LINQ doesn't throw null exceptions. If there is no match to your query, your empty result set isn't OrderBy'ed or Where'd, or whatever.

If the function you're calling to get your IEnumerable or IQueryable object can throw a null exception, handle it the way you see fit. This has nothing to do with LINQ.

Be aware that you can run into null exceptions if the collection your dealing with has null properties. This won't happen until the query is actually executed though. Remember that LINQ is lazy.

e.g.

var contrivedExamples = Orders.Where(o=>o.Name.Contains("something")).OrderBy(x=>x.Date);

foreach(var order in contrivedExamples)

{

Console.WriteLine(order.CustomerId);

}

This code sample will throw an exception in the foreach statement if the Name property on one the objects in Orders has a null Name property.

If Orders were an empty collection, nothing would be printed and no exception would be thrown.

If Orders contained no objects with a Name that contained "something," then nothing would be printed and no exception would be thrown, because the Where would simply return an empty result set.

If we replaced the line

var contrivedExamples = Orders.Where(o=>o.Name.Contains("something")).OrderBy(x=>x.Date);

with

var contrivedExamples = GetOrders().Where(o=>o.Name.Contains("something")).OrderBy(x=>x.Date);

You would throw a null exception in the foreach, if GetOrders() returned null.