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Query operators

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Logical operators

And

This would return any document where first is 1 AND second is 2

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.and(
    Op.equalTo('first', 1),
    Op.equalTo('second', 2)
  )
);

The And operator is the default logical operator and is not required for top-level query expressions

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.equalTo('first', 1),
  Op.equalTo('second', 2)
);

Or

The example would return any document where first is 1 OR second is 2

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.or(
    Op.equalTo('first', 1),
    Op.equalTo('second', 2)
  )
);

Not

The not expects an inner operator so in the example any document where first is NOT equal to 7 would be returned

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.not(
    Op.equalTo('first', 1)
  )
);

Relational & equality operators

Between

In this example, if our field is between 18 and 45 inclusive it would match

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.between('age', 18, 45)
);

Contains

This would match on a field called description containing the phrase batman. This operator can also use ? and * wildcards. However, it can be slow to search longer fields and for performance reasons it does not include entries that have more than 8,000 characters in that field. To search efficiently for complete words across the whole field use the FreeText operator.

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.contains('description', 'batman')
);

EndsWith

This would find any item that has a field called wordField with a value ending with ing. Note that for performance reasons this operator does not search entries that have a text field with more than 8,000 characters in that field.

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.endsWith('wordField', 'ing')
);

EqualTo

This would find any item that has a field called blends with a value exactly matching 5. For string fields, the comparison is case-insensitive. Note that for performance reasons this operator does not search entries that have a text field with more than 8,000 characters in that field.

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.equalTo('blends', 5)
);

Exists

In the example any document that has a field called fieldName and would be returned. Documents where fieldName has some content would also be returned.

You can use a value of false if you want documents that do not contain a given field or where the field is empty or null

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.exists('fieldName', false)
);

FreeText

In the next example the field synopsis is searched upon for all words that match gotham and dark and knight

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.freeText('synopsis', 'gotham dark night')
);

Fuzzy freeText search

The example is performing a fuzzy search, which returns entries that contain terms similar to the search terms, as measured by a Levenshtein edit distance. An edit distance is the number of one-character changes needed to turn one term into another. These changes can include:

  • Changing a character (box → fox)
  • Removing a character (black → lack)
  • Inserting a character (sic → sick)
  • Transposing two adjacent characters (act → cat)

To find similar terms, the fuzzy query creates a set of all possible variations, or expansions, of the search term within a specified edit distance. The query then returns exact matches for each expansion.

We use the preferred auto setting for fuzziness, this means that the edit distance changes dependant on the length of the search terms.

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.freeText('synopsis', 'gotham dark night', true)
);

Operator 'or'

The following example changes the default search operator from and to or so that the field synopsis is searched upon for any words that match gotham or dark or knight

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.freeText('synopsis', 'gotham dark night', false, 'or')
);

GreaterThan

In the example any item that has a field called first and a value that is greater than 7 would be returned

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.greaterThan('first', 7)
);

GreaterThanOrEqualTo

In the example any item that has a field called first and a value that is greater than or equal to 7 would be returned

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.greaterThanOrEqualTo('first', 7)
);

In

In the example any document that where the field first is equal to 1,7 or 11 would be returned. The values should be of the same type, in this case integer.

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.in('first', 1, 7, 11)
);

LessThan

In the example any item that has a field called first and a value that is less than 7 would be returned

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.lessThan('first', 7)
);

LessThanOrEqualTo

In the example any item that has a field called first and a value that is less than or equal to 7 would be returned

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.lessThanOrEqualTo('first', 7)
);

StartsWith

In the example if the name field contains a value starting with war it would match. Note that for performance reasons this operator does not search entries that have a text field with more than 8,000 characters in that field.

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.startsWith('name', 'war')
);

DistanceWithin

In the example any locations within a 10 mile radius of the specified location would match

TypeScript
const query = new Query(
  Op.distanceWithin("location", 52.377, -2.749, "10mi")
);

Still need help?

If you still need help after reading this article, don't hesitate to reach out to the Contensis community on Slack or raise a support ticket to get help from our team.
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