Most efficient way to test equality of lambda expressions

Question

Given a method signature:

public bool AreTheSame<T>(Expression<Func<T, object>> exp1, Expression<Func<T, object>> exp2)

What would be the most efficient way to say if the two expressions are the same? This only needs to work for simple expressions, by this I mean all that would be "supported" would be simple MemberExpressions, eg c => c.ID.

An example call might be:

AreTheSame<User>(u1 => u1.ID, u2 => u2.ID); --> would return true

Babcock

I think a fundamental question would be whether Expressions are anything like anonymous types in that even if you define an identical expression somehwere whether that expression tree is somehow cached by the runtime so that there is always only one underlying definition. this is similar to the flyweight pattern and how strings are implemented in C# and to a degree anonymous class well from my understanding. – Hickox

Answer 1

Hmmm... I guess you'd have to parse the tree, checking the node-type and member of each. I'll knock up an example...

using System;
using System.Linq.Expressions;
class Test {
    public string Foo { get; set; }
    public string Bar { get; set; }
    static void Main()
    {
        bool test1 = FuncTest<Test>.FuncEqual(x => x.Bar, y => y.Bar),
            test2 = FuncTest<Test>.FuncEqual(x => x.Foo, y => y.Bar);
    }

}
// this only exists to make it easier to call, i.e. so that I can use FuncTest<T> with
// generic-type-inference; if you use the doubly-generic method, you need to specify
// both arguments, which is a pain...
static class FuncTest<TSource>
{
    public static bool FuncEqual<TValue>(
        Expression<Func<TSource, TValue>> x,
        Expression<Func<TSource, TValue>> y)
    {
        return FuncTest.FuncEqual<TSource, TValue>(x, y);
    }
}
static class FuncTest {
    public static bool FuncEqual<TSource, TValue>(
        Expression<Func<TSource,TValue>> x,
        Expression<Func<TSource,TValue>> y)
    {
        return ExpressionEqual(x, y);
    }
    private static bool ExpressionEqual(Expression x, Expression y)
    {
        // deal with the simple cases first...
        if (ReferenceEquals(x, y)) return true;
        if (x == null || y == null) return false;
        if (   x.NodeType != y.NodeType
            || x.Type != y.Type ) return false;

        switch (x.NodeType)
        {
            case ExpressionType.Lambda:
                return ExpressionEqual(((LambdaExpression)x).Body, ((LambdaExpression)y).Body);
            case ExpressionType.MemberAccess:
                MemberExpression mex = (MemberExpression)x, mey = (MemberExpression)y;
                return mex.Member == mey.Member; // should really test down-stream expression
            default:
                throw new NotImplementedException(x.NodeType.ToString());
        }
    }
}

Hundredfold

Expressions annoy me, they are so powerful yet there is so much missing. +1 for the upload codez – Compurgation

@MarcGravell, this is awesome with one caveat. Your comparison method assumes the return types of the lambda has to be the same. (string in this case). To make this generic when Foo and Bar are different types, you'll need TValue1 and TValue2. Can you update your answer? – Separative

Not recursively comparing MemberExpression.Expression is going to cause some evil bugs. Also the lambda ParameterExpression collections can be recursively compared. – Bucolic

Answer 2

UPDATE: Due to interest to my solution, I have updated the code so it supports arrays, new operators and other stuff and compares the ASTs in more elegant way.

Here is an improved version of Marc's code and now it's available as a nuget package:

public static class LambdaCompare
{
    public static bool Eq<TSource, TValue>(
        Expression<Func<TSource, TValue>> x,
        Expression<Func<TSource, TValue>> y)
    {
        return ExpressionsEqual(x, y, null, null);
    }

    public static bool Eq<TSource1, TSource2, TValue>(
        Expression<Func<TSource1, TSource2, TValue>> x,
        Expression<Func<TSource1, TSource2, TValue>> y)
    {
        return ExpressionsEqual(x, y, null, null);
    }

    public static Expression<Func<Expression<Func<TSource, TValue>>, bool>> Eq<TSource, TValue>(Expression<Func<TSource, TValue>> y)
    {
        return x => ExpressionsEqual(x, y, null, null);
    }

    private static bool ExpressionsEqual(Expression x, Expression y, LambdaExpression rootX, LambdaExpression rootY)
    {
        if (ReferenceEquals(x, y)) return true;
        if (x == null || y == null) return false;

        var valueX = TryCalculateConstant(x);
        var valueY = TryCalculateConstant(y);

        if (valueX.IsDefined && valueY.IsDefined)
            return ValuesEqual(valueX.Value, valueY.Value);

        if (x.NodeType != y.NodeType
            || x.Type != y.Type)
        {
            if (IsAnonymousType(x.Type) && IsAnonymousType(y.Type))
                throw new NotImplementedException("Comparison of Anonymous Types is not supported");
            return false;
        }

        if (x is LambdaExpression)
        {
            var lx = (LambdaExpression)x;
            var ly = (LambdaExpression)y;
            var paramsX = lx.Parameters;
            var paramsY = ly.Parameters;
            return CollectionsEqual(paramsX, paramsY, lx, ly) && ExpressionsEqual(lx.Body, ly.Body, lx, ly);
        }
        if (x is MemberExpression)
        {
            var mex = (MemberExpression)x;
            var mey = (MemberExpression)y;
            return Equals(mex.Member, mey.Member) && ExpressionsEqual(mex.Expression, mey.Expression, rootX, rootY);
        }
        if (x is BinaryExpression)
        {
            var bx = (BinaryExpression)x;
            var by = (BinaryExpression)y;
            return bx.Method == @by.Method && ExpressionsEqual(bx.Left, @by.Left, rootX, rootY) &&
                   ExpressionsEqual(bx.Right, @by.Right, rootX, rootY);
        }
        if (x is UnaryExpression)
        {
            var ux = (UnaryExpression)x;
            var uy = (UnaryExpression)y;
            return ux.Method == uy.Method && ExpressionsEqual(ux.Operand, uy.Operand, rootX, rootY);
        }
        if (x is ParameterExpression)
        {
            var px = (ParameterExpression)x;
            var py = (ParameterExpression)y;
            return rootX.Parameters.IndexOf(px) == rootY.Parameters.IndexOf(py);
        }
        if (x is MethodCallExpression)
        {
            var cx = (MethodCallExpression)x;
            var cy = (MethodCallExpression)y;
            return cx.Method == cy.Method
                   && ExpressionsEqual(cx.Object, cy.Object, rootX, rootY)
                   && CollectionsEqual(cx.Arguments, cy.Arguments, rootX, rootY);
        }
        if (x is MemberInitExpression)
        {
            var mix = (MemberInitExpression)x;
            var miy = (MemberInitExpression)y;
            return ExpressionsEqual(mix.NewExpression, miy.NewExpression, rootX, rootY)
                   && MemberInitsEqual(mix.Bindings, miy.Bindings, rootX, rootY);
        }
        if (x is NewArrayExpression)
        {
            var nx = (NewArrayExpression)x;
            var ny = (NewArrayExpression)y;
            return CollectionsEqual(nx.Expressions, ny.Expressions, rootX, rootY);
        }
        if (x is NewExpression)
        {
            var nx = (NewExpression)x;
            var ny = (NewExpression)y;
            return
                Equals(nx.Constructor, ny.Constructor)
                && CollectionsEqual(nx.Arguments, ny.Arguments, rootX, rootY)
                && (nx.Members == null && ny.Members == null
                    || nx.Members != null && ny.Members != null && CollectionsEqual(nx.Members, ny.Members));
        }
        if (x is ConditionalExpression)
        {
            var cx = (ConditionalExpression)x;
            var cy = (ConditionalExpression)y;
            return
                ExpressionsEqual(cx.Test, cy.Test, rootX, rootY)
                && ExpressionsEqual(cx.IfFalse, cy.IfFalse, rootX, rootY)
                && ExpressionsEqual(cx.IfTrue, cy.IfTrue, rootX, rootY);
        }

        throw new NotImplementedException(x.ToString());
    }

    private static Boolean IsAnonymousType(Type type)
    {
        Boolean hasCompilerGeneratedAttribute = type.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(CompilerGeneratedAttribute), false).Any();
        Boolean nameContainsAnonymousType = type.FullName.Contains("AnonymousType");
        Boolean isAnonymousType = hasCompilerGeneratedAttribute && nameContainsAnonymousType;

        return isAnonymousType;
    }

    private static bool MemberInitsEqual(ICollection<MemberBinding> bx, ICollection<MemberBinding> by, LambdaExpression rootX, LambdaExpression rootY)
    {
        if (bx.Count != by.Count)
        {
            return false;
        }

        if (bx.Concat(by).Any(b => b.BindingType != MemberBindingType.Assignment))
            throw new NotImplementedException("Only MemberBindingType.Assignment is supported");

        return
            bx.Cast<MemberAssignment>().OrderBy(b => b.Member.Name).Select((b, i) => new { Expr = b.Expression, b.Member, Index = i })
            .Join(
                  by.Cast<MemberAssignment>().OrderBy(b => b.Member.Name).Select((b, i) => new { Expr = b.Expression, b.Member, Index = i }),
                  o => o.Index, o => o.Index, (xe, ye) => new { XExpr = xe.Expr, XMember = xe.Member, YExpr = ye.Expr, YMember = ye.Member })
                   .All(o => Equals(o.XMember, o.YMember) && ExpressionsEqual(o.XExpr, o.YExpr, rootX, rootY));
    }

    private static bool ValuesEqual(object x, object y)
    {
        if (ReferenceEquals(x, y))
            return true;
        if (x is ICollection && y is ICollection)
            return CollectionsEqual((ICollection)x, (ICollection)y);

        return Equals(x, y);
    }

    private static ConstantValue TryCalculateConstant(Expression e)
    {
        if (e is ConstantExpression)
            return new ConstantValue(true, ((ConstantExpression)e).Value);
        if (e is MemberExpression)
        {
            var me = (MemberExpression)e;
            var parentValue = TryCalculateConstant(me.Expression);
            if (parentValue.IsDefined)
            {
                var result =
                    me.Member is FieldInfo
                        ? ((FieldInfo)me.Member).GetValue(parentValue.Value)
                        : ((PropertyInfo)me.Member).GetValue(parentValue.Value);
                return new ConstantValue(true, result);
            }
        }
        if (e is NewArrayExpression)
        {
            var ae = ((NewArrayExpression)e);
            var result = ae.Expressions.Select(TryCalculateConstant);
            if (result.All(i => i.IsDefined))
                return new ConstantValue(true, result.Select(i => i.Value).ToArray());
        }
        if (e is ConditionalExpression)
        {
            var ce = (ConditionalExpression)e;
            var evaluatedTest = TryCalculateConstant(ce.Test);
            if (evaluatedTest.IsDefined)
            {
                return TryCalculateConstant(Equals(evaluatedTest.Value, true) ? ce.IfTrue : ce.IfFalse);
            }
        }

        return default(ConstantValue);
    }

    private static bool CollectionsEqual(IEnumerable<Expression> x, IEnumerable<Expression> y, LambdaExpression rootX, LambdaExpression rootY)
    {
        return x.Count() == y.Count()
               && x.Select((e, i) => new { Expr = e, Index = i })
                   .Join(y.Select((e, i) => new { Expr = e, Index = i }),
                         o => o.Index, o => o.Index, (xe, ye) => new { X = xe.Expr, Y = ye.Expr })
                   .All(o => ExpressionsEqual(o.X, o.Y, rootX, rootY));
    }

    private static bool CollectionsEqual(ICollection x, ICollection y)
    {
        return x.Count == y.Count
               && x.Cast<object>().Select((e, i) => new { Expr = e, Index = i })
                   .Join(y.Cast<object>().Select((e, i) => new { Expr = e, Index = i }),
                         o => o.Index, o => o.Index, (xe, ye) => new { X = xe.Expr, Y = ye.Expr })
                   .All(o => Equals(o.X, o.Y));
    }

    private struct ConstantValue
    {
        public ConstantValue(bool isDefined, object value)
            : this()
        {
            IsDefined = isDefined;
            Value = value;
        }

        public bool IsDefined { get; private set; }

        public object Value { get; private set; }
    }
}

Note that it does not compare full AST. Instead, it collapses constant expressions and compares their values rather than their AST. It is useful for mocks validation when the lambda has a reference to local variable. In his case the variable is compared by its value.

Unit tests:

[TestClass]
public class Tests
{
    [TestMethod]
    public void BasicConst()
    {
        var f1 = GetBasicExpr1();
        var f2 = GetBasicExpr2();
        Assert.IsTrue(LambdaCompare.Eq(f1, f2));
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public void PropAndMethodCall()
    {
        var f1 = GetPropAndMethodExpr1();
        var f2 = GetPropAndMethodExpr2();
        Assert.IsTrue(LambdaCompare.Eq(f1, f2));
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public void MemberInitWithConditional()
    {
        var f1 = GetMemberInitExpr1();
        var f2 = GetMemberInitExpr2();
        Assert.IsTrue(LambdaCompare.Eq(f1, f2));
    }

    [TestMethod]
    public void AnonymousType()
    {
        var f1 = GetAnonymousExpr1();
        var f2 = GetAnonymousExpr2();
        Assert.Inconclusive("Anonymous Types are not supported");
    }

    private static Expression<Func<int, string, string>> GetBasicExpr2()
    {
        var const2 = "some const value";
        var const3 = "{0}{1}{2}{3}";
        return (i, s) =>
            string.Format(const3, (i + 25).ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture), i + s, const2.ToUpper(), 25);
    }

    private static Expression<Func<int, string, string>> GetBasicExpr1()
    {
        var const1 = 25;
        return (first, second) =>
            string.Format("{0}{1}{2}{3}", (first + const1).ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture), first + second,
                "some const value".ToUpper(), const1);
    }

    private static Expression<Func<Uri, bool>> GetPropAndMethodExpr2()
    {
        return u => Uri.IsWellFormedUriString(u.ToString(), UriKind.Absolute);
    }

    private static Expression<Func<Uri, bool>> GetPropAndMethodExpr1()
    {
        return arg1 => Uri.IsWellFormedUriString(arg1.ToString(), UriKind.Absolute);
    }

    private static Expression<Func<Uri, UriBuilder>> GetMemberInitExpr2()
    {
        var isSecure = true;
        return u => new UriBuilder(u) { Host = string.IsNullOrEmpty(u.Host) ? "abc" : "def" , Port = isSecure ? 443 : 80 };
    }

    private static Expression<Func<Uri, UriBuilder>> GetMemberInitExpr1()
    {
        var port = 443;
        return x => new UriBuilder(x) { Port = port, Host = string.IsNullOrEmpty(x.Host) ? "abc" : "def" };
    }

    private static Expression<Func<Uri, object>> GetAnonymousExpr2()
    {
        return u => new { u.Host , Port = 443, Addr = u.AbsolutePath };
    }

    private static Expression<Func<Uri, object>> GetAnonymousExpr1()
    {
        return x => new { Port = 443, x.Host, Addr = x.AbsolutePath };
    }
}

Queue

What does 'AST' mean? – Obadiah

I have improved the code, now it covers more cases. – Queue

Why would TryCalculateConstant collapse member access as well? Properties of constant objects change. This isn't good if it's intended to be a general-purpose comparer. IMO, if the consumer wants to make the decision to collapse property access on constants to constants, the consumer should take responsibility for it by mutating the expression with a visitor before doing the comparison. – Bucolic

It is useful when local variable is accessed by its property. You dont need to declare new variable just to reference the property. – Queue

@Queue I updated your code to handle both MemberInitExpressions e.g. f => new Foo() { Bar = 1 } and ConditionalExpressions e.g. l => conditional ? thing1 : thing2 gist.github.com/avisser/e22d4a74bd0854192d30/revisions – Gaunt

Thanks. Do you also have some tests for that? – Queue

@ Visser, I've added your code (with some refactoring) and some extra stuff... It becomes heavier. – Queue

I finally moved it to github and nuget, enjoy! – Queue

This is awesome! – Conceptacle

@Obadiah AST means Abstract Syntax Tree, which is a way to modelize an Expression. – Necolenecro

@Necolenecro After 8 years, I thank thee (-: – Obadiah

Answer 3

A canonical solution would be great. In the meantime, I created an IEqualityComparer<Expression> version. This is rather a verbose implementation, so I created a gist for it.

It is intended to be a comprehensive abstract syntax tree comparer. To that end, it compares every expression type including expressions that aren't yet supported by C# like Try and Switch and Block. The only types it does not compare are Goto, Label, Loop and DebugInfo due to my limited knowledge of them.

You can specify whether and how names of parameters and lambdas should be compared, as well as how to handle ConstantExpression.

It tracks parameters positionally by context. Lambdas inside lambdas and catch block variable parameters are supported.

Bucolic

Answer 4

I know this is an old question, but I rolled my own expression tree equality comparer - https://github.com/yesmarket/yesmarket.Linq.Expressions

The implementation makes heavy use of the ExpressionVisitor class to determine whether two expression trees are equal. As the nodes in the expression tree are traversed, individual nodes are compared for equality.

Aloke

Answer 5

I think most efficiency out of Lambdas you getting when you will use lambda-efficient collection - what I mean is column-based collection that can be enumerated by only one or more selected columns achieving this by implementing IEnumerable on each column separately - let's call it first step ;)

That is only my idea that I want to do some day. I have no clues at the moment but I think many will agree with me that enumerating to check value through single variables list in compare to checking some property in list of objects is like proving itself.

Next second step to get more from functional programming: use as a collections representing columns use sorted-list, hash-table or any other search-efficient collection.

class LambdaReadyColumn<int> : HashTable<int> 

And another third step connect items between columns with some pointers so instead of keeping under-hood columns in:

class LambdaReadyColumn<int> : IEnumabrable<int> 

keep data in something closer to:

class LambdaReadyColumn<LambdaReadyColumnItem<T, int>> : IEnumabrable<int> 
//with example constructor like: 
public LambdaReadyColumn<LambdaReadyColumnItem<T, int>>(Hash, LambdaReadyColumnItem, LambdaReadyColumnItem, T, int); 

where:

• CollectionItem - references to right and left column items of same T item
• Hash - to make search faster
• int - type representing column
• T - fourth step whole LambdaReadyCollection in column collection easily understanding simply to make Select(T) at the returning item descriptor faster but also avoiding traversing few references left/right for items with many properties.

Finally with all the step we have collection with double data: row-based and collection based additionally lot of reference data. Of course row-based HashTable can keep data and column-based only references but than building every collection to return from the statement would use lot of referencing.

To achieve it you need to use reflections, dynamic types or other advanced technique depending on the language.

Parity