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LINQ Max Method in C# with Examples
In this article, I will discuss the LINQ Max Method in C# with Examples. Please read our previous article discussing the LINQ Sum Aggregate Method in C# with Examples. The LINQ Max() Method belongs to the category of Aggregate Operators. As part of this article, we will discuss the following pointers.
- What is the LINQ Max Method in C#?
- Multiple Examples to Understand Sum Method using both Method and Query Syntax.
- When to Use the LINQ Max Method in C#?
What is the LINQ Max Method in C#?
The LINQ Max method in C# is used to find the maximum value in a collection. It’s part of the System.Linq namespace can be used with arrays, lists, or any type that implements IEnumerable<T>. The Max method comes in various forms, allowing you to find the maximum value in different ways depending on the type of the collection and the data it contains. The Max Method returns the largest numeric value from the collection on which it is applied.
Example to Understand LINQ Max Method in C#:
Let us understand the LINQ Max() method with Examples using C#. The following example returns the largest number from the collection using query and method syntax. The point that you need to remember is that the Max Method will work with numeric values only. The collection stores integer values in this case, so we can apply the LINQ Max Method. We don’t have any operator called max in the Query Syntax. So here, we need to use mixed syntax.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int[] intNumbers = new int[] { 10, 80, 50, 90, 60, 30, 70, 40, 20, 100 };
//Using Method Syntax
int MSLergestNumber = intNumbers.Max();
//Using Query Syntax
int QSLergestNumber = (from num in intNumbers
select num).Max();
Console.WriteLine("Largest Number = " + MSLergestNumber);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: Largest Number = 100
Example to Understand LINQ Max Method with Where Extension Method using C#
Let us see an example to Understand how we can use the LINQ Max Method and the Where Extension Method in C# using both Method and Query Syntax. Now, our requirement is to return the largest number from the collection where the number is less than 50. The following example code exactly does the same.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int[] intNumbers = new int[] { 10, 80, 50, 90, 60, 30, 70, 40, 20, 100 };
//Using Method Syntax
int MSLergestNumber = intNumbers.Where(num => num < 50).Max();
//Using Query Syntax
int QSLergestNumber = (from num in intNumbers
where num < 50
select num).Max();
Console.WriteLine("Largest Number = " + MSLergestNumber);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: Largest Number = 40
Example to Understand How to use LINQ Max Method with Predicate in C#
Let us see an example of using the LINQ Max Method with Predicate in C# using both Method and Query Syntax. Instead of using the Where Extension method to filter the data, we can also use the other overloaded version of the Max method, which takes a Predicate as a parameter, and using the predicate, we can write the logic to filter the data. In the example below, within the Max Method, we use a Predicate and provide the condition whether the number is less than 50. If the number is less than 50, then we return that number; else, we return 0. The following example will return the largest number, less than 50.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int[] intNumbers = new int[] { 10, 80, 50, 90, 60, 30, 70, 40, 20, 100 };
//Using Method Syntax
int MSLergestNumber = intNumbers.Max(num => {
if (num < 50)
return num;
else
return 0;
});
Console.WriteLine("Largest Number = " + MSLergestNumber);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: Largest Number = 40
Example to Understand LINQ Max Method with Complex Type in C#:
Let us see an example of using the LINQ Max Method with Complex Data Type in C# using both Method and Query Syntax. We are going to work with the following Employee class. As you can see, it is a very simple class with four properties: ID, Name, Salary, and Department. Here, we also created one method, i.e., GetAllEmployees(), which will return the list of all the employees and be our data source.
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace LINQDemo
{
public class Employee
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public int Salary { get; set; }
public string Department { get; set; }
public static List<Employee> GetAllEmployees()
{
List<Employee> listStudents = new List<Employee>()
{
new Employee{ID= 101,Name = "Preety", Salary = 10000, Department = "IT"},
new Employee{ID= 102,Name = "Priyanka", Salary = 15000, Department = "Sales"},
new Employee{ID= 103,Name = "James", Salary = 50000, Department = "Sales"},
new Employee{ID= 104,Name = "Hina", Salary = 20000, Department = "IT"},
new Employee{ID= 105,Name = "Anurag", Salary = 30000, Department = "IT"},
new Employee{ID= 106,Name = "Sara", Salary = 25000, Department = "IT"},
new Employee{ID= 107,Name = "Pranaya", Salary = 35000, Department = "IT"},
new Employee{ID= 108,Name = "Manoj", Salary = 11000, Department = "Sales"},
new Employee{ID= 109,Name = "Sam", Salary = 45000, Department = "Sales"},
new Employee{ID= 110,Name = "Saurav", Salary = 25000, Department = "Sales"}
};
return listStudents;
}
}
}
Now, our requirement is to return the highest salary among all the employees. The following example returns the highest salary among all the employees using the LINQ Max method with both Method and Query Syntax. Here, we specify the numeric Salary column using a lambda expression to the Max method.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//Using Method Syntax
var MSHighestSalary = Employee.GetAllEmployees()
.Max(emp => emp.Salary);
//Using Query Syntax
var QSHighestSalary = (from emp in Employee.GetAllEmployees()
select emp).Max(e => e.Salary);
Console.WriteLine("Highest Salary = " + QSHighestSalary);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: Highest Salary = 50000
Example using Max and Where Extension Method in C#:
Let us see an example of using both LINQ Max and Where Extension Methods with Complex Type using Method and Query Syntax. Our requirement is to return the Highest Salary in the IT department. The following example exactly does the same. Using the Where Extension Method, we are filtering the IT department employees, and using the Max method, we are specifying the Salary numeric column, which will return the Highest Salary of the IT department.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//Using Method Syntax
var MSHighestSalary = Employee.GetAllEmployees()
.Where(emp => emp.Department == "IT")
.Max(emp => emp.Salary);
//Using Query Syntax
var QSHighestSalary = (from emp in Employee.GetAllEmployees()
where emp.Department == "IT"
select emp).Max(e => e.Salary);
Console.WriteLine("It Department Highest Salary = " + QSHighestSalary);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: It Department Highest Salary = 35000
Let’s rewrite the previous example using the custom predicate. As you can see, within the Max method, we are checking the Department property value, and if the Department is IT, we are returning the corresponding Salary. Else, we are returning 0.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//Using Method Syntax
var MSHighestSalary = Employee.GetAllEmployees()
.Max(emp => {
if (emp.Department == "IT")
return emp.Salary;
else
return 0;
});
Console.WriteLine("It Department Highest Salary = " + MSHighestSalary);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: It Department Highest Salary = 35000
Let’s rewrite the previous example using the custom predicate. As you can see, within the Max method, we are checking the Department property value, and if the Department value is It, we are returning the corresponding Salary. Else, we are returning null.
using System;
using System.Linq;
namespace LINQDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//Using Method Syntax and Predicate
var HighestSalaryMS = Employee.GetAllEmployees()
.Max(emp => {
if (emp.Department == "IT")
return emp.Salary;
else
return null;
});
Console.WriteLine("IT Department Highest Salary = " + HighestSalaryMS);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
Output: It Department Highest Salary = 35000
When to Use the LINQ Max Method in C#?
Here are some typical use cases for employing the Max method:
- Finding the Highest Value: The most straightforward use of Max is to find the highest number in a collection of numeric values. This is useful in scenarios like determining the highest score in a game, the maximum temperature in a weather dataset, or the highest price in a list of products.
- Data Analysis and Reporting: In data processing and analysis, Max can be used to extract key metrics, such as the maximum value in a set of measurements, like sales data (e.g., highest sales in a month), financial data (e.g., highest stock price), or performance data (e.g., fastest time in a race).
- Working with Complex Types: When dealing with collections of complex objects, Max can be used with a lambda expression to find the maximum value based on a specific property. For instance, finding the employee with the highest salary, the product with the largest size, or the longest duration in a list of events.
- Conditional Maximum Values: Combined with other LINQ methods like Where, the Max can be used to find the maximum value under certain conditions. For example, finding the highest score in a subset of scores that meet a specific criterion.
- Handling Nullable Types: In collections of nullable types, Max can be used to determine the maximum value while treating null values appropriately and safely.
In the next article, I will discuss the LINQ Min Aggregate Method in C# with Examples. I hope you will understand the use and need of the Linq Max Aggregate Method in C# with Examples.
About the Author: Pranaya Rout
Pranaya Rout has published more than 3,000 articles in his 11-year career. Pranaya Rout has very good experience with Microsoft Technologies, Including C#, VB, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web API, EF, EF Core, ADO.NET, LINQ, SQL Server, MYSQL, Oracle, ASP.NET Core, Cloud Computing, Microservices, Design Patterns and still learning new technologies.
