QueryExpression vs. FetchXml CRM2011

Question

We found out that Linq for CRM 2011 is horribly broken - it seems to have gotten in without any QA performed on it. An indicator as how badly broken the provider is a query

Answer 1

I would advocate in favor of FetchXML because I can use it in my JavaScript or C# code, unlike LINQ or QueryExpression...therefore one less thing to learn and maintain. As for stuff like Intellisense, there is a great tool that plugs into XrmToolbox called FetchXML Builder that is much more sophisticated in designing complex queries than you will ever see using Advanced Find. I have been using it now for a month for a CRM Online client and it is as close to using SQL as you can get in this environment. It can also generate QueryExpression code for me. I have turned over this tool to my business analysts and they are going to town using it to make sophisticated data sets for the dashboard - a big win for the clients.

I do lament the loss of detecting errors with early binding, but I enjoy

Answer 2

I've been asked specifically by a client to use the Query Expression model, so in order to make my life easier, I've resorted to adding a lot of extension methods to IOrganizationService. Examples Include:

public static List<T> GetEntities<T>(
    this IOrganizationService service, 
    params object[] columnNameAndValuePairs
) where T : Entity

which converts the params object[] and T entity type into a query expression, and automatically returns the results to an entity list. So it is used like so:

foreach(var c in service.GetEntities<Contact>("lastname", "Doe", "firstname", "Smith"))
{
    ... 
}

I also use this one a lot too:

public static T GetFirstOrDefault<T>(
    this IOrganizationService service,
    params object[] columnNameAndValuePairs
) where T : Entity

var c = service.GetFirstOrDefault<Contact>("owner", id);

These type of extension methods make working with query expressions a lot easier, giving you a much more LINQ type style, without weird linq restriction traps that are easy to fall into.

Answer 3

To build on Anwar's excellent answer focusing on LINQ vs. FetchXml, I'll add I never use QueryExpression. Why?

LINQ: Queries are built using standard language, but internally uses QueryExpression so is limited to the features of QueryExpression.

QueryExpression: Queries are built as an object model. Supports all the features in FetchXML except for aggregates and grouping.

So it's worse in querying power than FetchXml without the Advanced Find code generation, and it offers the same functionality as the LINQ provider while offering a completely non-standard querying interface (unlike LINQ).

As for LINQ (non)functionality, the limitations of the LINQ provider are clearly, and I think fairly well, documented. Your .Where(x => "b" == x) snippet, for instance, violates the where clause restriction:

where: The left side of the clause must be an attribute name and the right side of the clause must be a value. You cannot set the left side to a constant. Both the sides of the clause cannot be constants.

Not defending Microsoft: they need to put in a lot of work on the LINQ provider (read: direct-to-SQL provider) before the LINQ provider is professional grade, but hey, at least they've got a great disclaimer.

Answer 4

In my opinion, I usually go for Linq or FetchXml depending for the requirements.

For the Linq: In case for early-bound, I like using Linq because it's strongly typed and It helps much for development speed, but as you stated above, it has its disadvantages.

For the FetchXML: I really love using this magic statement:

EntityCollection result = _serviceProxy.RetrieveMultiple(new FetchExpression(fetch2));

foreach (var c in result.Entities)
{
   System.Console.WriteLine(c.Attributes["name"]);
}

Why? Because it's very similar of using the QueryExpression in addition of the aggregation and grouping. The only thing I hate about FetxhXML is that it's hard to build, unlike the Linq.

For building FetchXML queries, I have to open the Advanced-Find then add columns then put my criteria and so on, finally I download it and copy it into my code, and so on.

Finally, the FetchXML has the least limitations among the others.

Regarding the performance I've tried to benchmark between Linq and FetchXML for same query using StopWatch, the result was FetchXML is faster than the Linq.