Get top N records using LINQ to Entities

Question

I am using Linq to entities and would like to know if I can get a limited number of records when i query. I just need the top N records as the query do the orderby and other clauses. Is this possible or I will have to get the top N using foreach loop?

Answer 1

There are multiple ways

1)

var data = (from p in db.people               orderby p.IdentityKey descending              select p).Take(100);  

2)

var query = db.Models.Take(100); 

3) or you can skip certain results

var data = (from p in people             select p).Skip(100); 

Answer 2

You can just use the .Take method call to get a couple of result. You can read more on this topic here.

You need to understand that the query will not be executed unless someone executes the GetEnumerator().