Is there a way to get the SQL created by a LINQ query?

Question

I've been developing a ASP.NET page and have been using LINQ to handle talking to MS SQL server. I'm ok at basic SQL, however I'm a lot better with designing queries using LINQ. I know they are similar but I find it easer to design complex queries in LINQ. My question is this: Is there a way to design a query in LINQ and then get the SQL that it generated? I would like to embed the SQL in a stored procedure since multiple pages (outside my control) will need to do the same query.

Answer 1

Yes. The LINQ database context has a Log property that outputs the SQL it executed. You can also do this through a free product called LinqPad and a commercial product named Linqer.

Answer 2

You can get it 2 ways:

1. Use LINQPad

2. use ToString() on the query to get its SQL form:

   var query = from x in SomeTable where x.SomeField == 5 select x.SomeOtherField; Console.WriteLine(query.ToString());

Answer 3

If you want to get more in-depth information then you can use Linq to Sql Profiler which will display all queries as well as alerts