Pro C# 2010 and the .NET 4 Platform, Fifth Edition

13.1. LINQ Specific Programming Constructs

From a very high level, LINQ can be understood as a strongly typed query language, embedded directly into the grammar of C# itself. Using LINQ, you can build any number of expressions which have a look-and-feel similar to that of a database SQL query. However, a LINQ query can be applied to any number of data stores, including stores that have nothing to do with a literal relational database.

NOTE

Although LINQ queries look similar to SQL queries, the syntax is not identical. In fact, many LINQ queries seem to be the exact opposite format of a similar database query! If you attempt to map LINQ directly to SQL, you will surely become frustrated. To keep your sanity, I'd recommend that you try your best ...