T-SQL IsNumeric() and Linq-to-SQL

Question

I need to find the highest value from the database that satisfies a certain formatting convention. Specifically, I would like to find the highest value that looks like

Answer 1

My suggestion is to fall back to in-line SQL and use the DataContext.ExecuteQuery() method. You would use the SQL query you posted in the beginning.

This is what I have done in similar situations. Not ideal, granted, due to the lack of the type-checking and possible syntax errors, but simply make sure it is included in any unit tests. Not every possible query is covered by the Linq syntax, hence the existence of ExecuteQuery in the first place.