Check if Item exists in Grid using Linq

Question

I have a grid which allows a user to enter a new Grid item. If the grid item exists or the tb is empty it displays the error. Here's the code I came up with.

Can anybody think of a cleaner or more efficient way of doing so? Thinking about it now, I guess I could have done it all in one function, and placed InsertTrack() in the else condition of DoesTrackExist and register the script in the if statement.

 private void InsertTrack()
   {
       if (DoesTrackExist(txtEventTracks.Text))
       {
           using (EMSEntities db = new EMSEntities())
           {
               EventTrack newEventTrack = new EventTrack()
               {
                   TrackName = txtEventTracks.Text
               };                   
                   db.EventTracks.Add(newEventTrack);
                   db.SaveChanges();                   
           }
       }
       else
       {
          ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScript(Page, typeof(Page), "Error", "alert('Track name cannot be duplicate or empty')", true);
       }
   }
   private bool DoesTrackExist(string txtValue)
   {
       using (EMSEntities db = new EMSEntities())
       {
           var context = from x in db.EventTracks
                         where x.TrackName.Contains(txtEventTracks.Text)
                         select x;

           if (context.Any() || txtEventTracks.Text == "")
           {
               return false;
           }
           else
           {
               return true;
           }
       }
   }

Answer 1

Some people say that adding private functions which are only called in one place in a class clutter the "private interface" of the class. However I actually do prefer it in some cases. In your case I think it makes sense as it makes InsertTrack easier to read so I would not merge the two.

As to DoesTrackExist

1. Check txtEventTracks.Text == "" first - this avoids performing any query at all.
2. I assume you meant to use the parameter txtValue instead of accessing the textbox directly.

3. Might not be more efficient but Any() accepts a predicate as well:

   private bool DoesTrackExist(string txtValue)
   {
       // maybe even consider IsNullOrWhiteSpace?
       if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(txtValue)) 
          return false;
       using (EMSEntities db = new EMSEntities())
       {
           return db.EventTracks.Any(x => x.TrackName.Contains(txtValue))
       }
   }