Question

what are the differencies between specifying the folloiwng:-

viewModel.Instructors = db.Instructors
.Include(i => i.Courses.Select(c => c.Department))

AND

viewModel.Instructors = db.Instructors
.Include(i => i.Courses.Department))

will the second query have the same effect (on regards to the eager loading for the navigation property) by retriving both the Courses and the Department navigation properties for the intended Instructor object without using the .Select?

Answer 1

Assuming Courses is a collection, the first approach is the right one. The second one would only be applicable if Courses was a single reference to another entity.