Use linq to generate direct update without select - c#

G'day everyone.
I'm still learning LINQ so forgive me if this is naive. When you're dealing with SQL directly, you can generate update commands with conditionals, without running a select statement.
When I work with linq I seem to follow the pattern of:
Select entities
Modify entities
Submit changes
What I want to do is a direct update using linq and deferred execution. Is it possible that the actual execution occurs directly at the SQL without any data being transmitted up to the client?
DataContext dc = new DataContext
var q = from product in dc.Products
where product.Type = 1
set product.Count = 0
dc.SubmitChanges
So in essence LINQ has all the information it needs WITHOUT using a select to generate an update command. It would run the SQL:
Update Products Set Count = 0 Where Type = 1
Does a keyword like "set" exist in LINQ?

You can actually let LINQ-to-SQL generate update statements:
Foo foo=new Foo { FooId=fooId }; // create obj and set keys
context.Foos.Attach(foo);
foo.Name="test";
context.SubmitChanges();
In your Dbml set UpdateCheck="Never" for all properties.
This will generate a single update statement without having to do a select first.
One caveat: if you want to be able to set Name to null you would have to initialize your foo object to a different value so Linq can detect the change:
Foo foo=new Foo { FooId=fooId, Name="###" };
...
foo.Name=null;
If you want to check for a timestamp while updating you can do this as well:
Foo foo=new Foo { FooId=fooId, Modified=... };
// Modified needs to be set to UpdateCheck="Always" in the dbml

No, neither LINQ nor LINQ to SQL has set-based update capabilities.
In LINQ to SQL, you must query for the object you wish to update, update the fields/properties as necessary, then call SubmitChanges(). For example:
var qry = from product in dc.Products where Product.Name=='Foobar' select product;
var item = qry.Single();
item.Count = 0;
dc.SubmitChanges();
If you wish to do batching:
var qry = from product in dc.Products where Product.Type==1 select product;
foreach(var item in qry)
{
item.Count = 0;
}
dc.SubmitChanges();
Alternatively, you could write the query yourself:
dc.ExecuteCommand("update Product set Count=0 where Type=1", null);

The PLINQO (http://plinqo.com) framework is using the LINQ batch update to perform updates
context.Task.Update(t => t.Id == 1, t2 => new Task {StatusId = 2});
This will perform a Update Task Set StatusId = 2 Where Id = 1

Linq 2 SQL doesn't have direct insert/update/delete equivalents of SQL. In V1 the only updates you can do using linq is thought SubmmitChanges on the context or if you fallback to sql.
However some people have tried to overcome this limitation of linq using custom implementations.
Linq batch update.

Use this extension method: EntityExtensionMethods.cs
public static void UpdateOnSubmit<TEntity>(this Table<TEntity> table, TEntity entity, TEntity original = null)
where TEntity : class, new()
{
if (original == null)
{
// Create original object with only primary keys set
original = new TEntity();
var entityType = typeof(TEntity);
var dataMembers = table.Context.Mapping.GetMetaType(entityType).DataMembers;
foreach (var member in dataMembers.Where(m => m.IsPrimaryKey))
{
var propValue = entityType.GetProperty(member.Name).GetValue(entity, null);
entityType.InvokeMember(member.Name, BindingFlags.SetProperty, Type.DefaultBinder,
original, new[] { propValue });
}
}
// This will update all columns that are not set in 'original' object. For
// this to work, entity has to have UpdateCheck=Never for all properties except
// for primary keys. This will update the record without querying it first.
table.Attach(entity, original);
}
To use it, make sure the entity object that you pass to UpdateOnSubmit method has all the primary key properties set for the record you want to update. This method will then update the record with the remaining properties from the entity object without pulling the record first.
After calling UpdateOnSubmit, make sure to call SubmitChanges() for changes to apply.

You can use Entity Framework Extensions library, it supports batch update and batch merge, however the library is not free:
PM > Install-Package Z.EntityFramework.Extensions
using Z.EntityFramework.Plus;
...
dc.Products
.Where(q => q.Type == 1)
.Update(q => new Product { Count = 0 });

Try this :
dbEntities.tblSearchItems
.Where(t => t.SearchItemId == SearchItemId)
.ToList()
.ForEach(t => t.isNew = false);
dbEntities.SaveChanges();

Related

dynamic query on entity field name in a generic

I'm using generics because I need a lot of reusability with different types of data. my main problem is querying data. I'm looking for a way to query something like this:
public void test<T>(int id, T type) where T : class
{
using (var ctx = myDbContext())
{
var myTbl = ctx.Set<T>();
//this line gets the primary key of the table
string key = myTbl.GetPrimaryKey(ctx);
//this is the query I want:
var myResult = myTbl.FirstOrDefault(x => x.key == id);
//let's say if key = "UserId", then (x => x.UserId == id) or something that translates to this.
}
}
also I have implemented following method:
public object GetPropertyValue(object src, string propertyName)
that I can use to get value of a specific property.
but my problem is that I can't use it inside the .FirstOrDefault() call because of the LINQ to query issues with methods.
I currently use this code instead:
var myResult = myTbl.ToList().FirstOrDefault(x => (int)GetPropertyValue(x, key) == id);
which is fine with a few number of rows in database, but when data grows in future it will have a lot of performance impact.
P.S: I'm using EF power tools for reverse engineering code first
Umm, your code sample is completely unclear. Please, atleast provide correct variable names, because now I don't even know where you use 'key' variable.
Also, if you want to store and query objects and it's properties of various inheritance and nestings, consider to use NoSQL databases instead of relation based SQL engines.
First -> Dont use myTbl.ToList().FirstOrDefault(x => (int)GetPropertyValue(x, key) == id) because it generates a select that brings all rows from that table, then filter by id in memory. You should translate your filter to an Expression> that will generare a select filtered by the Id column.
Build your linq expression like this:
var x = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), "x");
string keyPropName = type.GetPrimaryKey(ctx);
var equalExp = Expression.Equal(
Expression.Property(x, keyPropName),
Expression.Constant(id)
);
var lambda = Expression.Lambda<Func<T, bool>>(equalExp, x); //x => x.Id == idValue
var myResult = myTbl.FirstOrDefault(lambda);
I used your GetPropertyValue and GetPrimaryKey methods.

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.

Strange behavior of INCLUDE in Entity Framework

This works:
using (var dbContext = new SmartDataContext())
{
dbContext.Configuration.ProxyCreationEnabled = false;
var query = dbContext.EntityMasters.OfType<Person>();
if (includeAddress)
query.Include(p => p.Addresses);
if (includeFiles)
query.Include(p => p.FileMasters);
output.Entity = query.Include(s=>s.Addresses).FirstOrDefault<Person>(e => e.EntityId == id);
}
while this doesn't:
using (var dbContext = new SmartDataContext())
{
dbContext.Configuration.ProxyCreationEnabled = false;
var query = dbContext.EntityMasters.OfType<Person>();
if (includeAddress)
query.Include(p => p.Addresses);
if (includeFiles)
query.Include(p => p.FileMasters);
output.Entity = query.FirstOrDefault<Person>(e => e.EntityId == id);
}
I am trying to include Addresses, Files based on boolean flags coming from function. However it seems, EF not including them when using IF condition.
This is related to my previous question which actually worked using Include.
You need to assign the result of Include back to query
query = query.Include(p => p.Addresses);
Entity framework's 'Include' function only works when it is connected to the entire linq query that was looking up the entity. This is because the linq query is actually a form of Expression that can be inspected as a whole before it is executed.
In the second example there the Person object is already detached from the database so EF has no information on which table Person came from and how it should join Person with the address table to get the results you want.
If you turn on dynamic proxy generation EF is able to keep track of the relation between the entity and the database. However, I'm not sure if this will make the include statement work.

Merging two iqueryables that are projected to one entity from different tables

I have tried This answer, This one and this one to merge two iqueryables. But I always receive the following error:
The type 'Estudio' appears in two structurally incompatible initializations within a single LINQ to Entities query. A type can be initialized in two places in the same query, but only if the same properties are set in both places and those properties are set in the same order.
I'm mapping from two different but similar Entity Framework Entities (EXAMEN and EXPLORACION) to my domain entity Estudio, with the following code.
IQueryable<Estudio> listExamen = context.Set<EXAMEN>().Project().To<Estudio>();
IQueryable<Estudio> listExploracion = context.Set<EXPLORACION>().Project().To<Estudio>();
var listCombined = listExamen.Concat(listExploracion);
Is there anyway of generate a IQueryable (not enumerable) with the merging of both list? If AsEnumerable() is used, then the following filters (Order, Take, etc) are executed on memory. So I need to merge the list but still be able to apply filter to the merged list wihtout execute the queries.
//This will force the next condition is executed on memory
var listCombined = listExamen.AsEnumerable().Concat(listExploracion);
Is that possible?
I would try to select your data into an anonymous type in your linq query, perform the union, and add your criteria.
var listExamen = context.Examen
.Select(x => new { x.Prop1, x.Prop2, ... }); // Add properties
var listExploracion = context.Exploraction
.Select(x => new { x.Prop1, x.Prop2, ... }); // Add identical properties
var listCombined = listExamen.Concat(listExploracion);
var whereAdded = listCombines
.Where(x => x.Prop1 == someValue);
var result = whereAdded
.Skip(skipCount)
.Take(takeCount)
.ToList();
Note: I have no idea if you can use Common Table Expressions (the SQL necessity for skip/take) in combination with a Union-query
Note: I've changed the methods used to create the expressions, since I do not know your methods (Project, To)
So I think the solution is not to cast to a specific type, but to an anonymous type, since that probably can be translated to SQL.
Warning: didn't test it
My solution was to revise my mapping code. Instead of using individual property-based mappers, I had to project the entire entity at once, making sure that all of the properties were given in the same order.
So, instead of the ForMember syntax:
Mapper.CreateMap<Client, PersonResult>()
.ForMember(p => p.Name, cfg => cfg.MapFrom(c => c.Person.FirstName + " " + c.Person.LastName))
...
I used the ProjectUsing syntax:
Mapper.CreateMap<Client, PersonResult>()
.ProjectUsing(c => new PersonResult()
{
Name = c.Person.FirstName + " " + c.Person.LastName
...
});
This must be because of the way AutoMapper constructs its projections.
One way to work around this is to add dummy types:
class Estudio<T> : Estudio { }
And new mapping:
Mapper.CreateMap<Estudio , Estudio>();
Mapper.CreateMap<EXAMEN , Estudio<EXAMEN>>();
Mapper.CreateMap<EXPLORACION, Estudio<EXPLORACION>>();
One caveat is that all fields in Estudio need some value in mapping.
You can't use ignore. Returning 0 or "" is fine.
Now we can do:
var a = context.Set<EXAMEN>().ProjectTo<Estudio<EXAMEN>>();
var b = context.Set<EXPLORACION>().ProjectTo<Estudio<EXPLORACION>>();
return a.ProjectTo<Estudio>().Concat(b.ProjectTo<Estudio>());

Complex object in grid view

I have a gridview, the datasource of which is the following function:
public static List<Train> GetTrainsByIDs(int [] ids) {
using (var context = new MyEntities())
{
return ids.Select(x => context.Trains.Single(y => y.TrainID ==x)).AsQueryable().Include(x=>x.Station).ToList();
}
}
The grid view has an ItemTemplate of <%# Eval("Station.Name") %>.
This causes the error The ObjectContext instance has been disposed and can no longer be used for operations that require a connection despite the fact that I used the include method.
When I change the function to
public static List<Train> GetTrainsByIDs(int [] ids) {
using (var context = new MyEntities())
{
return context.Trains.Where(x => ids.Contains(x.TrainID)).Include(x=>x.Station).ToList();
}
}
it works fine, but then they come out in the wrong order, and also if I have 2 ids the same I would like 2 identical trains in the list.
Is there anything I can do other than create a new viewmodel? Thank you for any help
As for the first query: that's deferred execution.You created an IEnumerable of Trains, noticed that it did not have the Include method, so cast it to IQueryable, added the Include and added the ToList() to prevent lazy loading.
But As per MSDN on DbExtensions.Include:
This extension method calls the Include(String) method of the IQueryable source object, if such a method exists. If the source IQueryable does not have a matching method, then this method does nothing.
(emphasis mine)
The result of the select is an IEnumerable converted to IQueryable, but now implemented by EnumerableQuery which does not implement Include. And nothing happens.
Now the data enters the grid which tries to display the station, which triggers lazy loading while the context is gone.
Apart from that, this design has another flaw: it fires a query for each id separately.
So the second query is much better. It is one query, including the Stations. But now the order is dictated by the order the database pleases to return. You could use Concat to solve this:
IQueryable<Train> qbase = context.Trains.Include(x=>x.Station);
IQueryable<Train> q = null;
foreach (var id in ids)
{
var id1 = id; // Prevent modified closure.
if (q == null)
q = qbase.Where(t => t.Id == id1);
else
q = q.Concat(qbase.Where (t => t.Id == id1));
}
The generated query is not very elegant (to say the least) but after all it is one query as opposed to many.
After reading #Gert Arnold's answer, and getting the idea of doing it in 2 stages, I managed very simply using the first query like this:
using (context = new MyEntities())
{
var trns = context.Trains.Include(x => x.Station);
return ids.Select(x => trns.Single(y => y.TrainID == x)).ToList();
}

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