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  3. Survey - Who here uses System.Linq.Expressions to build Lambdas?

Survey - Who here uses System.Linq.Expressions to build Lambdas?

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  • A Andrew Rissing

    I'm just curious, so I wanted to take a quick poll to see how many people have actually used or are currently using System.Linq.Expressions[^]? Basically, have you written code like this in your life (courtesy of MSDN[^])?

    // Add the following directive to the file:
    // using System.Linq.Expressions;

    // An expression that represents the switch value.
    ConstantExpression switchValue = Expression.Constant(3);

    // This expression represents a switch statement
    // that has a default case.
    SwitchExpression switchExpr =
    Expression.Switch(
    switchValue,
    Expression.Call(
    null,
    typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
    Expression.Constant("Default")
    ),
    new SwitchCase[] {
    Expression.SwitchCase(
    Expression.Call(
    null,
    typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
    Expression.Constant("First")
    ),
    Expression.Constant(1)
    ),
    Expression.SwitchCase(
    Expression.Call(
    null,
    typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
    Expression.Constant("Second")
    ),
    Expression.Constant(2)
    )
    }
    );

    // The following statement first creates an expression tree,
    // then compiles it, and then runs it.
    Expression.Lambda(switchExpr).Compile()();

    // This code example produces the following output:
    //
    // Default

    Update: For those that use other techniques (CodeDom, Emit, etc.), would you use Expressions more if it was easier to use? If not, why would you choose to stay with your current technique?

    P Offline
    P Offline
    Pete OHanlon
    wrote on last edited by
    #10

    I feel dirty for admitting that I have. There's a piece of code that we have that does this for generating messaging layers based on config that we pass in - it's a nasty piece of code that seemed cool at the time - now I'm afraid to touch it because of what it could break.

    *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

    "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

    CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

    A N 2 Replies Last reply
    0
    • A Andrew Rissing

      I'm just curious, so I wanted to take a quick poll to see how many people have actually used or are currently using System.Linq.Expressions[^]? Basically, have you written code like this in your life (courtesy of MSDN[^])?

      // Add the following directive to the file:
      // using System.Linq.Expressions;

      // An expression that represents the switch value.
      ConstantExpression switchValue = Expression.Constant(3);

      // This expression represents a switch statement
      // that has a default case.
      SwitchExpression switchExpr =
      Expression.Switch(
      switchValue,
      Expression.Call(
      null,
      typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
      Expression.Constant("Default")
      ),
      new SwitchCase[] {
      Expression.SwitchCase(
      Expression.Call(
      null,
      typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
      Expression.Constant("First")
      ),
      Expression.Constant(1)
      ),
      Expression.SwitchCase(
      Expression.Call(
      null,
      typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
      Expression.Constant("Second")
      ),
      Expression.Constant(2)
      )
      }
      );

      // The following statement first creates an expression tree,
      // then compiles it, and then runs it.
      Expression.Lambda(switchExpr).Compile()();

      // This code example produces the following output:
      //
      // Default

      Update: For those that use other techniques (CodeDom, Emit, etc.), would you use Expressions more if it was easier to use? If not, why would you choose to stay with your current technique?

      T Offline
      T Offline
      TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
      wrote on last edited by
      #11

      Occasionally, especially when I need fast Reflection.

      If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
      You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • B BobJanova

        Never. I have some System.Reflection.Emit code for dynamically generating statically typed delegates (for attaching to things), and lots of reflective stuff, as I wrote a language interpreter which needs to do all that stuff at runtime.

        A Offline
        A Offline
        Andrew Rissing
        wrote on last edited by
        #12

        (Same question I asked Phil) If using Expressions was easier, would you likely use it over Emit? If not, what is the reason for your usage of Emit vs. Expressions?

        B 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • P Pete OHanlon

          I feel dirty for admitting that I have. There's a piece of code that we have that does this for generating messaging layers based on config that we pass in - it's a nasty piece of code that seemed cool at the time - now I'm afraid to touch it because of what it could break.

          *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

          "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

          CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

          A Offline
          A Offline
          Andrew Rissing
          wrote on last edited by
          #13

          *grin* It is nasty because the code is a tangled mess itself or is it just the interconnectedness of it all?

          P 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • R Rhys Gravell

            Yes I have, yes I do, basic example;

            public Society FindById(int id)
            {
            return this.FirstOrDefault(item => item.Id.Equals(id));
            }

            Rhys "Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal" "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe"

            N Offline
            N Offline
            NormDroid
            wrote on last edited by
            #14

            That seems perfectly fine to me.

            Software Kinetics Dependable Software

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • A Andrew Rissing

              *grin* It is nasty because the code is a tangled mess itself or is it just the interconnectedness of it all?

              P Offline
              P Offline
              Pete OHanlon
              wrote on last edited by
              #15

              A bit of both really. It replaced a CodeDOM module that we had - the problem is, we attempted to go feature for feature with the CodeDOM stuff, rather than taking the time to revisit the whole architecture. Now it's so convoluted that I don't want to touch it. Sooner or later we'll have to bite the bullet, but there are other more pressing things to work on first, and I really don't want to divert resources to this just in case they become suicidal.

              *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

              "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

              CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • A Andrew Rissing

                (Same question I asked Phil) If using Expressions was easier, would you likely use it over Emit? If not, what is the reason for your usage of Emit vs. Expressions?

                B Offline
                B Offline
                BobJanova
                wrote on last edited by
                #16

                I wrote this code under .Net 1.1. I'm not sure Expressions can build delegates, though, can it? And yeah I'd use anything over Emit that did the same job. Writing out IL opcodes is not at all fast or easy!

                A 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • B BobJanova

                  I wrote this code under .Net 1.1. I'm not sure Expressions can build delegates, though, can it? And yeah I'd use anything over Emit that did the same job. Writing out IL opcodes is not at all fast or easy!

                  A Offline
                  A Offline
                  Andrew Rissing
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #17

                  Yes, Expressions can build delegates (typed even). Take a look at this[^]. The reason for this survey is that I've developed an open source API to make expressions easier. I'm just trying to gauge how useful it would be to the community at large. Once I've added some unit tests, I'll put together an article and post it on CodeProject. :D

                  P 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • A Andrew Rissing

                    Yes, Expressions can build delegates (typed even). Take a look at this[^]. The reason for this survey is that I've developed an open source API to make expressions easier. I'm just trying to gauge how useful it would be to the community at large. Once I've added some unit tests, I'll put together an article and post it on CodeProject. :D

                    P Offline
                    P Offline
                    Pete OHanlon
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #18

                    I'll certainly take a look at it.

                    *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                    "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                    CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                    A 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • A Andrew Rissing

                      If using Expressions was easier, would you likely use it over CodeDom? If not, what is the reason for your usage of CodeDom vs. Expressions?

                      P Offline
                      P Offline
                      Phil Martin
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #19

                      The short answer is that I couldn't figure out a way for Expressions to write out c# code to a file.

                      A 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • A Andrew Rissing

                        I'm just curious, so I wanted to take a quick poll to see how many people have actually used or are currently using System.Linq.Expressions[^]? Basically, have you written code like this in your life (courtesy of MSDN[^])?

                        // Add the following directive to the file:
                        // using System.Linq.Expressions;

                        // An expression that represents the switch value.
                        ConstantExpression switchValue = Expression.Constant(3);

                        // This expression represents a switch statement
                        // that has a default case.
                        SwitchExpression switchExpr =
                        Expression.Switch(
                        switchValue,
                        Expression.Call(
                        null,
                        typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
                        Expression.Constant("Default")
                        ),
                        new SwitchCase[] {
                        Expression.SwitchCase(
                        Expression.Call(
                        null,
                        typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
                        Expression.Constant("First")
                        ),
                        Expression.Constant(1)
                        ),
                        Expression.SwitchCase(
                        Expression.Call(
                        null,
                        typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
                        Expression.Constant("Second")
                        ),
                        Expression.Constant(2)
                        )
                        }
                        );

                        // The following statement first creates an expression tree,
                        // then compiles it, and then runs it.
                        Expression.Lambda(switchExpr).Compile()();

                        // This code example produces the following output:
                        //
                        // Default

                        Update: For those that use other techniques (CodeDom, Emit, etc.), would you use Expressions more if it was easier to use? If not, why would you choose to stay with your current technique?

                        A Offline
                        A Offline
                        AspDotNetDev
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #20

                        I tried something like that, but failed, so I bought a book on LINQ and haven't had a chance to read it yet. That is some confusing stuff.

                        Thou mewling ill-breeding pignut!

                        A 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • P Phil Martin

                          The short answer is that I couldn't figure out a way for Expressions to write out c# code to a file.

                          A Offline
                          A Offline
                          Andrew Rissing
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #21

                          You needed to write it out to a file?

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • P Pete OHanlon

                            I'll certainly take a look at it.

                            *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                            "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                            CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                            A Offline
                            A Offline
                            Andrew Rissing
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #22

                            The link or the API I'm referring to? :D

                            P 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • A AspDotNetDev

                              I tried something like that, but failed, so I bought a book on LINQ and haven't had a chance to read it yet. That is some confusing stuff.

                              Thou mewling ill-breeding pignut!

                              A Offline
                              A Offline
                              Andrew Rissing
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #23

                              What I'm working on might be of use to you, once I wrap it up in unit testing and an article for the site then. Btw, you probably would love to have seen this[^] back then. Static reflection using Expression trees is quite nice with something like what I linked.

                              A 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • A Andrew Rissing

                                What I'm working on might be of use to you, once I wrap it up in unit testing and an article for the site then. Btw, you probably would love to have seen this[^] back then. Static reflection using Expression trees is quite nice with something like what I linked.

                                A Offline
                                A Offline
                                AspDotNetDev
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #24

                                Certainly looks useful! I'll tuck that away for whenever I get back to doing complex LINQ stuff. :)

                                Thou mewling ill-breeding pignut!

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • A Andrew Rissing

                                  I'm just curious, so I wanted to take a quick poll to see how many people have actually used or are currently using System.Linq.Expressions[^]? Basically, have you written code like this in your life (courtesy of MSDN[^])?

                                  // Add the following directive to the file:
                                  // using System.Linq.Expressions;

                                  // An expression that represents the switch value.
                                  ConstantExpression switchValue = Expression.Constant(3);

                                  // This expression represents a switch statement
                                  // that has a default case.
                                  SwitchExpression switchExpr =
                                  Expression.Switch(
                                  switchValue,
                                  Expression.Call(
                                  null,
                                  typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
                                  Expression.Constant("Default")
                                  ),
                                  new SwitchCase[] {
                                  Expression.SwitchCase(
                                  Expression.Call(
                                  null,
                                  typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
                                  Expression.Constant("First")
                                  ),
                                  Expression.Constant(1)
                                  ),
                                  Expression.SwitchCase(
                                  Expression.Call(
                                  null,
                                  typeof(Console).GetMethod("WriteLine", new Type[] { typeof(String) }),
                                  Expression.Constant("Second")
                                  ),
                                  Expression.Constant(2)
                                  )
                                  }
                                  );

                                  // The following statement first creates an expression tree,
                                  // then compiles it, and then runs it.
                                  Expression.Lambda(switchExpr).Compile()();

                                  // This code example produces the following output:
                                  //
                                  // Default

                                  Update: For those that use other techniques (CodeDom, Emit, etc.), would you use Expressions more if it was easier to use? If not, why would you choose to stay with your current technique?

                                  J Offline
                                  J Offline
                                  jschell
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #25

                                  Andrew Rissing wrote:

                                  Basically, have you written code like this in your life

                                  No.

                                  Andrew Rissing wrote:

                                  would you use Expressions more if it was easier to use?

                                  No.

                                  Andrew Rissing wrote:

                                  If not, why would you choose to stay with your current technique?

                                  The only common usage I have seen for linq is for database access. And I either generate code like that or use dynamic framework apis. The only other usages I have seen have all been of the "gee this is really cool so lets find some way to use it regardless of how inappropriate it is".

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • A Andrew Rissing

                                    The link or the API I'm referring to? :D

                                    P Offline
                                    P Offline
                                    Pete OHanlon
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #26

                                    The API.

                                    *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                                    "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                                    CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                                    A 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • P Pete OHanlon

                                      The API.

                                      *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                                      "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                                      CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                                      A Offline
                                      A Offline
                                      Andrew Rissing
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #27

                                      I've finished adding features at this point, so it'll likely be 1-2 weeks before an article pops up here on the site [needs unit testing and minor bug fixes]. If you want I can message you when it comes out or you'll likely just stumble upon it in your normal flow of things.

                                      P 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • A Andrew Rissing

                                        I've finished adding features at this point, so it'll likely be 1-2 weeks before an article pops up here on the site [needs unit testing and minor bug fixes]. If you want I can message you when it comes out or you'll likely just stumble upon it in your normal flow of things.

                                        P Offline
                                        P Offline
                                        Pete OHanlon
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #28

                                        Message me so I know - I sometimes miss things if I'm busy at work, and as this is year end, I'm going to be very busy for the next month.

                                        *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                                        "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                                        CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                                        A 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • P Pete OHanlon

                                          I feel dirty for admitting that I have. There's a piece of code that we have that does this for generating messaging layers based on config that we pass in - it's a nasty piece of code that seemed cool at the time - now I'm afraid to touch it because of what it could break.

                                          *pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington

                                          "Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos

                                          CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier

                                          N Offline
                                          N Offline
                                          Nagy Vilmos
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #29

                                          At one of my previous jobs there was a piece of code like that. It could be fired from any one of several events and even the most innocuousness change would break it beyond all recognition. The last change made to it was to allow upto six instead of four options. The whole thing when FUBAR and it took three weeks of very clever people, plus me, to work out WTF was happening. There was a magic number derived from a magic number from a config lookup that required the entire config to be re-written. :omg: It was a bitch-slut module and I hope the b'tard who wrote it rots in hell. When I left, there was pleading that I'd take the POS with me and support it as I was, by then, about the only person who understood it. It's still there and still in use and, as of last week, unchanged.


                                          Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done. Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett

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