ascending/descending in LINQ - can one change the order via parameter?

I have a method which is given the parameter "bool sortAscending". Now I want to use LINQ to create sorted list depending on this parameter. I got then this:

var ascendingQuery = from data in dataList
                      orderby data.Property ascending
                      select data;

var descendingQuery = from data in dataList
                      orderby data.Property descending
                      select data;

As you can see, both queries differ only in "ascending" resp. "descending". I'd like to merge both queries, but I don't know how. Does anyone have the answer?

You can easily create your own extension method on IEnumerable or IQueryable:

public static IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> OrderByWithDirection<TSource,TKey>
    (this IEnumerable<TSource> source,
     Func<TSource, TKey> keySelector,
     bool descending)
{
    return descending ? source.OrderByDescending(keySelector)
                      : source.OrderBy(keySelector);
}

public static IOrderedQueryable<TSource> OrderByWithDirection<TSource,TKey>
    (this IQueryable<TSource> source,
     Expression<Func<TSource, TKey>> keySelector,
     bool descending)
{
    return descending ? source.OrderByDescending(keySelector)
                      : source.OrderBy(keySelector);
}

Yes, you lose the ability to use a query expression here - but frankly I don't think you're actually benefiting from a query expression anyway in this case. Query expressions are great for complex things, but if you're only doing a single operation it's simpler to just put that one operation:

var query = dataList.OrderByWithDirection(x => x.Property, direction);

In terms of how this is implemented, this changes the method - from OrderBy/ThenBy to OrderByDescending/ThenByDescending. However, you can apply the sort separately to the main query...

var qry = from .... // or just dataList.AsEnumerable()/AsQueryable()

if(sortAscending) {
    qry = qry.OrderBy(x=>x.Property);
} else {
    qry = qry.OrderByDescending(x=>x.Property);
}

Any use? You can create the entire "order" dynamically, but it is more involved...

Another trick (mainly appropriate to LINQ-to-Objects) is to use a multiplier, of -1/1. This is only really useful for numeric data, but is a cheeky way of achieving the same outcome.

What about ordering desc by the desired property,

   blah = blah.OrderByDescending(x => x.Property);

And then doing something like

  if (!descending)
  {
       blah = blah.Reverse()
  }
  else
  {
      // Already sorted desc ;)
  }

Is it Reverse() too slow?

In addition to the beautiful solution given by @Jon Skeet, I also needed ThenBy and ThenByDescending, so I am adding it based on his solution:

    public static IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> ThenByWithDirection<TSource, TKey>(
         this IOrderedEnumerable<TSource> source, 
         Func<TSource, TKey> keySelector,  
         bool descending)
    {
        return descending ? 
               source.ThenByDescending(keySelector) :
               source.ThenBy(keySelector);
    }