I'm using Entity Framework in my ASP.NET, C#, Web Application. If I need to select a record from DataBase (in Data Access Layer), which method should I use? Linq query or a Lambda Expression?
Eg:-
//Linq
var result = from a in db.myTable.Take(1) where a.Id == varId select a;
return result.First();
//Lambda
return db.myTable.FirstOrDefault(a => a.Id == varId);
Is there any preferred way in this scenario or any advantage over the other?
Query Expression compiles into Method Expression (Lambda expression), so there shouldn't be any difference, In your code though you are accessing First
and FirstOrDefault
which would behave differently.
See: Query Syntax and Method Syntax in LINQ (C#)
and LINQ Query Expressions (C# Programming Guide)
At compile time, query expressions are converted to Standard Query
Operator method calls according to the rules set forth in the C#
specification. Any query that can be expressed by using query syntax
can also be expressed by using method syntax. However, in most cases
query syntax is more readable and concise.
Linq query syntax is just a syntax sugar for expression methods. Any Linq query compiled into expression methods. Btw your first query:
var query = from a in db.myTable.Take(1)
where a.Id == varId
select a;
return query.First();
Is equivalent to
return db.myTable.Take(1).Where(a => a.Id == varId).First();
Both of your tries use Linq.
The first takes one record and checks if the id matches.
The second takes the first record where the id matches.
That's a difference.
I guess the result is the same. Lambda is just a bit more comfortable.
If you need a result of just one table, the lambda expression is very fast and readable.
Every query expression can be expressed as C#-code using calls to query operators as extension methods. But the opposite is not true; only a small subset of the standard query operators can be used as keywords in query expressions. In other words query expressions have some limitations that the method-call mechanism does not have:
- Some query operators have simply no C# query expression equivalent, e.g. ToArray().
- We can't use all kinds of overloads in C#'s query expressions. E.g. there is an overload of Select() that awaits the index of the currently iterated object; you cannot call this overload within a query expression.
- We can't use statement lambdas in query expressions. - This is the cause why object and collection initializers have been introduced into the C# language.