Develop Reference

Can't use .ToList() with IQueryable<T> [duplicate]

I'm migrating some stuff from one mysql server to a sql server but i can't figure out how to make this code work:
using (var context = new Context())
{
...
foreach (var item in collection)
{
IQueryable<entity> pages = from p in context.pages
where p.Serial == item.Key.ToString()
select p;
foreach (var page in pages)
{
DataManager.AddPageToDocument(page, item.Value);
}
}
Console.WriteLine("Done!");
Console.Read();
}
When it enters into the second foreach (var page in pages) it throws an exception saying:
LINQ to Entities does not recognize the method 'System.String
ToString()' method, and this method cannot be translated into a store
expression.
Anyone know why this happens?

Just save the string to a temp variable and then use that in your expression:
var strItem = item.Key.ToString();
IQueryable<entity> pages = from p in context.pages
where p.Serial == strItem
select p;
The problem arises because ToString() isn't really executed, it is turned into a MethodGroup and then parsed and translated to SQL. Since there is no ToString() equivalent, the expression fails.
Note:
Make sure you also check out Alex's answer regarding the SqlFunctions helper class that was added later. In many cases it can eliminate the need for the temporary variable.

As others have answered, this breaks because .ToString fails to translate to relevant SQL on the way into the database.
However, Microsoft provides the SqlFunctions class that is a collection of methods that can be used in situations like this.
For this case, what you are looking for here is SqlFunctions.StringConvert:
from p in context.pages
where p.Serial == SqlFunctions.StringConvert((double)item.Key.Id)
select p;
Good when the solution with temporary variables is not desirable for whatever reasons.
Similar to SqlFunctions you also have the EntityFunctions (with EF6 obsoleted by DbFunctions) that provides a different set of functions that also are data source agnostic (not limited to e.g. SQL).

The problem is that you are calling ToString in a LINQ to Entities query. That means the parser is trying to convert the ToString call into its equivalent SQL (which isn't possible...hence the exception).
All you have to do is move the ToString call to a separate line:
var keyString = item.Key.ToString();
var pages = from p in context.entities
where p.Serial == keyString
select p;

Cast table to Enumerable, then you call LINQ methods with using ToString() method inside:
var example = contex.table_name.AsEnumerable()
.Select(x => new {Date = x.date.ToString("M/d/yyyy")...)
But be careful, when you calling AsEnumerable or ToList methods because you will request all data from all entity before this method. In my case above I read all table_name rows by one request.

Had a similar problem.
Solved it by calling ToList() on the entity collection and querying the list.
If the collection is small this is an option.
IQueryable<entity> pages = context.pages.ToList().Where(p=>p.serial == item.Key.ToString())
Hope this helps.

Upgrading to Entity Framework Version 6.2.0 worked for me.
I was previously on Version 6.0.0.
Hope this helps,

Change it like this and it should work:
var key = item.Key.ToString();
IQueryable<entity> pages = from p in context.pages
where p.Serial == key
select p;
The reason why the exception is not thrown in the line the LINQ query is declared but in the line of the foreach is the deferred execution feature, i.e. the LINQ query is not executed until you try to access the result. And this happens in the foreach and not earlier.

If you really want to type ToString inside your query, you could write an expression tree visitor that rewrites the call to ToString with a call to the appropriate StringConvert function:
using System.Linq;
using System.Data.Entity.SqlServer;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using static System.Linq.Expressions.Expression;
using System;
namespace ToStringRewriting {
class ToStringRewriter : ExpressionVisitor {
static MethodInfo stringConvertMethodInfo = typeof(SqlFunctions).GetMethods()
.Single(x => x.Name == "StringConvert" && x.GetParameters()[0].ParameterType == typeof(decimal?));
protected override Expression VisitMethodCall(MethodCallExpression node) {
var method = node.Method;
if (method.Name=="ToString") {
if (node.Object.GetType() == typeof(string)) { return node.Object; }
node = Call(stringConvertMethodInfo, Convert(node.Object, typeof(decimal?));
}
return base.VisitMethodCall(node);
}
}
class Person {
string Name { get; set; }
long SocialSecurityNumber { get; set; }
}
class Program {
void Main() {
Expression<Func<Person, Boolean>> expr = x => x.ToString().Length > 1;
var rewriter = new ToStringRewriter();
var finalExpression = rewriter.Visit(expr);
var dcx = new MyDataContext();
var query = dcx.Persons.Where(finalExpression);
}
}
}

In MVC, assume you are searching record(s) based on your requirement or information.
It is working properly.
[HttpPost]
[ActionName("Index")]
public ActionResult SearchRecord(FormCollection formcollection)
{
EmployeeContext employeeContext = new EmployeeContext();
string searchby=formcollection["SearchBy"];
string value=formcollection["Value"];
if (formcollection["SearchBy"] == "Gender")
{
List<MvcApplication1.Models.Employee> emplist = employeeContext.Employees.Where(x => x.Gender == value).ToList();
return View("Index", emplist);
}
else
{
List<MvcApplication1.Models.Employee> emplist = employeeContext.Employees.Where(x => x.Name == value).ToList();
return View("Index", emplist);
}
}

I got the same error in this case:
var result = Db.SystemLog
.Where(log =>
eventTypeValues.Contains(log.EventType)
&& (
search.Contains(log.Id.ToString())
|| log.Message.Contains(search)
|| log.PayLoad.Contains(search)
|| log.Timestamp.ToString(CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture).Contains(search)
)
)
.OrderByDescending(log => log.Id)
.Select(r => r);
After spending way too much time debugging, I figured out that error appeared in the logic expression.
The first line search.Contains(log.Id.ToString()) does work fine, but the last line that deals with a DateTime object made it fail miserably:
|| log.Timestamp.ToString(CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture).Contains(search)
Remove the problematic line and problem solved.
I do not fully understand why, but it seems as ToString() is a LINQ expression for strings, but not for Entities. LINQ for Entities deals with database queries like SQL, and SQL has no notion of ToString(). As such, we can not throw ToString() into a .Where() clause.
But how then does the first line work? Instead of ToString(), SQL have CAST and CONVERT, so my best guess so far is that linq for entities uses that in some simple cases. DateTime objects are not always found to be so simple...

My problem was that I had a 'text' data type for this column (due to a migration from sqlite).
Solution: just change the data type to 'nvarchar()' and regenerate the table.
Then Linq accepts the string comparison.

I am working on retiring Telerik Open Access and replacing it with Entity Framework 4.0. I came across same issue that telerik:GridBoundColumn filtering stopped working.
I find out that its not working only on System.String DataTypes. So I found this thread and solved it by just using .List() at the end of my Linq query as follows:
var x = (from y in db.Tables
orderby y.ColumnId descending
select new
{
y.FileName,
y.FileSource,
y.FileType,
FileDepartment = "Claims"
}).ToList();

Just turn the LINQ to Entity query into a LINQ to Objects query (e.g. call ToArray) anytime you need to use a method call in your LINQ query.

Use a function within LINQ

I am using LINQ to create a list. But I want to use a function at the end to generate the object iself, something LINQ complains about
LINQ to Entities does not recognize the method 'WashroomStatusItem GetWashroomStatusForItem(WashroomStatus)' method, and this method cannot be translated into a store expression.
What am I doing wrong?
var query = (from c in context.WashroomStatus
where c.WashroomId == GroupItem.WashroomID
select GetWashroomStatusForItem(c));
private WashroomStatusItem GetWashroomStatusForItem(WashroomStatus item)
{
WashroomStatusItem temp = new WashroomMonitorWCF.WashroomStatusItem();
//do stuff with it
return temp;
}

The problem is that the SQL conversion can't convert your method into SQL. You should use AsEnumerable() to "switch" from the out-of-process provider to LINQ to Objects. For example:
var query = context.WashroomStatus
.Where(c => c.WashroomId == GroupItem.WashroomID)
.AsEnumerable()
.Select(c => GetWashroomStatusForItem(c));
Note that if GetWashroomStatusForItem only uses some properties, you may want to project to those separately first, to reduce the amount of information fetched from the server:
var query = context.WashroomStatus
.Where(c => c.WashroomId == GroupItem.WashroomID)
.Select(c => new { c.Location, c.Date };
.AsEnumerable()
.Select(p => GetWashroomStatusForItem(p.Location, p.Date));

Jon Skeet's answer is correct, but I'd add that depending on the nature of GetWashroomStatusForItem(), it should probably either be broken down into LINQ statements and added into the query itself, or it should be executed after the query has returned.
So, lets say GetWashroomStatusForItem() looks something like this: note that this is extremely oversimplified.
public static WashroomStatus GetWashroomStatusForItem(Item c)
{
return c.WashroomStatus;
}
it should just be added to the LINQ query like this:
var query = (from c in context.WashroomStatus
where c.WashroomId == GroupItem.WashroomID
select c.WashroomStatus);
But if it relies heavily on stuff not in the db, I'd just end the Linq statement before you get the WashroomStatus, and then call GetWashroomStatusForItem() on the results. It's not gonna a performance difference since Linq uses lazy evaluation, and you generally want to keep db operations separate from "programmatic" ones.

Select Class(variable) instead of Select New Class{variable = x} in Linq

This linq works fine:
return (from page in db.WebPages
where pageids.Contains(page.page_id)
select new Result
{
a = page.a,
b = page.b
});
However I would like to do something like this which does not work:
return (from page in db.WebPages select GetResult(page));
public Result GetResult(WebPage page)
{
return new Result
{
a = page.a,
b = page.b
};
}
This gives an error of no supported translation to Linq.
The reason that I want to do this is because the Result is more complex and the code is done a lot of times so to avoid writing the same thing in every linq select new {} clause.

Try something like the following:
private static IQueryable<Result> toResults(IQueryable<WebPage> query)
{
return query.Select(item => new Result
{
//...
}
}
Usage:
return toResults(db.WebPages);
Organizing them like this has worked for me with other query providers, although I haven't worked with Linq-to-SQL personally.

You are trying to execute the method GetResult() in the scope of the database. Linq to Sql / Entities is translated into SQL queries where your method will not work. You will have to go with approach A. Alternatively you can force execution of the later part of your query as Linq to Objects using AsEnumerable():
return (from page in db.WebPages
where pageids.Contains(page.page_id)).AsEnumerable()
.Select(GetResult);

Try this?
return db.WebPages.Where( x=> x.Contains(page.page_id).Select(x => GetResult(x));

Using LINQ in an Update Method - trouble with where clause

I'm writing an update method that passes in a list of objects to be updated, I'm wondering how I would write a LINQ query to grab all the objects from the database that need to be updated
This is an example of my update method with the linq query that I'm trying to make (pseudo-code used for the part I don't know how to do)
void UpdateObjects(List<MyObjects> updatedObjects)
{
DatabaseContext myContext = new DatabaseContext();
var originalObjectsThatRequireUpdating = from o in myContext.MyObjects
where o.ID matches one of updatedObjects.ID
select o;
foreach (var originalObject in originalObjectsThatRequireUpdating )
{
IEnumerable<MyObjects> tmpItem = updatedObjects.Where(i => i.ID == originalObject.ID);
originalObject.Field1 = tmpItem.ToList()[0].Field1;
//copy rest of the fields like this
}
myContext.SubmitChanges();
}
I don't know how to create a linq query easily with something like
where o.ID matches one of updatedObjects.ID
also if someone knows an easier way to accomplish what I'm doing please tell, this seems sort of like an odd way to do it, but was the only way I can think of / know how to do at this point.

you can do that with:
where updatedObjects.Any(uo => uo.ID == o.ID)

You should be looking to implement batch updates with linq for example like it's described at http://www.aneyfamily.com/terryandann/post/2008/04/Batch-Updates-and-Deletes-with-LINQ-to-SQL.aspx

You could create a lambda or another method that performs the check for you; for example
where IDMatches(o.ID, updatedObjects)
and then define IDMatches as a simple iteration over updatedObjects.
static void IDMatches(int id, List<MyObject> updatedObjects)
{
foreach (MyObject updated in updatedObjects)
{
if (id == updated.ID)
return true;
}
return false;
}

How can I set properties on all items from a linq query with values from another object that is also pulled from a query?

I have a query pulling from a database:
List<myClass> items = new List<myClass>(from i in context
select new myClass
{
A = i.A,
B = "", // i doesn't know this, this comes from elsewhere
C = i.C
}
I also have another query doing a similar thing:
List<myClass2> otherItems = new List<myClass2>(from j in context
select new myClass2
{
A = j.A, // A is the intersection, there will only be 1 A here but many A's in items
B = j.B
}
In reality these classes are much larger and query data that is separated not only by database but by server as well. Is it possible to use a LINQ query to populate the property B for all items where items.A intersect? All of the built in LINQ predicates appear only to do aggregates, selections or bool expressions.
In my brain I had something like this, but this is all off:
items.Where(x => x.B = (otherItems.Where(z => z.A == x.A).Single().B));
Or am I being ridiculous with trying to make this work in LINQ and should just abandon it in favor of a for loop where the actual setting becomes trivial? Because of deadlines I will be resorting to the for loop (and it's probably going to end up being a lot more readable in the long run anyway), but is it possible to do this? Would an extension method be necessary to add a special predicate to allow this?

LINQ is designed for querying. If you're trying to set things, you should definitely use a loop (probably foreach). That doesn't mean you won't be able to use LINQ as part of that loop, but you shouldn't be trying to apply a side-effect within LINQ itself.

Query the OtherItems first. Do a ToDictionary() on the result. Then, when querying the database, do this:
var items = from i in context
select new myClass
{ A = i.A,
B = otherItems[i.A],
C = i.C
}