Comparison of Fluent BQL, Traditional BQL, and LINQ

In this topic, you can learn the main differences between the queries defined with fluent business query language (BQL), traditional BQL, and language-integrated query (LINQ).

Table 1. Comparison of Fluent BQL, Traditional BQL, and LINQ
Characteristic	Fluent BQL	Traditional BQL	LINQ
The queries can be used to define data views in graphs.	Yes	Yes	No
The queries can be defined in code.	Yes	Yes	Yes
The queries can be defined in DAC field attributes.	Yes	Yes	No
DACs are used to define database tables in the queries.	Yes	Yes	Yes
The queries can be used for dynamic query building.	Yes	Yes	Yes
The queries can be parsed and modified by the direct use of reflection—that is, by `Type.GetGenericArguments()`.	No	Yes	No
Clauses (such as Join, Where, Aggregate, OrderBy, and On) can be used separately of the query.	No, but you can pass fluent BQL expressions to traditional BQL clauses	Yes	No
The query language includes numbered classes (such as Select2 and Select6).	No	Yes	No
Each subsequent element of the query is passed as a generic parameter of the previous one.	No	Yes	No
To create a query, a developer needs to select a suitable command overload.	No	Yes	No
IntelliSense can offer continuations that are relevant for the current query state.	Yes	No	Yes
The queries use strongly typed expressions, which makes compile-time type checks possible.	Yes	No	Yes
The queries can contain explicit brackets in conditions.	Yes	No; the Where clause can be used instead	Yes
You can specify particular columns of the tables to be selected.	Yes; you have to use PXFieldScope	Yes; you have to use PXFieldScope	Yes
The query is not executed until it is iterated over.	Yes	Yes	Yes