Passing an anonymous type as T

Question

In the Entity Framework you can run and bind custom queries on-the-fly like so...

protected class NitrogenMoisutreContainer
{
    public double MinN { get; set; }
    public double MaxN { get; set; }
    public double MinM { get; set; }
    public double MaxM { get; set; }
}

// ...

var q = dbcontext.Database.SqlQuery<NitrogenMoisutreContainer>(@"SELECT MAX(NitrogenBalance) as MaxN, MIN(NitrogenBalance) as MinN, MAX(FCWaterPercent) as MaxM, MIN(FCWaterPercent) as MinM
                                                                    FROM agZoneProjectionGrowthStages
                                                                    WHERE NitrogenBalance > 0 AND FCWaterPercent > 0").First();

The problem is that, to me, this feels messy. I had to create this class for one query and I will never use it again for anything else. The results are used exactly one line down from where it is executed.

Is there a way I can return an anonymous type? Even if I had to declare it first, like this...

var anonItem = new {
    MinN = 0d,
    MaxN = 0d,
    MinM = 0d,
    MaxM = 0d
};

var q = dbcontext.Database.SqlQuery<anonItem.GetType()>("...");

I just can't figure out how to pass in my anonymous type's Type as T. Is it possible?

Answer 1

This can be done if you set it up so the type can be inferred. E.g.

public static IEnumerable<T> GetObjects<T>(T exampleItem, string sqlQuery) { ... }
var q = GetObjects(anonItem, @"");

I think this is a bit hackish, and I'd suggest trying another approach, like actually making the named class or using a tuple.

Answer 2

The problem is that, to me, this feels messy. I had to create this class for one query and I will never use it again for anything else. The results are used exactly one line down from where it is executed.

I don't see this as a problem.

Is there a way I can return an anonymous type?

You could create a tuple instead.