Why the order of LINQ to objects methods counts

Question

I read this question\'s answers that explain the order of the LINQ to objects methods makes a difference. My question is why?

If I write a LINQ to SQL query, it doesn\'t

Answer 1

Why it doesn't work this way with LINQ to objects?

LINQ to Objects doesn't use expression trees. The statement is directly turned into a series of method calls, each of which runs as a normal C# method.

As such, the following in LINQ to Objects:

   var results = collection.OrderBy(x => x.Id)
                   .Where(x => x.Name == "gdoron")
                   .ToList();

Gets turned into direct method calls:

   var results = Enumerable.ToList(
                   Enumerable.Where(
                     Enumerable.OrderBy(collection, x => x.Id),
                     x => x.Name = "gdoron"
                   )
                 );

By looking at the method calls, you can see why ordering matters. In this case, by placing OrderBy first, you're effectively nesting it into the inner-most method call. This means the entire collection will get ordered when the resutls are enumerated. If you were to switch the order:

   var results = collection
                   .Where(x => x.Name == "gdoron")
                   .OrderBy(x => x.Id)
                   .ToList();

Then the resulting method chain switches to:

   var results = Enumerable.ToList(
                   Enumerable.OrderBy(
                     Enumerable.Where(collection, x => x.Name = "gdoron"),
                     x => x.Id
                   )
                 );

This, in turn, means that only the filtered results will need to be sorted as OrderBy executes.