Query Expression Syntax Examples: Grouping (LINQ to Entities)

The examples in this topic demonstrate how to use the GroupBy method to query the AdventureWorks Sales Model using query expression syntax. The AdventureWorks Sales model used in these examples is built from the Contact, Address, Product, SalesOrderHeader, and SalesOrderDetail tables in the AdventureWorks sample database.

The examples in this topic use the following using/Imports statements:

Option Explicit On
Option Strict On
Imports L2EExamplesVB.AdventureWorksModel
Imports System.Data.Objects
Imports System.Globalization

using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Data.Objects;
using AdventureWorksModel;
using System.Globalization;

For more information, see How to: Create a LINQ to Entities Project in Visual Studio.

Example

The following example returns Address objects grouped by postal code. The results are projected into an anonymous type.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim addresses As ObjectQuery(Of Address) = AWEntities.Address

    Dim query = _
        From adrs In addresses _
        Group adrs By adrs.PostalCode Into g = Group _
        Select New With {.PostalCode = PostalCode, .AddressLine = g}

    For Each addressGroup In query
        Console.WriteLine("Postal Code: {0}", addressGroup.PostalCode)
        For Each adrs In addressGroup.AddressLine
            Console.WriteLine(vbTab & adrs.AddressLine1 & _
                adrs.AddressLine2)
        Next
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<Address> addresses = AWEntities.Address;

    var query =
        from address in addresses
        group address by address.PostalCode into addressGroup
        select new { PostalCode = addressGroup.Key, 
                     AddressLine = addressGroup };

    foreach (var addressGroup in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Postal Code: {0}", addressGroup.PostalCode);
        foreach (var address in addressGroup.AddressLine)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("\t" + address.AddressLine1 +
                address.AddressLine2);
        }
    }
}

Example

The following example returns Contact objects grouped by the first letter of the contact's last name. The results are also sorted by the first letter of last name and projected into an anonymous type.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim contacts As ObjectQuery(Of Contact) = AWEntities.Contact

    Dim query = ( _
        From contact In contacts _
        Group By firstLetter = contact.LastName.Substring(0, 1) _
        Into contactGroup = Group _
        Select New With {.FirstLetter = firstLetter, .Names = contactGroup}) _
        .OrderBy(Function(letter) letter.FirstLetter)

    For Each n In query
        Console.WriteLine("Last names that start with the letter '{0}':", _
            n.FirstLetter)
        For Each name In n.Names
            Console.WriteLine(name.LastName)
        Next
    Next
End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<Contact> contacts = AWEntities.Contact;

    var query = (
        from contact in contacts
        group contact by contact.LastName.Substring(0, 1) into contactGroup
        select new { FirstLetter = contactGroup.Key, Names = contactGroup }).
            OrderBy(letter => letter.FirstLetter);

    foreach (var contact in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Last names that start with the letter '{0}':",
            contact.FirstLetter);
        foreach (var name in contact.Names)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(name.LastName);
        }
    }
}

Example

The following example returns SalesOrderHeader objects grouped by customer ID. The number of sales for each customer is also returned.

Using AWEntities As New AdventureWorksEntities
    Dim salesOrders As ObjectQuery(Of SalesOrderHeader) = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader

    Dim query = From order In salesOrders _
                    Group order By order.CustomerID Into idGroup = Group, Count()

    For Each group In query
        Console.WriteLine("Customer ID: {0}", group.CustomerID)
        Console.WriteLine("Order Count: {0}", group.Count)

        For Each sale In group.idGroup
            Console.WriteLine("   Sale ID: {0}", sale.SalesOrderID)
        Next

        Console.WriteLine("")
    Next


End Using

using (AdventureWorksEntities AWEntities = new AdventureWorksEntities())
{
    ObjectQuery<SalesOrderHeader> salesOrders = AWEntities.SalesOrderHeader;

    var query = from order in salesOrders
                group order by order.CustomerID into idGroup 
                select new {CustomerID = idGroup.Key, 
                    OrderCount = idGroup.Count(),
                    Sales = idGroup};

    foreach (var orderGroup in query)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Customer ID: {0}", orderGroup.CustomerID);
        Console.WriteLine("Order Count: {0}", orderGroup.OrderCount);

        foreach (SalesOrderHeader sale in orderGroup.Sales)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("   Sale ID: {0}", sale.SalesOrderID);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("");
    }
}

See Also

Concepts

Query Expression Syntax Examples (LINQ to Entities)