var orderedQuery = (IOrderedQueryable<TEntityType>)genericSortMethod.Invoke(null, new object[] { query, sortLambda });
Or by reading the source code, recreate what those methods actually do.
var expression = query.Expression;
expression = Expression.Call(
typeof(Queryable),
genericSortMethod,
new Type[] { typeof(TEntityType), prop.Type },
expression,
Expression.Quote(sortLambda));
var orderedQuery = (IOrderedQueryable<T>)query.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(expression);
No matter how you approach this, you need to take an IQueryable<TEntity> query parameter, and return an IOrderedQueryable<TEntity>. Or just stop at creating the Expression<Func<>>.
The other, other option is to move all the generic mucking around into a helper method. Then invoke that method via reflection. Obtaining the generic MethodInfo using one of the same approaches explained above.
public IOrderedQueryable<T> Order<T, V>(this IQueryable<T> query, Expression<Func<T, V>> key, bool then, bool desc)
=> (desc)
? (then ? ((IOrderedQueryable<T>)query).ThenByDescending(key) : query.OrderByDescending(key))
: (then ? ((IOrderedQueryable<T>)query).ThenBy(key) : query.OrderBy(key));

Call Any inside Expression and pass the delegate

I have a scenario here where I need to hit a dynamic query using linq (with nhibernate). The final query should look like this:
long[] values = { ... };
var result = Queryable<Entity>.Where(x => x.Documents.Any(d => values.Contains(d.Id)))
.ToList();
The generic Entity and the property Documents can change and it will be defined by some user configurations. The type of collection Documents is ICollection<T> where T is Document type. I am trying to create an Expression tree to define these statements dynamically but I am getting some issues. Look the code and comments bellow of what I have tried.
I have create this function to return the delagate I want to use inside the Any method:
public static Func<T, bool> GetFunc<T>(long[] values)
where T : Entity
{
return x => values.Contains(x.Id);
}
And I am using the Expression class to make the expression like this (see code and comments):
// define my parameter of expression
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "x");
// I get an array of IDs (long) as argument and transform it on an Expression
var valuesExpression = Expression.Constant(values);
// define the access to my collection property. propertyFilter is propertyinfo for the `Documents` of the sample above.
// I get an expression to represent: x.Documents
var collectionPropertyExpression = Expression.Property(parameter, propertyFilter);
// get the T generic type of the ICollection<T> from propertyFilter. I get the `Documents` of sample above.
var entityFilterType = propertyFilter.PropertyType.GetGenericArguments()[0];
// get the definition of `Any` extension method from `Enumerable` class to make the expression
var anyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods(BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Public)
.First(x => x.Name == "Any" && x.GetParameters().Length == 2)
.MakeGenericMethod(entityFilterType);
// get a methodBase for GetFunc to get the delagete to use inside the Any
// using the `Document` generic type
var collectionBody = typeof(LookUpHelper).GetMethod("GetFunc", BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static)
.MakeGenericMethod(entityFilterType);
// call the any passing the collection I need and convert it to a Delegate
// I get something like: x => values.Contains(x.Id) ... where x if the `Document`
var func = (Delegate)collectionBody.Invoke(null, new object[] { values });
// get the func as an expression .. maybe the problem is here
var funcExpression = Expression.Constant(func);
// call the any passing the collection and my delagate as arguments
var f = Expression.Call(anyMethod, collectionPropertyExpression, funcExpression);
// I already have an expression and concatenate it using `AndAlso` operator.
body = Expression.AndAlso(body, f);
// finally, I built up to lambda expression and apply it on my queryable
var filterExpression = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(body, parameter);
var result = Queryable.Where(filterExpression).ToList();
It executes until the query be executed by ToList method. I am getting the following error:
Could not parse expression
'x.Documents.Any(value(System.Func`2[Project.Document,System.Boolean]))':
The object of type 'System.Linq.Expressions.ConstantExpression' cannot
be converted to type 'System.Linq.Expressions.LambdaExpression'. If
you tried to pass a delegate instead of a LambdaExpression, this is
not supported because delegates are not parsable expressions.
I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Someone can help me?
Thank you.

You are passing a Func where an Expression<Func> is expected. The former is a delegate and the latter is an expression.
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>> GetFunc<T>(long[] values)
where T : Entity
{
return x => values.Contains(x.Id);
}
Now you forego needing to build the expression manually with your expression helper class since you already have the expression.

Cannot resolve method between Enumerable and Queryable candidates

I have this method in a class called Invoice:
public static Expression<Func<Invoice, bool>> IsAllocated()
{
return i => i.TotalAmountDue == i.GetAllocationsTotal();
}
I have a list like this:
IQueryable<Invoice> invoices
And I need to filter it like that (it's Linq to Entity):
var filteredInvoices = invoices.Where(i => Invoice.IsAllocated());
In this line I'm getting two errors:
Cannot resolve method ... candidates are .... one in Enumerable and the other on in Queryable.
And also:
Cannot convert expression type Expression<Func<Invoice,bool>> to
return type 'bool'
I've tried a lot of things I've found in SO with no luck. Can someone say me what is missing here or at least, which one of the two errors is at the root of the problem?

Your method returns an appropriate expression tree already - you just need to call it, not call it in a lambda expression:
var filteredInvoices = invoices.Where(Invoice.IsAllocated());

Expression are representation and not delegate by themselves. You should create a delegate out of it first
static Expression<Func<Invoice, bool>> IsAllocatedExpr()
{
return i => i.TotalAmountDue == i.GetAllocationsTotal();
}
public static Func<Invoice, bool> IsAllocated = IsAllocatedExpr().Compile();
and then
var filteredInvoices = invoices.Where(i => Invoice.IsAllocated(i));

C# Expressions easy conversion with == or Equals operator and external parameter

Let's say i had two parameters:
parameter 1 an expression that takes a T and fetches the associated product's ID from it
Expression<Func<T,int>> prodIdProperty = x=>x.Product.Id
parameter 2 a productid to compare with , let's say
int productid = 5;
Is there any way I could runtime transform this (in code) into a new expression like this:
Expression<Func<T,bool>> prodIdProperty = x=>x.Product.Id == 5
I basically need something like this:
Expression<Func<T,bool>> TransformToPredicate(Expression<Func<T,int>> prodIdProperty,int productid){
//insert expression transform magic I don't seem to grasp...
}
I need this because I want to pass it as a predicate to my EF Where clause, that means I cannot included Compiled versions of my prodIdProperty as It requires calling Invoke() wich is not supported
(I already tried formulating my problem another way in this question, but I think I overcomplicated it there)

It sounds like you want something like:
Expression<Func<T, bool>> TransformToPredicate(
Expression<Func<T, int>> prodIdProperty,
int productId)
{
Expression equals = Expression.Equal(prodIdProperty.Body,
Expression.Constant(productId));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(equals, prodIdProperty.Parameters);
}
Sample code showing it in action:
using System;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
class Test
{
static Expression<Func<T, bool>> TransformToPredicate<T>(
Expression<Func<T, int>> prodIdProperty,
int productId)
{
Expression equals = Expression.Equal(prodIdProperty.Body,
Expression.Constant(productId));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(equals, prodIdProperty.Parameters);
}
static void Main()
{
Expression<Func<string, int>> length = x => x.Length;
var predicate = TransformToPredicate(length, 5);
var compiled = predicate.Compile();
Console.WriteLine(compiled("Hello")); // True
Console.WriteLine(compiled("Foo")); // False
}
}