Using contains() in LINQ to SQL

Question

I'm trying to implement a very basic keyword search in an application using linq-to-sql. My search terms are in an array of strings, each array item being one word, and I would like to find the rows that contain the search terms. I don't mind if they contain more than just the search terms (most likely, they will), but all the search terms do have to be present.

Ideally, I would like something similar to the snippet below, but I know that this won't work. Also, I have looked at this question here, but the author of that question seems content to do things the other way round ( query.Contains(part.partName) ), which doesn't work for me.

public IQueryable<Part> SearchForParts(string[] query)
{
    return from part in db.Parts
           where part.partName.Contains(query)
           select part;
}

How can I rewrite this query so that it will do what I need?

Answer 1

Looking at the other attempts saddens me :(

public IQueryable<Part> SearchForParts(string[] query)
{
  var q = db.Parts.AsQueryable(); 

  foreach (var qs in query)
  { 
    var likestr = string.Format("%{0}%", qs);
    q = q.Where(x => SqlMethods.Like(x.partName, likestr));
  }

  return q;
}

Assumptions:

• partName looks like: "ABC 123 XYZ"

• query is { "ABC", "123", "XY" }