I have a table called Products and I need to find the products with unique title for a particular category. Earlier we used to do with this query in entity framework core 2.2 :
currentContext.Products
.GroupBy(x => x.Title)
.Select(x => x.FirstOrDefault()))
.Select(x => new ProductViewModel
{
Id = x.Id,
Title = x.Title,
CategoryId= x.CategoryId
}).ToList();
But after upgrading to Entity Framework Core 5.0, we get an error for Groupby Shaker exception:
The LINQ expression 'GroupByShaperExpression:KeySelector: t.title, ElementSelector:EntityShaperExpression: EntityType: Project ValueBufferExpression: ProjectionBindingExpression: EmptyProjectionMember IsNullable: False .FirstOrDefault()' could not be translated. Either rewrite the query in a form that can be translated, or switch to client evaluation explicitly by inserting a call to 'AsEnumerable', 'AsAsyncEnumerable', 'ToList', or 'ToListAsync'.
I know there are multiple way to client projection but I am searching for most efficient way to search.
Most likely that LINQ query couldn't be translated in EF Core 2.2 either, because of some limitations that the GroupBy operator has.
From the docs:
Since no database structure can represent an IGrouping, GroupBy operators have no translation in most cases. When an aggregate operator is applied to each group, which returns a scalar, it can be translated to SQL GROUP BY in relational databases. The SQL GROUP BY is restrictive too. It requires you to group only by scalar values. The projection can only contain grouping key columns or any aggregate applied over a column.
What happened in EF Core 2.x is that whenever it couldn't translate an expression, it would automatically switch to client evaluation and give just a warning.
This is listed as the breaking change with highest impact when migrating to EF Core >= 3.x :
Old behavior
Before 3.0, when EF Core couldn't convert an expression that was part of a query to either SQL or a parameter, it automatically evaluated the expression on the client. By default, client evaluation of potentially expensive expressions only triggered a warning.
New behavior
Starting with 3.0, EF Core only allows expressions in the top-level projection (the last Select() call in the query) to be evaluated on the client. When expressions in any other part of the query can't be converted to either SQL or a parameter, an exception is thrown.
So if the performance of that expression was good enough when using EF Core 2.x, it will be as good as before if you decide to explicitly switch to client evaluation when using EF Core 5.x. That's because both are client evaluated, before and now, with the only difference being that you have to be explicit about it now. So the easy way out, if the performance was acceptable previously, would be to just client evaluate the last part of the query using .AsEnumerable() or .ToList().
If client evaluation performance is not acceptable (which will imply that it wasn't before the migration either) then you have to rewrite the query. There are a couple of answers by Ivan Stoev that might get you inspired.
I am a little confused by the description of what you want to achieve: I need to find the products with unique title for a particular category and the code you posted, since I believe it's not doing what you explained. In any case, I will provide possible solutions for both interpretations.
This is my attempt of writing a query to find the products with unique title for a particular category.
var uniqueProductTitlesForCategoryQueryable = currentContext.Products
.Where(x => x.CategoryId == categoryId)
.GroupBy(x => x.Title)
.Where(x => x.Count() == 1)
.Select(x => x.Key); // Key being the title
var productsWithUniqueTitleForCategory = currentContext.Products
.Where(x => x.CategoryId == categoryId)
.Where(x => uniqueProductTitlesForCategoryQueryable .Contains(x.Title))
.Select(x => new ProductViewModel
{
Id = x.Id,
Title = x.Title,
CategoryId= x.CategoryId
}).ToList();
And this is my attempt of rewriting the query you posted:
currentContext.Products
.Select(product => product.Title)
.Distinct()
.SelectMany(uniqueTitle => currentContext.Products.Where(product => product.Title == uniqueTitle ).Take(1))
.Select(product => new ProductViewModel
{
Id = product.Id,
Title = product.Title,
CategoryId= product.CategoryId
})
.ToList();
I am getting the distinct titles in the Product table and per each distinct title I get the first Product that matches it (that should be equivalent as GroupBy(x => x.Title)+ FirstOrDefault AFAIK). You could add some sorting before the Take(1) if needed.
You can use Join for this query as below :
currentContext.Products
.GroupBy(x => x.Title)
.Select(x => new ProductViewModel()
{
Title = x.Key,
Id = x.Min(b => b.Id)
})
.Join(currentContext.Products, a => a.Id, b => b.Id,
(a, b) => new ProductViewModel()
{
Id = a.Id,
Title = a.Title,
CategoryId = b.CategoryId
}).ToList();
If you watch or log translated SQL query, it would be as below:
SELECT [t].[Title], [t].[c] AS [Id], [p0].[CategoryId] AS [CategoryId]
FROM (
SELECT [p].[Title], MIN([p].[Id]) AS [c]
FROM [Product].[Products] AS [p]
GROUP BY [p].[Title]
) AS [t]
INNER JOIN [Product].[Products] AS [p0] ON [t].[c] = [p0].[Id]
As you can see, the entire query is translated into one SQL query and it is highly efficient because GroupBy operation is being performed in database and no additional record is fetched by the client.
As mentioned by Ivan Stoev, EFC 2.x just silently loads full table to the client side and then apply needed logic for extracting needed result. It is resource consuming way and thanks that EFC team uncovered such potential harmful queries.
Most effective way is already known - raw SQL and window functions. SO is full of answers like this.
SELECT
s.Id,
s.Title,
s.CategoryId
FROM
(SELECT
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY p.Title ORDER BY p.Id) AS RN,
p.*
FROM Products p) s
WHERE s.RN = 1
Not sure that EFC team will invent universal algorithm for generating such SQL in nearest future, but for special edge cases it is doable and maybe it is their plan to do that for EFC 6.0
Anyway if performance and LINQ is priority for such question, I suggest to try our adaptation of linq2db ORM for EF Core projects: linq2db.EntityFrameworkCore
And you can get desired result without leaving LINQ:
urrentContext.Products
.Select(x => new
{
Product = x,
RN = Sql.Ext.RowNumber().Over()
.PartitionBy(x.Title)
.OrderBy(x.Id)
.ToValue()
})
.Where(x => x.RN == 1)
.Select(x => x.Product)
.Select(x => new ProductViewModel
{
Id = x.Id,
Title = x.Title,
CategoryId = x.CategoryId
})
.ToLinqToDB()
.ToList();
Short answer is you deal with breaking changes in EF Core versions.
You should consider the total API and behavior changes for migration from 2.2 to 5.0 as I provided bellow:
Breaking changes included in EF Core 3.x
Breaking changes in EF Core 5.0
You may face other problems to write valid expressions using the newer version. In my opinion, upgrading to a newer version is not important itself. This is important to know how to work with a specific version.
You should use .GroupBy() AFTER materialization. Unfortunately, EF core doesn't support GROUP BY. In version 3 they introduced strict queries which means you can not execute IQeuriables that can't be converted to SQL unless you disable this configuration (which is not recommended). Also, I'm not sure what are you trying to get with GroupBy() and how it will influence your final result. Anyway, I suggest you upgrade your query like this:
currentContext.Products
.Select(x=> new {
x.Id,
x.Title,
x.Category
})
.ToList()
.GroupBy(x=> x.Title)
.Select(x => new Wrapper
{
ProductsTitle = x.Key,
Products = x.Select(p=> new ProductViewModel{
Id = p.Id,
Title = p.Title,
CategoryId= p.CategoryId
}).ToList()
}).ToList();
In the below query, why do I have to include the related entities in my query to get a value for them? I mean why Lazy-loading does not seem to work and do I have to do Eager-loading instead?
var acceptedHitchRequest = await _acceptedRequestRepository.GetAll()
.Include(p => p.HitchRequest)
.Include(p => p.CarparkRequest)
.Include(p => p.HitchRequest.User)
.Include(p => p.CarparkRequest.User)
.Where(p => (input.HitchRequestId.HasValue ? p.HitchRequest.Id == input.HitchRequestId : p.CarparkRequest.Id == input.CarparkRequestId)
&& p.IsActive).FirstOrDefaultAsync();
if (input.HitchRequestId.HasValue && acceptedHitchRequest.HitchRequest.CreatorUserId == AbpSession.UserId)
The CreatorUserId in the if condition would throw an exception because the HitchRequest would be null if I were not using the Include().
Inclue() method provides eager loading instead of lazy loading. I'm explaining to you the difference between the two based on my knowledge.
Lazy loading. It gives you records only for the entity itself and one each time that related data (in your case HitchRequest) for
the entity must be retrieved. The DbContext class gives you lazy
loading by default.
Eager loading. When the entity is read, related data is retrieved along with it. This typically results in a single join query that
retrieves all of the data that's needed. You specify eager loading by
using the Include method.
The first statement without Include() is equivalent to the below statement, that's why HitchRequest is null if you don't use Include():
SELECT * FROM AcceptedRequest;
The statement which uses Include("HitchRequest.User") is equivalent to the below statement:
SELECT * FROM AcceptedRequest JOIN Orders ON AcceptedRequest.Id = HitchRequest.User.AcceptedRequestId;
You can refer to this very useful article.
Entity Framework Loading Related Entities, Eager Loading and Eager Loading in Entity Framework
I'm using Entity Framework 4.3
I have 3 tables, Lender, Product and ProductDetail
A Lender has multiple Products and a Product has Multiple ProductDetail rows
Here's a chunk of code I'm trying to use:
Lender SingleOrDefault(Expression<Func<Lender, bool>> predicate)
{
using (var uow = new UnitOfWork(Connections.LoanComparision))
{
var r = new Repository<Lender>(uow.Context);
return r.Find(predicate)
.Where(x =>
x.IsPublished &&
x.Products.Any(y => y.IsPublished))
.Include(x => x.Products.SelectMany(y => y.ProductDetails))
.SingleOrDefault();
}
}
The issue is with the Include - I'm trying to get the Lender => Products => ProductDetails. I can't see the table in intellisense even though I know it is linked correctly. I thought the SelectMany might work but it gives me a runtime error.
Any ideas as to how this can be achieved?
You do selectmany however it is for flatten list of list to list.
To include relevant list you should do select as noted in comments noted by Developer user
Include(x => x.Products.Select(y => y.ProductDetails))
I'm using EF4. Having 2 entities:
Person { Name }
Hobbys { Person.Name, IsCoolHobby }
1 Person can have several hobbys.
I now have
IQueryable<Person> p;
p = container.PersonSet.Include("Hobbys").AsQueryable();
p = p.Where(x => x ?????);
List<Person> tmp = p.ToList();
How can i return only those Persons who have cool hobbys (IsCoolHobby == true)? I tried join but i was not able to load them into the list (select can only return Person, Hobby or new Type - but how to map them to entity objects again?)
Thanks
How can i return only those Persons who have cool hobbys (IsCoolHobby
== true)?
List<Person> tmp = container.PersonSet.Include("Hobbys")
.Where(p => p.Hobbys.Any(h => h.IsCoolHobby))
.ToList();
This will load the people who have at least one cool hobby but the Hobbys collection for those people will always contain all hobbys, also the uncool hobbys.
Edit
Unfortunately filtering and sorting children during eager loading (Include) is currently not supported. There is a request on the EF feature suggestion page for this feature. The request has status "Under review", so there is a little hope that it might get implemented in the future. (Probably far future: At least the first docs about EF 5 (beta) on MSDN say explicitly that eager loading with filtering/sorting is still not implemented.)
For now there are only two workarounds. The first is to use a projection:
var projectedData = container.PersonSet
.Where(p => p.Hobbys.Any(h => h.IsCoolHobby))
.Select(p => new
{
Person = p,
CoolHobbys = p.Hobbys.Where(h => h.IsCoolHobby)
})
.ToList();
The result is a collection of anonymous objects which contain a user who has cool hobbys and a collection of those cool hobbys. If you don't disable change tracking (by using the NoTracking option for the query) the person's hobbys collection should be filled with the result automatically.
The second option is to use "explicit" loading with CreateSourceQuery:
List<Person> tmp = container.PersonSet
.Where(p => p.Hobbys.Any(h => h.IsCoolHobby))
.ToList();
foreach (var person in tmp)
{
person.Hobbys.Attach(person.Hobbys.CreateSourceQuery()
.Where(h => h.IsCoolHobby).ToList());
}
Two things to note here:
CreateSourceQuery is only available on EntityCollections, i.e. if you are using EntityObject derived entities. It's not available for POCO entities in EF 4.0. (EF >= 4.1/DbContext has the option for explicit loading also for POCOs -> Query() method.)
The above code represents 1+N roundtrips to the database: The first for the person collection without the hobbys and then one additional query per person to load the cool hobbys.
I have a many to many relationship in EF4 with the following entities:
[Student] - [Class] - [Student_Class]
Moreover i have a [School] entity with a FK on [Student].
If i want to have all the Students of my school i do:
context.School.Include("Student")
but if i want to have the 1rst class of my Students in my school ?
context.School.Include("Student").Include("Student_Class").Where(...
i did not manage to make this thing work...
Can you help ?
Also is it more intelligent to write a full Linq select?
Thanks
John
If you want to do a conditional eager load, then you should NOT be using the Include method.
For loading your school object containing only the students that belong to the first class
You can do a Filtered Projection which returns an Anonymous Type object:
var school = context.School
.Where(s => s.SchoolID == 1) // or any other predicate
.Select(s => new
{
School = s,
Students = s.Student.Where(st => st.ClassID == 1)
}).ToList();
Another way would be to Leverage Attach Method which returns EntityObject:
var school = context.School.Where(s => s.SchoolID == 1).First()
var sourceQuery = school.Students.CreateSourceQuery()
.Where(st => st.ClassID == 1);
school.Students.Attach(sourceQuery);
For a more detailed discussion about this, you can also check:
Entity Framework: How to query data in a Navigation property table