LINQ Except operator comes under Set operators category in LINQ
The Except() method requires two collections and find those elements which are not present in second collection
Except extension method doesn't return the correct result for the collection of complex types.
Example using Except() method
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
namespace DemoApplication {
class Program {
static void Main(string[] args) {
List<string> animalsList1 = new List<string> {
"tiger", "lion", "dog"
};
Console.WriteLine($"Values in List1:");
foreach (var val in animalsList1) {
Console.WriteLine($"{val}");
}
List<string> animalsList2 = new List<string> {
"tiger", "cat", "deer"
};
Console.WriteLine($"Values in List2:");
foreach (var val in animalsList1) {
Console.WriteLine($"{val}");
}
var animalsList3 = animalsList1.Except(animalsList2);
Console.WriteLine($"Value in List1 that are not in List2:");
foreach (var val in animalsList3) {
Console.WriteLine($"{val}");
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
}Output
The output of the above code is
Values in List1: tiger lion dog Values in List2: tiger lion dog Value in List1 that are not in List2: lion dog
Example using Where Clause
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
namespace DemoApplication {
class Program {
static void Main(string[] args) {
List<Fruit> fruitsList1 = new List<Fruit> {
new Fruit {
Name = "Apple",
Size = "Small"
},
new Fruit {
Name = "Orange",
Size = "Small"
}
};
Console.WriteLine($"Values in List1:");
foreach (var val in fruitsList1) {
Console.WriteLine($"{val.Name}");
}
List<Fruit> fruitsList2 = new List<Fruit> {
new Fruit {
Name = "Apple",
Size = "Small"
},
new Fruit {
Name = "Mango",
Size = "Small"
}
};
Console.WriteLine($"Values in List2:");
foreach (var val in fruitsList2) {
Console.WriteLine($"{val.Name}");
}
var fruitsList3 = fruitsList1.Where(f1 => fruitsList2.All(f2 => f2.Name != f1.Name));
Console.WriteLine($"Values in List1 that are not in List2:");
foreach (var val in fruitsList3) {
Console.WriteLine($"{val.Name}");
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
public class Fruit {
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Size { get; set; }
}
}Output
The output of the above code is
Values in List1: Apple Orange Values in List2: Apple Mango Values in List1 that are not in List2: Orange