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EF Core SQL translation

Context: LINQ to Entities (Entity Framework Core) translates LINQ queries to SQL, executing them on the database server.

using (var context = new AppDbContext())
{
    var activeCustomers = context.Customers
                                 .Where(c => c.IsActive && c.Orders.Any())
                                 .OrderBy(c => c.Name)
                                 .Take(10)
                                 .ToList(); // SQL generated and executed
}

Important notes

Only a subset of C# methods can be translated to SQL
Use AsEnumerable() or ToList() to switch to client evaluation
Deferred execution works with IQueryable<T>

Real-world usage example

Database paging and filtering: EF Core translates Skip and Take to OFFSET and FETCH in SQL.

Example: EF Core querying documentation explains translation rules.