LINQ is technology that was introduced into .NET3.0 and is something of an unsung hero. Put simply, it allows data to be extracted, filtered and sorted within a client program without the programmer having to write any additional code and without the need for the client program to keep downloading different sets of data from the data source (usually a web server).

Whilst this might not seem very exciting to anyone other than the programmers themselves, it does have some tangible benefits to the wider IT community:

1. Reduced implementation time leading to cheaper and more reliable software.
2. Faster user interfaces – the client software can re-query data ‘in-situ’ without having to go back to the server each time the user changes filters, changes sort order, etc. This can also reduce data traffic between the client and server.

Blueberry first used LINQ in its VisualFAIR project, where it was found to genuinely deliver the benefits that Microsoft claimed. For this reason, it has been adopted by all programmers working on the project and continues to provide significant productivity and performance gains.

There is more useful information about LINQ at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc163400.aspx