This is my query, how can I use string as orderby parameter?
string sortColumn="Title";
var items = (from ltem in ctxModel.Items
where ltem.ItemID == vId
orderby //something here
select ltem).Skip(PageSize * PageIndex).Take(PageSize);
UPDATE:
I can't just OrderBy the result set, because I FIRST need to sort, and only THEN to page.
Others have suggested using Dynamic link or other libraries. Personally, I would not bring in a library dependency for such a small task. But two other paths that you can take are...
See http://blog.cincura.net/229310-sorting-in-iqueryable-using-string-as-column-name/
It is important to consider Deferred Execution in this scenario. You can safely build your query that returns an IQueryable object and then run a object query sort on that object. Your query will only be run once, when the data is actually accessed.
The above blog post is an example of how you can use the Expression API to build and expression tree that you can use for your OrderBy. It really just sounds complicated. The MSDN article may be a better reference. See How to: Use Expression Trees to Build Dynamic Queries on MSDN.
Or
Eg.
ItemType items = default(ItemType);
switch(sortColumn)
{
case "Title":
{
items = ctxModel.Items
.Where(i => i.ItemID == vId)
.OrderBy( i => i.Title);
}
break;
}
I use this helper:
public static class OrderExt
{
private static IOrderedQueryable<T> Order<T>(this IQueryable<T> source, string propertyName, SortDirection descending, bool anotherLevel = false)
{
var param = Expression.Parameter(typeof(T), string.Empty);
var property = Expression.PropertyOrField(param, propertyName);
var sort = Expression.Lambda(property, param);
var call = Expression.Call(
typeof (Queryable),
(!anotherLevel ? "OrderBy" : "ThenBy") +
(descending == SortDirection.Descending ? "Descending" : string.Empty),
new[] {typeof (T), property.Type},
source.Expression,
Expression.Quote(sort));
return (IOrderedQueryable<T>)source.Provider.CreateQuery<T>(call);
}
}
to call the helper, eg do this:
string sort = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString["sort"];
var products = _productRepository.OrderBy(sort, SortDirection.Ascending);