Enumerable.ThenByDescending Method

Definition

Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in descending order.

Overloads

ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey>(IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>, Func<TSource,TKey>)

Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in descending order, according to a key.

ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey>(IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>, Func<TSource,TKey>, IComparer<TKey>)

Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in descending order by using a specified comparer.

ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey>(IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>, Func<TSource,TKey>)

Source:
OrderBy.cs
Source:
OrderBy.cs
Source:
OrderBy.cs

Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in descending order, according to a key.

public static System.Linq.IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey> (this System.Linq.IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> source, Func<TSource,TKey> keySelector);

Type Parameters

TSource

The type of the elements of source.

TKey

The type of the key returned by keySelector.

Parameters

source
IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>

An IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> that contains elements to sort.

keySelector
Func<TSource,TKey>

A function to extract a key from each element.

Returns

An IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> whose elements are sorted in descending order according to a key.

Exceptions

source or keySelector is null.

Remarks

This method is implemented by using deferred execution. The immediate return value is an object that stores all the information that is required to perform the action. The query represented by this method is not executed until the object is enumerated either by calling its GetEnumerator method directly or by using foreach in C# or For Each in Visual Basic.

To order a sequence by the values of the elements themselves, specify the identity function (x => x in C# or Function(x) x in Visual Basic) for keySelector.

ThenBy and ThenByDescending are defined to extend the type IOrderedEnumerable<TElement>, which is also the return type of these methods. This design enables you to specify multiple sort criteria by applying any number of ThenBy or ThenByDescending methods.

Note

Because IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> inherits from IEnumerable<T>, you can call OrderBy or OrderByDescending on the results of a call to OrderBy, OrderByDescending, ThenBy or ThenByDescending. Doing this introduces a new primary ordering that ignores the previously established ordering.

This sorting method compares keys by using the default comparer Default.

This method performs a stable sort; that is, if the keys of two elements are equal, the order of the elements is preserved. In contrast, an unstable sort does not preserve the order of elements that have the same key.

In C# query expression syntax, an orderby [first criterion], [second criterion] descending clause translates to an invocation of ThenByDescending.

In Visual Basic query expression syntax, an Order By [first criterion], [second criterion] Descending clause translates to an invocation of ThenByDescending.

See also

Applies to

.NET 9 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey>(IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>, Func<TSource,TKey>, IComparer<TKey>)

Source:
OrderBy.cs
Source:
OrderBy.cs
Source:
OrderBy.cs

Performs a subsequent ordering of the elements in a sequence in descending order by using a specified comparer.

public static System.Linq.IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey> (this System.Linq.IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> source, Func<TSource,TKey> keySelector, System.Collections.Generic.IComparer<TKey> comparer);
public static System.Linq.IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey> (this System.Linq.IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> source, Func<TSource,TKey> keySelector, System.Collections.Generic.IComparer<TKey>? comparer);

Type Parameters

TSource

The type of the elements of source.

TKey

The type of the key returned by keySelector.

Parameters

source
IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>

An IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> that contains elements to sort.

keySelector
Func<TSource,TKey>

A function to extract a key from each element.

comparer
IComparer<TKey>

An IComparer<T> to compare keys.

Returns

An IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> whose elements are sorted in descending order according to a key.

Exceptions

source or keySelector is null.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to use ThenByDescending<TSource,TKey>(IOrderedEnumerable<TSource>, Func<TSource,TKey>, IComparer<TKey>) to perform a secondary ordering of the elements in a sequence in descending order by using a custom comparer.

public class CaseInsensitiveComparer : IComparer<string>
{
    public int Compare(string x, string y)
    {
        return string.Compare(x, y, true);
    }
}

public static void ThenByDescendingEx1()
{
    string[] fruits = { "apPLe", "baNanA", "apple", "APple", "orange", "BAnana", "ORANGE", "apPLE" };

    // Sort the strings first ascending by their length and
    // then descending using a custom case insensitive comparer.
    IEnumerable<string> query =
        fruits
        .OrderBy(fruit => fruit.Length)
        .ThenByDescending(fruit => fruit, new CaseInsensitiveComparer());

    foreach (string fruit in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(fruit);
    }
}

/*
    This code produces the following output:

    apPLe
    apple
    APple
    apPLE
    orange
    ORANGE
    baNanA
    BAnana
*/

Remarks

This method is implemented by using deferred execution. The immediate return value is an object that stores all the information that is required to perform the action. The query represented by this method is not executed until the object is enumerated either by calling its GetEnumerator method directly or by using foreach in C# or For Each in Visual Basic.

To order a sequence by the values of the elements themselves, specify the identity function (x => x in C# or Function(x) x in Visual Basic) for keySelector.

ThenBy and ThenByDescending are defined to extend the type IOrderedEnumerable<TElement>, which is also the return type of these methods. This design enables you to specify multiple sort criteria by applying any number of ThenBy or ThenByDescending methods.

Note

Because IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> inherits from IEnumerable<T>, you can call OrderBy or OrderByDescending on the results of a call to OrderBy, OrderByDescending, ThenBy or ThenByDescending. Doing this introduces a new primary ordering that ignores the previously established ordering.

If comparer is null, the default comparer Default is used to compare keys.

This method performs a stable sort; that is, if the keys of two elements are equal, the order of the elements is preserved. In contrast, an unstable sort does not preserve the order of elements that have the same key.

Applies to

.NET 9 and other versions
Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0