Query Expression Syntax Examples: Join Operators (LINQ to DataSet)
Joining is an important operation in queries that target data sources that have no navigable relationships to each other, such as relational database tables. A join of two data sources is the association of objects in one data source with objects that share a common attribute in the other data source. For more information, see Standard Query Operators Overview (C#) or Standard Query Operators Overview (Visual Basic).
The examples in this topic demonstrate how to use the GroupJoin and Join methods to query a DataSet using the query expression syntax.
The FillDataSet method used in these examples is specified in Loading Data Into a DataSet.
The examples in this topic use the Contact, Address, Product, SalesOrderHeader, and SalesOrderDetail tables in the AdventureWorks sample database.
The examples in this topic use the following using/Imports statements:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using System.Windows.Forms;
Option Explicit On
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Linq.Expressions
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Data.Common
Imports System.Globalization
For more information, see How to: Create a LINQ to DataSet Project In Visual Studio.
GroupJoin
Example
This example performs a GroupJoin over the SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail tables to find the number of orders per customer. A group join is the equivalent of a left outer join, which returns each element of the first (left) data source, even if no correlated elements are in the other data source.
// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);
var orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"].AsEnumerable();
var details = ds.Tables["SalesOrderDetail"].AsEnumerable();
var query =
from order in orders
join detail in details
on order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID")
equals detail.Field<int>("SalesOrderID") into ords
select new
{
CustomerID =
order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID"),
ords = ords.Count()
};
foreach (var order in query)
{
Console.WriteLine("CustomerID: {0} Orders Count: {1}",
order.CustomerID,
order.ords);
}
' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)
Dim orders = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader").AsEnumerable()
Dim details = ds.Tables("SalesOrderDetail").AsEnumerable()
Dim query = _
From order In orders _
Group Join detail In details _
On order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") _
Equals detail.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") Into ords = Group _
Select New With _
{ _
.CustomerID = order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID"), _
.ords = ords.Count() _
}
For Each order In query
Console.WriteLine("CustomerID: {0} Orders Count: {1}", _
order.CustomerID, order.ords)
Next
Example
This example performs a GroupJoin over the Contact and SalesOrderHeader tables. A group join is the equivalent of a left outer join, which returns each element of the first (left) data source, even if no correlated elements are in the other data source.
// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);
DataTable contacts = ds.Tables["Contact"];
DataTable orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"];
var query =
from contact in contacts.AsEnumerable()
join order in orders.AsEnumerable()
on contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID") equals
order.Field<Int32>("ContactID")
select new
{
ContactID = contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
SalesOrderID = order.Field<Int32>("SalesOrderID"),
FirstName = contact.Field<string>("FirstName"),
Lastname = contact.Field<string>("Lastname"),
TotalDue = order.Field<decimal>("TotalDue")
};
foreach (var contact_order in query)
{
Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0} "
+ "SalesOrderID: {1} "
+ "FirstName: {2} "
+ "Lastname: {3} "
+ "TotalDue: {4}",
contact_order.ContactID,
contact_order.SalesOrderID,
contact_order.FirstName,
contact_order.Lastname,
contact_order.TotalDue);
}
' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)
Dim contacts As DataTable = ds.Tables("Contact")
Dim orders As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader")
Dim query = _
From contact In contacts.AsEnumerable(), order In orders.AsEnumerable() _
Where (contact.Field(Of Integer)("ContactID") = _
order.Field(Of Integer)("ContactID")) _
Select New With _
{ _
.ContactID = contact.Field(Of Integer)("ContactID"), _
.SalesOrderID = order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID"), _
.FirstName = contact.Field(Of String)("FirstName"), _
.Lastname = contact.Field(Of String)("Lastname"), _
.TotalDue = order.Field(Of Decimal)("TotalDue") _
}
For Each contact_order In query
Console.Write("ContactID: " & contact_order.ContactID)
Console.Write(" SalesOrderID: " & contact_order.SalesOrderID)
Console.Write(" FirstName: " & contact_order.FirstName)
Console.Write(" Lastname: " & contact_order.Lastname)
Console.WriteLine(" TotalDue: " & contact_order.TotalDue)
Next
Join
Example
This example performs a join over the SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail tables to get online orders from the month of August.
// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);
DataTable orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"];
DataTable details = ds.Tables["SalesOrderDetail"];
var query =
from order in orders.AsEnumerable()
join detail in details.AsEnumerable()
on order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID") equals
detail.Field<int>("SalesOrderID")
where order.Field<bool>("OnlineOrderFlag") == true
&& order.Field<DateTime>("OrderDate").Month == 8
select new
{
SalesOrderID =
order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID"),
SalesOrderDetailID =
detail.Field<int>("SalesOrderDetailID"),
OrderDate =
order.Field<DateTime>("OrderDate"),
ProductID =
detail.Field<int>("ProductID")
};
foreach (var order in query)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0}\t{1}\t{2:d}\t{3}",
order.SalesOrderID,
order.SalesOrderDetailID,
order.OrderDate,
order.ProductID);
}
' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)
Dim orders As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader")
Dim details As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderDetail")
Dim query = _
From order In orders.AsEnumerable() _
Join detail In details.AsEnumerable() _
On order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") Equals _
detail.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") _
Where order.Field(Of Boolean)("OnlineOrderFlag") = True And _
order.Field(Of DateTime)("OrderDate").Month = 8 _
Select New With _
{ _
.SalesOrderID = order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID"), _
.SalesOrderDetailID = detail.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderDetailID"), _
.OrderDate = order.Field(Of DateTime)("OrderDate"), _
.ProductID = detail.Field(Of Integer)("ProductID") _
}
For Each order In query
Console.WriteLine(order.SalesOrderID & vbTab & _
order.SalesOrderDetailID & vbTab & _
order.OrderDate & vbTab & _
order.ProductID)
Next