Develop Reference

How to correct replace type of Expression?

I have two classes:
public class DalMembershipUser
{
public string UserName { get; set; }
//other members
}
public class MembershipUser
{
public string UserName { get; set; }
//other members
}
I have function:
public IEnumerable<DalMembershipUser> GetMany(Expression<Func<DalMembershipUser, bool>> predicate)
{
//but here i can use only Func<MembershipUser, bool>
//so i made transformation
query = query.Where(ExpressionTransformer<DalMembershipUser,MembershipUser>.Tranform(predicate));
}
Current implementation:
public static class ExpressionTransformer<TFrom, TTo>
{
public class Visitor : ExpressionVisitor
{
private ParameterExpression _targetParameterExpression;
public Visitor(ParameterExpression parameter)
{
_targetParameterExpression = parameter;
}
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
return _targetParameterExpression;
}
}
public static Expression<Func<TTo, bool>> Tranform(Expression<Func<TFrom, bool>> expression)
{
ParameterExpression parameter = Expression.Parameter(typeof(TTo), expression.Parameters[0].Name);
Expression body = expression.Body;
new Visitor(parameter).Visit(expression.Body);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<TTo, bool>>(body, parameter);
}
}
//Somewhere: .GetMany(u => u.UserName == "username");
Exception: Property 'System.String UserName' is not defined for type 'MembershipUser'
at line: new Visitor(parameter).Visit(expression.Body);

Finally it work. But still don't understand why clear parameters creation:
Expression.Parameter(typeof(TTo), from.Parameters[i].Name); not work and need to extract.
public static class ExpressionHelper
{
public static Expression<Func<TTo, bool>> TypeConvert<TFrom, TTo>(
this Expression<Func<TFrom, bool>> from)
{
if (from == null) return null;
return ConvertImpl<Func<TFrom, bool>, Func<TTo, bool>>(from);
}
private static Expression<TTo> ConvertImpl<TFrom, TTo>(Expression<TFrom> from)
where TFrom : class
where TTo : class
{
// figure out which types are different in the function-signature
var fromTypes = from.Type.GetGenericArguments();
var toTypes = typeof(TTo).GetGenericArguments();
if (fromTypes.Length != toTypes.Length)
throw new NotSupportedException("Incompatible lambda function-type signatures");
Dictionary<Type, Type> typeMap = new Dictionary<Type, Type>();
for (int i = 0; i < fromTypes.Length; i++)
{
if (fromTypes[i] != toTypes[i])
typeMap[fromTypes[i]] = toTypes[i];
}
// re-map all parameters that involve different types
Dictionary<Expression, Expression> parameterMap = new Dictionary<Expression, Expression>();
ParameterExpression[] newParams = GenerateParameterMap<TFrom>(from, typeMap, parameterMap);
// rebuild the lambda
var body = new TypeConversionVisitor<TTo>(parameterMap).Visit(from.Body);
return Expression.Lambda<TTo>(body, newParams);
}
private static ParameterExpression[] GenerateParameterMap<TFrom>(
Expression<TFrom> from,
Dictionary<Type, Type> typeMap,
Dictionary<Expression, Expression> parameterMap
)
where TFrom : class
{
var newParams = new ParameterExpression[from.Parameters.Count];
for (int i = 0; i < newParams.Length; i++)
{
Type newType;
if (typeMap.TryGetValue(from.Parameters[i].Type, out newType))
{
parameterMap[from.Parameters[i]] = newParams[i] = Expression.Parameter(newType, from.Parameters[i].Name);
}
}
return newParams;
}
class TypeConversionVisitor<T> : ExpressionVisitor
{
private readonly Dictionary<Expression, Expression> parameterMap;
public TypeConversionVisitor(Dictionary<Expression, Expression> parameterMap)
{
this.parameterMap = parameterMap;
}
protected override Expression VisitParameter(ParameterExpression node)
{
// re-map the parameter
Expression found;
if (!parameterMap.TryGetValue(node, out found))
found = base.VisitParameter(node);
return found;
}
public override Expression Visit(Expression node)
{
LambdaExpression lambda = node as LambdaExpression;
if (lambda != null && !parameterMap.ContainsKey(lambda.Parameters.First()))
{
return new TypeConversionVisitor<T>(parameterMap).Visit(lambda.Body);
}
return base.Visit(node);
}
protected override Expression VisitMember(MemberExpression node)
{
// re-perform any member-binding
var expr = Visit(node.Expression);
if (expr.Type != node.Type)
{
if (expr.Type.GetMember(node.Member.Name).Any())
{
MemberInfo newMember = expr.Type.GetMember(node.Member.Name).Single();
return Expression.MakeMemberAccess(expr, newMember);
}
}
return base.VisitMember(node);
}
}
}

You need to use the result expression returned by the Visit method.
Just change:
Expression body = expression.Body;
new Visitor(parameter).Visit(expression.Body);
by
Expression body = new Visitor(parameter).Visit(expression.Body);

ObjectSet wrapper not working with linqToEntities subquery

for access control purposes in a intensive DB use system I had to implement an objectset wrapper, where the AC will be checked.
The main objective is make this change preserving the existing code for database access, that is implemented with linq to entities all over the classes (there is no centralized layer for database).
The ObjectSetWrapper created is like that:
public class ObjectSetWrapper<TEntity> : IQueryable<TEntity> where TEntity : EntityObject
{
private IQueryable<TEntity> QueryableModel;
private ObjectSet<TEntity> ObjectSet;
public ObjectSetWrapper(ObjectSet<TEntity> objectSetModels)
{
this.QueryableModel = objectSetModels;
this.ObjectSet = objectSetModels;
}
public ObjectQuery<TEntity> Include(string path)
{
return this.ObjectSet.Include(path);
}
public void DeleteObject(TEntity #object)
{
this.ObjectSet.DeleteObject(#object);
}
public void AddObject(TEntity #object)
{
this.ObjectSet.AddObject(#object);
}
public IEnumerator<TEntity> GetEnumerator()
{
return QueryableModel.GetEnumerator();
}
public Type ElementType
{
get { return typeof(TEntity); }
}
public System.Linq.Expressions.Expression Expression
{
get { return this.QueryableModel.Expression; }
}
public IQueryProvider Provider
{
get { return this.QueryableModel.Provider; }
}
public void Attach(TEntity entity)
{
this.ObjectSet.Attach(entity);
}
public void Detach(TEntity entity)
{
this.ObjectSet.Detach(entity);
}
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
return this.QueryableModel.GetEnumerator();
}
}
It's really simple and works for simple queries, like that:
//db.Product is ObjectSetWrapper<Product>
var query = (from item in db.Product where item.Quantity > 0 select new { item.Id, item.Name, item.Value });
var itensList = query.Take(10).ToList();
But when I have subqueries like that:
//db.Product is ObjectSetWrapper<Product>
var query = (from item in db.Product
select new
{
Id = item.Id,
Name = item.Name,
SalesQuantity = (from sale in db.Sale where sale.ProductId == item.Id select sale.Id).Count()
}).OrderByDescending(x => x.SalesQuantity);
var productsList = query.Take(10).ToList();
I get NotSupportedException, saying I can't create a constant value of my inner query entity type:
Unable to create a constant value of type 'MyNamespace.Model.Sale'.
Only primitive types or enumeration types are supported in this
context.
How can I get my queries working? I don't really need to make my wrapper an ObjectSet type, I just need to use it in queries.
Updated
I have changed my class signature. Now it's also implementing IObjectSet<>, but I'm getting the same NotSupportedException:
public class ObjectSetWrapper<TEntity> : IQueryable<TEntity>, IObjectSet<TEntity> where TEntity : EntityObject

EDIT:
The problem is that the following LINQ construction is translated into LINQ expression containing your custom class inside (ObjectSetWrapper).
var query = (from item in db.Product
select new
{
Id = item.Id,
Name = item.Name,
SalesQuantity = (from sale in db.Sale where sale.ProductId == item.Id select sale.Id).Count()
}).OrderByDescending(x => x.SalesQuantity);
LINQ to Entities tries to convert this expression into SQL statement, but it has no idea how to deal with the custom classes (as well as custom methods).
The solution in such cases is to replace IQueryProvider with the custom one, which should intercept the query execution and translate LINQ expression, containing custom classes/methods into valid LINQ to Entities expression (which operates with entities and object sets).
Expression conversion is performed using the class, derived from ExpressionVisitor, which performs expression tree traversal, replacing relevant nodes, to the nodes which can be accepted by LINQ to Entities
Part 1 - IQueryWrapper
// Query wrapper interface - holds and underlying query
interface IQueryWrapper
{
IQueryable UnderlyingQueryable { get; }
}
Part 2 - Abstract QueryWrapperBase (not generic)
abstract class QueryWrapperBase : IQueryProvider, IQueryWrapper
{
public IQueryable UnderlyingQueryable { get; private set; }
class ObjectWrapperReplacer : ExpressionVisitor
{
public override Expression Visit(Expression node)
{
if (node == null || !typeof(IQueryWrapper).IsAssignableFrom(node.Type)) return base.Visit(node);
var wrapper = EvaluateExpression<IQueryWrapper>(node);
return Expression.Constant(wrapper.UnderlyingQueryable);
}
public static Expression FixExpression(Expression expression)
{
var replacer = new ObjectWrapperReplacer();
return replacer.Visit(expression);
}
private T EvaluateExpression<T>(Expression expression)
{
if (expression is ConstantExpression) return (T)((ConstantExpression)expression).Value;
var lambda = Expression.Lambda(expression);
return (T)lambda.Compile().DynamicInvoke();
}
}
protected QueryWrapperBase(IQueryable underlyingQueryable)
{
UnderlyingQueryable = underlyingQueryable;
}
public abstract IQueryable<TElement> CreateQuery<TElement>(Expression expression);
public abstract IQueryable CreateQuery(Expression expression);
public TResult Execute<TResult>(Expression expression)
{
return (TResult)Execute(expression);
}
public object Execute(Expression expression)
{
expression = ObjectWrapperReplacer.FixExpression(expression);
return typeof(IQueryable).IsAssignableFrom(expression.Type)
? ExecuteQueryable(expression)
: ExecuteNonQueryable(expression);
}
protected object ExecuteNonQueryable(Expression expression)
{
return UnderlyingQueryable.Provider.Execute(expression);
}
protected IQueryable ExecuteQueryable(Expression expression)
{
return UnderlyingQueryable.Provider.CreateQuery(expression);
}
}
Part 3 - Generic QueryWrapper<TElement>
class QueryWrapper<TElement> : QueryWrapperBase, IOrderedQueryable<TElement>
{
private static readonly MethodInfo MethodCreateQueryDef = GetMethodDefinition(q => q.CreateQuery<object>(null));
public QueryWrapper(IQueryable<TElement> underlyingQueryable) : this(null, underlyingQueryable)
{
}
protected QueryWrapper(Expression expression, IQueryable underlyingQueryable) : base(underlyingQueryable)
{
Expression = expression ?? Expression.Constant(this);
}
public virtual IEnumerator<TElement> GetEnumerator()
{
return ((IEnumerable<TElement>)Execute<IEnumerable>(Expression)).GetEnumerator();
}
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
return GetEnumerator();
}
public Expression Expression { get; private set; }
public Type ElementType
{
get { return typeof(TElement); }
}
public IQueryProvider Provider
{
get { return this; }
}
public override IQueryable CreateQuery(Expression expression)
{
var expressionType = expression.Type;
var elementType = expressionType
.GetInterfaces()
.Single(t => t.IsGenericType && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(IEnumerable<>))
.GetGenericArguments()
.Single();
var createQueryMethod = MethodCreateQueryDef.MakeGenericMethod(elementType);
return (IQueryable)createQueryMethod.Invoke(this, new object[] { expression });
}
public override IQueryable<TNewElement> CreateQuery<TNewElement>(Expression expression)
{
return new QueryWrapper<TNewElement>(expression, UnderlyingQueryable);
}
private static MethodInfo GetMethodDefinition(Expression<Action<QueryWrapper<TElement>>> methodSelector)
{
var methodCallExpression = (MethodCallExpression)methodSelector.Body;
return methodCallExpression.Method.GetGenericMethodDefinition();
}
}
Part 4 - finally your ObjectSetWrapper
public class ObjectSetWrapper<TEntity> : IQueryable<TEntity>, IQueryWrapper where TEntity : class
{
private IQueryable<TEntity> QueryableModel;
private ObjectSet<TEntity> ObjectSet;
public ObjectSetWrapper(ObjectSet<TEntity> objectSetModels)
{
this.QueryableModel = new QueryWrapper<TEntity>(objectSetModels);
this.ObjectSet = objectSetModels;
}
public ObjectQuery<TEntity> Include(string path)
{
return this.ObjectSet.Include(path);
}
public void DeleteObject(TEntity #object)
{
this.ObjectSet.DeleteObject(#object);
}
public void AddObject(TEntity #object)
{
this.ObjectSet.AddObject(#object);
}
public IEnumerator<TEntity> GetEnumerator()
{
return QueryableModel.GetEnumerator();
}
public Type ElementType
{
get { return typeof(TEntity); }
}
public System.Linq.Expressions.Expression Expression
{
get { return this.QueryableModel.Expression; }
}
public IQueryProvider Provider
{
get { return this.QueryableModel.Provider; }
}
public void Attach(TEntity entity)
{
this.ObjectSet.Attach(entity);
}
public void Detach(TEntity entity)
{
this.ObjectSet.Detach(entity);
}
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
return this.QueryableModel.GetEnumerator();
}
IQueryable IQueryWrapper.UnderlyingQueryable
{
get { return this.ObjectSet; }
}
}

Your inner query fails because you are referencing another dataset when you should be traversing foreign keys:
SalesQuantity = item.Sales.Count()

Making a custom class IQueryable

I have been working with the TFS API for VS2010 and had to query FieldCollection which I found isn't supported by LINQ so I wanted to create a custom class to make the Field and FieldCollection queryable by LINQ so I found a basic template and tried to implement it
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client;
public class WorkItemFieldCollection : IQueryable<Field>, IQueryProvider
{
private List<Field> _fieldList = new List<Field>();
#region Constructors
/// <summary>
/// This constructor is called by the client to create the data source.
/// </summary>
public WorkItemFieldCollection(FieldCollection fieldCollection)
{
foreach (Field field in fieldCollection)
{
_fieldList.Add(field);
}
}
#endregion Constructors
#region IQueryable Members
Type IQueryable.ElementType
{
get { return typeof(Field); }
}
System.Linq.Expressions.Expression IQueryable.Expression
{
get { return Expression.Constant(this); }
}
IQueryProvider IQueryable.Provider
{
get { return this; }
}
#endregion IQueryable Members
#region IEnumerable<Field> Members
IEnumerator<Field> IEnumerable<Field>.GetEnumerator()
{
return (this as IQueryable).Provider.Execute<IEnumerator<Field>>(_expression);
}
private IList<Field> _field = new List<Field>();
private Expression _expression = null;
#endregion IEnumerable<Field> Members
#region IEnumerable Members
System.Collections.IEnumerator System.Collections.IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
return (IEnumerator<Field>)(this as IQueryable).GetEnumerator();
}
private void ProcessExpression(Expression expression)
{
if (expression.NodeType == ExpressionType.Equal)
{
ProcessEqualResult((BinaryExpression)expression);
}
if (expression is UnaryExpression)
{
UnaryExpression uExp = expression as UnaryExpression;
ProcessExpression(uExp.Operand);
}
else if (expression is LambdaExpression)
{
ProcessExpression(((LambdaExpression)expression).Body);
}
else if (expression is ParameterExpression)
{
if (((ParameterExpression)expression).Type == typeof(Field))
{
_field = GetFields();
}
}
}
private void ProcessEqualResult(BinaryExpression expression)
{
if (expression.Right.NodeType == ExpressionType.Constant)
{
string name = (String)((ConstantExpression)expression.Right).Value;
ProceesItem(name);
}
}
private void ProceesItem(string name)
{
IList<Field> filtered = new List<Field>();
foreach (Field field in GetFields())
{
if (string.Compare(field.Name, name, true) == 0)
{
filtered.Add(field);
}
}
_field = filtered;
}
private object GetValue(BinaryExpression expression)
{
if (expression.Right.NodeType == ExpressionType.Constant)
{
return ((ConstantExpression)expression.Right).Value;
}
return null;
}
private IList<Field> GetFields()
{
return _fieldList;
}
#endregion IEnumerable Members
#region IQueryProvider Members
IQueryable<S> IQueryProvider.CreateQuery<S>(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression expression)
{
if (typeof(S) != typeof(Field))
throw new Exception("Only " + typeof(Field).FullName + " objects are supported.");
this._expression = expression;
return (IQueryable<S>)this;
}
IQueryable IQueryProvider.CreateQuery(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression expression)
{
return (IQueryable<Field>)(this as IQueryProvider).CreateQuery<Field>(expression);
}
TResult IQueryProvider.Execute<TResult>(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression expression)
{
MethodCallExpression methodcall = _expression as MethodCallExpression;
foreach (var param in methodcall.Arguments)
{
ProcessExpression(param);
}
return (TResult)_field.GetEnumerator();
}
object IQueryProvider.Execute(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression expression)
{
return (this as IQueryProvider).Execute<IEnumerator<Field>>(expression);
}
#endregion IQueryProvider Members
}
It appeared to compile and was recognized by LINQ but i keep getting an error in the CreateQuery method because it passes in string and not a field
IQueryable<S> IQueryProvider.CreateQuery<S>(System.Linq.Expressions.Expression expression)
{
if (typeof(S) != typeof(Field))
throw new Exception("Only " + typeof(Field).FullName + " objects are supported.");
this._expression = expression;
return (IQueryable<S>)this;
}
here is the Linq query I use... columnFilterList is List and fields is my custom FieldCollection class see above.
foreach (var name in columnFilterList)
{
var fieldName = (from x in fields where x.Name == name select x.Name).First
}
....I sure it is a simple mistake...could someone tell me what I am doing wrong...thanks

If you want an object to be usable by LINQ, implement IEnumerable<T>. IQueryable<T> is overkill for LINQ to Objects. It is designed for converting the expressions into another form.
Or if you want, you can do this
FieldCollection someFieldCollection = ...
IEnumerable<Field> fields = someFieldCollections.Cast<Field>();

In your case of wrapping and building a class around an existing IEnumerable Collection type i.e. List<Field>,
you might just use a set of "forward function" wrappers that expose the IQueryable<Field> interface:
public class WorkItemFieldCollection : IEnumerable<Field>, IQueryable<Field>
{
...
#region Implementation of IQueryable<Field>
public Type ElementType
{
get
{
return this._fieldList.AsQueryable().ElementType;
}
}
public Expression Expression
{
get
{
return this._fieldList.AsQueryable().Expression;
}
}
public IQueryProvider Provider
{
get
{
return this._fieldList.AsQueryable().Provider;
}
}
#endregion
...
}
You can now directly query your WorkItemFieldCollection:
var workItemFieldCollection = new WorkItemFieldCollection(...);
var Fuzz = "someStringId";
var workFieldItem = workItemFieldCollection.FirstOrDefault( c => c.Buzz == Fuzz );

Best way to concat strings and numbers in SQL server using Entity Framework 5?

For some reason Microsoft decided to not support simple concat in EF5.
e.g.
Select(foo => new
{
someProp = "hello" + foo.id + "/" + foo.bar
}
This will throw if foo.id or foo.bar are numbers.
The workaround I've found is apparently this pretty peice of code:
Select(foo => new
{
someProp = "hello" +
SqlFunctions.StringConvert((double?)foo.id).Trim() +
"/" +
SqlFunctions.StringConvert((double?)foo.bar).Trim()
}
Which works fine, but is just horrid to look at.
So, is there some decent way to accomplish this with cleaner code?
I'm NOT interested in doing this client side, so no .AsEnumerable() answers please.

For those interested.
I got so pissed with the lack of this feature that I implemented it myself using an ExpressionVisitor.
You can now write code like the one in the original question.
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data.Objects.SqlClient;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
namespace Crawlr.Web.Code
{
public static class ObjectSetExExtensions
{
public static ObjectSetEx<T> Extend<T>(this IQueryable<T> self) where T : class
{
return new ObjectSetEx<T>(self);
}
}
public class ObjectSetEx<T> : IOrderedQueryable<T>
{
private readonly QueryProviderEx provider;
private readonly IQueryable<T> source;
public ObjectSetEx(IQueryable<T> source)
{
this.source = source;
provider = new QueryProviderEx(this.source.Provider);
}
#region IQueryableEx<T> Members
public IEnumerator<T> GetEnumerator()
{
return source.GetEnumerator();
}
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
return source.GetEnumerator();
}
public Type ElementType
{
get { return source.ElementType; }
}
public Expression Expression
{
get { return source.Expression; }
}
public IQueryProvider Provider
{
get { return provider; }
}
#endregion
}
public class QueryProviderEx : IQueryProvider
{
private readonly IQueryProvider source;
public QueryProviderEx(IQueryProvider source)
{
this.source = source;
}
#region IQueryProvider Members
public IQueryable<TElement> CreateQuery<TElement>(Expression expression)
{
Expression newExpression = ExpressionReWriterVisitor.Default.Visit(expression);
IQueryable<TElement> query = source.CreateQuery<TElement>(newExpression);
return new ObjectSetEx<TElement>(query);
}
public IQueryable CreateQuery(Expression expression)
{
Expression newExpression = ExpressionReWriterVisitor.Default.Visit(expression);
IQueryable query = source.CreateQuery(newExpression);
return query;
}
public TResult Execute<TResult>(Expression expression)
{
Expression newExpression = ExpressionReWriterVisitor.Default.Visit(expression);
return source.Execute<TResult>(newExpression);
}
public object Execute(Expression expression)
{
Expression newExpression = ExpressionReWriterVisitor.Default.Visit(expression);
return source.Execute(newExpression);
}
#endregion
}
public class ExpressionReWriterVisitor : ExpressionVisitor
{
public static readonly ExpressionReWriterVisitor Default = new ExpressionReWriterVisitor();
protected override Expression VisitUnary(UnaryExpression node)
{
if (node.NodeType == ExpressionType.Convert && node.Operand.Type == typeof(int) && node.Type==typeof(object))
{
var operand = node.Operand;
var stringConvertMethod = typeof(SqlFunctions).GetMethod("StringConvert", new Type[] { typeof(double?) });
var trimMethod = typeof(string).GetMethod("Trim",new Type[] {});
var dOperand = Expression.Convert(operand, typeof(double?));
return Expression.Call(Expression.Call(stringConvertMethod, dOperand),trimMethod);
}
return base.VisitUnary(node);
}
}
}
usage:
var res = model
.FooSet
.Extend() //<- applies the magic
.Select(foo => new
{
someProp = "hello" + foo.id + "/" + foo.bar
}

When using a repository is it possible for a type to return a Func that the repository uses to test for existing entities?

For example given a Factory with a method
public static T Save<T>(T item) where T : Base, new()
{
/* item.Id == Guid.Empty therefore item is new */
if (item.Id == Guid.Empty && repository.GetAll<T>(t => t.Name == item.Name))
{
throw new Exception("Name is not unique");
}
}
how do I create a property of Base (say MustNotAlreadyExist) so that I can change the method above to
public static T Save<T>(T item) where T : Base, new()
{
/* item.Id == Guid.Empty therefore item is new */
if (item.Id == Guid.Empty && repository.GetAll<T>(t.MustNotAlreadyExist))
{
throw new Exception("Name is not unique");
}
}
public class Base
{
...
public virtual Expression<Func<T, bool>> MustNotAlreadyExist()
{
return (b => b.Name == name); /* <- this clearly doesn't work */
}
}
and then how can I override MustNotAlreadyExist in Account : Base
public class Account : Base
{
...
public override Expression<Func<T, bool>> MustNotAlreadyExist()
{
return (b => b.Name == name && b.AccountCode == accountCode); /* <- this doesn't work */
}
...
}

Try this:
public class Account : Base
{
...
public override Expression<Func<T, bool>> MustNotAlreadyExist()
{
return (b => b.Name == name && b.AccountCode == accountCode).Any();
}
...
}
The Any() method will return true if any record matches the predicate. It could be argued that it is outside the responsibility of the repository to check for presence of a record before saving.
UPDATE:
There is a great article on CodeProject that describes a generic Repository for Entity Framework:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/database/ImplRepositoryPatternEF.aspx
This could be applied to a non-Entity Framework data context. Here is an excerpt that provides a very flexible method for checking for an existing value by accepting the name of a field, a value, and a key value. You can apply this to any Entity type and use it to check for the presence of an entity before attempting a save.
/// <summary>
/// Check if value of specific field is already exist
/// </summary>
/// <typeparam name="E"></typeparam>
/// <param name="fieldName">name of the Field</param>
/// <param name="fieldValue">Field value</param>
/// <param name="key">Primary key value</param>
/// <returns>True or False</returns>
public bool TrySameValueExist(string fieldName, object fieldValue, string key)
{
// First we define the parameter that we are going to use the clause.
var xParam = Expression.Parameter(typeof(E), typeof(E).Name);
MemberExpression leftExprFieldCheck =
MemberExpression.Property(xParam, fieldName);
Expression rightExprFieldCheck = Expression.Constant(fieldValue);
BinaryExpression binaryExprFieldCheck =
MemberExpression.Equal(leftExprFieldCheck, rightExprFieldCheck);
MemberExpression leftExprKeyCheck =
MemberExpression.Property(xParam, this._KeyProperty);
Expression rightExprKeyCheck = Expression.Constant(key);
BinaryExpression binaryExprKeyCheck =
MemberExpression.NotEqual(leftExprKeyCheck, rightExprKeyCheck);
BinaryExpression finalBinaryExpr =
Expression.And(binaryExprFieldCheck, binaryExprKeyCheck);
//Create Lambda Expression for the selection
Expression<Func<E, bool>> lambdaExpr =
Expression.Lambda<Func<E, bool>>(finalBinaryExpr,
new ParameterExpression[] { xParam });
//Searching ....
return ((IRepository<E, C>)this).TryEntity(new Specification<E>(lambdaExpr));
}
/// <summary>
/// Check if Entities exist with Condition
/// </summary>
/// <param name="selectExpression">Selection Condition</param>
/// <returns>True or False</returns>
public bool TryEntity(ISpecification<E> selectSpec)
{
return _ctx.CreateQuery<E>("[" + typeof(E).Name + "]").Any<E>
(selectSpec.EvalPredicate);
}

I am not shure if you problem is solvable since you need to access both the repository and the new item to be checked. The new item to be checked is not available in a seperate method.
However you can outsource the call to GetAll so that your code becomes something similar to
(not tested)
public static T Save<T>(T item) where T : Base, new()
{
if (item.Id == Guid.Empty && (Check(repository, item)))
{
throw new Exception("Name is not unique");
}
}
public class Base
{
...
public Func<Enumerable<T>, T, bool> Check { get; set;}
public Base()
{
Check = (col, newItem) => (null != col.FirstOrDefault<T>(
item => item.Name == newItem.Name));
}
}

OK, here is the answer, this is a combination of the code posted by Dave Swersky and a little but of common sense.
public interface IUniqueable<T>
{
Expression<Func<T, bool>> Unique { get; }
}
public class Base, IUniqueable<Base>
{
...
public Expression<Func<Base, bool>> Unique
{
get
{
var xParam = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Base), typeof(Base).Name);
MemberExpression leftExprFieldCheck = MemberExpression.Property(xParam, "Name");
Expression rightExprFieldCheck = Expression.Constant(this.Name);
BinaryExpression binaryExprFieldCheck = MemberExpression.Equal(leftExprFieldCheck, rightExprFieldCheck);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<Base, bool>>(binaryExprFieldCheck, new ParameterExpression[] { xParam });
}
}
...
}
public class Account : Base, IUniqueable<Account>
{
...
public new Expression<Func<Account, bool>> Unique
{
get
{
var xParam = Expression.Parameter(typeof(Account), typeof(Account).Name);
MemberExpression leftExprNameCheck = MemberExpression.Property(xParam, "Name");
Expression rightExprNameCheck = Expression.Constant(this.Name);
BinaryExpression binaryExprNameCheck = MemberExpression.Equal(leftExprNameCheck, rightExprNameCheck);
MemberExpression leftExprFieldCheck = MemberExpression.Property(xParam, "AccountCode");
Expression rightExprFieldCheck = Expression.Constant(this.AccountCode);
BinaryExpression binaryExprFieldCheck = MemberExpression.Equal(leftExprFieldCheck, rightExprFieldCheck);
BinaryExpression binaryExprAllCheck = Expression.OrElse(binaryExprNameCheck, binaryExprFieldCheck);
return Expression.Lambda<Func<Account, bool>>(binaryExprAllCheck, new ParameterExpression[] { xParam });
}
}
...
}
public static class Manager
{
...
public static T Save<T>(T item) where T : Base, new()
{
if (!item.IsValid)
{
throw new ValidationException("Unable to save item, item is not valid", item.GetRuleViolations());
}
if (item.Id == Guid.Empty && repository.GetAll<T>().Any(((IUniqueable<T>)item).Unique))
{
throw new Exception("Item is not unique");
}
return repository.Save<T>(item);
}
...
}
Essentially by implementing the IUniqueable interface for a specific type I can return a different Expression for each type. All good :-)