How to: Query a Collection of Objects (C# Programming Guide)
This example shows how to perform a simple query over a list of Student objects. Each Student object contains some basic information about the student, and a list that represents the student's scores on four examinations.
This application serves as the framework for many other examples in this section that use the same students data source.
Example
The following query returns the students who received a score of 85 or greater on their first exam.
public class StudentClass
{
#region data
protected enum GradeLevel { FirstYear = 1, SecondYear, ThirdYear, FourthYear };
protected class Student
{
public string FirstName { get; set; }
public string LastName { get; set; }
public int ID { get; set; }
public GradeLevel Year;
public List<int> ExamScores;
}
protected static List<Student> students = new List<Student>
{
new Student {FirstName = "Terry", LastName = "Adams", ID = 120, Year = GradeLevel.SecondYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 99, 82, 81, 79}},
new Student {FirstName = "Fadi", LastName = "Fakhouri", ID = 116, Year = GradeLevel.ThirdYear,ExamScores = new List<int>{ 99, 86, 90, 94}},
new Student {FirstName = "Hanying", LastName = "Feng", ID = 117, Year = GradeLevel.FirstYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 93, 92, 80, 87}},
new Student {FirstName = "Cesar", LastName = "Garcia", ID = 114, Year = GradeLevel.FourthYear,ExamScores = new List<int>{ 97, 89, 85, 82}},
new Student {FirstName = "Debra", LastName = "Garcia", ID = 115, Year = GradeLevel.ThirdYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 35, 72, 91, 70}},
new Student {FirstName = "Hugo", LastName = "Garcia", ID = 118, Year = GradeLevel.SecondYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 92, 90, 83, 78}},
new Student {FirstName = "Sven", LastName = "Mortensen", ID = 113, Year = GradeLevel.FirstYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 88, 94, 65, 91}},
new Student {FirstName = "Claire", LastName = "O'Donnell", ID = 112, Year = GradeLevel.FourthYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 75, 84, 91, 39}},
new Student {FirstName = "Svetlana", LastName = "Omelchenko", ID = 111, Year = GradeLevel.SecondYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 97, 92, 81, 60}},
new Student {FirstName = "Lance", LastName = "Tucker", ID = 119, Year = GradeLevel.ThirdYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 68, 79, 88, 92}},
new Student {FirstName = "Michael", LastName = "Tucker", ID = 122, Year = GradeLevel.FirstYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 94, 92, 91, 91}},
new Student {FirstName = "Eugene", LastName = "Zabokritski", ID = 121, Year = GradeLevel.FourthYear, ExamScores = new List<int>{ 96, 85, 91, 60}}
};
#endregion
//Helper method
protected static int GetPercentile(Student s)
{
double avg = s.ExamScores.Average();
return avg > 0 ? (int)avg / 10 : 0;
}
public void QueryHighScores(int exam, int score)
{
var highScores = from student in students
where student.ExamScores[exam] > score
select new {Name = student.FirstName, Score = student.ExamScores[exam]};
foreach (var item in highScores)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0,-15}{1}", item.Name, item.Score);
}
}
}
public class Program
{
public static void Main()
{
StudentClass sc = new StudentClass();
sc.QueryHighScores(1, 90);
// Keep the console window open in debug mode
Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
This query is intentionally simple to enable you to experiment. For example, you can try more predicates in the where clause, or use an orderby clause to sort the results.
Compiling the Code
Create a Visual Studio project that targets the .NET Framework version 3.5. By default, the project has a reference to System.Core.dll and a using directive for the System.Linq namespace.
Copy the code into your project.
Press F5 to compile and run the program.
Press any key to exit the console window.