Missing Document Title

theme: Next,1

[fit] LINQ

L anguage IN tegrated Q uery

[fit] LINQ adds capabilities to collections, such as `List`

We will be adding the using System.Linq namespace to our code to give our List some new capabilities.

But first a detour

[fit] Expressions

Methods


int MultiplyBy2(int value)
{
    return value * 2;
}

However, there is another way to express this idea.


//
//   First argument type
//   |
//   |    Return type
//   |    |
//   |    |                  Code
//   |    |                  |
//   |    |                  |
//   v    v                  v
Func<int, int> MultiplyBy2 = value => value * 2;


//
//   First argument type
//   |
//   |         Second argument type
//   |         |
//   |         |       Return type
//   |         |       |
//   |         |       |                       Arguments
//   |         |       |                       |
//   |         |       |                       |                   Code
//   |         |       |                       |                   |
//   |         |       |                       |                   |
//   v         v       v                       v                   v
Func<Employee, string, bool> EmployeeHasName = (employee, name) => employee.Name == name;

We could use this function as:


if (EmployeeHasName(employee, "Bob"))
{
    Console.WriteLine("Yup, that is Bob!");
}

Using LINQ and expressions.

Let's return to our expression example of using the MultiplyBy2. Suppose we had a list such as:


var scores = new List<int> { 42, 100, 98, 15 };

And say we need to make a new variable named newScores equal to the same list but all the numbers doubled.


var scores = new List<int> { 42, 100, 98, 15 };
// Here is our handy multiply by two
Func<int, int> MultiplyBy2 = value => value * 2;
// Make a new list to store the results
var newScores = new List<int>();
// Go through each score in the scores list
foreach(var score in scores) {
  // Use the `MultiplyBy2` expression to take score and double it
  var doubled = MultiplyBy2(score);
  // Add it to our new list
  newScores.Add(doubled);
}

[fit] So much code!

[fit] LINQ to the rescue

[.autoscale: false]

LINQ provides a method named Select.

What Select does is go through each entry in our list, and using an expression convert each element to a new value based on what that expression does.

Every new value is then added to a new List and returned.

Whoa! That is exactly what our code above is doing! Let's simplify this code by using our new Select capability.

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42
100
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42              42
100
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42              84
100
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100          100
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100          200
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98           98
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98           196
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98                             196
15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98                             196
15           15

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98                             196
15           30

Select


scores       MultiplyBy2       newScores
             x => x * 2
42                             84
100                            200
98                             196
15                             30

Select

with our `MultiplyBy2` expression

Turns	Into
`42, 100, 98, 15`	`84, 200, 196, 30`


// Here is our original array
var scores = new List<int> { 42, 100, 98, 15 };
// Here is our multiplier
Func<int, int> MultiplyBy2 = score => score * 2;
// Make a new list by going through the `scores`
// list, and for each item, call the `MultiplyBy2`
// expression on that item and using the new
// value to put into `newScores`
var newScores = scores.Select(MultiplyBy2);

[fit] Much better

Simpler
More expressive

Since `MultiplyBy2` is simply


score => score * 2

we can put that code directly into `Select()` and our code becomes...


// Here is our original array
var scores = new List<int> { 42, 100, 98, 15 };
// Make a new list by going through the `scores`
// list, and for each item, call the expression
// on that item and using the new value to put
// into `newScores`
var newScores = scores.Select(score => score * 2);

[fit] How nice and neat!

However Select is a generic method and can work with any expression we give it.


var slightlyBetterScores = scores.Select(score => score + 1);

We are about to see many different LINQ methods that each work by starting with a collection and applying an expression to its elements in different ways.

Which method we will reach for when writing code depends on the behavior we are looking for. We must simply find the appropriate method and supply it an expression that does the work we want to do.

Code to use with examples


public class Movie {
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public string Tagline { get; set; }
    public DateTime ReleasedDate { get; set; }
    public int Screenings { get; set; }
    public double PricePerTicket { get; set; }
    public double TotalRevenue { get; set; }
    public double Cost { get; set;}
    public double Budget { get; set;}
}

[fit] The `List` we will be using is


var movies = new List<Movie>();

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 1,
            Name = "Dorm Daze (National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze)",
            Tagline = "Multi-tiered modular standardization",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("3/27/2019"),
            Screenings = 186,
            PricePerTicket = 11,
            TotalRevenue = 13361359,
            Cost = 18274829,
            Budget = 8210089
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 2,
            Name = "Born Yesterday",
            Tagline = "Managed empowering open system",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("2/12/2014"),
            Screenings = 184,
            PricePerTicket = 11,
            TotalRevenue = 6563796,
            Cost = 9021912,
            Budget = 11364786
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 3,
            Name = "Darjeeling Limited, The",
            Tagline = "Quality-focused actuating initiative",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("8/21/2013"),
            Screenings = 177,
            PricePerTicket = 10,
            TotalRevenue = 17851792,
            Cost = 5441889,
            Budget = 12144397
      },

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 4,
            Name = "Offside",
            Tagline = "Enhanced homogeneous migration",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("4/18/2019"),
            Screenings = 169,
            PricePerTicket = 11,
            TotalRevenue = 1445952,
            Cost = 4008467,
            Budget = 7417825
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 5,
            Name = "Superman vs. The Elite",
            Tagline = "Stand-alone systematic model",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("12/7/2016"),
            Screenings = 124,
            PricePerTicket = 19,
            TotalRevenue = 13737676,
            Cost = 18893333,
            Budget = 6585110
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 6,
            Name = "Body Snatchers",
            Tagline = "Diverse holistic data-warehouse",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("1/12/2007"),
            Screenings = 170,
            PricePerTicket = 10,
            TotalRevenue = 10540575,
            Cost = 12946787,
            Budget = 9237906
      },

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 7,
            Name = "Death and Cremation",
            Tagline = "Ergonomic local knowledge base",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("4/1/2013"),
            Screenings = 138,
            PricePerTicket = 10,
            TotalRevenue = 12361644,
            Cost = 7326663,
            Budget = 16829534
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 8,
            Name = "Other End of the Line, The",
            Tagline = "Up-sized demand-driven policy",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("11/15/2016"),
            Screenings = 169,
            PricePerTicket = 12,
            TotalRevenue = 6371172,
            Cost = 17279838,
            Budget = 14274676
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 9,
            Name = "Our Mother's House",
            Tagline = "Enhanced methodical algorithm",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("7/20/2018"),
            Screenings = 188,
            PricePerTicket = 17,
            TotalRevenue = 3544170,
            Cost = 7953388,
            Budget = 19636220
      },

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 10,
            Name = "Everything I Can See From Here",
            Tagline = "Synchronized 24/7 utilization",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("7/26/2012"),
            Screenings = 84,
            PricePerTicket = 4,
            TotalRevenue = 14520267,
            Cost = 2766779,
            Budget = 2478292
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 11,
            Name = "My Rainy Days",
            Tagline = "Cloned static array",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("8/4/2015"),
            Screenings = 104,
            PricePerTicket = 15,
            TotalRevenue = 6860536,
            Cost = 6622076,
            Budget = 1091525
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 12,
            Name = "Five Graves to Cairo",
            Tagline = "Ergonomic heuristic capacity",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("10/25/2013"),
            Screenings = 65,
            PricePerTicket = 17,
            TotalRevenue = 13595001,
            Cost = 3736299,
            Budget = 724740
      },

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 13,
            Name = "Hunted, The",
            Tagline = "Multi-channelled object-oriented groupware",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("2/4/2014"),
            Screenings = 185,
            PricePerTicket = 7,
            TotalRevenue = 13273082,
            Cost = 14879296,
            Budget = 7461416
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 14,
            Name = "Charlie Chan's Courage",
            Tagline = "Implemented interactive installation",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("5/25/2006"),
            Screenings = 50,
            PricePerTicket = 10,
            TotalRevenue = 15695655,
            Cost = 11372062,
            Budget = 9089553
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 15,
            Name = "When Will I Be Loved",
            Tagline = "Networked uniform toolset",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("8/25/2015"),
            Screenings = 165,
            PricePerTicket = 21,
            TotalRevenue = 10095292,
            Cost = 16020659,
            Budget = 15707348
      },

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 16,
            Name = "Viva Las Vegas",
            Tagline = "Digitized dedicated capability",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("7/4/2015"),
            Screenings = 85,
            PricePerTicket = 16,
            TotalRevenue = 16406383,
            Cost = 9854228,
            Budget = 16042287
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 17,
            Name = "Topaze",
            Tagline = "Advanced high-level benchmark",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("12/1/2010"),
            Screenings = 60,
            PricePerTicket = 4,
            TotalRevenue = 13809680,
            Cost = 12667720,
            Budget = 14805773
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 18,
            Name = "The Clinic",
            Tagline = "Polarized regional solution",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("4/20/2013"),
            Screenings = 128,
            PricePerTicket = 8,
            TotalRevenue = 17416537,
            Cost = 3435812,
            Budget = 8818065
      },

[.column]


      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 19,
            Name = "The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration",
            Tagline = "Adaptive dedicated workforce",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("10/10/2008"),
            Screenings = 170,
            PricePerTicket = 21,
            TotalRevenue = 5720197,
            Cost = 10514309,
            Budget = 3781872
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 20,
            Name = "Tarzan",
            Tagline = "Polarized intangible productivity",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("12/31/2006"),
            Screenings = 105,
            PricePerTicket = 19,
            TotalRevenue = 6338974,
            Cost = 18402771,
            Budget = 844331
      },
      new Movie()
      {
            Id = 21,
            Name = "Jaws",
            Tagline = "When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down. ",
            ReleasedDate = DateTime.Parse("1/1/1975"),
            Screenings = 105,
            PricePerTicket = 7,
            TotalRevenue = 6338974,
            Cost = 18402771,
            Budget = 844331
      },

Select

Makes a new list, of equal size, by running an expression on every item in the list and using that value when filling the new list.


var movieNames = movies.Select(movie => movie.Name);

Select with an index

We can get both the current element and its index in the list as we work through the list


var movieNames = movies.Select((movie, index) => $"The movie named {movie.Name} is at position {index}");

Where

The Where statement is like a filter. We use it when we want to make a new list, keeping only some of the items from the original list.

Makes a new list, of equal or smaller size by running an expression against every item, keeping only items when the expression returns true.


// Make a new list containing only
// the movies that have over 100 Screenings
var popularMovies =
   movies.Where(movie => movie.Screenings >= 100);

Combine Where and Select


var popularMovies = movies.Where(movie => movie.Screenings >= 100);
var popularMovieNames = popularMovies.Select(movie => movie.Name);
var popularMoviesNamesInOneLine = movies.Where(movie => movie.Screenings >= 100).Select(movie => movie.Name);

Aggregate

The Aggregate method, often called reduce in other languages, takes the list and processes it down into a single value. Thus why it is often called reduce.

Returns a single value. It starts with a value we will call the current value. The given expression gets to use, one at a time, the current value and the item from the list, returning a new current value.


// Find the total revenue for all movies
var totalRevenue = movies.Aggregate(0.0,
   (currentTotal, movie) => currentTotal + movie.TotalRevenue);

Sum

In this example we first take all the movies and use Select to generate a new list of all the revenues. Then we use Sum to add up the values. This is conceptually simpler than Aggregate


var allRevenues = movies.Select(movie => movie.TotalRevenue);
var totalRevenue = allRevenues.Sum();

All

This returns a single bool which will be true if the expression is true for every element in the list.

Returns a boolean if the expression evaluates to true for every element in the list.


// Figure out if all the movies are old movies, before 1965
var areAllOldMovies = movies.All(
      movie => movie.ReleasedDate.Year < 1965);

Any

Returns a boolean if there is even a single element in the list that causes the expression to return true


// Figure out if there is even
// a single old movie (before 1965) in our list
var areAnyOldMovies = movies.Any(
      movie => movie.ReleasedDate.Year < 1965);

Count

Returns an integer of items, the count of elements within the list. If an expression is used, returns an integer of items the count of elements for which the expression returns true.


// Get count of movies that
// cost more than $10 to see.
var moviesThatCostMoreThanTenDollars =
      movies.Count(movie => movie.PricePerTicket > 10);


// This is kinda the same.
var anotherWayToCountMoviesCostingMoreThan10 = movies.Where(movie => movie.PricePerTicket > 10).Count();
Console.WriteLine($"There are {anotherWayToCountMoviesCostingMoreThan10} that cost more than $10");

First

Returns a single element of the list which is the first item for which the expression returns true. If no item is found, an exception is thrown.


// Our favorite movie is Jaws,
// let's get it from the list if
// it is there. If it isn't we'll
// get an exception/error
var favoriteMovie = movies.First(
      movie => movie.Name == "Jaws");

[fit] Many others

[.column]

FindIndex
First
FirstOrDefault
Last
LastOrDefault
Distinct
Max
Min

[.column]

Sum
Take
Skip
OrderBy
OrderByDescending
ThenBy
ThenByDescending
RemoveAll

Whew! That was a lot... Wait, there are even more!?

There are other LINQ methods besides those covered here. However, these are the best ones to learn first as they are used the most often.

All Programs

Missing Document Title

[fit] LINQ

[fit] LINQ adds capabilities to collections, such as List

But first a detour

[fit] Expressions

Methods

However, there is another way to express this idea.

We could use this function as:

Using LINQ and expressions.

[fit] So much code!

[fit] LINQ to the rescue

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

Select

with our MultiplyBy2 expression

[fit] Much better

Since MultiplyBy2 is simply

we can put that code directly into Select() and our code becomes...

[fit] How nice and neat!

Code to use with examples

[fit] The List we will be using is

Select

Select with an index

Where

Combine Where and Select

Aggregate

Sum

All

Any

Count

First

[fit] Many others

Whew! That was a lot... Wait, there are even more!?

[fit] LINQ adds capabilities to collections, such as `List`

with our `MultiplyBy2` expression

Since `MultiplyBy2` is simply

we can put that code directly into `Select()` and our code becomes...

[fit] The `List` we will be using is