How does LINQ handle query planning in Entity Framework Core?

EF Core converts LINQ expression trees into query plans optimized by its internal query compiler.

EF Core uses a multi-stage pipeline: expression tree parsing, query translation, SQL generation, and execution plan creation. The query compiler optimizes joins, filters, and projections before generating SQL. The database then further optimizes using its execution planner. This two-layer optimization makes EF Core queries powerful but sensitive to poorly structured LINQ expressions.