Is it possible to return only the count of the query?

Question

Is there any way to return only the count of the rows from a Sharepoint query? I would like to get only the count of the result returned by sharepoint query.

Answer 1

If you use CAML to get list items (which is the fastest way of retrieving items), it is just enough to get ids of items to be able get the count:

//some query
var title = "<Eq><FieldRef Name='Title' /><Value>task 00001</Value></Eq>";
var q = "<Where>" + title + "</Where>";
var lst = web.Lists["Tasks"];
var query = new SPQuery
{
    ViewFields = "<FieldRef Name='ID'/>",
    Query = q,
    IncludePermissions = false,
    RowLimit = 20000
};
var items = lst.GetItems(query);
var count = items.Count;