Predicate Delegates in C#

Question

A predicate is a function that returns true or false. A predicate delegate is a reference to a predicate.

So basically a predicate delegate is a reference to a function that returns true or false. Predicates are very useful for filtering a list of values - here is an example.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        List<int> list = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 };

        Predicate<int> predicate = new Predicate<int>(greaterThanTwo);

        List<int> newList = list.FindAll(predicate);
    }

    static bool greaterThanTwo(int arg)
    {
        return arg > 2;
    }
}

Now if you are using C# 3 you can use a lambda to represent the predicate in a cleaner fashion:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        List<int> list = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 };

        List<int> newList = list.FindAll(i => i > 2);
    }
}

Leading on from Andrew's answer with regards to c#2 and c#3 ... you can also do them inline for a one off search function (see below).

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        List<int> list = new List<int> { 1, 2, 3 };

        List<int> newList = list.FindAll(delegate(int arg)
                           {
                               return arg> 2;
                           });
    }
}

Hope this helps.

Just a delegate that returns a boolean. It is used a lot in filtering lists but can be used wherever you'd like.

List<DateRangeClass>  myList = new List<DateRangeClass<GetSomeDateRangeArrayToPopulate);
myList.FindAll(x => (x.StartTime <= minDateToReturn && x.EndTime >= maxDateToReturn):

There's a good article on predicates here, although it's from the .NET2 era, so there's no mention of lambda expressions in there.

What is Predicate Delegate?

1) Predicate is a feature that returns true or false.This concept has come in .net 2.0 framework. 2) It is being used with lambda expression (=>). It takes generic type as an argument. 3) It allows a predicate function to be defined and passed as a parameter to another function. 4) It is a special case of a Func, in that it takes only a single parameter and always returns a bool.

In C# namespace:

namespace System
{   
    public delegate bool Predicate<in T>(T obj);
}

It is defined in the System namespace.

Where should we use Predicate Delegate?

We should use Predicate Delegate in the following cases:

1) For searching items in a generic collection. e.g.

var employeeDetails = employees.Where(o=>o.employeeId == 1237).FirstOrDefault();

2) Basic example that shortens the code and returns true or false:

Predicate<int> isValueOne = x => x == 1;

now, Call above predicate:

Console.WriteLine(isValueOne.Invoke(1)); // -- returns true.

3) An anonymous method can also be assigned to a Predicate delegate type as below:

Predicate<string> isUpper = delegate(string s) { return s.Equals(s.ToUpper());};
    bool result = isUpper("Hello Chap!!");

Any best practices about predicates?

Use Func, Lambda Expressions and Delegates instead of Predicates.

The predicate-based searching methods allow a method delegate or lambda expression to decide whether a given element is a “match.” A predicate is simply a delegate accepting an object and returning true or false: public delegate bool Predicate (T object);

   static void Main()
        {
            string[] names = { "Lukasz", "Darek", "Milosz" };
            string match1 = Array.Find(names, delegate(string name) { return name.Contains("L"); });
            //or
            string match2 = Array.Find(names, delegate(string name) { return name.Contains("L"); });
            //or
            string match3 = Array.Find(names, x => x.Contains("L"));


            Console.WriteLine(match1 + " " + match2 + " " + match3);     // Lukasz Lukasz Lukasz
        }
        static bool ContainsL(string name) { return name.Contains("L"); }

If you're in VB 9 (VS2008), a predicate can be a complex function:

Dim list As New List(Of Integer)(New Integer() {1, 2, 3})
Dim newList = list.FindAll(AddressOf GreaterThanTwo)
...
Function GreaterThanTwo(ByVal item As Integer) As Boolean
    'do some work'
    Return item > 2
End Function

Or you can write your predicate as a lambda, as long as it's only one expression:

Dim list As New List(Of Integer)(New Integer() {1, 2, 3})
Dim newList = list.FindAll(Function(item) item > 2)