C# using ExpressionTree to map DataTable to List<T> - c#

I have written a ToList(); extension Method to convert a DataTable to List. This just works under some circumstances but we have much old code which uses DataTables and sometimes it's needed. My Problem is that this method works with reflection what is ok but not that performant. I need about 1,2sek for 100.000 DataRows.
So i decided to build this with Expression Trees. At first i want to replace the Setter Call of Properties. Up to this time i could easily get the value:
var exactType = Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(propType) ?? propType;
var wert = Convert.ChangeType(zeile[spaltenname], exactType);
and set it:
propertyInfo.SetValue(tempObjekt, wert, null);
Now i searched StackOverflow and found this:
var zielExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T));
var wertExp = Expression.Parameter(propType);
var propertyExp = Expression.Property(zielExp, matchProp);
var zuweisungExp = Expression.Assign(propertyExp, wertExp);
var setter = Expression.Lambda<Action<T, int>>(zuweisungExp, zielExp, wertExp).Compile();
setter(tempObjekt, wert);
My big Problem is that the Lambda Action expects an integer. But i need this expecting the type of my Property. I have the Type of my Property via PropertyInfo. But can't get this to work. Thought i can easily make:
Action<T, object>
but this results in following excepion:
ArgumentException The ParameterExpression from Type "System.Int32"
cannot be used as Delegateparameter from Type "System.Object".
Someone out there knows a possible solution?

Instead of the generic Expression.Lambda method you can use this overload which takes a type:
public static LambdaExpression Lambda(
Type delegateType,
Expression body,
params ParameterExpression[] parameters
)
Then you can use the Type.MakeGenericType method to create the type for your action:
var actionType = typeof(Action<,>).MakeGenericType(typeof(T), proptype);
var setter = Expression.Lambda(actionType, zuweisungExp, zielExp, wertExp).Compile();
Edit following the comments regarding performance:
You can also just build the expression runtime to map the DataTable to your class of type T with a select, so there's only need to use reflection once, which should greatly improve performance. I wrote the following extension method to convert a DataTable to List<T> (note that this method will throw a runtime exception if you don't plan to map all datacolumns to a property in the class, so be sure to take care of that if that might happen):
public static class LocalExtensions
{
public static List<T> DataTableToList<T>(this DataTable table) where T : class
{
//Map the properties in a dictionary by name for easy access
var propertiesByName = typeof(T)
.GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance)
.ToDictionary(p => p.Name);
var columnNames = table.Columns.Cast<DataColumn>().Select(dc => dc.ColumnName);
//The indexer property to access DataRow["columnName"] is called "Item"
var property = typeof(DataRow).GetProperties().First(p => p.Name == "Item"
&& p.GetIndexParameters().Length == 1
&& p.GetIndexParameters()[0].ParameterType == typeof(string));
var paramExpr = Expression.Parameter(typeof(DataRow), "r");
var newExpr = Expression.New(typeof(T));
//Create the expressions to map properties from your class to the corresponding
//value in the datarow. This will throw a runtime exception if your class
//doesn't contain properties for all columnnames!
var memberBindings = columnNames.Select(columnName =>
{
var pi = propertiesByName[columnName];
var indexExpr = Expression.MakeIndex(paramExpr, property,
new[] { Expression.Constant(columnName) });
//Datarow["columnName"] is of type object, cast to the right type
var convert = Expression.Convert(indexExpr, pi.PropertyType);
return Expression.Bind(pi, convert);
});
var initExpr = Expression.MemberInit(newExpr, memberBindings);
var func = Expression.Lambda<Func<DataRow, T>>(initExpr,paramExpr).Compile();
return table.Rows.Cast<DataRow>().Select(func).ToList();
}
}
Then I wrote a small testclass and some code which creates a datatable of 1,000,000 rows that get mapped to a list. Building the expression + converting to a list now only takes 486ms on my pc (granted it is a very small class of course):
class Test
{
public string TestString { get; set; }
public int TestInt { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
DataTable table = new DataTable();
table.Columns.Add(new DataColumn("TestString", typeof(string)));
table.Columns.Add(new DataColumn("TestInt", typeof(int)));
for(int i = 0; i < 1000000; i++)
{
var row = table.NewRow();
row["TestString"] = $"String number: {i}";
row["TestInt"] = i;
table.Rows.Add(row);
}
var stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
var myList = table.DataTableToList<Test>();
stopwatch.Stop();
Console.WriteLine(stopwatch.Elapsed.ToString());
}
}

I think I've understood you correctly. I cannot translate your variables so I'm taking my best guess here based on what I'm seeing in your question:
For an Action<object,object> where the first parameter is the Entity itself and the second is the type of the property you can use
var instance = Expression.Parameter(typeof(object), "i");
var argument = Expression.Parameter(typeof(object), "a");
var convertObj = Expression.TypeAs(instance, propertyInfo.DeclaringType);
var convert = Expression.Convert(argument, propertyInfo.PropertyType);
var setterCall = Expression.Call(convertObj, propertyInfo.GetSetMethod(), convert);
var compiled = ((Expression<Action<object, object>>) Expression.Lambda(setterCall, instance, argument)).Compile();
If you know T (ie, the type of the Entity), you can do this instead:
var instance = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "i");
var argument = Expression.Parameter(typeof(object), "a");
var convert = Expression.Convert(argument, propertyInfo.PropertyType);
var setterCall = Expression.Call(instance , propertyInfo.GetSetMethod(), convert);
var compiled = ((Expression<Action<T, object>>) Expression.Lambda(setterCall, instance, argument)).Compile();

I comment here because I do not have the necessary reputation to comment on the response of #Alexander Derek
var memberBindings = columnNames.Select(columnName =>
{
var pi = propertiesByName[columnName];
var indexExpr = Expression.MakeIndex(paramExpr, property,
new[] { Expression.Constant(columnName) });
//Datarow["columnName"] is of type object, cast to the right type
var convert = Expression.Convert(indexExpr, pi.PropertyType);
return Expression.Bind(pi, convert);
});
in order to avoid runtime exception i added a try-catch and .where()
var memberBindings = columnNames.Select(columnName =>
{
try
{
var pi = propertiesByName[columnName];
var indexExpr = Expression.MakeIndex(paramExpr, property,
new[] { Expression.Constant(columnName) });
var convert = Expression.Convert(indexExpr, pi.PropertyType);
return Expression.Bind(pi, convert);
}
catch(Exception e)
{
return null;
}
});
var initExpr = Expression.MemberInit(newExpr, memberBindings.Where(obj => obj != null));

Related

Linq WHERE EF.Functions.Like - Why direct properties work and reflection does not?

I try to perform a simple LIKE action on the database site, while having query building services based on generic types. I found out while debugging however, that performing EF.Functions.Like() with reflection does not work as expected:
The LINQ expression 'where __Functions_0.Like([c].GetType().GetProperty("FirstName").GetValue([c], null).ToString(), "%Test%")' could not be translated and will be evaluated locally..
The code that makes the difference
That works:
var query = _context.Set<Customer>().Where(c => EF.Functions.Like(c.FirstName, "%Test%"));
This throws the warning & tries to resolve in memory:
var query = _context.Set<Customer>().Where(c => EF.Functions.Like(c.GetType().GetProperty("FirstName").GetValue(c, null).ToString(), "%Test%"));
Does the Linq query builder or the EF.Functions not support reflections?
Sorry if the questions seem basic, it's my first attempt with .NET Core :)
In EF the lambdas are ExpressionTrees and the expressions are translated to T-SQL so that the query can be executed in the database.
You can create an extension method like so:
public static IQueryable<T> Search<T>(this IQueryable<T> source, string propertyName, string searchTerm)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(propertyName) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(searchTerm))
{
return source;
}
var property = typeof(T).GetProperty(propertyName);
if (property is null)
{
return source;
}
searchTerm = "%" + searchTerm + "%";
var itemParameter = Parameter(typeof(T), "item");
var functions = Property(null, typeof(EF).GetProperty(nameof(EF.Functions)));
var like = typeof(DbFunctionsExtensions).GetMethod(nameof(DbFunctionsExtensions.Like), new Type[] { functions.Type, typeof(string), typeof(string) });
Expression expressionProperty = Property(itemParameter, property.Name);
if (property.PropertyType != typeof(string))
{
expressionProperty = Call(expressionProperty, typeof(object).GetMethod(nameof(object.ToString), new Type[0]));
}
var selector = Call(
null,
like,
functions,
expressionProperty,
Constant(searchTerm));
return source.Where(Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(selector, itemParameter));
}
And use it like so:
var query = _context.Set<Customer>().Search("FirstName", "Test").ToList();
var query2 = _context.Set<Customer>().Search("Age", "2").ToList();
For reference this was the Customer I used:
public class Customer
{
[Key]
public Guid Id { get; set; }
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public int Age { get; set; }
}
Simple answer, no.
EntityFramework is trying to covert your where clause in to a SQL Query. There is no native support for reflection in this conversation.
You have 2 options here. You can construct your text outside of your query or directly use property itself. Is there any specific reason for not using something like following?
var query = _context.Set<Customer>().Where(c => EF.Functions.Like(c.FirstName, "%Test%"));
Keep in mind that every ExpresionTree that you put in Where clause has to be translated into SQL query.
Because of that, ExpressionTrees that you can write are quite limited, you have to stick to some rules, thats why reflection is not supported.
Image that instead of :
var query = _context.Set<Customer>().Where(c => EF.Functions.Like(c.GetType().GetProperty("FirstName").GetValue(c, null).ToString(), "%Test%"));
You write something like:
var query = _context.Set<Customer>().Where(c => EF.Functions.Like(SomeMethodThatReturnsString(c), "%Test%"));
It would mean that EF is able to translate any c# code to SQL query - it's obviously not true :)
I chucked together a version of the accepted answer for those using NpgSQL as their EF Core provider as you will need to use the ILike function instead if you want case-insensitivity, also added a second version which combines a bunch of properties into a single Where() clause:
public static IQueryable<T> WhereLike<T>(this IQueryable<T> source, string propertyName, string searchTerm)
{
// Check property name
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(propertyName))
{
throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(propertyName));
}
// Check the search term
if(string.IsNullOrEmpty(searchTerm))
{
throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(searchTerm));
}
// Check the property exists
var property = typeof(T).GetProperty(propertyName);
if (property == null)
{
throw new ArgumentException($"The property {typeof(T)}.{propertyName} was not found.", nameof(propertyName));
}
// Check the property type
if(property.PropertyType != typeof(string))
{
throw new ArgumentException($"The specified property must be of type {typeof(string)}.", nameof(propertyName));
}
// Get expression constants
var searchPattern = "%" + searchTerm + "%";
var itemParameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "item");
var functions = Expression.Property(null, typeof(EF).GetProperty(nameof(EF.Functions)));
var likeFunction = typeof(NpgsqlDbFunctionsExtensions).GetMethod(nameof(NpgsqlDbFunctionsExtensions.ILike), new Type[] { functions.Type, typeof(string), typeof(string) });
// Build the property expression and return it
Expression selectorExpression = Expression.Property(itemParameter, property.Name);
selectorExpression = Expression.Call(null, likeFunction, functions, selectorExpression, Expression.Constant(searchPattern));
return source.Where(Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(selectorExpression, itemParameter));
}
public static IQueryable<T> WhereLike<T>(this IQueryable<T> source, IEnumerable<string> propertyNames, string searchTerm)
{
// Check property name
if (!(propertyNames?.Any() ?? false))
{
throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(propertyNames));
}
// Check the search term
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(searchTerm))
{
throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(searchTerm));
}
// Check the property exists
var properties = propertyNames.Select(p => typeof(T).GetProperty(p)).AsEnumerable();
if (properties.Any(p => p == null))
{
throw new ArgumentException($"One or more specified properties was not found on type {typeof(T)}: {string.Join(",", properties.Where(p => p == null).Select((p, i) => propertyNames.ElementAt(i)))}.", nameof(propertyNames));
}
// Check the property type
if (properties.Any(p => p.PropertyType != typeof(string)))
{
throw new ArgumentException($"The specified properties must be of type {typeof(string)}: {string.Join(",", properties.Where(p => p.PropertyType != typeof(string)).Select(p => p.Name))}.", nameof(propertyNames));
}
// Get the expression constants
var searchPattern = "%" + searchTerm + "%";
var itemParameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "item");
var functions = Expression.Property(null, typeof(EF).GetProperty(nameof(EF.Functions)));
var likeFunction = typeof(NpgsqlDbFunctionsExtensions).GetMethod(nameof(NpgsqlDbFunctionsExtensions.ILike), new Type[] { functions.Type, typeof(string), typeof(string) });
// Build the expression and return it
Expression selectorExpression = null;
foreach (var property in properties)
{
var previousSelectorExpression = selectorExpression;
selectorExpression = Expression.Property(itemParameter, property.Name);
selectorExpression = Expression.Call(null, likeFunction, functions, selectorExpression, Expression.Constant(searchPattern));
if(previousSelectorExpression != null)
{
selectorExpression = Expression.Or(previousSelectorExpression, selectorExpression);
}
}
return source.Where(Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(selectorExpression, itemParameter));
}

How to create linq WHERE IN statement without using Contains()

I have a situation where I am using a linq provider that does not support the .Contains method to generate a WHERE IN clause in the query. I am looking for a way to generate the (Value = X OR Value = Y OR Value = Z) statement dynamically from the list of items to match. I haven't found a good example of building expression trees to do this.
Normally I would query this way:
var names = new string[] { "name1", "name2", "name3" }
var matches = query.Where(x => names.Contains(x.Name));
So far the closest thing I could find was to use the
Dynamic Linq Library and build a string to be interpreted but it feels a bit too hacky.
You don't even need an external library for something like this:
var names = new string[] { "name1", "name2", "name3" };
// Where MyClass is the type of your class
ParameterExpression par = Expression.Parameter(typeof(MyClass));
MemberExpression prop = Expression.Property(par, "Name");
Expression expression = null;
foreach (string name in names)
{
Expression expression2 = Expression.Equal(prop, Expression.Constant(name));
if (expression == null)
{
expression = expression2;
}
else
{
expression = Expression.OrElse(expression, expression2);
}
}
var query = ...; // Your query
if (expression != null)
{
// Where MyClass is the type of your class
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<MyClass, bool>>(expression, par);
query = query.Where(lambda);
}
You can build a concatenation of Expression.OrElse, with the comparisons between the property Name and one of the strings.
In this particular case (3 strings), the resulting Expression, when looked from the debugger, is:
(((Param_0.Name == "name1") OrElse (Param_0.Name == "name2")) OrElse (Param_0.Name == "name3"))
Just improving the answer by xanatos:
var names = new string[] { "name1", "name2", "name3" };
var query = ...; // Your query
if (names.Any())
{
// Where MyClass is the type of your class
ParameterExpression par = Expression.Parameter(typeof(MyClass));
MemberExpression prop = Expression.Property(par, "Name");
var expression=names
.Select(v => Expression.Equal(prop, Expression.Constant(v)))
.Aggregate(Expression.OrElse);
// Where MyClass is the type of your class
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<MyClass, bool>>(expression, par);
query = query.Where(lambda);
}

Generic DbDataReader to List<T> mapping

I am having a slight issue (more like an annoyance) with my property binding data access classes. The problem is that the mapping fails when there exists no column in the reader for corresponding property in class.
Code
Here is the mapper class:
// Map our datareader object to a strongly typed list
private static IList<T> Map<T>(DbDataReader dr) where T : new()
{
try
{
// initialize our returnable list
List<T> list = new List<T>();
// fire up the lamda mapping
var converter = new Converter<T>();
while (dr.Read())
{
// read in each row, and properly map it to our T object
var obj = converter.CreateItemFromRow(dr);
// add it to our list
list.Add(obj);
}
// reutrn it
return list;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
return default(List<T>);
}
}
Converter class:
/// <summary>
/// Converter class to convert returned Sql Records to strongly typed classes
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="T">Type of the object we'll convert too</typeparam>
internal class Converter<T> where T : new()
{
// Concurrent Dictionay objects
private static ConcurrentDictionary<Type, object> _convertActionMap = new ConcurrentDictionary<Type, object>();
// Delegate action declaration
private Action<IDataReader, T> _convertAction;
// Build our mapping based on the properties in the class/type we've passed in to the class
private static Action<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataReader), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "o7thTarget");
var getPropInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(string) });
var _props = typeof(T).GetProperties();
foreach (var property in _props)
{
var getPropExp = Expression.MakeIndex(paramExp, getPropInfo, new[] { Expression.Constant(property.Name, typeof(string)) });
var castExp = Expression.TypeAs(getPropExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(Expression.Property(targetExp, property), castExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
// return our compiled mapping, this will ensure it is cached to use through our record looping
return Expression.Lambda<Action<IDataReader, T>>(Expression.Block(exps), new[] { paramExp, targetExp }).Compile();
}
internal Converter()
{
// Fire off our mapping functionality
_convertAction = (Action<IDataReader, T>)_convertActionMap.GetOrAdd(typeof(T), (t) => GetMapFunc());
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow(IDataReader dataReader)
{
T result = new T();
_convertAction(dataReader, result);
return result;
}
}
Exception
System.IndexOutOfRangeException {"Mileage"}
Stacktrace
at System.Data.ProviderBase.FieldNameLookup.GetOrdinal(String fieldName)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.GetOrdinal(String name)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.get_Item(String name)
at lambda_method(Closure , IDataReader , Typing )
at o7th.Class.Library.Data.Converter`1.CreateItemFromRow(IDataReader dataReader) in d:\Backup Folder\Development\o7th Web Design\o7th.Class.Library.C-Sharp\o7th.Class.Library\Data Access Object\Converter.cs:line 50
at o7th.Class.Library.Data.Wrapper.Map[T](DbDataReader dr) in d:\Backup Folder\Development\o7th Web Design\o7th.Class.Library.C-Sharp\o7th.Class.Library\Data Access Object\Wrapper.cs:line 33
Question
How can I fix it, so that it will not fail when I have an extra property that the reader may not have as column and vice versa? Of course the quick band-aid would be to simply add NULL As Mileage to this query in example, however, this is not a solution to the problem :)
Here's Map<T> using reflection:
// Map our datareader object to a strongly typed list
private static IList<T> Map<T>(DbDataReader dr) where T : new()
{
try
{
// initialize our returnable list
List<T> list = new List<T>();
T item = new T();
PropertyInfo[] properties = (item.GetType()).GetProperties();
while (dr.Read()) {
int fc = dr.FieldCount;
for (int j = 0; j < fc; ++j) {
var pn = properties[j].Name;
var gn = dr.GetName(j);
if (gn == pn) {
properties[j].SetValue(item, dr[j], null);
}
}
list.Add(item);
}
// return it
return list;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
// Catch an exception if any, an write it out to our logging mechanism, in addition to adding it our returnable message property
_Msg += "Wrapper.Map Exception: " + ex.Message;
ErrorReporting.WriteEm.WriteItem(ex, "o7th.Class.Library.Data.Wrapper.Map", _Msg);
// make sure this method returns a default List
return default(List<T>);
}
}
Note:
This method is 63% slower than using expression trees...
As noted in comments, the problem is that there exists no column in the reader for the specified property. The idea is to loop by the column names of reader first, and check to see if matching property exists. But how do one get the list of column names beforehand?
One idea is to use expression trees itself to build the list of column names from the reader and check it against properties of the class. Something like this
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var loopIncrementVariableExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(int), "i");
var columnNamesExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(List<string>), "columnNames");
var columnCountExp = Expression.Property(paramExp, "FieldCount");
var getColumnNameExp = Expression.Call(paramExp, "GetName", Type.EmptyTypes,
Expression.PostIncrementAssign(loopIncrementVariableExp));
var addToListExp = Expression.Call(columnNamesExp, "Add", Type.EmptyTypes,
getColumnNameExp);
var labelExp = Expression.Label(columnNamesExp.Type);
var getColumnNamesExp = Expression.Block(
new[] { loopIncrementVariableExp, columnNamesExp },
Expression.Assign(columnNamesExp, Expression.New(columnNamesExp.Type)),
Expression.Loop(
Expression.IfThenElse(
Expression.LessThan(loopIncrementVariableExp, columnCountExp),
addToListExp,
Expression.Break(labelExp, columnNamesExp)),
labelExp));
would be the equivalent of
List<string> columnNames = new List<string>();
for (int i = 0; i < reader.FieldCount; i++)
{
columnNames.Add(reader.GetName(i));
}
One may continue with the final expression, but there is a catch here making any further effort along this line futile. The above expression tree will be fetching the column names every time the final delegate is called which in your case is for every object creation, which is against the spirit of your requirement.
Another approach is to let the converter class have a pre-defined awareness of the column names for a given type, by means of attributes (see for an example) or by maintaining a static dictionary like (Dictionary<Type, IEnumerable<string>>). Though it gives more flexibility, the flip side is that your query need not always include all the column names of a table, and any reader[notInTheQueryButOnlyInTheTableColumn] would result in exception.
The best approach as I see is to fetch the column names from the reader object, but only once. I would re-write the thing like:
private static List<string> columnNames;
private static Action<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "o7thTarget");
var getPropInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(string) });
foreach (var columnName in columnNames)
{
var property = typeof(T).GetProperty(columnName);
if (property == null)
continue;
// use 'columnName' instead of 'property.Name' to speed up reader lookups
//in case of certain readers.
var columnNameExp = Expression.Constant(columnName);
var getPropExp = Expression.MakeIndex(
paramExp, getPropInfo, new[] { columnNameExp });
var castExp = Expression.TypeAs(getPropExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(
Expression.Property(targetExp, property), castExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
return Expression.Lambda<Action<IDataReader, T>>(
Expression.Block(exps), paramExp, targetExp).Compile();
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow(IDataReader dataReader)
{
if (columnNames == null)
{
columnNames = Enumerable.Range(0, dataReader.FieldCount)
.Select(x => dataReader.GetName(x))
.ToList();
_convertAction = (Action<IDataReader, T>)_convertActionMap.GetOrAdd(
typeof(T), (t) => GetMapFunc());
}
T result = new T();
_convertAction(dataReader, result);
return result;
}
Now that begs the question why not pass the data reader directly to constructor? That would be better.
private IDataReader dataReader;
private Action<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "o7thTarget");
var getPropInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(string) });
var columnNames = Enumerable.Range(0, dataReader.FieldCount)
.Select(x => dataReader.GetName(x));
foreach (var columnName in columnNames)
{
var property = typeof(T).GetProperty(columnName);
if (property == null)
continue;
// use 'columnName' instead of 'property.Name' to speed up reader lookups
//in case of certain readers.
var columnNameExp = Expression.Constant(columnName);
var getPropExp = Expression.MakeIndex(
paramExp, getPropInfo, new[] { columnNameExp });
var castExp = Expression.TypeAs(getPropExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(
Expression.Property(targetExp, property), castExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
return Expression.Lambda<Action<IDataReader, T>>(
Expression.Block(exps), paramExp, targetExp).Compile();
}
internal Converter(IDataReader dataReader)
{
this.dataReader = dataReader;
_convertAction = (Action<IDataReader, T>)_convertActionMap.GetOrAdd(
typeof(T), (t) => GetMapFunc());
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow()
{
T result = new T();
_convertAction(dataReader, result);
return result;
}
Call it like
List<T> list = new List<T>();
var converter = new Converter<T>(dr);
while (dr.Read())
{
var obj = converter.CreateItemFromRow();
list.Add(obj);
}
There are a number of improvements that I can suggest, though.
The generic new T() you're calling in CreateItemFromRow is slower, it uses reflection behind the scenes. You can delegate that part to expression trees as well which should be faster
Right now GetProperty call isn't case insensitive, meaning your column names will have to exactly match the property name. I would make it case insensitive using one of those Bindings.Flag.
I'm not sure at all why you are using a ConcurrentDictionary as a caching mechanism here. A static field in a generic class <T> will be unique for every T. The generic field itself can act as cache. Also why is the Value part of ConcurrentDictionary of type object?
As I said earlier, it's not the best to strongly tie a type and the column names (which you're doing by caching one particular Action delegate per type). Even for the same type your queries can be different selecting different set of columns. It's best to leave it to data reader to decide.
Use Expression.Convert instead of Expression.TypeAs for value type conversion from object.
Also note that reader.GetOrdinal is much faster way to perform data reader lookups.
I would re-write the whole thing like:
readonly Func<IDataReader, T> _converter;
readonly IDataReader dataReader;
private Func<IDataReader, T> GetMapFunc()
{
var exps = new List<Expression>();
var paramExp = Expression.Parameter(typeof(IDataRecord), "o7thDR");
var targetExp = Expression.Variable(typeof(T));
exps.Add(Expression.Assign(targetExp, Expression.New(targetExp.Type)));
//does int based lookup
var indexerInfo = typeof(IDataRecord).GetProperty("Item", new[] { typeof(int) });
var columnNames = Enumerable.Range(0, dataReader.FieldCount)
.Select(i => new { i, name = dataReader.GetName(i) });
foreach (var column in columnNames)
{
var property = targetExp.Type.GetProperty(
column.name,
BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.IgnoreCase);
if (property == null)
continue;
var columnNameExp = Expression.Constant(column.i);
var propertyExp = Expression.MakeIndex(
paramExp, indexerInfo, new[] { columnNameExp });
var convertExp = Expression.Convert(propertyExp, property.PropertyType);
var bindExp = Expression.Assign(
Expression.Property(targetExp, property), convertExp);
exps.Add(bindExp);
}
exps.Add(targetExp);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<IDataReader, T>>(
Expression.Block(new[] { targetExp }, exps), paramExp).Compile();
}
internal Converter(IDataReader dataReader)
{
this.dataReader = dataReader;
_converter = GetMapFunc();
}
internal T CreateItemFromRow()
{
return _converter(dataReader);
}

Method that returns a Predicate < T > (where T is only known at runtime)

Im trying to apply a filter to a DataGrid in WPF and the filter property needs a Predicate
ex:
dataGrid1.Filter = p => p.A_Field_Table1.Contains(textBox.Text);
But my datagrid is being filled with reflection, so I only know the type of objects inside the datagrid at runtime.
Then I created a method that dynamically generates the Predicate< T > :
public static Predicate< T > GetPredicate< T >(string column, string valueP, T objSource, string table)
{
Type itemType = typeof(T);
ParameterExpression predParam = Expression.Parameter(itemType, "p");
Expression left = Expression.Property(predParam, itemType.GetProperty("A_" + column+ "_" + table));
var valueStr= Expression.Constant(valueP);
var typeOfStr = valueStr.Type;
var containsMethod = typeOfStr.GetMethod("Contains", new [] { typeof(string) });
var call = Expression.Call(left, containsMethod, valueStr);
Func< T, bool > function = (Func< T, bool >)Expression.Lambda(call, new[] { predParam }).Compile();
return new Predicate< T >(function);
}
Then call this function on the interface:
var dataGridItem = dataGrid.Items[0];
dataGrid1.Filter = Class_X.GetPredicate(columnRefName,textBox.Text,dataGridItem,tableRefName);
But the generic method is throwing an exception saying that the type T is type of "object", even if objSource is type of Model.TableName.
I read some tutorials saying that T could not be resolved at runtime, then I should use "dynamic" instead of generic types.
I already tried using the "dynamic" type but I get a exception while casting the Lambda expression to Func< dynamic, bool>. Saying that I can't convert from < Model.TableName , bool > to < System.Object , bool >.
Is there an easier way to filter a datagrid that was filled by reflection?
You can't use generics in this case. Filter is a Func<object, bool>, so:
public static Predicate<object> GetPredicate(string column, string valueP, object objSource, string table)
{
Type itemType = objSource.GetType();
ParameterExpression predParam = Expression.Parameter(typeof(object), "p");
Expression left = Expression.Property(Expression.Convert(predParam, itemType), "A_" + column+ "_" + table);
var valueStr= Expression.Constant(valueP);
var typeOfStr = valueStr.Type;
var containsMethod = typeOfStr.GetMethod("Contains", new [] { typeof(string) });
var call = Expression.Call(left, containsMethod, valueStr);
//To handle null values. It considers null == string.Empty
//var left2 = Expression.Coalesce(left, Expression.Constant(string.Empty));
//var call = Expression.Call(left2, containsMethod, valueStr);
//If you want null values to be distinct from string.Empty, it's
//much more complex. You'll need a temporary variable (left2)
//where to put the value of the property, and then you can use the
//Expression.Condition (that is the ? : ternary operator) to
//test for null values
//var left2 = Expression.Variable(typeof(string));
//var assign = Expression.Assign(left2, left);
//var notNull = Expression.NotEqual(left2, Expression.Constant(null));
//var call = Expression.Call(left2, containsMethod, valueStr);
//var condition = Expression.Condition(notNull, call, Expression.Constant(false));
//var block = Expression.Block(new[] { left2 }, new Expression[] { assign, condition });
Predicate<object> function = Expression.Lambda<Predicate<object>>(call, new[] { predParam }).Compile();
return function;
}
The "trick" is that in the returned function the parameter is casted to the "right" type (obtained by objSource.GetType())
Be aware that you aren't testing for null values in the property of the row (NullReferenceException if you try to use Contains on a null property)

Building an OrderBy Lambda expression based on child entity's property

I'm trying to generate a LINQ OrderBy clause using lambda expressions with an input of the column name of an entity as a string (in the "sortOn" variable below).
The code below works fine for a sortOn value like "Code" generating the lambda
p => p.Code
But I would also like to sort on a child entity, where the lambda might be
p => p.Category.Description
So in this instance, I would just like to set sortOn = "Category.Description" and have the correct lamdba expression generated.
Is this possible? Any suggestions about the best way to do this would be welcomed.
This code works fine for the simple case:
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof (Product), "p");
var sortExpression = Expression.Lambda<Func<Product, object>>(
Expression.Property(param, sortOn), param);
if (sortAscending ?? true)
{
products = products.OrderBy(sortExpression);
}
else
{
products = products.OrderByDescending(sortExpression);
}
The use-case for this problem is displaying a grid of data and being able to sort the data, simply by passing the column name to be sorted on back to the server. I'd like to make the solution generic, but have started using a particular type (Product in the example) for now.
This will generate proper lambda expression:
var sortOn = "Category.Description";
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Product), "p");
var parts = sortOn.Split('.');
Expression parent = param;
foreach (var part in parts)
{
parent = Expression.Property(parent, part);
}
var sortExpression = Expression.Lambda<Func<Product, object>>(parent, param);
Here is an extension OrderBy method which works for any number of nested parameters.
public static IQueryable<T> OrderBy<T>(this IQueryable<T> query, string key, bool asc = true)
{
try
{
string orderMethodName = asc ? "OrderBy" : "OrderByDescending";
Type type = typeof(T);
Type propertyType = type.GetProperty(key)?.PropertyType; ;
var param = Expression.Parameter(type, "x");
Expression parent = param;
var keyParts = key.Split('.');
for (int i = 0; i < keyParts.Length; i++)
{
var keyPart = keyParts[i];
parent = Expression.Property(parent, keyPart);
if (keyParts.Length > 1)
{
if (i == 0)
{
propertyType = type.GetProperty(keyPart).PropertyType;
}
else
{
propertyType = propertyType.GetProperty(keyPart).PropertyType;
}
}
}
MethodCallExpression orderByExpression = Expression.Call(
typeof(Queryable),
orderMethodName,
new Type[] { type, propertyType },
query.Expression,
CreateExpression(type, key)
);
return query.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(orderByExpression);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
return query;
}
}
The CreateExpression method which is used in my solution is defined in this post.
The usage of the OrderBy extension method is as follows.
IQueryable<Foo> q = [Your database context].Foos.AsQueryable();
IQueryable<Foo> p = null;
p = q.OrderBy("myBar.name"); // Ascending sort
// Or
p = q.OrderBy("myBar.name", false); // Descending sort
// Materialize
var result = p.ToList();
The type Foo and its properties are also taken from the same post as method CreateExpression.
Hope you find this post helpful.
You can use the Dynamic LINQ Query Library to do this easily. Assuming you have an IQueryable<T> implementation of Product, you can easily do:
IQueryable<Product> products = ...;
// Order by dynamically.
products = products.OrderBy("Category.Description");
The blog post has a link to the libary, and you'll have to build/include the project in your solution yourself, but it works very well, and the parsing is very robust. It prevents you from having to write the parsing code yourself; even for something so simple, if the requirements expand, the library has you covered, whereas a homegrown solution does not.
It also has a number of other dynamic operators (Select, Where, etc.) so you can perform other dynamic operations.
There's no magic under the hood, it just parses the strings you pass it and then creates the lambda expressions based on the parsing results.
If you don't need expressions, how about:
products = products.Orderby(p1 => p1.Code).ThenBy(p2 => p2.Category.Description)
Hi you can also create an extension method like which can sort to any depth not only just child
public static IEnumerable<TSource> CustomOrderBy<TSource, TKey>(this IEnumerable<TSource> source, Func<TSource, TKey> keySelector)
{
List<string> list=new List<string>();
List<TSource> returnList=new List<TSource>();
List<int> indexList = new List<int>();
if (source == null)
return null;
if (source.Count() <= 0)
return source;
source.ToList().ForEach(sc=>list.Add(keySelector(sc).ToString())); //Extract the strings of property to be ordered
list.Sort(); //sort the list of strings
foreach (string l in list) // extract the list of indexes of source according to the order
{
int i=0;
//list.ForEach(l =>
foreach (var s in source.ToList())
{
if (keySelector(s).ToString() == l)
break;
i++;
}
indexList.Add(i);
}
indexList.ForEach(i=>returnList.Add(source.ElementAt(i))); //rearrange the source according to the above extracted indexes
return returnList;
}
}
public class Name
{
public string FName { get; set; }
public string LName { get; set; }
}
public class Category
{
public Name Name { get; set; }
}
public class SortChild
{
public void SortOn()
{
List<Category> category = new List<Category>{new Category(){Name=new Name(){FName="sahil",LName="chauhan"}},
new Category(){Name=new Name(){FName="pankaj",LName="chauhan"}},
new Category(){Name=new Name(){FName="harish",LName="thakur"}},
new Category(){Name=new Name(){FName="deepak",LName="bakseth"}},
new Category(){Name=new Name(){FName="manish",LName="dhamaka"}},
new Category(){Name=new Name(){FName="arev",LName="raghaka"}}
};
var a = category.CustomOrderBy(s => s.Name.FName);
}
}
Its custom method and right now it works only for string property only however it can be reactified using generics to work for any primitive type. I hope this will help.

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