LINQ Query Syntax versus Method Syntax (C#)

Quote From MSDN:

Most queries in the introductory LINQ documentation are written as query expressions by using the declarative query syntax introduced in C# 3.0. However, the .NET common language runtime (CLR) has no notion of query syntax in itself. Therefore, at compile time, query expressions are translated to something that the CLR does understand: method calls. These methods are called the standard query operators, and they have names such as Where, Select, GroupBy, Join, Max,Average, and so on. You can call them directly by using method syntax instead of query syntax.

In general, we recommend query syntax because it is usually simpler and more readable; however there is no semantic difference between method syntax and query syntax. In addition, some queries, such as those that retrieve the number of elements that match a specified condition, or that retrieve the element that has the maximum value in a source sequence, can only be expressed as method calls. The reference documentation for the standard query operators in the System.Linqnamespace generally uses method syntax. Therefore, even when getting started writing LINQ queries, it is useful to be familiar with how to use method syntax in queries and in query expressions themselves.

Quote from Stackoverflow:

they serve different needs. Query syntax comes into its own when you want to leverage multiple range variables. This happens in three situations:

• 1. When using the let keyword
• 2. When you have multiple generators (fromclauses)
• 3. When doing joins

Here's an example (from the LINQPad samples):

string[] fullNames = { "Anne Williams", "John Fred Smith", "Sue Green" };

var query =
  from fullName in fullNames
  from name in fullName.Split()
  orderby fullName, name
  select name + " came from " + fullName;

　　Compare this to the same thing in method syntax:

var query = fullNames
  .SelectMany (fName => fName.Split().Select (name => new { name, fName } ))
  .OrderBy (x => x.fName)
  .ThenBy  (x => x.name)
  .Select  (x => x.name + " came from " + x.fName);

Method syntax, on the other hand, exposes the full gamut of query operators and is more concise with simple queries. You can get the best of both worlds by mixing query and method syntax. This is often done in LINQ to SQL queries:

var query =
  from c in db.Customers
  let totalSpend = c.Purchases.Sum (p => p.Price)    // Method syntax here
  where totalSpend > 1000
  from p in c.Purchases
  select new { p.Description, totalSpend, c.Address.State };