Method-Based Query Syntax Examples: Join (LINQ to DataSet)

Joining is an important operation in queries that target data sources that have no navigable relationships to each other, such as relational database tables. A join of two data sources is the association of objects in one data source with objects that share a common attribute in the other data source. For more information, see Standard Query Operators Overview.

The examples in this topic demonstrate how to use the Join method to query a DataSet using the method query syntax.

The FillDataSet method used in these examples is specified in Loading Data Into a DataSet.

The examples in this topic use 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

Imports System
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Linq.Expressions
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Data.Common
Imports System.Globalization

using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using System.Data.Common;
using System.Globalization;

For more information, see How to: Create a LINQ to DataSet Project In Visual Studio.

Join

Example

This example performs a join over the Contact and SalesOrderHeader tables.

' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)

Dim contacts As DataTable = ds.Tables("Contact")
Dim orders As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader")

Dim query = _
    contacts.AsEnumerable().Join(orders.AsEnumerable(), _
    Function(order) order.Field(Of Int32)("ContactID"), _
    Function(contact) contact.Field(Of Int32)("ContactID"), _
    Function(contact, order) New With _
        { _
            .ContactID = contact.Field(Of Int32)("ContactID"), _
            .SalesOrderID = order.Field(Of Int32)("SalesOrderID"), _
            .FirstName = contact.Field(Of String)("FirstName"), _
            .Lastname = contact.Field(Of String)("Lastname"), _
            .TotalDue = order.Field(Of Decimal)("TotalDue") _
        })

For Each contact_order In query
    Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0} " _
                    & "SalesOrderID: {1} " _
                    & "FirstName: {2} " _
                    & "Lastname: {3} " _
                    & "TotalDue: {4}", _
        contact_order.ContactID, _
        contact_order.SalesOrderID, _
        contact_order.FirstName, _
        contact_order.Lastname, _
        contact_order.TotalDue)
Next

// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);

DataTable contacts = ds.Tables["Contact"];
DataTable orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"];

var query =
    contacts.AsEnumerable().Join(orders.AsEnumerable(),
    order => order.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
    contact => contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
    (contact, order) => new
    {
        ContactID = contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
        SalesOrderID = order.Field<Int32>("SalesOrderID"),
        FirstName = contact.Field<string>("FirstName"),
        Lastname = contact.Field<string>("Lastname"),
        TotalDue = order.Field<decimal>("TotalDue")
    });


foreach (var contact_order in query)
{
    Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0} "
                    + "SalesOrderID: {1} "
                    + "FirstName: {2} "
                    + "Lastname: {3} "
                    + "TotalDue: {4}",
        contact_order.ContactID,
        contact_order.SalesOrderID,
        contact_order.FirstName,
        contact_order.Lastname,
        contact_order.TotalDue);
}

Example

This example performs a join over the Contact and SalesOrderHeader tables, grouping the results by contact ID.

' Fill the DataSet.
Dim ds As New DataSet()
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture
' See the FillDataSet method in the Loading Data Into a DataSet topic.
FillDataSet(ds)

Dim contacts As DataTable = ds.Tables("Contact")
Dim orders As DataTable = ds.Tables("SalesOrderHeader")

Dim query = _
    contacts.AsEnumerable().Join(orders.AsEnumerable(), _
    Function(order) order.Field(Of Int32)("ContactID"), _
    Function(contact) contact.Field(Of Int32)("ContactID"), _
        Function(contact, order) New With _
        { _
            .ContactID = contact.Field(Of Int32)("ContactID"), _
            .SalesOrderID = order.Field(Of Int32)("SalesOrderID"), _
            .FirstName = contact.Field(Of String)("FirstName"), _
            .Lastname = contact.Field(Of String)("Lastname"), _
            .TotalDue = order.Field(Of Decimal)("TotalDue") _
        }) _
        .GroupBy(Function(record) record.ContactID)

For Each group In query
    For Each contact_order In group
        Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0} " _
                        & "SalesOrderID: {1} " _
                        & "FirstName: {2} " _
                        & "Lastname: {3} " _
                        & "TotalDue: {4}", _
            contact_order.ContactID, _
            contact_order.SalesOrderID, _
            contact_order.FirstName, _
            contact_order.Lastname, _
            contact_order.TotalDue)
    Next
Next

// Fill the DataSet.
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
ds.Locale = CultureInfo.InvariantCulture;
FillDataSet(ds);

DataTable contacts = ds.Tables["Contact"];
DataTable orders = ds.Tables["SalesOrderHeader"];

var query = contacts.AsEnumerable().Join(orders.AsEnumerable(),
    order => order.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
    contact => contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
    (contact, order) => new
    {
        ContactID = contact.Field<Int32>("ContactID"),
        SalesOrderID = order.Field<Int32>("SalesOrderID"),
        FirstName = contact.Field<string>("FirstName"),
        Lastname = contact.Field<string>("Lastname"),
        TotalDue = order.Field<decimal>("TotalDue")
    })
        .GroupBy(record => record.ContactID);

foreach (var group in query)
{
    foreach (var contact_order in group)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("ContactID: {0} "
                        + "SalesOrderID: {1} "
                        + "FirstName: {2} "
                        + "Lastname: {3} "
                        + "TotalDue: {4}",
            contact_order.ContactID,
            contact_order.SalesOrderID,
            contact_order.FirstName,
            contact_order.Lastname,
            contact_order.TotalDue);
    }
}

See Also

Concepts

Loading Data Into a DataSet

Standard Query Operators Overview

Other Resources

LINQ to DataSet Examples

Join Samples

Dataset Samples