Conditional Linq Queries

if you want to only filter if certain criteria is passed, do something like this

var logs = from log in context.Logs
           select log;

if (filterBySeverity)
    logs = logs.Where(p => p.Severity == severity);

if (filterByUser)
    logs = logs.Where(p => p.User == user);

Doing so this way will allow your Expression tree to be exactly what you want. That way the SQL created will be exactly what you need and nothing less.

If you need to filter base on a List / Array use the following:

    public List<Data> GetData(List<string> Numbers, List<string> Letters)
    {
        if (Numbers == null)
            Numbers = new List<string>();

        if (Letters == null)
            Letters = new List<string>();

        var q = from d in database.table
                where (Numbers.Count == 0 || Numbers.Contains(d.Number))
                where (Letters.Count == 0 || Letters.Contains(d.Letter))
                select new Data
                {
                    Number = d.Number,
                    Letter = d.Letter,
                };
        return q.ToList();

    }

I ended using an answer similar to Daren's, but with an IQueryable interface:

IQueryable<Log> matches = m_Locator.Logs;

// Users filter
if (usersFilter)
    matches = matches.Where(l => l.UserName == comboBoxUsers.Text);

 // Severity filter
 if (severityFilter)
     matches = matches.Where(l => l.Severity == comboBoxSeverity.Text);

 Logs = (from log in matches
         orderby log.EventTime descending
         select log).ToList();

That builds up the query before hitting the database. The command won't run until .ToList() at the end.