Queryable.SingleOrDefault Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Linq

Assembly:

System.Linq.Queryable.dll

Returns a single, specific element of a sequence, or a default value if no such element is found.

Overloads

SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, TSource)	Returns the only element of a sequence, or a default value if the sequence is empty; this method throws an exception if there is more than one element in the sequence.
SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>, TSource)	Returns the only element of a sequence that satisfies a specified condition or a default value if no such element exists; this method throws an exception if more than one element satisfies the condition.
SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>)	Returns the only element of a sequence, or a default value if the sequence is empty; this method throws an exception if there is more than one element in the sequence.
SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>)	Returns the only element of a sequence that satisfies a specified condition or a default value if no such element exists; this method throws an exception if more than one element satisfies the condition.

SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, TSource)

Source:

Queryable.cs

Returns the only element of a sequence, or a default value if the sequence is empty; this method throws an exception if there is more than one element in the sequence.

public:
generic <typename TSource>
[System::Runtime::CompilerServices::Extension]
 static TSource SingleOrDefault(System::Linq::IQueryable<TSource> ^ source, TSource defaultValue);

public static TSource SingleOrDefault<TSource> (this System.Linq.IQueryable<TSource> source, TSource defaultValue);

static member SingleOrDefault : System.Linq.IQueryable<'Source> * 'Source -> 'Source

<Extension()>
Public Function SingleOrDefault(Of TSource) (source As IQueryable(Of TSource), defaultValue As TSource) As TSource

Type Parameters

TSource

The type of the elements of source.

Parameters

source

IQueryable<TSource>

An IEnumerable<T> to return the single element of.

defaultValue

TSource

The default value to return if the sequence is empty.

Returns

TSource

The single element of the input sequence, or defaultValue if the sequence contains no elements.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

source is null.

InvalidOperationException

The input sequence contains more than one element.

SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>, TSource)

Source:

Queryable.cs

Returns the only element of a sequence that satisfies a specified condition or a default value if no such element exists; this method throws an exception if more than one element satisfies the condition.

public:
generic <typename TSource>
[System::Runtime::CompilerServices::Extension]
 static TSource SingleOrDefault(System::Linq::IQueryable<TSource> ^ source, System::Linq::Expressions::Expression<Func<TSource, bool> ^> ^ predicate, TSource defaultValue);

public static TSource SingleOrDefault<TSource> (this System.Linq.IQueryable<TSource> source, System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<TSource,bool>> predicate, TSource defaultValue);

static member SingleOrDefault : System.Linq.IQueryable<'Source> * System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<'Source, bool>> * 'Source -> 'Source

<Extension()>
Public Function SingleOrDefault(Of TSource) (source As IQueryable(Of TSource), predicate As Expression(Of Func(Of TSource, Boolean)), defaultValue As TSource) As TSource

Type Parameters

TSource

The type of the elements of source.

Parameters

source

IQueryable<TSource>

An IEnumerable<T> to return a single element from.

predicate

Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>

A function to test an element for a condition.

defaultValue

TSource

The default value to return if the sequence is empty.

Returns

TSource

The single element of the input sequence that satisfies the condition, or defaultValue if no such element is found.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

source or predicate is null.

InvalidOperationException

More than one element satisfies the condition in predicate.

SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>)

Source:

Queryable.cs

Returns the only element of a sequence, or a default value if the sequence is empty; this method throws an exception if there is more than one element in the sequence.

public:
generic <typename TSource>
[System::Runtime::CompilerServices::Extension]
 static TSource SingleOrDefault(System::Linq::IQueryable<TSource> ^ source);

public static TSource? SingleOrDefault<TSource> (this System.Linq.IQueryable<TSource> source);

static member SingleOrDefault : System.Linq.IQueryable<'Source> -> 'Source

<Extension()>
Public Function SingleOrDefault(Of TSource) (source As IQueryable(Of TSource)) As TSource

Type Parameters

TSource

The type of the elements of source.

Parameters

source

IQueryable<TSource>

An IQueryable<T> to return the single element of.

Returns

TSource

The single element of the input sequence, or default(TSource) if the sequence contains no elements.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

source is null.

InvalidOperationException

source has more than one element.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to use SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>) to select the only element of an array. The second query demonstrates that SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>) returns a default value when the sequence does not contain exactly one element.

// Create two arrays. The second is empty.
string[] fruits1 = { "orange" };
string[] fruits2 = { };

// Get the only item in the first array, or else
// the default value for type string (null).
string fruit1 = fruits1.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault();
Console.WriteLine("First Query: " + fruit1);

// Get the only item in the second array, or else
// the default value for type string (null).
string fruit2 = fruits2.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault();
Console.WriteLine("Second Query: " +
    (String.IsNullOrEmpty(fruit2) ? "No such string!" : fruit2));

/*
    This code produces the following output:

    First Query: orange
    Second Query: No such string!
*/

' Create two arrays. The second is empty.
Dim fruits1() As String = {"orange"}
Dim fruits2() As String = {}

' Get the only item in the first array, or else
' the default value for type string (null).
Dim fruit1 As String = fruits1.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault()
MsgBox("First Query: " + fruit1)

' Get the only item in the second array, or else
' the default value for type string (null). 
Dim fruit2 As String = fruits2.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault()
MsgBox("Second Query: " & _
    IIf(String.IsNullOrEmpty(fruit2), "No such string!", fruit2))

' This code produces the following output:

' First Query: orange
' Second Query: No such string!

Sometimes the value of default(TSource) is not the default value that you want to use if the collection contains no elements. Instead of checking the result for the unwanted default value and then changing it if necessary, you can use the DefaultIfEmpty<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, TSource) method to specify the default value that you want to use if the collection is empty. Then, call Single<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>) to obtain the element. The following code example uses both techniques to obtain a default value of 1 if a collection of page numbers is empty. Because the default value for an integer is 0, which is not usually a valid page number, the default value must be specified as 1 instead. The first result variable is checked for the unwanted default value after the query is completed. The second result variable is obtained by calling DefaultIfEmpty<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, TSource) to specify a default value of 1.

int[] pageNumbers = { };

// Setting the default value to 1 after the query.
int pageNumber1 = pageNumbers.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault();
if (pageNumber1 == 0)
{
    pageNumber1 = 1;
}
Console.WriteLine("The value of the pageNumber1 variable is {0}", pageNumber1);

// Setting the default value to 1 by using DefaultIfEmpty() in the query.
int pageNumber2 = pageNumbers.AsQueryable().DefaultIfEmpty(1).Single();
Console.WriteLine("The value of the pageNumber2 variable is {0}", pageNumber2);

/*
 This code produces the following output:

 The value of the pageNumber1 variable is 1
 The value of the pageNumber2 variable is 1
*/

Dim pageNumbers() As Integer = {}

' Setting the default value to 1 after the query.
Dim pageNumber1 As Integer = pageNumbers.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault()
If pageNumber1 = 0 Then
    pageNumber1 = 1
End If
MsgBox(String.Format("The value of the pageNumber1 variable is {0}", pageNumber1))

' Setting the default value to 1 by using DefaultIfEmpty() in the query.
Dim pageNumber2 As Integer = pageNumbers.AsQueryable().DefaultIfEmpty(1).Single()
MsgBox(String.Format("The value of the pageNumber2 variable is {0}", pageNumber2))

' This code produces the following output:

' The value of the pageNumber1 variable is 1
' The value of the pageNumber2 variable is 1

Remarks

The SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>) method generates a MethodCallExpression that represents calling SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>) itself as a constructed generic method. It then passes the MethodCallExpression to the Execute<TResult>(Expression) method of the IQueryProvider represented by the Provider property of the source parameter.

The query behavior that occurs as a result of executing an expression tree that represents calling SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>) depends on the implementation of the type of the source parameter. The expected behavior is that it returns the only element in source, or a default value if source is empty.

The SingleOrDefault method does not provide a way to specify a default value. If you want to specify a default value other than default(TSource), use the DefaultIfEmpty<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, TSource) method as described in the Example section.

SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>)

Source:

Queryable.cs

Returns the only element of a sequence that satisfies a specified condition or a default value if no such element exists; this method throws an exception if more than one element satisfies the condition.

public:
generic <typename TSource>
[System::Runtime::CompilerServices::Extension]
 static TSource SingleOrDefault(System::Linq::IQueryable<TSource> ^ source, System::Linq::Expressions::Expression<Func<TSource, bool> ^> ^ predicate);

public static TSource? SingleOrDefault<TSource> (this System.Linq.IQueryable<TSource> source, System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<TSource,bool>> predicate);

static member SingleOrDefault : System.Linq.IQueryable<'Source> * System.Linq.Expressions.Expression<Func<'Source, bool>> -> 'Source

<Extension()>
Public Function SingleOrDefault(Of TSource) (source As IQueryable(Of TSource), predicate As Expression(Of Func(Of TSource, Boolean))) As TSource

Type Parameters

TSource

The type of the elements of source.

Parameters

source

IQueryable<TSource>

An IQueryable<T> to return a single element from.

predicate

Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>

A function to test an element for a condition.

Returns

TSource

The single element of the input sequence that satisfies the condition in predicate, or default(TSource) if no such element is found.

Exceptions

ArgumentNullException

source or predicate is null.

InvalidOperationException

More than one element satisfies the condition in predicate.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to use SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>) to select the only element of an array that satisfies a condition. The second query demonstrates that SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>) returns a default value when the sequence does not contain exactly one element that satisfies the condition.

string[] fruits = { "apple", "banana", "mango",
                      "orange", "passionfruit", "grape" };

// Get the single string in the array whose length is greater
// than 10, or else the default value for type string (null).
string fruit1 =
    fruits.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault(fruit => fruit.Length > 10);
Console.WriteLine("First Query: " + fruit1);

// Get the single string in the array whose length is greater
// than 15, or else the default value for type string (null).
string fruit2 =
   fruits.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault(fruit => fruit.Length > 15);
Console.WriteLine("Second Query: " +
    (String.IsNullOrEmpty(fruit2) ? "No such string!" : fruit2));

/*
    This code produces the following output:

    First Query: passionfruit
    Second Query: No such string!
*/

Dim fruits() As String = _
    {"apple", "banana", "mango", "orange", "passionfruit", "grape"}

' Get the single string in the array whose length is greater
' than 10, or else the default value for type string (null).
Dim fruit1 As String = _
    fruits.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault(Function(fruit) fruit.Length > 10)
' Display the result.
MsgBox("First Query: " & fruit1)

' Get the single string in the array whose length is greater
' than 15, or else the default value for type string (null).
Dim fruit2 As String = _
    fruits.AsQueryable().SingleOrDefault(Function(fruit) fruit.Length > 15)
MsgBox("Second Query: " & _
    IIf(String.IsNullOrEmpty(fruit2), "No such string!", fruit2))

' This code produces the following output:

' First Query: passionfruit
' Second Query: No such string!

Remarks

This method has at least one parameter of type Expression<TDelegate> whose type argument is one of the Func<T,TResult> types. For these parameters, you can pass in a lambda expression and it will be compiled to an Expression<TDelegate>.

The SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>) method generates a MethodCallExpression that represents calling SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>) itself as a constructed generic method. It then passes the MethodCallExpression to the Execute<TResult>(Expression) method of the IQueryProvider represented by the Provider property of the source parameter.

The query behavior that occurs as a result of executing an expression tree that represents calling SingleOrDefault<TSource>(IQueryable<TSource>, Expression<Func<TSource,Boolean>>) depends on the implementation of the type of the source parameter. The expected behavior is that it returns the only element in source that satisfies the condition specified by predicate, or a default value if no such element exists.