What is the difference between deferred and immediate execution in LINQ?

What is the difference between deferred and immediate execution in LINQ?

In LINQ, deferred execution means that the query is not executed until you iterate over the results. Immediate execution, on the other hand, executes the query as soon as it is defined. This can affect performance and resource usage.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! For deferred execution, consider using IEnumerable<T>.Where(). The query runs when you loop through the results. For immediate execution, using ToList() executes the query immediately and returns a list.

What are the benefits of using deferred execution?

Deferred execution can improve performance by allowing you to compose queries and only execute them when necessary, reducing resource consumption.

Are there any downsides to deferred execution?

Yes, one downside is that if the data source changes after the query is defined but before it is executed, you may get unexpected results.