Question

I have a method GetOrder(int OrderID) that runs a LINQ query and returns an order. There are many object properties that could be preloaded (i.e. with Include() ) in the query, e.g. DeliveryMethod, Customer, CustomerBillingAddress etc. I want the method to allow the caller to specify which properties are preloaded, through arguments on the method. Needless to say I don’t want to explictly write out every possible LINQ query within the method.

So is it possible to code the main query, then add .Includes dynamically, e.g.

if(PreLoadCustomer)
     query.Include("Customer")

Note: I know there is lazy loading – this would not work – the related objects need to be available immediately.

Thanks

Answer 1

So is it possible to code the main query, then add .Includes dynamically

Actually it would make more sense to add the Includes first, then write the query itself:

ObjectQuery<Order> orders = db.Orders;
if(PreLoadCustomer)
     orders = orders.Include("Customer");


var query =
    from o in orders
    ...