scenarios when using LINQ with EF Core on a large dataset - 'Sequence contains no elements'
I'm building a feature where I'm relatively new to this, so bear with me. I've searched everywhere and can't find a clear answer. I'm working with an scenario when querying a large dataset using Entity Framework Core (version 6.0). Specifically, when I run a LINQ query to retrieve data based on certain criteria, I sometimes get the behavior message: `InvalidOperationException: Sequence contains no elements`. I understand that this could occur when using methods like `.First()` or `.Single()` without checking if any elements exist, but in my case, I believe I should be getting results. My query looks something like this: ```csharp var result = await _context.Products .Where(p => p.CategoryId == categoryId) .OrderByDescending(p => p.CreatedAt) .FirstOrDefaultAsync(); ``` I've confirmed that there are products in the database with the given `CategoryId`, but occasionally the query returns an empty result. I also tried using `.ToListAsync()` followed by checking if the list is empty: ```csharp var products = await _context.Products .Where(p => p.CategoryId == categoryId) .OrderByDescending(p => p.CreatedAt) .ToListAsync(); if (products.Any()) { var latestProduct = products.First(); } ``` However, this seems to impact performance negatively, as the dataset can be quite large (over 100,000 records). I suspect there might be some underlying question with how EF Core handles query execution with large datasets, especially with tracking. I’ve also verified that there are no issues with the database connection and that the correct data is being fetched when I run the equivalent SQL query directly in the database. Is there a more efficient way to handle this scenario or any best practices to prevent this empty sequence scenario from occurring? Any insights would be greatly appreciated! For context: I'm using C# on macOS. I'm working with C# in a Docker container on Ubuntu 22.04. For reference, this is a production CLI tool. Any pointers in the right direction? I've been using C# for about a year now. I'd really appreciate any guidance on this.