linq using order by, where, and select vb.net - vb.net

Question

I have a Linq query that I am passing to a list, and then to the view through the viewbag. I am trying to keep that list in a specific order, so that when I iterate through it I have control over the order in which it's displayed.
Here is the query:
ViewBag.attributes = (From row In db.tblCategory_Attributes
Where row.Item_Type_Identifier = itemType
Order By row.Category_Attribute_Identifier
Select CStr(row.Attribute_Name)
Distinct).ToList()
I am successfully passing this list to the view and iterating through it, but no matter what the values are always displayed in alphabetical order. Category_Attribute_Identifier is an integer that aligns with the order I would like these values to be displayed in.
I've played around with the order of my statements quite a bit and I'm not having any luck.
Can you tell me how to distinctly select the Attribute_Name's that correlate with my specific Item_Type_Identifier and order my results by the Category_Attribute_Identifier?

Answer 1

The Distinct is creating its own ordering again (because it shuffles through the result to filter out duplicates). Just do the sorting after the Distinct:
(From row In db.tblCategory_Attributes
Where row.Item_Type_Identifier = itemType
Select row
Distinct)
.OrderBy(Function(row) row.Category_Attribute_Identifier)
.Select(Function(row) CStr(row.Attribute_Name))

Answer 2

Try using Group By instead of Distinct
ViewBag.attributes = (From row In db.tblCategory_Attributes _
Where row.Item_Type_Identifier = itemType _
Order By row.Category_Attribute_Identifier) _
.AsEnumerable() _
.GroupBy(Function(r) r.Attribute_Name) _
.Select(Function(g) g.Key) _
.ToList()
Or use the extension method syntax which gives you the freedom of applying the extension methods in any order:
ViewBag.attributes = db.tblCategory_Attributes _
.Where(Function(row) row.Item_Type_Identifier = itemType) _
.Select(Function(row) New With {row.Attribute_Name, row.Category_Attribute_Identifier}) _
.Distinct() _
.OrderBy(Function(a) a.Category_Attribute_Identifier) _
.Select(Function(a) a.Attribute_Name) _
.ToList()
This simple test demonstrates that GroupBy preserves the order:
Public Shared Sub TestGroupOrder()
Dim a = New Integer() {6, 2, 4, 2, 7, 5, 3, 4}
Dim query = a.GroupBy(Function(i) i).[Select](Function(g) g.Key)
For Each i As Integer In query
Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next
End Sub
Result in the console:
6 2 4 7 5 3