I'm trying to add extension method for `IQueryable<T>` in order to attach specific where to `IQueryable`.

Assuming user is searching for data with name equal to `"Matt"`

```
public IEnumerable<Employees> Search(String name)
{
    var qList = _context.Employees;
    if(!String.isNullOrEmpty(name))
        qList = qList.Where(emp => emp.Name == name);
    return qList.ToList();
}

```

Now if user is searching for data with name that starts with `"Matt"` - He will probably try to write something like `"Matt%**"` or `"Matt*"` in a specific textbox. to predict this I can do:

```
public IEnumerable<Employees> Search(String name)
{
    var qList = _context.Employees;
    if(!String.isNullOrEmpty(name))
    {
        string extractedName = name.Replace("%","").Replace("*","");
        if(name.EndsWith("%") || name.EndsWith("*");
            qList = qList.Where(emp => emp.Name.StartsWith(extractedName));
    }

    return qList.ToList();
}

```

A lot of IF statements will be here to predict all of possibilities but OK. I can do that. but what I don't like is to repeat my code every time I do such feature.

How can i make extension method for

```
IQueryable<T>

```

which will do this checks all the time for me?

```
public static IQueryable<T> MyAdvancedSearch<T>(this IQueryable<T> qList, String searchText)
{
    if(!String.isNullOrEmpty(searchText))
    /// ... Problem starts here.. because I cannot make this "Where": 
    qList.Where(prop=>prop.??? == searchText);
    /// ... I dont know how to tell my method which field should be filtered
}

```

**UPDATE**
I've managed to create a extension method which looks OK:

```
        public static IQueryable<T> Filter<T>(this IQueryable<T> qList, Func<T,string> property, string text )
        {
            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(text))
            {
                if ((text.StartsWith("%") || text.StartsWith("*")) && (text.EndsWith("*") || text.EndsWith("*")))
                    qList = qList.Where(e => property(e).Contains(text));

                else if (text.StartsWith("%") || text.StartsWith("*"))
                    qList = qList.Where(e => property(e).EndsWith(text));

                else if (text.EndsWith("%") || text.EndsWith("*"))
                    qList = qList.Where(e => property(e).StartsWith(text));
                else
                    qList = qList.Where(e => property(e) == text);
            }
            return qList;
        }

```

but when I try to do qList.Tolist() I'm receiving error:

```
InvalidOperationException: The LINQ expression 'DbSet<Employee>()
.Where(o => Invoke(__property_0, o)
== __text_1)' could not be translated.

InvalidOperationException: The LINQ expression 'DbSet<Employee>() .Where(o => Invoke(__property_0, o) == __text_1)' 
could not be translated. Either rewrite the query in a form that can be translated, or switch to client evaluation explicitly by inserting a call to 'AsEnumerable', 'AsAsyncEnumerable', 'ToList', or 'ToListAsync'. 
See https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2101038 for more information.

```