SearchQueryable

A simple search extension for IQueryable collections.

Usage

Strict mode

By default, the search will work with a compatibility mode that is very strict, so as to support queries through EF. This mode will search all public string properties on each element contained in the collection:

myCollection.Search("term");

Additionally, a list of members can be provided to which to limit the search:

myCollection.Search(
    "term", 
    x => x.FirstName, 
    x => x.LastName);

In this case, the term will only be searched withing the FirstName nad LastName members.

All mode

An All compatibility mode is also avaialble, which will try to retrieve string representations of all members and fields of any type. This is usually not compatible with most EF providers, since .ToString() in most cases can't be translated into a meaningful SQL query. It is however useful for querying in-memory collections:

myInMemoryCollection.Search("term", CompatibilityMode.All);

A version of this with provided member predicates is also available:

myInMemoryCollection.Search(
    "term", 
    CompatibilityMode.All,
    x => x.FirstName,               // String public property
    x => x.Age,                     // int private field
    x => x.Address.Postcode,        // Nested property of a child entity
    x => x.Employer                 // A reference type that has a meaningful .ToString() implementation
);