I have a routine (written with the generous help of others here) that allows me to take a List objects, and using any number of properties in any order it dynamically builds a TreeView structure with a Count at each node. This dynamic ability is a firm user requirement.
So a source List of:
{Prop1 = "A", Prop2 = "I", Prop3 = "X"},
{Prop1 = "A", Prop2 = "J", Prop3 = "X"},
{Prop1 = "B", Prop2 = "I", Prop3 = "X"},
{Prop1 = "B", Prop2 = "I", Prop3 = "Y"},
{Prop1 = "C", Prop2 = "K", Prop3 = "Z"}
Gives the following when the Selection is by Prop1 by Prop3:
Total (5)
- A(2)
- - X(2)
- B(2)
- - X(1)
- - Y(1)
- C(1)
- - Z(1)
Functionally this works fine. However, the performance leaves a lot to be desired when the number of distinct values increases. For example - one particular run in a dataset with 5K objects and 1K distinct values in Prop1 will take several seconds.
Here is the routine:
public static class TreeBuilder
{
public static Dictionary<string, TreeItem> BuildTree<TSource>(List<TSource> source, List<string> columns)
{
return new Dictionary<string, TreeItem>()
{
{ "Total",
new TreeItem()
{
Key = "Total",
RawKey = "Total",
Count = source.Count,
Items = GroupBySelector<TSource>(source, columns, 0, "Total")
}
}
};
}
public static MethodInfo GetGenericMethod(this Type type, string name, Type[] genericTypeArgs, Type[] paramTypes)
{
foreach (MethodInfo method in type.GetMethods())
if (method.Name == name)
{
var pa = method.GetParameters();
if (pa.Length == paramTypes.Length)
{
var genericMethod = method.MakeGenericMethod(genericTypeArgs);
if (genericMethod.GetParameters().Select(p => p.ParameterType).SequenceEqual(paramTypes))
return genericMethod;
}
}
return null;
}
private static MethodInfo GetGroupByMethodStatically<TElement, TKey>()
=> typeof(Enumerable).GetGenericMethod("GroupBy", new[] { typeof(TElement), typeof(TKey) }, new[] { typeof(IEnumerable<TElement>), typeof(Func<TElement, TKey>) });
private static MethodInfo GetEnumerableMethod(string methodName, Type tElement, Type tTKey)
{
var tIElement = typeof(IEnumerable<>).MakeGenericType(tElement);
var tFunction = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(tElement, tTKey);
return typeof(Enumerable).GetGenericMethod(methodName, new[] { tElement, tTKey }, new[] { tIElement, tFunction });
}
private static MethodInfo GetEnumerableMethod(string methodName, Type tElement)
{
var tIELEMENT = typeof(IEnumerable<>).MakeGenericType(tElement);
return typeof(Enumerable).GetGenericMethod(methodName, new[] { tElement }, new[] { tIELEMENT });
}
public static Dictionary<string, TreeItem> GroupBySelector<TElement>(IEnumerable<TElement> source, IList<string> columnNames, int entry = 0, string key = "")
{
if (source == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(source));
List<string> columnParameters = columnNames[entry].Split('|').ToList();
string columnName = columnParameters[0];
if (columnName == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(columnName));
if (columnName.Length == 0) throw new ArgumentException(nameof(columnName));
int nextEntry = entry + 1;
var tElement = typeof(TElement);
var tIElement = typeof(IEnumerable<TElement>);
var keyParm = Expression.Parameter(tElement);
var prop = Expression.Property(keyParm, columnName);
var param = Expression.Parameter(tIElement, "p");
var groupByMethod = GetEnumerableMethod("GroupBy", tElement, prop.Type);
var groupByExpr = Expression.Lambda(prop, keyParm);
var bodyExprCall = Expression.Call(groupByMethod, param, groupByExpr);
var tSelectInput = typeof(IGrouping<,>).MakeGenericType(prop.Type, tElement);
var selectParam = Expression.Parameter(tSelectInput, "p");
var tKey = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("Key").Single();
var tRawKey = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("RawKey").Single();
var tCount = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("Count").Single();
var tParentKey = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("ParentKey").Single();
var tItems = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("Items").Single();
Expression selectParamKey = Expression.Property(selectParam, "Key");
Expression selectParamRawKey = selectParamKey;
if (selectParamKey.Type != typeof(string))
{
var toStringMethod = selectParamKey.Type.GetMethod("ToString", Type.EmptyTypes);
selectParamKey = Expression.Call(selectParamKey, toStringMethod);
}
if (selectParamRawKey.Type != typeof(string))
{
var toStringMethod = selectParamRawKey.Type.GetMethod("ToString", Type.EmptyTypes);
selectParamRawKey = Expression.Call(selectParamRawKey, toStringMethod);
}
var countMethod = GetEnumerableMethod("Count", tElement);
var countMethodExpr = Expression.Call(countMethod, selectParam);
var concatFullKeyExpr = Expression.Call(typeof(string).GetMethod("Concat", new[] { typeof(string), typeof(string), typeof(string) }),
Expression.Constant(key),
Expression.Constant("|"),
selectParamRawKey);
var groupBySelectorMethod = GetGenericMethod(MethodBase.GetCurrentMethod().DeclaringType, "GroupBySelector", new[] { tElement }, new[] { tIElement, typeof(IList<string>), typeof(int), typeof(string) });
var groupBySelectorMethodExpr = Expression.Call(groupBySelectorMethod, selectParam, Expression.Constant(columnNames), Expression.Constant(nextEntry), concatFullKeyExpr);
var newMenuItemExpr = Expression.New(typeof(TreeItem));
var selectBodyExpr = Expression.MemberInit(newMenuItemExpr, new[] {
Expression.Bind(tKey, selectParamKey),
Expression.Bind(tRawKey, selectParamRawKey),
Expression.Bind(tParentKey, Expression.Constant(key) ),
Expression.Bind(tCount, countMethodExpr),
Expression.Bind(tItems, groupBySelectorMethodExpr)
});
var selectBodyExprLamba = Expression.Lambda(selectBodyExpr, selectParam);
var selectBodyLastExpr = Expression.MemberInit(newMenuItemExpr, new[] {
Expression.Bind(tKey, selectParamKey),
Expression.Bind(tRawKey, selectParamRawKey),
Expression.Bind(tParentKey, Expression.Constant(key) ),
Expression.Bind(tCount, countMethodExpr)
});
var selectBodyLastExprLambda = Expression.Lambda(selectBodyLastExpr, selectParam);
var selectMethod = GetEnumerableMethod("Select", tSelectInput, typeof(TreeItem));
bodyExprCall = Expression.Call(selectMethod, bodyExprCall, (nextEntry < columnNames.Count) ? selectBodyExprLamba : selectBodyLastExprLambda);
var selectParamout = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TreeItem), "o");
Expression selectParamKeyout = Expression.Property(selectParamout, "FullKey");
var selectParamKeyLambda = Expression.Lambda(selectParamKeyout, selectParamout);
var lmi = GetEnumerableMethod("ToDictionary", typeof(TreeItem), typeof(string));
bodyExprCall = Expression.Call(lmi, bodyExprCall, selectParamKeyLambda);
var returnFunc = Expression.Lambda<Func<IEnumerable<TElement>, Dictionary<string, TreeItem>>>(bodyExprCall, param).Compile();
return returnFunc(source);
}
}
The routine is used to take data from a DB table and convert it into a hierarchical structure for use in a WPF TreeView.
Dictionary<string, TreeItem> treeItems = new Dictionary<string, TreeItem>();
treeItems = TreeBuilder.BuildTree<IDBRecord>(DBService.GetDBRecordList(), PropertySortList);
Can anyone offer any advice on how to improve the performance of this routine? Or suggest any alternative way of achieving the same result in a more performant way?
Thanks
A couple of optimizations are possible. A lot of time is spent in the call to Compile and you are calling Compile for each key at each level in the tree, which is adding up to a lot of overhead, about 7 seconds on my tests of 5k items. I first changed the code to pull out all static Reflection that had fixed types, so it is only done once per program run. That only made a small difference, since building the Expression tree is not the main issue.
I then changed the method to separate building the Expression from compiling the Expression and calling the resultant lambda. This allowed me to modify the recursive call to the Expression builder to instead be an inline Invoke of a new lambda for the new level. Then I called compile once on the resulting Expression and executed it. The new version no longer takes the entry parameter, but it could be put back in.
This reduced the overall time from about 7.6 seconds to 0.14 seconds for around a 50x speedup. A test with all three properties resulted in a 280x speedup.
If it is still possible for repeated calls to the method, adding a cache would be of even more benefit, though a quick test only shows about 14% time savings, and in the hundredths of a second of real time.
static MemberInfo tKey = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("Key").Single();
static MemberInfo tRawKey = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("RawKey").Single();
static MemberInfo tCount = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("Count").Single();
static MemberInfo tParentKey = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("ParentKey").Single();
static MemberInfo tItems = typeof(TreeItem).GetMember("Items").Single();
// Concat(string, string, string)
static MethodInfo Concat3MI = ((Func<string, string, string, string>)String.Concat).Method;
// new TreeItem() { ... }
static NewExpression newMenuItemExpr = Expression.New(typeof(TreeItem));
// Enumerable.ToDictionary<TreeItem>(IEnumerable<TreeItem>, Func<TreeItem,string>)
static MethodInfo ToDictionaryMI = GetEnumerableMethod("ToDictionary", typeof(TreeItem), typeof(string));
static Expression<Func<IEnumerable<TElement>, Dictionary<string, TreeItem>>> BuildGroupBySelector<TElement>(IList<string> columnNames, int entry, Expression key) {
List<string> columnParameters = columnNames[entry].Split('|').ToList();
string columnName = columnParameters[0];
if (columnName == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(columnName));
if (columnName.Length == 0) throw new ArgumentException(nameof(columnName));
int nextEntry = entry + 1;
var tElement = typeof(TElement);
var tIElement = typeof(IEnumerable<TElement>);
// (TElement kp)
var keyParm = Expression.Parameter(tElement, "kp");
// kp.columnName
var prop = Expression.Property(keyParm, columnName);
// (IEnumerable<TElement> p)
var IEParam = Expression.Parameter(tIElement, "p");
// GroupBy<TElement>(IEnumerable<TElement>, Func<TElement, typeof(kp.columnName)>)
var groupByMethod = GetEnumerableMethod("GroupBy", tElement, prop.Type);
// kp => kp.columnName
var groupByExpr = Expression.Lambda(prop, keyParm);
// GroupBy(p, kp => kp.columnName)
var bodyExprCall = Expression.Call(groupByMethod, IEParam, groupByExpr);
// typeof(IGrouping<typeof(kp.columnName), TElement>)
var tSelectInput = typeof(IGrouping<,>).MakeGenericType(prop.Type, tElement);
// (IGrouping<typeof(kp.columnName), TElement> sp)
var selectParam = Expression.Parameter(tSelectInput, "sp");
// sp.Key
Expression selectParamKey = Expression.Property(selectParam, "Key");
Expression selectParamRawKey = selectParamKey;
if (selectParamKey.Type != typeof(string)) {
var toStringMethod = selectParamKey.Type.GetMethod("ToString", Type.EmptyTypes);
// sp.Key.ToString()
selectParamKey = Expression.Call(selectParamKey, toStringMethod);
selectParamRawKey = selectParamKey;
}
// Count<TElement>()
var countMethod = GetEnumerableMethod("Count", tElement);
// sp.Count()
var countMethodExpr = Expression.Call(countMethod, selectParam);
LambdaExpression selectBodyExprLamba;
if (nextEntry < columnNames.Count) {
// Concat(key, "|", sp.Key.ToString())
var concatFullKeyExpr = Expression.Call(Concat3MI, key, Expression.Constant("|"), selectParamRawKey);
// p# => p#.GroupBy().Select().ToDictionary()
var groupBySelectorLambdaExpr = BuildGroupBySelector<TElement>(columnNames, nextEntry, (Expression)concatFullKeyExpr);
// Invoke(p# => p#..., sp#)
var groupBySelectorInvokeExpr = Expression.Invoke(groupBySelectorLambdaExpr, selectParam);
var selectBodyExpr = Expression.MemberInit(newMenuItemExpr, new[] {
Expression.Bind(tKey, selectParamKey),
Expression.Bind(tRawKey, selectParamRawKey),
Expression.Bind(tParentKey, key ),
Expression.Bind(tCount, countMethodExpr),
Expression.Bind(tItems, groupBySelectorInvokeExpr)
});
// sp => new TreeItem { Key = sp.Key.ToString(), RawKey = sp.Key.ToString(), ParentKey = key, Count = sp.Count(), Items = Invoke(p# => p#..., sp)) }
selectBodyExprLamba = Expression.Lambda(selectBodyExpr, selectParam);
}
else { // Last Level
var selectBodyExpr = Expression.MemberInit(newMenuItemExpr, new[] {
Expression.Bind(tKey, selectParamKey),
Expression.Bind(tRawKey, selectParamRawKey),
Expression.Bind(tParentKey, key ),
Expression.Bind(tCount, countMethodExpr)
});
// sp => new TreeItem { Key = sp.Key.ToString(), RawKey = sp.Key.ToString(), ParentKey = key, Count = sp.Count() }
selectBodyExprLamba = Expression.Lambda(selectBodyExpr, selectParam);
}
// Enumerable.Select<IGrouping<typeof<kp.columnName>, TElement>>(IEnumerable<IGrouping<>>, Func<IGrouping<>, TreeItem>)
var selectMethod = GetEnumerableMethod("Select", tSelectInput, typeof(TreeItem));
// p.GroupBy(kp => kp => kp.columnName).Select(sp => ...)
bodyExprCall = Expression.Call(selectMethod, bodyExprCall, selectBodyExprLamba);
// (TreeItem o)
var selectParamout = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TreeItem), "o");
// o.FullKey
Expression selectParamKeyout = Expression.Property(selectParamout, "FullKey");
// o => o.FullKey
var selectParamKeyLambda = Expression.Lambda(selectParamKeyout, selectParamout);
// p.GroupBy(...).Select(...).ToDictionary(o => o.FullKey)
bodyExprCall = Expression.Call(ToDictionaryMI, bodyExprCall, selectParamKeyLambda);
// p => p.GroupBy(kp => kp => kp.columnName).Select(sp => ...).ToDictionary(o => o.FullKey)
return Expression.Lambda<Func<IEnumerable<TElement>, Dictionary<string, TreeItem>>>(bodyExprCall, IEParam);
}
public static Dictionary<string, TreeItem> GroupBySelector<TElement>(IEnumerable<TElement> source, IList<string> columnNames, string key = "") {
if (source == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(source));
// p => p.GroupBy(kp => kp => kp.columnName).Select(sp => ...).ToDictionary(o => o.FullKey)
var returnFunc = BuildGroupBySelector<TElement>(columnNames, 0, Expression.Constant(key)).Compile();
return returnFunc(source);
}
Is there possibility to apply searching by any string property of entity? I need to build predicate to use it in LINQ query to database.
var stringPropertyNames = typeof(T)
.GetProperties()
.Where(pi => pi.PropertyType == typeof(string) && pi.GetGetMethod() != null)
.Select(pi => pi.Name);
foreach (var item in stringPropertyNames)
{
// here some code to build Predicate corresponding to sql LIKE statement
}
UPD:
here is working code:
public static IEnumerable<T> ContainsInAnyString<T>(IQueryable<T> collection, string query)
{
var stringPropertyNames = typeof(T)
.GetProperties()
.Where(pi => pi.PropertyType == typeof(string) && pi.GetGetMethod() != null)
.Select(pi => pi.Name);
var item = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "item");
var searchArgument = Expression.Constant(query);
var method = typeof(string).GetMethod("Contains", new[] { typeof(string) });
foreach (var name in stringPropertyNames)
{
var currentProp = Expression.Property(item, name);
var startsWithDishExpr = Expression.Call(currentProp, method, searchArgument);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(startsWithDishExpr, item);
collection = collection.Where(lambda);
}
return collection;
}
Hope it would be helpful for someone.
It really is rather simple:
var entityParameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "entity");
return
Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>
(
Expression.Equal
(
Expression.MakeMemberAccess(entityParameter, propertyInfo),
Expression.Constant(valueToSearchBy)
),
entityParameter
);
Of course, this does A == B. If you want A like '%' + B + '%' instead, you'll have to change the Expression.Equal to string.Contains. I'll leave that as an excercise, since you haven't shown any of your work yet :)
I try to make my custom orderby extension method, i successfully worked my code but in addition i want to list null or empty or zero values last in result, anyone can help me about that issue ?
Here is my extension method to orderby
public static IQueryable<T> OrderBy<T>(this IQueryable<T> q, string SortField, bool isAsc)
{
//var nullExpr = Expression.Constant(null, typeof(T));
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "p");
var prop = Expression.Property(param, SortField);
var exp = Expression.Lambda(prop, param);
string method = isAsc ? "OrderBy" : "OrderByDescending";
Type[] types = new Type[] { q.ElementType, exp.Body.Type };
var mce = Expression.Call(typeof(Queryable), method, types, q.Expression, exp);
return q.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(mce);
}
Thanks in advance
The simplest way is to use
OrderBy(e => String.IsNullOrEmpty(e.TeamName)
This doesn't require any extension method or custom IComparer implementation etc.
var entries = repository.Race.Where(e => e.EventId == id)
.OrderBy(e => String.IsNullOrEmpty(e.TeamName))
.ThenBy(e => e.LastName)
.ThenBy(e => e.FirstName);
Without using an extension method....
Create a custom IComparer<string> to check the empty values before using the default String.Compare. The first checks will return -1 instead of 1 or 1 instead of -1, if using the standard string comparison.
/// <summary>
/// Returns -1 instead of 1 if y is IsNullOrEmpty when x is Not.
/// </summary>
public class EmptyStringsAreLast : IComparer<string>
{
public int Compare(string x, string y)
{
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(y) && !String.IsNullOrEmpty(x))
{
return -1;
}
else if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(y) && String.IsNullOrEmpty(x))
{
return 1;
}
else
{
return String.Compare(x, y);
}
}
}
Pass your EmptyStringsAreLast comparer into the OrderBy of Lambda expression. In this solution teams who have entered the race should appear alphabetical order, but the unaffiliated race entries should appear at then end.
var entries = repository.Race.Where(e => e.EventId == id)
.OrderBy(e => e.TeamName, new EmptyStringsAreLast())
.ThenBy(e => e.LastName)
.ThenBy(e => e.FirstName);
This answer is perhaps what you were originally looking for - using your generic extension method:
public static IQueryable<T> OrderByFieldNullsLast<T>(this IQueryable<T> q, string SortField, bool Ascending)
{
//We are rebuilding .OrderByDescending(p => p.SortField.HasValue).ThenBy(p => p.SortField)
//i.e. sort first by whether sortfield has a value, then by sortfield asc or sortfield desc
//create the expression tree that represents the generic parameter to the predicate
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "p");
//create an expression tree that represents the expression p=>p.SortField.HasValue
var prop = Expression.Property(param, SortField);
var hasValue = Expression.Property(prop, "HasValue");
var exp = Expression.Lambda(hasValue, param);
string method = "OrderByDescending";
Type[] types = new Type[] { q.ElementType, exp.Body.Type };
var orderByCallExpression = Expression.Call(typeof(Queryable), method, types, q.Expression, exp);
//now do the ThenBy bit,sending in the above expression to the Expression.Call
exp = Expression.Lambda(prop, param);
types = new Type[] { q.ElementType, exp.Body.Type };
method = Ascending ? "ThenBy" : "ThenByDescending";
var ThenByCallExpression = Expression.Call(typeof(Queryable), method, types,orderByCallExpression, exp);
return q.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(ThenByCallExpression);
}
Building on Dave Anson's answer, you can user Comparer.Create() to create the Comparer from a lambda. Here's an example that sorts unsorted by its myString string fields, with null or empty strings appearing last.
var sorted = unsorted.OrderBy(x => x.myString, Comparer<string>.Create((x, y) => {
if ( string.IsNullOrEmpty(y) && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(x)) return -1;
else if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(y) && string.IsNullOrEmpty(x)) return +1;
else return string.Compare(x, y);
}))
(To put them first, switch the signs on the 1 constants)
it works for me:
private static IQueryable<T> GetOrderQuery<T>(this IQueryable<T> q, BaseFilterCollection filter)
{
q = q.OrderBy(GetExpression<T>(filter.SortField));
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "p");
var prop = Expression.Property(param, filter.SortField);
var exp = Expression.Lambda(prop, param);
string method = filter.SortDirection == SortDirectionType.Asc ? "ThenBy" : "ThenByDescending";
Type[] types = { q.ElementType, exp.Body.Type };
var rs = Expression.Call(typeof(Queryable), method, types, q.Expression, exp);
return q.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(rs);
}
private static Expression<Func<T, bool>> GetExpression<T>(string sortField)
{
ParameterExpression param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "p");
Expression prop = Expression.Property(param, sortField);
var info = typeof(T).GetProperty(sortField, BindingFlags.IgnoreCase | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);
Expression exp = Expression.Equal(prop, info.PropertyType.IsValueType
? Expression.Constant(Activator.CreateInstance(info.PropertyType))
: Expression.Constant(null));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(exp, param);
}
You dont need to complicate, the easiest way is to do something like this:
YourList.OrderByDescending(x => string.IsNullOrEmpty(x.value)
Use OrderByDescending or OrderBy depending on if you want to see empty strings in the beginning or last.
Regards
I currently have the following code which allows me to call any method required on the EmailAddress property of my object, and it works great:
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>> BuildEmailAddressLambda(string method, params object[] args) {
var e = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "e");
var propertyInfo = typeof(T).GetProperty("EmailAddress");
var m = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(e, propertyInfo);
var mi = m.Type.GetMethod(method, args.Select(a => a.GetType()).ToArray());
var c = args.Select(a => Expression.Constant(a, a.GetType())).ToArray();
Expression<Func<T, bool>> lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(Expression.Call(m, mi, c), e);
return lambda;
}
// called:
lambda = LambdaExpressionHelper<MailingListMember>.BuildEmailAddressLambda("StartsWith", "r", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
However, I now need to amend the code so that it works for members of my object other than EmailAddress. Specifically, I would like to create a tree to cover the following expression, where multiple method calls are used:
e.GetStringValue(12).StartsWith("r", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
I have made several attempts, all of which end up in various errors. I feel I am missing something in the logic of how ExpressionTrees are created and some help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Is this good for you?
public static Expression<Func<T, bool>> BuildEmailAddressLambda<T>(
string member, IEnumerable<object> memberArgs, string method, params object[] args)
{
var e = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "e");
var memberInfo =
(MemberInfo) typeof(T).GetField(member) ??
(MemberInfo) typeof(T).GetProperty(member) ??
(MemberInfo) typeof(T).GetMethod(member, (memberArgs ?? Enumerable.Empty<object>()).Select(p => p.GetType()).ToArray());
Expression m;
if (memberInfo.MemberType == MemberTypes.Method)
{
var a = memberArgs.Select(p => Expression.Constant(p));
m = Expression.Call(e, (MethodInfo) memberInfo, a);
}
else
{
m = Expression.MakeMemberAccess(e, memberInfo);
}
var mi = m.Type.GetMethod(method, args.Select(a => a.GetType()).ToArray());
var c = args.Select(a => Expression.Constant(a, a.GetType()));
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(Expression.Call(m, mi, c), e);
}
// called:
lambda = LambdaExpressionHelper<MailingListMember>.BuildEmailAddressLambda("EmailAddress", null, "StartsWith", "r", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
// or
lambda = LambdaExpressionHelper<MailingListMember>.BuildEmailAddressLambda("GetStringValue", new object[] { 12 }, "StartsWith", "r", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);