Want to learn LINQ? Learn some of the new language features first - it will pay off.

As you can probably tell from the title of my last few posts I've been doing some work with LINQ over the last few days. Your life will be a lot easier if you learn about some new features in C# 3.0 before getting into it, so here are some resources I've found useful and I hope you will too:

 

• • Jomo Fisher - C#, LINQ and Whatnot - if you're in a hurry, this is a great (short) post on what's new in C# 3.0, covering auto-implemented properties, simpler delegates, the var keyword, extension methods and expression trees. The latter in particular would be of interest if you are wondering how LINQ works internally. Note that all the new C# 3.0 language features are available even if you’re targeting .NET 2.0 or 3.0. LINQ requires 3.5 assemblies though.

The next four links are to a series of posts by Scott Guthrie which I found extremely useful:

• • Extension Methods
  • Lambda Expressions
  • Anonymous Types
  • Query Syntax

If you want to get even more detailed you could try the C# 3.0 spec.

At that stage you might want to see how to build a LINQ provider. You'll need to know your expression trees though!

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Visual Studio 2008, Developer, C#, LINQ, Expression Trees, Lamda Expressions, Anonymous types, Extension Methods