Query syntax is similar to SQL (Structured Query Language) for the database. It is defined within the C# or VB code. The following is a sample LINQ query that returns a collection of strings which contains a word “Tutorials”.

Summary. LINQ comes in two syntactical flavors: The Query and the Method syntax. They can do almost the same, but while the query syntax is almost a new language within C#, the method syntax looks just like regular C# method calls.

Query syntax and method syntax are semantically identical, but many people find query syntax simpler and easier to read. Some queries must be expressed as method calls. For example, you must use a method call to express a query that retrieves the number of elements that match a specified condition.

LINQ query syntax is consist of a set of query keywords defined into the . NET Framework version 3.5 or Higher. This allows the programmer or developers to write the commands similar to SQL style in the code(C# or VB.NET) without using quotes. It is also know as the Query Expression Syntax.

Various Ways To Write LINQ Queries

• Harpreet Singh.
• Updated date Feb 13, 2015.

Method syntax (also known as fluent syntax) uses extension methods included in the Enumerable or Queryable static class, similar to how you would call the extension method of any class. The compiler converts query syntax into method syntax at compile time.

What is Syntax? The term syntax refers to strict structural patterns used when creating a query. As soon as you enter the search criteria using the correct syntax, the query should execute, and the requested records retrieved from the target database.

Most of the LINQ projection and restriction methods are supported in LINQ to Entities queries, with the exception of those that accept a positional argument. For more information, see Standard Query Operators in LINQ to Entities Queries.

LINQ standard query operators can be categorized into the following ones on the basis of their functionality.

• Filtering Operators.
• Join Operators.
• Projection Operations.
• Sorting Operators.
• Grouping Operators.
• Conversions.
• Concatenation.
• Aggregation.

Various Syntax in SQL

1. SQL SELECT Statement. SELECT column1, column2….columnN FROM table_name;
2. SQL DISTINCT Clause. SELECT DISTINCT column1, column2….columnN FROM table_name;
3. SQL WHERE Clause.
4. SQL AND/OR Clause.
5. SQL IN Clause.
6. SQL BETWEEN Clause.
7. SQL LIKE Clause.
8. SQL ORDER BY Clause.

The standard query operators provide query capabilities including filtering, projection, aggregation, sorting and more. There are two sets of LINQ standard query operators: one that operates on objects of type IEnumerable, another that operates on objects of type IQueryable.

The reference documentation for the standard query operators in the System.Linq namespace generally uses method syntax. Therefore, even when getting started writing LINQ queries, it is useful to be familiar with how to use method syntax in queries and in query expressions themselves.

Query syntax and method syntax are semantically identical, but many people find query syntax simpler and easier to read. Some queries must be expressed as method calls. For example, you must use a method call to express a query that retrieves the number of elements that match a specified condition.

Most queries in the introductory Language Integrated Query (LINQ) documentation are written by using the LINQ declarative query syntax. However, the query syntax must be translated into method calls for the .NET common language runtime (CLR) when the code is compiled.

The Linq keywords are translated into the method call syntax by the C# compiler. In fact, it is one and the same thing, except that the expression for the $a$ the compiler converts to an expression equivalent to expression for $b$. Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow!