How to: Execute a Query that Returns Entity Type Objects

This topic provides examples of how to execute a query that returns a collection of entities. It then iterates through the collection of Contacts and displays the first and last name for each Contact. . To return just a single object, use one of the following methods on top of your query: First, FirstOrDefault, Single, SingleOrDefault.

The same example is shown using each of the following Entity Framework query technologies:

• LINQ to Entities

• Entity SQL with ObjectQuery<T>

• Query builder methods of ObjectQuery<T>

The example in this topic is based on the Adventure Works Sales Model. To run the code in this topic, you must have already added the Adventure Works Sales Model to your project and configured your project to use the Entity Framework. For more information, see How to: Use the Entity Data Model Wizard (Entity Framework) or How to: Manually Configure an Entity Framework Project and How to: Manually Define an Entity Data Model (Entity Framework).

Example

The following is the LINQ to Entities example.

Using context As New AdventureWorksEntities()
    Dim LastName = "Zhou"
    Dim query = From contact In context.Contacts Where contact.LastName = LastName

    ' Iterate through the collection of Contact items.
    For Each result As Contact In query
        Console.WriteLine("Contact First Name: {0}; Last Name: {1}", _
                result.FirstName, result.LastName)
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities context = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    string LastName = "Zhou";
    var query = from contact in context.Contacts where 
                    contact.LastName == LastName select contact;

    // Iterate through the collection of Contact items.
    foreach( var result in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Contact First Name: {0}; Last Name: {1}", 
                result.FirstName, result.LastName);
    }
}

The following is the Entity SQL example.

Using context As New AdventureWorksEntities()

    Dim esqlString As String = "SELECT VALUE Contact " & _
        "FROM AdventureWorksEntities.Contacts as Contact where Contact.LastName = @ln"

    Dim query As New ObjectQuery(Of Contact)(esqlString, context, MergeOption.NoTracking)
    query.Parameters.Add(New ObjectParameter("ln", "Zhou"))

    ' Iterate through the collection of Contact items. 
    For Each result As Contact In query
        Console.WriteLine("Contact First Name: {0}; Last Name: {1}", _
                result.FirstName, result.LastName)
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities context =
    new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    string esqlQuery = @"SELECT VALUE Contact
        FROM AdventureWorksEntities.Contacts as Contact where Contact.LastName = @ln";

    // The following query returns a collection of Contact objects.
    ObjectQuery<Contact> query = new ObjectQuery<Contact>(esqlQuery, context, MergeOption.NoTracking);
    query.Parameters.Add(new ObjectParameter("ln", "Zhou"));

    // Iterate through the collection of Contact items.
    foreach (Contact result in query)
        Console.WriteLine("Contact First Name: {0}; Last Name: {1}",
                result.FirstName, result.LastName);
}

The following is the query builder method example.

Using context As New AdventureWorksEntities()
    Dim query As ObjectQuery(Of Contact) = _
        context.Contacts.Where("it.LastName==@ln",
        New ObjectParameter("ln", "Zhou"))

    ' Iterate through the collection of Contact items.
    For Each result As Contact In query
        Console.WriteLine("Contact First Name: {0}; Last Name: {1}", _
                result.FirstName, result.LastName)
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities context =
    new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<Contact> query= context.Contacts.Where("it.LastName==@ln", 
        new ObjectParameter("ln", "Zhou"));

    // Iterate through the collection of Contact items.
    foreach (Contact result in query)
        Console.WriteLine("Contact First Name: {0}; Last Name: {1}",
                result.FirstName, result.LastName);
}

See Also

Tasks

How to: Execute a Query that Returns Anonymous Type Objects
How to: Execute a Query that Returns a Collection of Primitive Types
How to: Execute a Parameterized Query

Other Resources

Defining Advanced Data Models