How to do a join in linq to sql with method syntax?

Question

I have seen lots of examples in LINQ to SQL examples on how to do a join in query syntax but I am wondering how to do it with method syntax? For example how might I do the following

var result = from sc in enumerableOfSomeClass
             join soc in enumerableOfSomeOtherClass
             on sc.Property1 equals soc.Property2
             select new { SomeClass = sc, SomeOtherClass = soc }

with a .Join()? Can anyone illustrate or provide another simple example?

Answer 1

var result = from sc in enumerableOfSomeClass
             join soc in enumerableOfSomeOtherClass
             on sc.Property1 equals soc.Property2
             select new { SomeClass = sc, SomeOtherClass = soc };

Would be equivalent to:

var result = enumerableOfSomeClass
    .Join(enumerableOfSomeOtherClass,
          sc => sc.Property1,
          soc => soc.Property2,
          (sc, soc) => new
                       {
                           SomeClass = sc,
                           SomeOtherClass = soc
                       });

As you can see, when it comes to joins, query syntax is usually much more readable than lambda syntax.

Answer 2

Justin has correctly shown the expansion in the case where the join is just followed by a select. If you've got something else, it becomes more tricky due to transparent identifiers - the mechanism the C# compiler uses to propagate the scope of both halves of the join.

So to change Justin's example slightly:

var result = from sc in enumerableOfSomeClass
             join soc in enumerableOfSomeOtherClass
             on sc.Property1 equals soc.Property2
             where sc.X + sc.Y == 10
             select new { SomeClass = sc, SomeOtherClass = soc }

would be converted into something like this:

var result = enumerableOfSomeClass
    .Join(enumerableOfSomeOtherClass,
          sc => sc.Property1,
          soc => soc.Property2,
          (sc, soc) => new { sc, soc })
    .Where(z => z.sc.X + z.sc.Y == 10)
    .Select(z => new { SomeClass = z.sc, SomeOtherClass = z.soc });

The z here is the transparent identifier - but because it's transparent, you can't see it in the original query :)

Answer 3

To add on to the other answers here, if you would like to create a new object of a third different type with a where clause (e.g. one that is not your Entity Framework object) you can do this:

public IEnumerable<ThirdNonEntityClass> demoMethod(IEnumerable<int> property1Values)
{
    using(var entityFrameworkObjectContext = new EntityFrameworkObjectContext )
    {
        var result = entityFrameworkObjectContext.SomeClass
            .Join(entityFrameworkObjectContext.SomeOtherClass,
                sc => sc.property1,
                soc => soc.property2,
                (sc, soc) => new {sc, soc})
            .Where(s => propertyValues.Any(pvals => pvals == es.sc.property1)
            .Select(s => new ThirdNonEntityClass 
            {
                dataValue1 = s.sc.dataValueA,
                dataValue2 = s.soc.dataValueB
            })
            .ToList();
    }

    return result;

}    

Pay special attention to the intermediate object that is created in the Where and Select clauses.

Note that here we also look for any joined objects that have a property1 that matches one of the ones in the input list.

I know this is a bit more complex than what the original asker was looking for, but hopefully it will help someone.