LINQ VB how to check for duplicates in a list of objects

I have a list of objects, each with 2 relevant开发者_高级运维 properties: "ID" and "Name". Lets call the list "lstOutcomes". I need to check the list for duplicates (meaning object1.ID = object2.ID, etc.) and set a flag (valid = false, or something) if there is at least one duplicate. Also, it would be nice to send a message to the user mentioning the "Name" of the object, when it fails.

I am sure I will need to use the Group By operator to do this, but I am not used to doing that in LINQ, and the examples out there are just not helping me. This article seems to be close to what i need, but not quite and it's in C#.

Here is a starting stab at it...

Dim duplist = _
    (From o As objectType In lstOutcomes _
    Group o By o.ID Into g = Group _
    Let dups = g.Where(Function(h) g.Count > 1) _
    Order By dups Descending).ToArray

if duplist.count > 0 then
valid = false
end if

help?

I'll write it in C#, but hope you could convert it to VB. It does not use join and is O(n log n), and I assumed you have List<T>:

lst.Sort();  //O(nlogn) part.

var duplicatedItems = lst.Skip(1).Where((x,index)=>x.ID == lst[index].ID);

Dim itemsGroupedByID = lstOutcomes.GroupBy(Function(x) x.ID)
Dim duplicateItems = itemsGroupedByID.Where(Function(x) x.Count > 1) _
                                     .SelectMany(Function(x) x) _
                                     .ToList()

If duplicateItems.Count > 0
    valid = False
    Dim errorMessage = "The following items have a duplicate ID: " & _
                       String.Join(", ", duplicateItems.Select(Function(x) x.Name))
End If

I'll take back what Saeed Amiri said in C# and complete it.

        lst.Sort()
        Dim valid As Boolean = true
    dim duplicatedItems = lst.Skip(1) _
        .Where(Function(x,index) x.ID = lst(index).ID)

    Dim count As Integer = duplicatedItems.Count()
    For Each item As objectType In duplicatedItems
        valid = False
        Console.WriteLine("id: " & item.ID & "Name: " & item.Name)
    Next

The project is behind, I just hacked it together like this:

    ' For each outcome, if it is in the list of valid outcomes more than once, and it is not in the list of 
    ' duplicates, add it to the duplicates list.
    Dim lstDuplicates As New List(Of objectType)
    For Each outcome As objectType In lstOutcomes
        'declare a stable outcome variable
        Dim loutcome As objectType = outcome
        If lstOutcomes.Where(Function(o) o.ID = loutcome.ID).Count > 1 _
        AndAlso Not lstDuplicates.Where(Function(d) d.ID = loutcome.ID).Count > 0 Then
            lstDuplicates.Add(outcome)
        End If
    Next
    If lstDuplicates.Count > 0 Then
        valid = False
        sbErrors.Append("There cannot be multiple outcomes of any kind. The following " & lstDuplicates.Count & _
                        " outcomes are duplicates: ")
        For Each dup As objectType In lstDuplicates
            sbErrors.Append("""" & dup.Name & """" & " ")
        Next
        sbErrors.Append("." & vbNewLine)
    End If

It is late, but though it could help others.

You can achieve this with a pair of very clean one-liners:

Dim lstOutcomes As IList(Of T)

Dim FoundDuplicates As Boolean
FoundDuplicates = lstOutcomes.Any(Function(p) lstOutcomes.ToArray.Count(Function(q) p.ID = q.ID and p.Name=q.Name) > 1)

Dim ListOfDuplicates As IList(Of T)
ListOfDuplicates = lstOutcomes.Where(Function(p) lstOutcomes.ToArray.Count(Function(q) p.ID = q.ID And p.Name = q.Name) > 1)

Then you can clean the list of duplicates so that it contains the duplicate only once:

Dim CleanList as IList(of T)
For Each MyDuplicate As T in ListOfDuplicates
    If not CleanList.Any(function(p) p.ID = MyDuplicate.ID And p.Name = MyDuplicate.Name) then
        CleanList.Add(MyDuplicate)
    End If
Next

Or as a one-liner, although it does not read as nicely

ListOfDuplicates.ForEach(sub(p) If not CleanList.Any(function(q) p.ID = q.ID And p.Name = q.Name) then CleanList.Add(p))

Finally, as an anticipation of future requirements, you should define "what a duplicate is" as a separate thing. A delegate is quite convenient for this:

Dim AreDuplicates as Func(of T, T, Boolean) = Function(a,b) a.ID = b.ID And a.Name = b.Name
FoundDuplicates = lstOutcomes.Any(Function(p) lstOutcomes.ToArray.Count(Function(q) AreDuplicates(p,q) ) > 1)