I'm looking for suggestions on how to write a query. For each Goal, I want to select the first Task (sorted by Task.Sequence), in addition to any tasks with ShowAlways == true. (My actual query is more complex, but this query demonstrates the limitations I'm running into.)
I tried something like this:
var tasks = (from a in DbContext.Areas
from g in a.Goals
from t in g.Tasks
let nextTaskId = g.Tasks.OrderBy(tt => tt.Sequence).Select(tt => tt.Id).DefaultIfEmpty(-1).FirstOrDefault()
where t.ShowAlways || t.Id == nextTaskId
select new CalendarTask
{
// Member assignment
}).ToList();
But this query appears to be too complex.
System.InvalidOperationException: 'Processing of the LINQ expression 'OrderBy<Task, int>(
source: MaterializeCollectionNavigation(Navigation: Goal.Tasks(< Tasks > k__BackingField, DbSet<Task>) Collection ToDependent Task Inverse: Goal, Where<Task>(
source: NavigationExpansionExpression
Source: Where<Task>(
source: DbSet<Task>,
predicate: (t0) => Property<Nullable<int>>((Unhandled parameter: ti0).Outer.Inner, "Id") == Property<Nullable<int>>(t0, "GoalId"))
PendingSelector: (t0) => NavigationTreeExpression
Value: EntityReferenceTask
Expression: t0
,
predicate: (i) => Property<Nullable<int>>(NavigationTreeExpression
Value: EntityReferenceGoal
Expression: (Unhandled parameter: ti0).Outer.Inner, "Id") == Property<Nullable<int>>(i, "GoalId"))),
keySelector: (tt) => tt.Sequence)' by 'NavigationExpandingExpressionVisitor' failed. This may indicate either a bug or a limitation in EF Core. See https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2101433 for more detailed information.'
The problem is the line let nextTaskId =.... If I comment out that, there is no error. (But I don't get what I'm after.)
I'll readily admit that I don't understand the details of the error message. About the only other way I can think of to approach this is return all the Tasks and then sort and filter them on the client. But my preference is not to retrieve data I don't need.
Can anyone see any other ways to approach this query?
Note: I'm using the very latest version of Visual Studio and .NET.
UPDATE:
I tried a different, but less efficient approach to this query.
var tasks = (DbContext.Areas
.Where(a => a.UserId == UserManager.GetUserId(User) && !a.OnHold)
.SelectMany(a => a.Goals)
.Where(g => !g.OnHold)
.Select(g => g.Tasks.Where(tt => !tt.OnHold && !tt.Completed).OrderBy(tt => tt.Sequence).FirstOrDefault()))
.Union(DbContext.Areas
.Where(a => a.UserId == UserManager.GetUserId(User) && !a.OnHold)
.SelectMany(a => a.Goals)
.Where(g => !g.OnHold)
.Select(g => g.Tasks.Where(tt => !tt.OnHold && !tt.Completed && (tt.DueDate.HasValue || tt.AlwaysShow)).OrderBy(tt => tt.Sequence).FirstOrDefault()))
.Distinct()
.Select(t => new CalendarTask
{
Id = t.Id,
Title = t.Title,
Goal = t.Goal.Title,
CssClass = t.Goal.Area.CssClass,
DueDate = t.DueDate,
Completed = t.Completed
});
But this also produced an error:
System.InvalidOperationException: 'Processing of the LINQ expression 'Where<Task>(
source: MaterializeCollectionNavigation(Navigation: Goal.Tasks (<Tasks>k__BackingField, DbSet<Task>) Collection ToDependent Task Inverse: Goal, Where<Task>(
source: NavigationExpansionExpression
Source: Where<Task>(
source: DbSet<Task>,
predicate: (t) => Property<Nullable<int>>((Unhandled parameter: ti).Inner, "Id") == Property<Nullable<int>>(t, "GoalId"))
PendingSelector: (t) => NavigationTreeExpression
Value: EntityReferenceTask
Expression: t
,
predicate: (i) => Property<Nullable<int>>(NavigationTreeExpression
Value: EntityReferenceGoal
Expression: (Unhandled parameter: ti).Inner, "Id") == Property<Nullable<int>>(i, "GoalId"))),
predicate: (tt) => !(tt.OnHold) && !(tt.Completed))' by 'NavigationExpandingExpressionVisitor' failed. This may indicate either a bug or a limitation in EF Core. See https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2101433 for more detailed information.'
This is a good example for the need of full reproducible example. When trying to reproduce the issue with similar entity models, I was either getting a different error about DefaulIfEmpty(-1) (apparently not supported, don't forget to remove it - the SQL query will work correctly w/o it) or no error when removing it.
Then I noticed a small deeply hidden difference in your error messages compared to mine, which led me to the cause of the problem:
MaterializeCollectionNavigation(Navigation: Goal.Tasks (<Tasks>k__BackingField, DbSet<Task>)
specifically the DbSet<Task> at the end (in my case it was ICollection<Task>). I realized that you used DbSet<T> type for collection navigation property rather than the usual ICollection<T>, IEnumerable<T>, List<T> etc., e.g.
public class Goal
{
// ...
public DbSet<Task> Tasks { get; set; }
}
Simply don't do that. DbSet<T> is a special EF Core class, supposed to be used only from DbContext to represent db table, view or raw SQL query result set. And more importantly, DbSets are the only real EF Core query roots, so it's not surprising that such usage confuses the EF Core query translator.
So change it to some of the supported interfaces/classes (for instance, ICollection<Task>) and the original problem will be solved.
Then removing the DefaultIfEmpty(-1) will allow successfully translating the first query in question.
I don't have EF Core up and running, but are you able to split it up like this?
var allTasks = DbContext.Areas
.SelectMany(a => a.Goals)
.SelectMany(a => a.Tasks);
var always = allTasks.Where(t => t.ShowAlways);
var next = allTasks
.OrderBy(tt => tt.Sequence)
.Take(1);
var result = always
.Concat(next)
.Select(t => new
{
// Member assignment
})
.ToList();
Edit: Sorry, I'm not great with query syntax, maybe this does what you need?
var allGoals = DbContext.Areas
.SelectMany(a => a.Goals);
var allTasks = DbContext.Areas
.SelectMany(a => a.Goals)
.SelectMany(a => a.Tasks);
var always = allGoals
.SelectMany(a => a.Tasks)
.Where(t => t.ShowAlways);
var nextTasks = allGoals
.SelectMany(g => g.Tasks.OrderBy(tt => tt.Sequence).Take(1));
var result = always
.Concat(nextTasks)
.Select(t => new
{
// Member assignment
})
.ToList();
I would recommend you start by breaking up this query into individual parts. Try iterating through the Goals in a foreach with your Task logic inside. Add each new CalendarTask to a List that you defined ahead of time.
Overall breaking this logic up and experimenting a bit will probably lead you to some insight with the limitations of Entity Framework Core.
I think we might separate the query into two steps. First, query each goals and get the min Sequence task and store them(maybe with a anonymous type like {NextTaskId,Goal}). Then, we query the temp data and get the result. For example
Areas.SelectMany(x=>x.Goals)
.Select(g=>new {
NextTaskId=g.Tasks.OrderBy(t=>t.Sequence).FirstOrDefault()?.Id,
Tasks=g.Tasks.Where(t=>t.ShowAlways)
})
.SelectMany(a=>a.Tasks,(a,task)=>new {
NextTaskId = a.NextTaskId,
Task = task
});
I tried to create the linq request but I'm not sure about the result
var tasks = ( from a in DbContext.Areas
from g in a.Goals
from t in g.Tasks
join oneTask in (from t in DbContext.Tasks
group t by t.Id into gt
select new {
Id = gt.Key,
Sequence = gt.Min(t => t.Sequence)
}) on new { t.Id, t.Sequence } equals new { oneTask.Id,oneTask.Sequence }
select new {Area = a, Goal = g, Task = t})
.Union(
from a in DbContext.Areas
from g in a.Goals
from t in g.Tasks
where t.ShowAlways
select new {Area = a, Goal = g, Task = t});
I currently don't have EF Core, but do you really need to compare this much?
Wouldn't querying the tasks be sufficient?
If there is a navigation property or foreign key defined I could imaging using something like this:
Tasks.Where(task => task.Sequence == Tasks.Where(t => t.GoalIdentity == task.GoalIdentity).Min(t => t.Sequence) || task.ShowAlways);
Using Entity Framework Core 2.2 I have the following query:
IQueryable<User> users = _context.Users.AsNoTracking();
User user = await users
.Include(x => x.UserSkills)
.ThenInclude(x => x.Skill)
.FirstOrDefaultAsync(x => x.Id == 1);
var userSkills = user.UserSkills.ToList();
IQueryable<Lesson> lessons = _context.Lessons.AsNoTracking();
var test = lessons
.Where(x => x.IsEnabled)
.Where(x => x.LessonSkills.All(y => userSkills.Any(z => y.SkillId == z.SkillId)))
.ToList();
I am looking to get User Skills contains all Lesson Skills.
When I run this query I get the following error:
Exception thrown: 'System.InvalidOperationException' in System.Private.CoreLib.dll:
'Error generated for warning 'Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Query.QueryClientEvaluationWarning:
The LINQ expression 'where ([y].SkillId == [z].SkillId)' could not be translated and will be evaluated locally.'.
How to change the query to solve this problem?
Update
I need to extend this query with an extra option (y.SkillLevelId <= z.SkillLevelId):
var test = lessons
.Where(x => x.IsEnabled)
.Where(x => x.LessonSkills.All(y => userSkills.Any(z =>
y.SkillId == z.SkillId
&&
y.SkillLevelId <= z.SkillLevelId)))
.ToList();
userSkills is in-memory collection, and from my experience with EF6 and EF Core so far I can say that the only reliable translatable construct with in-memory collections is Enumerable.Contains method on primitive type in-memory collection.
So the following solves the problem is question.
First (should be outside the query expression tree):
var userSkillIds = user.UserSkills.Select(x => x.SkillId);
Then instead of
.Where(x => x.LessonSkills.All(y => userSkills.Any(z => y.SkillId == z.SkillId)))
use the equivalent (but translatable):
.Where(x => x.LessonSkills.All(y => userSkillIds.Contains(y.SkillId)))
Update: If you can't use Contains, the options you have until EF Core starts supporting it are (1) EntityFrameworkCore.MemoryJoin package (I personally haven't tested it, but the idea is interesting), (2) manually building Or based predicate with Expression class (hard and works for small memory collections) and (3) replace the memory collection with real IQueryable<>, for instance
var userSkills = users
.Where(x => x.Id == 1)
.SelectMany(x => x.UserSkills);
and use the original query.
The Problem
I have a LINQ query (against Entity Framework) that use Include to include some navigation properties. One of those properties uses ThenInclude to include its own property collection. When I run the query, the first level properties are included on the primary object but the sub-collection (the one using ThenInclude) is always empty.
However, if I change the query to use Fluent API form, the query works and the sub-collection is actually included. Why does this work for the Fluent form and not the normal LINQ query?
Example
//FAIL - This returns Benefits but Benefits.Dates.Count = 0 on all Benefits
var list1 = (from s in _context.Subscribers
.Include(s => s.Dates)
.Include(s => s.Benefits)
.ThenInclude(b => b.Dates)
where s.Id == 13643
select new { benefits = s.Benefits }).ToList();
//SUCCESS - This returns Benefits and Benefits.Dates.Count is > 0 on the ones with Dates
var list2 = _context.Subscribers
.Include(s => s.Dates)
.Include(s => s.Benefits)
.ThenInclude(b => b.Dates)
.Where(s => s.Id == 13643)
.Select(s => new { benefits = s.Benefits}).ToList();
Am I mistaken that these queries should give the same output?
Update
I just tried manually linking things using LINQ and I am able to get Benefit dates included -- granted, its not apples to apples as the resulting set is different, but the point is that Include(b => b.Dates) seems to work in this case.
var list3 = (from s in _context.Subscribers.Include(s => s.Dates)
join b in _context.Benefits.Include(b => b.Dates) on s.Id equals b.SubscriberId
select new {benefits = b}).ToList();
I'm beginning to wonder if ThenInclude() may be a little more restrictive in where/when it can be used?
Update 2
I just noticed a warning in my Debug Output window that led me to this link about ignored includes. This seems to be on the right track as the Debug Output clearly indicates that these includes are being ignored.
What doesn't make sense, though, is that I'm actually selecting to anonymous in both examples and only one of them seems to ignore the includes. Why one and not the other?
This is just a guess: since You have Datas, in both Subscribers and Benefits, there is a chance that you are not querying the correct model/entity... you can try confirming the entity type like below (assuming Benefit is your Entity type).
var list1 = (from s in _context.Subscribers
.Include(s => s.Dates)
.Include(s => s.Benefits)
.ThenInclude(b => (b as Benefit).Dates)
where s.Id == 13643
select new { benefits = s.Benefits }).ToList();
var list2 = _context.Subscribers
.Include(s => s.Dates)
.Include(s => s.Benefits)
.ThenInclude(b => (b as Benefit).Dates) // <-- I suggest renaming s to b
.Where(s => s.Id == 13643)
.Select(s => new { benefits = s.Benefits}).ToList();
I am trying to cut this linq down
var sys = db.tlkpSystems
.Where(a => db.tlkpSettings.Where(e => e.Hidden < 3)
.Select(o => o.System)
.ToList().Contains(a.System)) //cannot get this part in?
.OrderBy(a => a.SystemName).ToList();
foreach (var item in sys)
model.Add(new SettingSystem {
System = item.System,
SystemName = item.SystemName
});
I have tried the following:
List<SettingSystem> model = new List<SettingSystem>();
model = db.tlkpSettings.Where(e => e.Hidden < 3)
.OrderBy(e => e.Setting)
.Select(e => new SettingSystem
{
System = e.System,
SystemName = e.Setting
}).ToList();
How can I call the .Contains(a.System) part in my query?
Thanks
Some general rules when working with LINQ to Entities:
Avoid using ToList inside the query. It prevents EF to build a correct SQL query.
Don't use Contains when working with entities (tables). Use Any or joins.
Here is your query (in case System is not an entity navigation property):
var sys = db.tlkpSystems
.Where(a => db.tlkpSettings.Any(e => e.Hidden < 3 && e.System == a.System))
.OrderBy(a => a.SystemName).ToList();
As an addendum, there is also AsEnumerable for when you must pull a query into memory (such as calling methods within another clause). This is generally better than ToList or ToArray since it'll enumerate the query, rather than enumerating, putting together a List/Array, and then enumerating that collection.
I am using NHibernate and while traversing my code I came upon two functions that are called in sequence. They are probably a school example of 1) extra database round trip and 2) in-memory processing at the application side. The code involved is:
// 1) Getting the surveys in advance
var surveys = DatabaseServices.Session.QueryOver<Survey>()
.Where(x => x.AboutCompany.IsIn(companyAccounts.ToList()))
// Actual query that can be optimized
var unverifiedSurveys = DatabaseServices.Session.QueryOver<QuestionInSurvey>()
.Where(x => x.Survey.IsIn(surveys.ToList()))
.And(x => x.ApprovalStatus == status)
.List();
// 2) In-memory processing
return unverifiedSurveys.Select(x => x.Survey).Distinct()
.OrderByDescending(m => m.CreatedOn).ToList();
I have read that the actual Distinct() operation with the QueryOver API can be done using 1 .TransformUsing(Transformers.DistinctRootEntity)
Could anyone give an example how the queries can be combined thus having one round trip to the database and no application-side processing?
The most suitable way in this scenario is to use Subselect. We will firstly create the detached query (which will be executed as a part of main query)
Survey survey = null;
QueryOver<Survey> surveys = QueryOver.Of<Survey>(() => survey)
.Where(() => survey.AboutCompany.IsIn(companyAccounts.ToList()))
.Select(Projections.Distinct(Projections.Property(() => survey.ID)));
So, what we have now is a statement, which will return the inner select. Now the main query:
QuestionInSurvey question = null;
var query = session.QueryOver<QuestionInSurvey>(() => question)
.WithSubquery
.WhereProperty(() => qeustion.Survey.ID)
.In(subQuery) // here we will fitler the results
.And(() => question.ApprovalStatus == status)
.List();
And what we get is the:
SELECT ...
FROM QuestionInSurvey
WHERE SurveyId IN (SELECT SurveyID FROM Survey ...)
So, in one trip to DB we will recieve all the data, which will be completely filtered on DB side... so we are provided with "distinct" set of values, which could be even paged (Take(), Skip())
This might be something like this, which requires a distinct projection of all properties of Survey. I guess there is a better solution, but can not get to it ;-) Hope this will help anyway.
Survey surveyAlias = null;
var result =
session.QueryOver<QuestionInSurvey>()
.JoinAlias(x => x.Survey, () => surveyAlias)
.WhereRestrictionOn(() => surveyAlias.AboutCompany).IsIn(companyAccounts.ToList())
.And(x => x.ApprovalStatus == status)
.Select(
Projections.Distinct(
Projections.ProjectionList()
.Add(Projections.Property(() => surveyAlias.Id))
.Add(Projections.Property(() => surveyAlias.AboutCompany))
.Add(Projections.Property(() => surveyAlias.CreatedOn))
)
)
.OrderBy(Projections.Property(() => surveyAlias.CreatedOn)).Desc
.TransformUsing(Transformers.AliasToBean<Survey>())
.List<Survey>();