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

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 (C#) or Standard Query Operators Overview (Visual Basic).

The examples in this topic demonstrate how to use the GroupJoin and Join methods to query a DataSet using the query expression syntax.

The FillDataSet method used in these examples is specified in Loading Data Into a DataSet.

The examples in this topic use the Contact, Address, Product, SalesOrderHeader, and SalesOrderDetail tables in the AdventureWorks sample database.

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

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using System.Windows.Forms;
Option Explicit On

Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Linq.Expressions
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Data.Common
Imports System.Globalization

For more information, see How to: Create a LINQ to DataSet Project In Visual Studio.

GroupJoin

Example

This 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.

// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);

var orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"].AsEnumerable();
var details = ds.Tables["SalesOrderDetail"].AsEnumerable();

var query =
    from order in orders
    join detail in details
    on order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID")
    equals detail.Field<int>("SalesOrderID") into ords
    select new
    {
        CustomerID =
            order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID"),
        ords = ords.Count()
    };

foreach (var order in query)
{
    Console.WriteLine("CustomerID: {0}  Orders Count: {1}",
        order.CustomerID,
        order.ords);
}
' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)

Dim orders = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader").AsEnumerable()
Dim details = ds.Tables("SalesOrderDetail").AsEnumerable()

Dim query = _
        From order In orders _
        Group Join detail In details _
            On order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") _
            Equals detail.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") Into ords = Group _
        Select New With _
            { _
                .CustomerID = order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID"), _
                .ords = ords.Count() _
            }

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

Example

This 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.

// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);

DataTable contacts = ds.Tables["Contact"];
DataTable orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"];

var query =
    from contact in contacts.AsEnumerable()
    join order in orders.AsEnumerable()
    on contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID") equals
    order.Field<Int32>("ContactID")
    select new
    {
        ContactID = contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
        SalesOrderID = order.Field<Int32>("SalesOrderID"),
        FirstName = contact.Field<string>("FirstName"),
        Lastname = contact.Field<string>("Lastname"),
        TotalDue = order.Field<decimal>("TotalDue")
    };

foreach (var contact_order in query)
{
    Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0} "
                    + "SalesOrderID: {1} "
                    + "FirstName: {2} "
                    + "Lastname: {3} "
                    + "TotalDue: {4}",
        contact_order.ContactID,
        contact_order.SalesOrderID,
        contact_order.FirstName,
        contact_order.Lastname,
        contact_order.TotalDue);
}
' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)

Dim contacts As DataTable = ds.Tables("Contact")
Dim orders As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader")

Dim query = _
    From contact In contacts.AsEnumerable(), order In orders.AsEnumerable() _
    Where (contact.Field(Of Integer)("ContactID") = _
        order.Field(Of Integer)("ContactID")) _
    Select New With _
        { _
            .ContactID = contact.Field(Of Integer)("ContactID"), _
            .SalesOrderID = order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID"), _
            .FirstName = contact.Field(Of String)("FirstName"), _
            .Lastname = contact.Field(Of String)("Lastname"), _
            .TotalDue = order.Field(Of Decimal)("TotalDue") _
        }

For Each contact_order In query
    Console.Write("ContactID: " & contact_order.ContactID)
    Console.Write(" SalesOrderID: " & contact_order.SalesOrderID)
    Console.Write(" FirstName: " & contact_order.FirstName)
    Console.Write(" Lastname: " & contact_order.Lastname)
    Console.WriteLine(" TotalDue: " & contact_order.TotalDue)
Next

Join

Example

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

// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);

DataTable orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"];
DataTable details = ds.Tables["SalesOrderDetail"];

var query =
    from order in orders.AsEnumerable()
    join detail in details.AsEnumerable()
    on order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID") equals
        detail.Field<int>("SalesOrderID")
    where order.Field<bool>("OnlineOrderFlag") == true
    && order.Field<DateTime>("OrderDate").Month == 8
    select new
    {
        SalesOrderID =
            order.Field<int>("SalesOrderID"),
        SalesOrderDetailID =
            detail.Field<int>("SalesOrderDetailID"),
        OrderDate =
            order.Field<DateTime>("OrderDate"),
        ProductID =
            detail.Field<int>("ProductID")
    };

foreach (var order in query)
{
    Console.WriteLine("{0}\t{1}\t{2:d}\t{3}",
        order.SalesOrderID,
        order.SalesOrderDetailID,
        order.OrderDate,
        order.ProductID);
}
' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)

Dim orders As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader")
Dim details As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderDetail")


Dim query = _
    From order In orders.AsEnumerable() _
    Join detail In details.AsEnumerable() _
    On order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") Equals _
            detail.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID") _
    Where order.Field(Of Boolean)("OnlineOrderFlag") = True And _
            order.Field(Of DateTime)("OrderDate").Month = 8 _
    Select New With _
    { _
        .SalesOrderID = order.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderID"), _
        .SalesOrderDetailID = detail.Field(Of Integer)("SalesOrderDetailID"), _
        .OrderDate = order.Field(Of DateTime)("OrderDate"), _
        .ProductID = detail.Field(Of Integer)("ProductID") _
    }

For Each order In query
    Console.WriteLine(order.SalesOrderID & vbTab & _
        order.SalesOrderDetailID & vbTab & _
        order.OrderDate & vbTab & _
        order.ProductID)
Next

See also