Question

is there any functional difference between:

if (photos.Any(it => it.Archived))

and

if (photos.Where(it => it.Archived).Any())

if so, is there a more compelling reason to use one over the other?

Answer 1

Functionally they do the same thing. The performance depends on the specific provider, but for example in LINQ to SQL both forms produce the exact same SQL:

SELECT 
    (CASE 
        WHEN EXISTS(
            SELECT NULL AS [EMPTY]
            FROM [dbo].[photos] AS [t0]
            WHERE [t0].[Archived] = 1
            ) THEN 1
        ELSE 0
     END) AS [value]

If I have to pick one I’d use the first option as it seems slightly more clear to me.