Classification of Standard Query Operators by Manner of Execution

Article
11/16/2012

The LINQ to Objects implementations of the standard query operator methods execute in one of two main ways: immediate or deferred. The query operators that use deferred execution can be additionally divided into two categories: streaming and non-streaming. If you know how the different query operators execute, it may help you understand the results that you get from a given query. This is especially true if the data source is changing or if you are building a query on top of another query. This topic classifies the standard query operators according to their manner of execution.

Manners of Execution

Immediate

Immediate execution means that the data source is read and the operation is performed at the point in the code where the query is declared. All the standard query operators that return a single, non-enumerable result execute immediately.

Deferred

Deferred execution means that the operation is not performed at the point in the code where the query is declared. The operation is performed only when the query variable is enumerated, for example by using a foreach (For Each in Visual Basic) statement. This means that the results of executing the query depend on the contents of the data source when the query is executed rather than when the query is defined. If the query variable is enumerated multiple times, the results might differ every time. Almost all the standard query operators whose return type is IEnumerable<T> or IOrderedEnumerable<TElement> execute in a deferred manner.

Query operators that use deferred execution can be additionally classified as streaming or non-streaming.

Streaming

Streaming operators do not have to read all the source data before they yield elements. At the time of execution, a streaming operator performs its operation on each source element as it is read and yields the element if appropriate. A streaming operator continues to read source elements until a result element can be produced. This means that more than one source element might be read to produce one result element.

Non-Streaming

Non-streaming operators must read all the source data before they can yield a result element. Operations such as sorting or grouping fall into this category. At the time of execution, non-streaming query operators read all the source data, put it into a data structure, perform the operation, and yield the resulting elements.

Classification Table

The following table classifies each standard query operator method according to its method of execution.

Note

If an operator is marked in two columns, two input sequences are involved in the operation and each sequence is evaluated differently. In these cases, it is always the first sequence in the parameter list that is evaluated in a deferred, streaming manner.

Standard Query Operator	Return Type	Immediate Execution	Deferred Streaming Execution	Deferred Non-Streaming Execution
Aggregate	TSource	X
All<TSource>	Boolean	X
Any	Boolean	X
AsEnumerable<TSource>	IEnumerable<T>		X
Average	Single numeric value	X
Cast<TResult>	IEnumerable<T>		X
Concat<TSource>	IEnumerable<T>		X
Contains	Boolean	X
Count	Int32	X
DefaultIfEmpty	IEnumerable<T>		X
Distinct	IEnumerable<T>		X
ElementAt<TSource>	TSource	X
ElementAtOrDefault<TSource>	TSource	X
Empty<TResult>	IEnumerable<T>	X
Except	IEnumerable<T>		X	X
First	TSource	X
FirstOrDefault	TSource	X
GroupBy	IEnumerable<T>			X
GroupJoin	IEnumerable<T>		X	X
Intersect	IEnumerable<T>		X	X
Join	IEnumerable<T>		X	X
Last	TSource	X
LastOrDefault	TSource	X
LongCount	Int64	X
Max	Single numeric value, TSource, or TResult	X
Min	Single numeric value, TSource, or TResult	X
OfType<TResult>	IEnumerable<T>		X
OrderBy	IOrderedEnumerable<TElement>			X
OrderByDescending	IOrderedEnumerable<TElement>			X
Range	IEnumerable<T>		X
Repeat<TResult>	IEnumerable<T>		X
Reverse<TSource>	IEnumerable<T>			X
Select	IEnumerable<T>		X
SelectMany	IEnumerable<T>		X
SequenceEqual	Boolean	X
Single	TSource	X
SingleOrDefault	TSource	X
Skip<TSource>	IEnumerable<T>		X
SkipWhile	IEnumerable<T>		X
Sum	Single numeric value	X
Take<TSource>	IEnumerable<T>		X
TakeWhile	IEnumerable<T>		X
ThenBy	IOrderedEnumerable<TElement>			X
ThenByDescending	IOrderedEnumerable<TElement>			X
ToArray<TSource>	TSource array	X
ToDictionary	Dictionary<TKey, TValue>	X
ToList<TSource>	IList<T>	X
ToLookup	ILookup<TKey, TElement>	X
Union	IEnumerable<T>		X
Where	IEnumerable<T>		X

Classification of Standard Query Operators by Manner of Execution

Manners of Execution

Immediate

Deferred

Streaming

Non-Streaming

Classification Table

See Also

Concepts

Reference

Additional resources