How can I define a lambdaexpression that I want to use in a linq query as a variable?
For example when sorting a generic list by different properties of the listitems:
IList<SampleClass> list = new List<SampleClass>();
// Populate list
...
list.OrderBy(sampleclass => sampleclass.property1);
list.OrderBy(sampleclass => sampleclass.property2);
I would like to define the lambda expression (sampleclass => sampleclass.property1) in a variable and call:
// ??? define expression in a variable ???
Expression expression = sampleclass => sampleclass.property1;
// Sort list by variable expression
list.OrderBy(expression);
Thanks in advance
Tobi
You can use one of Func overloads (Func<T, TResult> precisely):
Func<SampleClass, PropertyType> expr = sampleclass => sampleclass.property1;
list.OrderBy(expr);
PropertyType is the type of variable stored as property1 in your SampleClass. If it was for example string, you would use Func<SampleClass, string>.
Define a Func<TSampleClass, TPropertyType> as follows:
List<SampleClass> list = new List<SampleClass>();
Func<SampleClass, int> expr = (c) => c.SomeProperty;
_HungerLevel = level;
class SampleClass
{
public int SomeProperty { get; set; }
}
You can use:
Func<SampleClass, int> f = sampleClass => sampleClass.Property1;
list.OrderBy(f);
This presumes the type of Property1 is int.
You have almost already done it.
The parameter is any function taking an item from the sequence and giving its key as a result (the key on which the ordering will be done). A lambda expression is just a variety of such a function.
These notations are possible :
list.OrderBy(sampleclass => sampleclass.property1);
or
Func<SampleClass,string> getKey = sampleclass => sampleclass.property1;
list.OrderBy(getKey);
or
string GetKey(SampleClass sampleclass)
{
return sampleclass.property1;
}
list.OrderBy(GetKey);
(I supposed here that property1 was a string but it's of course not a requirement !)
Just like other people said, you can use Func<T, TResult> to store delegate to your function.
If you want to use something else than Linq-To-Objects, then you should enclose this in Expression too. Something like Expression<Func<T, TResult>>.
If you are talking purely about LINQ to Objects, there's no need for Expressions here because the argument to Enumerable.OrderBy is a Func delegate:
var list = new List<SampleClass> ();
Func<SampleClass, PropertyType1) orderSelector1 = (obj => obj.Property1); // parentheses for clarity
var sequence1 = list.OrderBy (orderSelector1);
Func<SampleClass, PropertyType2) orderSelector1 = (obj => obj.Property2);
var sequence2 = list.OrderBy (orderSelector2);
If you want to assign multiple times, you can make Func return object:
var list = new List<SampleClass> ();
Func<SampleClass, object> orderSelector;
orderSelector = (obj => obj.Property1);
var sequence1 = list.OrderBy (orderSelector);
orderSelector = (obj => obj.Property2);
var sequence2 = list.OrderBy (orderSelector);
If you truly want dynamic property selection, i.e. calling OrderBy with a property specified by a string, you would need Expressions. There are plenty of examples in this thread that allow you to do something like:
var list = new List<SampleClass> ();
var sequence1 = list.OrderBy ("Property1");
var sequence2 = list.OrderBy ("Property2");
Related
I have an IQueryable<T> from my DbSet in Entity Framework. I am provided a "Fuzzy Search String", named searchText, like so:
public List<T> Search<T>(string searchText)
{
using (var context = ...)
{
var baseQuery = context.Set<T>().AsQueryable();
baseQuery = baseQuery.Where(x =>
DbFunctions.Like(x.PropertyName, searchText)
|| DbFunctions.Like(x.PropertyTwo, searchText)
|| DbFunctions.Like(x.PropertyThree, searchText)
|| DbFunctio..... etc
);
return baseQuery.ToList();
}
}
But given the generic nature, I don't know what properties there are on the type. I can provide an abstract method to somebody implementing this which allows them to give me a List of Properties (or even PropertyInfo or whatever else, I can figure that out). But I don't know how to dynamically create the expression. This is what I have so far:
var baseQuery = context.Set<T>().AsQueryable();
var expression = baseQuery.Expression;
var colName = "colName"; // Or names, I can iterate.
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "x");
var selector = Expression.PropertyOrField(parameter, colName);
expression = Expression.Call(typeof(DbFunctions), nameof(DbFunctions.Like),
new Type[] { baseQuery.ElementType, selector.Type },
expression, Expression.Quote(Expression.Lambda(selector, parameter)));
The problem here is... well, it doesn't work to begin with. But mainly that I'm not using the searchText anywhere in it, and don't know how to plug it in. I THINK I'm close... but have spent an inordinate amount of time on it.
Hopefully I'm getting your query logic right: if you want to build a set of LIKE conditions based on known type and list of column names, you could try something like this:
static private MethodInfo dbLikeMethod = typeof(DbFunctions).GetMethod(nameof(DbFunctions.Like), BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Static, null, new Type[] {typeof(string), typeof(string)}, null); // I am targeting DbFunctions.Like(string, string). You might want another overload (or even mix them up depending on your inputs)
public List<T> Search<T>(string searchText) where T: class
{
using (var context = new ...)
{
var baseQuery = context.Set<T>().AsQueryable().Where(CreateExpression<T>(searchText));// you could probably find a more elegant way of plugging it into your query
return baseQuery.ToList();
}
}
Expression<Func<T, bool>> CreateExpression<T>(string searchText) where T : class
{
var cols = new List<string> {
"PropertyName",
"PropertyTwo" // i understand you've got a way to figure out which strings you need here
};
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "x");
var dbLikeCalls = cols.Select(colName => Expression.Call(dbLikeMethod, Expression.PropertyOrField(parameter, colName), Expression.Constant(searchText))); // for convenience, generate list of DbFunctions.Like(x.<Property>, searchText) expressions here
var aggregatedCalls = dbLikeCalls.Skip(1).Aggregate((Expression)dbLikeCalls.First(), (accumulate, call) => Expression.OrElse(accumulate, call)); // aggregate the list using || operators: use first item as a seed and keep adding onto it
return Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(aggregatedCalls, parameter);
}
It's possible to declare a lambda function and immediately call it:
Func<int, int> lambda = (input) => { return 1; };
int output = lambda(0);
I'm wondering if it's possible to do so in one line, e.g. something like
int output = (input) => { return 1; }(0);
which gives a compiler error "Method name expected". Casting to Func<int, int> doesn't work either:
int output = (Func<int, int>)((input) => { return 1; })(0);
gives the same error, and for reasons mentioned below I'd like to avoid having to explicitly specify the input argument type (the first int).
You're probably wondering why I want to do this, instead of just embedding the code directly, e.g. int output = 1;. The reason is as follows: I've generated a reference for a SOAP webservice with svcutil, which because of the nested elements generates extremely long class names, which I'd like to avoid having to type out. So instead of
var o = await client.GetOrderAsync(request);
return new Order {
OrderDate = o.OrderDate,
...
Shipments = o.Shipment_Order == null ? new Shipment[0]
o.Shipment_Order.Select(sh => new Shipment {
ShipmentID = sh.ShipmentID,
...
Address = CreateAddress(sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment);
}).ToArray()
};
and a separate CreateAddress(GetOrderResultOrderShipment_OrderShipmentShipment_Address address) method (real names are even longer, and I have very limited control about the form), I'd like to write
var o = await client.GetOrderAsync(request);
return new Order {
OrderDate = o.OrderDate,
...
Shipments = o.Shipment_Order == null ? new Shipment[0]
o.Shipment_Order.Select(sh => new Shipment {
ShipmentID = sh.ShipmentID,
...
Address = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment == null ? null : () => {
var a = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment.Address;
return new Address {
Street = a.Street
...
};
}()
}).ToArray()
};
I know I could write
Address = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment == null ? null : new Address {
Street = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment.Address.Street,
...
}
but even that (the sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment.Address part) becomes very repetitive if there are many fields. Declaring a lambda and immediately calling it would be more elegant less characters to write.
Instead of trying to cast the lambda, I propose you use a small helper function:
public static TOut Exec<TIn, TOut>(Func<TIn, TOut> func, TIn input) => func(input);
which you could then use like this: int x = Exec(myVar => myVar + 2, 0);. This reads a lot nicer to me than the alternatives suggested here.
It's ugly, but it's possible:
int output = ((Func<int, int>)(input => { return 1; }))(0);
Anonymous functions, including lambda expressions, are implicitly convertible to a delegate that matches their signature, but this syntax requires the lambda to be enclosed in parentheses.
The above can be simplified as well:
int output = ((Func<int, int>)(input => 1))(0);
Lambda literals in C# have a curious distinction in that their meaning is dependent on their type. They are essentially overloaded on their return type which is something does not exist anywhere else in C#. (Numeric literals are somewhat similar.)
The exact same lambda literal can either evaluate to an anonymous function that you can execute (i.e. a Func/Action) or an abstract representation of the operations inside of the Body, kind of like an Abstract Syntax Tree (i.e. a LINQ Expression Tree).
The latter is, for example, how LINQ to SQL, LINQ to XML, etc. work: the lambdas do not evaluate to executable code, they evaluate to LINQ Expression Trees, and the LINQ provider can then use those Expression Trees to understand what the body of the lambda is doing and generate e.g. a SQL Query from that.
In your case, there is no way for the compiler to know wheter the lambda literal is supposed to be evaluated to a Func or a LINQ Expression. That is why Johnathan Barclay's answer works: it gives a type to the lambda expression and therefore, the compiler knows that you want a Func with compiled code that executes the body of your lambda instead of an un-evaluated LINQ Expression Tree that represents the code inside the body of the lambda.
You could inline the declaration of the Func by doing
int output = (new Func<int, int>(() => { return 1; }))(0);
and immediately invoking it.
You can also create the alias in the Select method
var o = await client.GetOrderAsync(request);
return new Order {
OrderDate = o.OrderDate,
...
Shipments = o.Shipment_Order == null ? new Shipment[0]
o.Shipment_Order.Select(sh => {
var s = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment;
var a = s.Address;
return new Shipment {
ShipmentID = sh.ShipmentID,
...
Address = s == null ?
null :
new Address {
Street = a.Street
...
}
};
}).ToArray()
};
or with the ?? operator
var o = await client.GetOrderAsync(request);
return new Order {
OrderDate = o.OrderDate,
...
Shipments = o.Shipment_Order?.Select(sh => {
var s = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment;
var a = s.Address;
return new Shipment {
ShipmentID = sh.ShipmentID,
...
Address = s == null ?
null :
new Address {
Street = a.Street
...
}
};
}).ToArray() ?? new Shipment[0]
};
If you don't mind violating a few of the extension methods design guidelines, extension methods combined with null-conditional operator ?. can take you reasonably far:
public static class Extensions
{
public static TOut Map<TIn, TOut>(this TIn value, Func<TIn, TOut> map)
where TIn : class
=> value == null ? default(TOut) : map(value);
public static IEnumerable<T> OrEmpty<T>(this IEnumerable<T> items)
=> items ?? Enumerable.Empty<T>();
}
will give you this:
return new Order
{
OrderDate = o.OrderDate,
Shipments = o.Shipment_Order.OrEmpty().Select(sh => new Shipment
{
ShipmentID = sh.ShipmentID,
Address = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment?.Address.Map(a => new Address
{
Street = a.Street
})
}).ToArray()
};
and if you mostly need arrays, then override ToArray extension method to encapsulate a few more method calls:
public static TOut[] ToArray<TIn, TOut>(this IEnumerable<TIn> items, Func<TIn, TOut> map)
=> items == null ? new TOut[0] : items.Select(map).ToArray();
resulting in:
return new Order
{
OrderDate = o.OrderDate,
Shipments = o.Shipment_Order.ToArray(sh => new Shipment
{
ShipmentID = sh.ShipmentID,
Address = sh.ReceiverAddress_Shipment?.Address.Map(a => new Address
{
Street = a.Street
})
})
};
I'm creating a method that receives a Queryable<T> source, a string with a property name/path (could be a deep property for example "TrParent.DataTypes" to achieve this x => x.TrParent.DataTypes) and Enumerable<int> which holds the values I need to intersect.
Basically I come from the need to create the following query dynamically (I mean <DT_Det_Tr> and TrParent.DataTypes being know only at runtime, in the example DT_Det_Tr is not a type it is a class):
var _vals = new List<int>();
var res = dbContext.Set<DT_Det_Tr>()
.Where
(x => x.TrParent.DataTypes
.Select(t => t.Id)
.Intersect(_vals)
.Any()
);
Please keep in mind that the preceding query is just an example of what I need to achieve dynamically, what I really need is an expression tree that creates a predicate like the one shown above but using a dynamic type and with the deep navigation property specified within a string.
So, I'm using this function to create the expression for the deep property:
private static LambdaExpression CreateDelegateExpression<T>(out Type resultingtype, string property, string parameterName = "x")
{
var type = typeof(T);
ParameterExpression param = Expression.Parameter(type, parameterName);
Expression expr = param;
foreach (string prop in property.Split('.'))
{
PropertyInfo pi = type.GetProperty(prop);
expr = Expression.Property(expr, pi);
type = pi.PropertyType;
}
Type delegateType = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(typeof(T), type);
LambdaExpression lambda = Expression.Lambda(delegateType, expr, param);
resultingtype = type;
return lambda;
}
And here is what I have so far for my function:
public static IQueryable<T> Intersect<T>(this IQueryable<T> source, string property, IEnumerable<int> value)
{
//List of ids
var _value = Expression.Constant(value);
//Get delegate expression to the deep property and it's inner type
Type type = null;
var lambda = CreateDelegateExpression<T>(out type, property, "x");
var enumtype = type.GetGenericArguments()[0];
ParameterExpression tpe = Expression.Parameter(enumtype, "y");
Expression propExp = Expression.Property(tpe, enumtype.GetProperty("Id"));
MethodInfo innermethod = typeof(Queryable).GetMethods().Where(x => x.Name == "Select").First();
//Error on next line...
var selectCall = Expression.Call(typeof(Queryable),
"Select",
new Type[] { enumtype, typeof(long) },
lambda,
propExp);
//TODO: Add rest of logic and actually filter the source
return source;
}
In the var selectCall = line I'm getting error:
No generic method 'Select' 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.
I've read a lot here on SO and other sites but I can't get past this part, I feel I'm going to bump into more trouble when I get to the .Intersect(List<int>).Any() part so any help on that also would be grand, thanks.
After a lot of thought, investigation and attempts I came up with a solution.
First, I made a simpler version of my goal query (the static example I used in my question), so instead of:
var res = dbContext.Set<DT_Det_Tr>()
.Where
(x => x.TrParent.DataTypes
.Select(t => t.Id)
.Intersect(_vals)
.Any()
);
I made this:
var res = dbContext.Set<DT_Det_Tr>()
.Where
(x => x.TrParent.DataTypes
.Any(y => _vals.Contains(y.Id))
);
Which is a lot easier to translate to expressions (or at least it was for me) because it omits the Select call.
I got rid of the method I was using to create the deep navigation property expression and streamlined it in my Intersect function, this was because it was doing some work I don't really need here plus I needed access to some of the variables I use inside it, then I made this:
public static IQueryable<T> Intersect<T>(this IQueryable<T> source, string property, IEnumerable<int> value)
{
var type = typeof(T);
var _value = Expression.Constant(value); //List of ids
//Declare parameter for outer lambda
ParameterExpression param = Expression.Parameter(type, "x");
//Outer Lambda
Expression expr = param;
foreach (string prop in property.Split('.')) //Dig for deep property
{
PropertyInfo pi = type.GetProperty(prop);
expr = Expression.Property(expr, pi);
type = pi.PropertyType;
}
//Get deep property's type
var enumtype = type.GetGenericArguments()[0];
//Declare parameter for inner lambda
ParameterExpression tpe = Expression.Parameter(enumtype, "y");
//Inner Collection lambda logic
//Property for inner lambda
Expression propExp = Expression.Property(tpe, enumtype.GetProperty("Id"));
//Contains method call .Contains(y.Id)
var containsMethodExp = Expression.Call(typeof(Enumerable), "Contains", new[] { propExp.Type }, _value, propExp);
//Create Expression<Func<enumtype, bool>>
var innerDelegateType = typeof(Func<,>).MakeGenericType(enumtype, typeof(bool));
//Create Inner lambda y => _vals.Contains(y.Id)
var innerFunction = Expression.Lambda(innerDelegateType, containsMethodExp, tpe);
//Get Any method info
var anyMethod = typeof(Enumerable).GetMethods().Where(m => m.Name == "Any" && m.GetParameters().Length == 2).Single().MakeGenericMethod(enumtype);
//Call Any with inner function .Any(y => _vals.Contains(y.Id))
var outerFunction = Expression.Call(anyMethod, expr, innerFunction);
//Call Where
MethodCallExpression whereCallExpression = Expression.Call
(
typeof(Queryable),
"Where",
new Type[] { source.ElementType },
source.Expression,
Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(outerFunction, new ParameterExpression[] { param })
);
//Create and return query
return source.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(whereCallExpression);
}
I hope this helps anyone trying to develop a similar solution.
Working with expression trees can be very hard and frustrating at first, but it's a really powerful tool once you get the hold of it.
If you have access to the dynamic keyword from c# 4.0, you might be able to work around the problem like this:
var _vals = new List<int>();
var res = dbContext.Set<DT_Det_Tr>()
.Where(obj => { dynamic x = obj;
return x.TrParent.DataTypes
.Select(t => t.Id)
.Intersect(_vals)
.Any();
}
);
But I don't know enough about the details of the problem you want to solve to say for sure.
I'm doing a little bit of search from a database using linq. I have multiple column names like country, name, phone number...
Now I've created a dropdownlist and pass the user selected data as a parameter "searchedField" to my controller method. Now if I take the input of a "country", I expect the code to be
entries = entries.Where(s => s.country.Contains(searchString));
If user selected "name"
entries = entries.Where(s => s.name.Contains(searchString));
Excuse me for this rather unreasonable example, since I can always just copy lines and make cases, but I wonder if there is a way to utilize things like reflection to convert string to "code" to access a field?
String searchedField = "name"
...
entries = entries.Where(s => s.searchedField.Contains(searchString));
This is my first question here, thanks!
You can use Dynamic Linq.
entries = entries
.Where(
string.Format(
"{0} = '{1}'",
searchedField,
searchString
)
);
Note: depending on the type of field you'll need to add quotes, or not.
You can do a reflection lookup (note: I've omitted error checking):
string GetPropertyAsString(object obj, string propertyName)
{
var propertyInfo - obj.GetType().GetProperty(propertyName);
return propertyInfo.GetValue(obj).ToString();
}
and then say
entries = entries.Where(s => GetPropertyAsString(s, searchedField).Contains(searchString));
You can build an expression tree for this (which will work with Linq to entities).
public static class QueryableExtensions {
public static IQueryable<T> Filter<T>(this IQueryable<T> queryable, string propertyName, string searchValue)
{
var type = typeof (T);
//this will be the left part of the lambda
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(type, "s");
//s.country for example
var property = Expression.Property(parameter, propertyName);
//string.Contains method
var containsMethod = typeof (string).GetMethod("Contains", new[] {typeof (string)});
//s.country.Contains(<yoursearchvalue>)
var expression = Expression.Call(property, containsMethod, Expression.Constant(searchValue));
//s => s.country.Contains(<yoursearchvalue>)
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(expression, parameter);
//filter your queryable with predicate
return queryable.Where(lambda);
}
}
usage
var fieldtosearch = "country";
entries = entries.Filter(fieldtosearch , searchString);
In general, other than using dynamic linq queries, you could also use Expression to build a generic method to construct a property Getter and use it in your linq query, a quick sampel:
public static Func<TObject, TProperty> GetPropGetter<TObject, TProperty>(string propertyName)
{
ParameterExpression paramExpression = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TObject), "value");
Expression propertyGetterExpression = Expression.Property(paramExpression, propertyName);
Func<TObject, TProperty> result =
Expression.Lambda<Func<TObject, TProperty>>(propertyGetterExpression, paramExpression).Compile();
return result;
}
to use it:
var getter = GetPropGetter<YourEntity, string>("Name");
var found = entites.Where(m => getter(m).Contains("someInput"));
This question already has answers here:
evaluate column name in linq where clause
(2 answers)
Closed 10 years ago.
I have multiple line condition for order by as below
if (enum1)
{
var = itemlist.orderby(r => r.column1)
}
else if (emum2)
{
var = itemlist.orderby(r => r.column2)
}
And so on.. Any way to do such thing dynamically.
What you can do is to better manage the column selection for sorting, e.g. using some collection that holds the Func<> for KeySelector.
E.g. if you have a class name 'SomeDTO' with four properties, Prop1,2,3 and 4. And four corresponding enum members.
var searchByMapping = new Dictionary<SearchByEnum,Func<SomeDTO, object>>();
searchByMapping.Add(SearchByEnum.Prop1, x => x.Prop1);
searchByMapping.Add(SearchByEnum.Prop2, x => x.Prop2);
searchByMapping.Add(SearchByEnum.Prop3, x => x.Prop3);
coll = coll.OrderBy(searchByMapping[searchByEnumParam]).ToList();
This is a not so dynamic approach but a typesafe one.
Supposing your enum can have only two values :
enum yourEnum( X=0, Y}
enum1 was somewhere set:
itemlist = enum1==Enum.X? itemlist.Orderby(r => r.column1): itemlist.Orderby(r => r.column2)
I did using below extension method.
public static class IQueryableExtensions
{
public static IQueryable<T> OrderBy<T>(this IQueryable<T> items, string propertyName)
{
var typeOfT = typeof(T);
var parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeOfT, "parameter");
var propertyType = typeOfT.GetProperty(propertyName).PropertyType;
var propertyAccess = Expression.PropertyOrField(parameter, propertyName);
var orderExpression = Expression.Lambda(propertyAccess, parameter);
var expression = Expression.Call(typeof(Queryable), "OrderBy", new Type[] { typeOfT, propertyType }, items.Expression, Expression.Quote(orderExpression));
return items.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(expression);
}
}