How to perform .Max() on a property of all objects in a collection and return the object with maximum value

We have an extension method to do exactly this in MoreLINQ. You can look at the implementation there, but basically it's a case of iterating through the data, remembering the maximum element we've seen so far and the maximum value it produced under the projection.

In your case you'd do something like:

var item = items.MaxBy(x => x.Height);

This is better (IMO) than any of the solutions presented here other than Mehrdad's second solution (which is basically the same as MaxBy):

• It's O(n) unlike the previous accepted answer which finds the maximum value on every iteration (making it O(n^2))
• The ordering solution is O(n log n)
• Taking the Max value and then finding the first element with that value is O(n), but iterates over the sequence twice. Where possible, you should use LINQ in a single-pass fashion.
• It's a lot simpler to read and understand than the aggregate version, and only evaluates the projection once per element

This would require a sort (O(n log n)) but is very simple and flexible. Another advantage is being able to use it with LINQ to SQL:

var maxObject = list.OrderByDescending(item => item.Height).First();

Note that this has the advantage of enumerating the list sequence just once. While it might not matter if list is a List<T> that doesn't change in the meantime, it could matter for arbitrary IEnumerable<T> objects. Nothing guarantees that the sequence doesn't change in different enumerations so methods that are doing it multiple times can be dangerous (and inefficient, depending on the nature of the sequence). However, it's still a less than ideal solution for large sequences. I suggest writing your own MaxObject extension manually if you have a large set of items to be able to do it in one pass without sorting and other stuff whatsoever (O(n)):

static class EnumerableExtensions {
    public static T MaxObject<T,U>(this IEnumerable<T> source, Func<T,U> selector)
      where U : IComparable<U> {
       if (source == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("source");
       bool first = true;
       T maxObj = default(T);
       U maxKey = default(U);
       foreach (var item in source) {
           if (first) {
                maxObj = item;
                maxKey = selector(maxObj);
                first = false;
           } else {
                U currentKey = selector(item);
                if (currentKey.CompareTo(maxKey) > 0) {
                    maxKey = currentKey;
                    maxObj = item;
                }
           }
       }
       if (first) throw new InvalidOperationException("Sequence is empty.");
       return maxObj;
    }
}

and use it with:

var maxObject = list.MaxObject(item => item.Height);

Doing an ordering and then selecting the first item is wasting a lot of time ordering the items after the first one. You don't care about the order of those.

Instead you can use the aggregate function to select the best item based on what you're looking for.

var maxHeight = dimensions
    .Aggregate((agg, next) => 
        next.Height > agg.Height ? next : agg);

var maxHeightAndWidth = dimensions
    .Aggregate((agg, next) => 
        next.Height >= agg.Height && next.Width >= agg.Width ? next: agg);