Query Expression Syntax Examples: Join Operators (LINQ to Entities)

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.

The examples in this topic demonstrate how to use the GroupJoin and Join methods to query the AdventureWorks Sales Model using query expression syntax. The AdventureWorks Sales Model used in these examples is built from the Contact, Address, Product, SalesOrderHeader, and SalesOrderDetail tables in the AdventureWorks sample database.

The examples in this topic use the following using/Imports statements:

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On
Imports L2EExamplesVB.AdventureWorksModel
Imports System.Data.Objects
Imports System.Globalization

using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Data.Objects;
using AdventureWorksModel;
using System.Globalization;

For more information, see How to: Create a LINQ to Entities Project in Visual Studio.

GroupJoin

Example

The following 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.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim orders As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderHeader) = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader
    Dim details As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderDetail) = AWEntities.SalesOrderDetail

    Dim query = _
        From order In orders _
        Group Join detail In details _
        On order.SalesOrderID _
        Equals detail.SalesOrderID Into orderGroup = Group _
        Select New With _
        { _
            .CustomerID = order.SalesOrderID, _
            .OrderCount = orderGroup.Count() _
        }

    For Each order In query
        Console.WriteLine("CustomerID: {0}  Orders Count: {1}", _
            order.CustomerID, order.OrderCount)
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderHeader> orders = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader;
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderDetail> details = AWEntities.SalesOrderDetail;

    var query =
        from order in orders
        join detail in details
        on order.SalesOrderID
        equals detail.SalesOrderID into orderGroup
        select new
        {
            CustomerID = order.SalesOrderID,
            OrderCount = orderGroup.Count()
        };

    foreach (var order in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("CustomerID: {0}  Orders Count: {1}",
            order.CustomerID,
            order.OrderCount);
    }
}

Example

The following example performs a GroupJoin over the Contact and SalesOrderHeader tables to find the number of orders per contact. The order count and IDs for each contact are displayed.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim contacts As ObjectQuery(Of Contact) = AWEntities.Contact
    Dim orders As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderHeader) = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader

    Dim query = _
        From contact In contacts _
            Group Join order In orders _
            On contact.ContactID _
            Equals order.Contact.ContactID Into contactGroup = Group _
            Select New With { _
                .ContactID = contact.ContactID, _
                .OrderCount = contactGroup.Count(), _
                .Orders = contactGroup.Select(Function(order) order)}

    For Each group In query
        Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0}", group.ContactID)
        Console.WriteLine("Order count: {0}", group.OrderCount)

        For Each orderInfo In group.Orders
            Console.WriteLine("   Sale ID: {0}", orderInfo.SalesOrderID)
        Next

        Console.WriteLine("")
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<Contact> contacts = AWEntities.Contact;
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderHeader> orders = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader;

    var query =
        from contact in contacts
        join order in orders
        on contact.ContactID
        equals order.Contact.ContactID into contactGroup
        select new
        {
            ContactID = contact.ContactID,
            OrderCount = contactGroup.Count(),
            Orders = contactGroup.Select(order => order)
        };

    foreach (var group in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0}", group.ContactID);
        Console.WriteLine("Order count: {0}", group.OrderCount);
        foreach (var orderInfo in group.Orders)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("   Sale ID: {0}", orderInfo.SalesOrderID);
        }
        Console.WriteLine("");
    }
}

Example

The following 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.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim contacts As ObjectQuery(Of Contact) = AWEntities.Contact
    Dim orders As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderHeader) = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader

    Dim query = _
        From contact In contacts _
            Group Join order In orders _
            On contact.ContactID _
            Equals order.Contact.ContactID Into contactGroup = Group _
            Select New With { _
                .ContactID = contact.ContactID, _
                .OrderCount = contactGroup.Count(), _
                .Orders = contactGroup.Select(Function(order) order)}

    For Each group In query
        Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0}", group.ContactID)
        Console.WriteLine("Order count: {0}", group.OrderCount)

        For Each orderInfo In group.Orders
            Console.WriteLine("   Sale ID: {0}", orderInfo.SalesOrderID)
        Next

        Console.WriteLine("")
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<Contact> contacts = AWEntities.Contact;
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderHeader> orders = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader;

    var query =
        from contact in contacts
        join order in orders
        on contact.ContactID
        equals order.Contact.ContactID into contactGroup
        select new
        {
            ContactID = contact.ContactID,
            OrderCount = contactGroup.Count(),
            Orders = contactGroup.Select(order => order)
        };

    foreach (var group in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0}", group.ContactID);
        Console.WriteLine("Order count: {0}", group.OrderCount);
        foreach (var orderInfo in group.Orders)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("   Sale ID: {0}", orderInfo.SalesOrderID);
        }
        Console.WriteLine("");
    }
}

Join

Example

The following example performs a join over the SalesOrderHeader and SalesOrderDetail tables to get online orders from the month of August.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim orders As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderHeader) = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader
    Dim details As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderDetail) = AWEntities.SalesOrderDetail

    Dim query = _
        From ord In orders _
        Join det In details _
        On ord.SalesOrderID Equals det.SalesOrderID _
        Where ord.OnlineOrderFlag = True _
                And ord.OrderDate.Month = 8 _
        Select New With _
        { _
            .SalesOrderID = ord.SalesOrderID, _
            .SalesOrderDetailID = det.SalesOrderDetailID, _
            .OrderDate = ord.OrderDate, _
            .ProductID = det.ProductID _
        }

    For Each ord In query
        Console.WriteLine("{0}" & vbTab & "{1}" & vbTab & "{2:d}" & vbTab & "{3}", _
            ord.SalesOrderID, _
            ord.SalesOrderDetailID, _
            ord.OrderDate, _
            ord.ProductID)
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderHeader> orders = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader;
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderDetail> details = AWEntities.SalesOrderDetail;

    var query =
        from order in orders
        join detail in details
        on order.SalesOrderID equals detail.SalesOrderID
        where order.OnlineOrderFlag == true
        && order.OrderDate.Month == 8
        select new
        {
            SalesOrderID = order.SalesOrderID,
            SalesOrderDetailID = detail.SalesOrderDetailID,
            OrderDate = order.OrderDate,
            ProductID = detail.ProductID
        };

    foreach (var order in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("{0}\t{1}\t{2:d}\t{3}",
            order.SalesOrderID,
            order.SalesOrderDetailID,
            order.OrderDate,
            order.ProductID);
    }
}

See Also

Concepts

Query Expression Syntax Examples (LINQ to Entities)