Database Operations¶

At-Operator¶

Simplest form:

user @ { .name == 'Bob' }

General syntax:

<from> <cardinality> { <where> } [<what>] [limit N]

Cardinality¶

Specifies whether the expression must return one or many objects:

T @? {} - returns T, zero or one, fails if more than one found.
T @ {} - returns T, exactly one, fails if zero or more than one found.
T @* {} - returns list<T>, zero or more.
T @+ {} - returns list<T>, one or more, fails if none found.

From-part¶

Simple (one class):

user @* { .name == 'Bob' }

Complex (one or more classes):

(user, company) @* { user.name == 'Bob' and company.name == 'Microsoft' and user.xyz == company.xyz }

Specifying class aliases:

(u: user) @* { u.name == 'Bob' }

(u: user, c: company) @* { u.name == 'Bob' and c.name == 'Microsoft' and u.xyz == c.xyz }

Where-part¶

Zero or more comma-separated expressions using class attributes, local variables or system functions:

user @* {} - returns all users

user @ { .name == 'Bill', .company == 'Microsoft' } - returns a specific user (all conditions must match)

Attributes of a class can be accessed with a dot, e. g. .name or with a class name or alias, user.name.

Class attributes can also be matched implicitly by name or type:

val ms = company @ { .name == 'Microsoft' };
val name = 'Bill';
return user @ { name, ms };

Explanation: the first where-expression is the local variable name, there is an attribute called name in the class user. The second expression is ms, there is no such attribute, but the type of the local variable ms is company, and there is an attribute of type company in user.

What-part¶

Simple example:

user @ { .name == 'Bob' } ( .company.name ) - returns a single value (name of the user’s company)

user @ { .name == 'Bob' } ( .company.name, .company.address ) - returns a tuple of two values

Specifying names of result tuple fields:

user @* {} ( x = .company.name, y = .company.address, z = .year_of_birth ) - returns a tuple with named fields (x, y, z)

Sorting:

user @* {} ( sort .last_name, sort .first_name ) - sort by last_name first, then by first_name.

user @* {} ( -sort .year_of_birth, sort .last_name ) - sort by year_of_birth desdending, then by last_name ascending.

Field names can be combined with sorting:

user @* {} ( sort x = .last_name, -sort y = .year_of_birth )

When field names are not specified explicitly, they can be deducted implicitly by attribute name:

val u = user @ { ... } ( .first_name, .last_name, age = 2018 - .year_of_birth );
print(u.first_name, u.last_name, u.age);

By default, if a field name is not specified and the expression is a single name (e. g. an attribute of a class), that name is used as a tuple field name:

val u = user @ { ... } ( .first_name, .last_name );
// Result is a tuple (first_name: text, last_name: text).

To prevent implicit field name creation, specify = before the expression (i. e. use an “empty” field name):

val u = user @ { ... } ( = .first_name, = .last_name );
// Result is a tuple (text, text).

Tail part¶

Limiting records:

user @* { .company == 'Microsoft' } limit 10

Returns at most 10 objects. The limit is applied before the cardinality check, so the following code can’t fail with “more than one object” error:

val u: user = user @ { .company == 'Microsoft' } limit 1;

Result type¶

Depends on the cardinality, from- and what-parts.

From- and what-parts define the type of a single record, T.
Cardinality defines the type of the @-operator result: T?, T or list<T>.

Examples:

user @ { ... } - returns user
user @? { ... } - returns user?
user @* { ... } - returns list<user>
user @+ { ... } - returns list<user>
(user, company) @ { ... } - returns a tuple (user,company)
(user, company) @* { ... } - returns list<(user,company)>
user @ { ... } ( .name ) - returns text
user @ { ... } ( .first_name, .last_name ) - returns (first_name:text,last_name:text)
(user, company) @ { ... } ( user.first_name, user.last_name, company ) - returns (text,text,company)

Nested At-Operators¶

A nested at-operator can be used in any expression inside of another at-operator:

user @* { .company == company @ { .name == 'Microsoft' } } ( ... )

This is equivalent to:

val c = company @ { .name == 'Microsoft' };
user @* { .company == c } ( ... )

Create Statement¶

Must specify all attributes that don’t have default values.

create user(name = 'Bob', company = company @ { .name == 'Amazon' });

No need to specify attribute name if it can be matched by name or type:

val name = 'Bob';
create user(name, company @ { company.name == 'Amazon' });

Can use the created object:

val new_company = create company(name = 'Amazon');
val new_user = create user(name = 'Bob', new_company);
print('Created new user:', new_user);

Update Statement¶

Operators @, @?, @*, @+ are used to specify cardinality, like for the at-operator. If the number of updated records does not match the cardinality, a run-time error occurs.

update user @ { .name == 'Bob' } ( company = 'Microsoft' );             // exactly one
update user @? { .name == 'Bob' } ( deleted = true );                   // zero or one
update user @* { .company.name == 'Bad Company' } ( salary -= 1000 );   // any number

Can change only mutable attributes.

Class attributes can be matched implicitly by name or type:

val company = 'Microsoft';
update user @ { .name == 'Bob' } ( company );

Using multiple classes with aliases. The first class is the one being updated. Other classes can be used in the where-part:

update (u: user, c: company) @ { u.xyz == c.xyz, u.name == 'Bob', c.name == 'Google' } ( city = 'Seattle' );

Can specify an arbitrary expression returning a class, a nullable class or a collection of a class:

val u = user @? { .name == 'Bob' };
update u ( salary += 5000 );

A single attribute of can be modified using a regular assignment syntax:

val u = user @ { .name == 'Bob' };
u.salary += 5000;

Delete Statement¶

Operators @, @?, @*, @+ are used to specify cardinality, like for the at-operator. If the number of deleted records does not match the cardinality, a run-time error occurs.

delete user @ { .name == 'Bob' };                    // exactly one
delete user @? { .name == 'Bob' };                   // zero or one
delete user @* { .company.name == 'Bad Company' };   // any number

Using multiple classes. Similar to update, only the object(s) of the first class will be deleted:

delete (u: user, c: company) @ { u.xyz == c.xyz, u.name == 'Bob', c.name == 'Google' };

Can specify an arbitrary expression returning a class, a nullable class or a collection of a class:

val u = user @? { .name == 'Bob' };
delete u;

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