When to use .First and when to use .FirstOrDefault with LINQ?

Question

I\'ve searched around and haven\'t really found a clear answer as to when you\'d want to use .First and when you\'d want to use .FirstOrDefault wit

Answer 1

.First will throw an exception when there are no results. .FirstOrDefault won't, it will simply return either null (reference types) or the default value of the value type. (e.g like 0 for an int.) The question here is not when you want the default type, but more: Are you willing to handle an exception or handle a default value? Since exceptions should be exceptional, FirstOrDefault is preferred when you're not sure if you're going to get results out of your query. When logically the data should be there, exception handling can be considered.

Skip() and Take() are normally used when setting up paging in results. (Like showing the first 10 results, and the next 10 on the next page, etc.)

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

First()

1. Returns first element of a sequence.
2. It throw an error when There is no element in the result or source is null.
3. you should use it,If more than one element is expected and you want only first element.

FirstOrDefault()

1. Returns first element of a sequence, or a default value if no element is found.
2. It throws an error Only if the source is null.
3. you should use it, If more than one element is expected and you want only first element. Also good if result is empty.

We have an UserInfos table, which have some records as shown below. On the basis of this table below I have created example...

How to use First()

var result = dc.UserInfos.First(x => x.ID == 1);

There is only one record where ID== 1. Should return this record
ID: 1 First Name: Manish Last Name: Dubey Email: xyz@xyz.com

var result = dc.UserInfos.First(x => x.FName == "Rahul");   

There are multiple records where FName == "Rahul". First record should be return.
ID: 7 First Name: Rahul Last Name: Sharma Email: xyz1@xyz.com

var result = dc.UserInfos.First(x => x.ID ==13);

There is no record with ID== 13. An error should be occur.
InvalidOperationException: Sequence contains no elements

How to Use FirstOrDefault()

var result = dc.UserInfos.FirstOrDefault(x => x.ID == 1);

There is only one record where ID== 1. Should return this record
ID: 1 First Name: Manish Last Name: Dubey Email: xyz@xyz.com

var result = dc.UserInfos.FirstOrDefault(x => x.FName == "Rahul");

There are multiple records where FName == "Rahul". First record should be return.
ID: 7 First Name: Rahul Last Name: Sharma Email: xyz1@xyz.com

var result = dc.UserInfos.FirstOrDefault(x => x.ID ==13);

There is no record with ID== 13. The return value is null

Hope it will help you to understand when to use First() or FirstOrDefault().

Answer 3

First of all, Take is a completely different method. It returns an IEnumerable<T> and not a single T, so that's out.

Between First and FirstOrDefault, you should use First when you're sure that an element exists and if it doesn't, then there's an error.

By the way, if your sequence contains default(T) elements (e.g. null) and you need to distinguish between being empty and the first element being null, you can't use FirstOrDefault.

Answer 4

First:

• Returns the first element of a sequence
• Throws exception: There are no elements in the result
• Use when: When more than 1 element is expected and you want only the first

FirstOrDefault:

• Returns the first element of a sequence, or a default value if no element is found
• Throws exception: Only if the source is null
• Use when: When more than 1 element is expected and you want only the first. Also it is ok for the result to be empty

From: http://www.technicaloverload.com/linq-single-vs-singleordefault-vs-first-vs-firstordefault/

Answer 5

.First() will throw an exception if there's no row to be returned, while .FirstOrDefault() will return the default value (NULL for all reference types) instead.

So if you're prepared and willing to handle a possible exception, .First() is fine. If you prefer to check the return value for != null anyway, then .FirstOrDefault() is your better choice.

But I guess it's a bit of a personal preference, too. Use whichever makes more sense to you and fits your coding style better.

Answer 6

Others have very well described the difference between First() and FirstOrDefault(). I want to take a further step in interpreting the semantics of these methods. In my opinion FirstOrDefault is being overused a lot. In the majority of the cases when you’re filtering data you would either expect to get back a collection of elements matching the logical condition or a single unique element by its unique identifier – such as a user, book, post etc... That’s why we can even get as far as saying that FirstOrDefault() is a code smell not because there is something wrong with it but because it’s being used way too often. This blog post explores the topic in details. IMO most of the times SingleOrDefault() is a much better alternative so watch out for this mistake and make sure you use the most appropriate method that clearly represents your contract and expectations.