How can I parse a string into a UNIQUEIDENTIFIER?
.net entity-framework entity-framework-6 guid sql-server
Question
I'm writing an Entity Framework LINQ query in which I want to parse a string into a UNIQUEIDENTIFIER (aka GUID) as part of the WHERE clause:
public IEnumerable<User> Find(Guid guid)
{
return dbContext
.Users
.Where(user => Guid.Parse(user.GuidText) == guid);
}
I know this is possible in SQL because I've tested it:
SELECT *
FROM Users
WHERE CAST(GuidText AS UNIQUEIDENTIFIER) = @guid;
However, I haven't found a way to generate the CAST part. I've tried:
(Guid)user.GuidText, which generates a compiler error.Convert.ToGuid(user.GuidText), but this method doesn't exist.Guid.Parse(user.GuidText), but this causes Entity Framework to generate an error when it translates the LINQ query.new Guid(user.GuidText), but this causes Entity Framework to generate an error when it translates the LINQ query.(Guid)Convert.ChangeType(user.GuidText, typeof(Guid)), but this causes Entity Framework to generate an error when it translates the LINQ query.SqlGuid.Parse(user.GuidText), but this causes Entity Framework to generate an error when it translates the LINQ query.
How can I achieve this? I'm willing to embed SQL in the code as a last resort.
Popular Answer
EF runtime actually supports converting from a string to a GUID as a cast operation, but as you find out there is currently no way of expressing this in LINQ that we support.
The best workaround that I can think of is to use Entity SQL:
var objectContext = ((IObjectContextAdapter)db).ObjectContext;
var query = objectContext.CreateQuery<User>(
"SELECT VALUE u FROM Context.Users AS u WHERE CAST(u.GuidText AS System.Guid) = @guid",
new ObjectParameter("guid", guid));
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