Question

How can I select multiple elements using a WHERE…IN… type of clause as in

select * from orders where orderid in (1, 4, 5) 

in LinqToSql? I’d prefer not to have a lambda expression since they scare me.

Answer 1

LINQ has ‘Contains’ which is like ‘IN’ but expressed the other way round – an element isn’t ‘in’ a set, a set ‘contains’ an element.

int[] validIds = { 1, 4, 5 }; var query = from order in db.Orders             where validIds.Contains(order.Id)             select order 

This is more simply expressed (IMO) with a lambda though:

int[] validIds = { 1, 4, 5 }; var query = db.Orders.Where(order => validIds.Contains(order.Id)); 

I realise lambdas are ‘new’ and therefore scary to some extent, but it’s really well worth grabbing hold of them with both hands. They’re lovely.