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Selector Built-in Functions

These functions are available via the object's namespace, e.g. Person:{function}.

They can be used to

build up a complex selector for reading

read sets of data from the persistence layer.

These BIFs are accessed via the pseudo unit with the same name as the object that is being queried eg. “Person” or “Car”

Type	Description
`all`	Simple all
`equals`	Equality
`empty`	Determine whether a variable is empty
`between`	Select a range of data between two values
`lessThanOrEqual`	Less or equals check
`lessThan`	Check if value is less than the value being compared to
`greaterThan`	Check if value is greater than the value being compared to
`attributeIn`	Attribute In
`relationshipIn`	Relationship In
`contains`	Check is collection has element(s)
`beginsWith`	Begin with
`endsWith`	End with
`notEquals`	Not Equals
`notEmpty`	Not empty
`notBetween`	Not between the data or elements
`notContains`	Collection does not contain element(s)
`notBeginWith`	Not begin with
`notEndsWith`	Check if value does not end with value being compared to
`notAttributeIn`	Attribute not in the given domain
`notRelationshipIn`	Use to check for relationship
`union`	Union
`diff`	Use to check for differences
`intersect`	Intersect
`and`	And (in most cases, use this rather than intersect)

These BIFs perform operations on single persistent entities. They are accessed via a method call on a variable holding an object instance or on the pseudo unit with the same name as the object that the method is being performed on

Function	Syntax	Description	Example
`all`	`Obj:all()`	Returns all records from the table.	`Person[] plist = Person:all();`
`equals`	`Obj:equals(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` equal to `b`.	`Person[] plist = Person:equals(deleted, false);`
`notEquals`	`Obj:notEquals(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` not equal to `b`.	`Person[] plist = Person:notEquals(deleted, true);`
`empty`	`Obj:empty(a)`	Returns records with `a` equal to `null`.	`Person[] plist = Person:empty(mobileNum);`
`notEmpty`	`Obj:notEmpty(a)`	Returns records with `a` not equal to `null`.	`Person[] plist = Person:notEmpty(mobileNum);`
`between`	`Obj:between(a,x,y)`	Returns records with value of `a` within the range of values between `x` and `y`.	`Person[] plist = Person:between(dob, date1, date2);`
`notBetween`	`Obj:notBetween(a,x,y)`	Returns records with value of `a` not within the range of values between `x` and `y`.	`Person[] plist = Person:notBetween(dob, date1, date2);`
`lessThanOrEqual`	`Obj:lessThanOrEqual(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` less than or equal to `b`.	`Person[] plist = Person:lessThanOrEqual(age, num);`
`lessThan`	`Obj:lessThan(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` less than `b`.	`Person[] plist = Person:lessThan(age, num);`
`greaterThan`	`Obj:greaterThan(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` greater than `b`.	`Person[] plist = Person:greaterThan(age, num);`
`attributeIn`	`Obj:attributeIn(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` matching any of the values `b` (replace `b` with a list of values of the same type as `a`).	`Person[] plist = Person:attributeIn(state, state_list);`
`notAttributeIn`	`Obj:notAttributeIn(a,b)`	Returns records with value of `a` not matching any of the values `b` (replace `b` with a list of values of the same type as `a`).	`Person[] plist = Person:notAttributeIn(state, state_list);`
`relationshipIn`	`Obj:relationshipIn(a,b)`	Returns records with a relationship/link between `a` and `b`, with attribute `a` being annotated as `@OneToMany`, `@ManyToOne`, etc. and `b` a persistent object instance. Attribute `a` can be likened to a foreign key.	`Person[] plist = Person:relationshipIn(reportsTo, person);`
`notRelationshipIn`	`Obj:notRelationshipIn(a,b)`	Returns records without a relationship/link between `a` and `b`, with attribute `a` being annotated as `@OneToMany`, `@ManyToOne`, etc. and `b` a persistent object instance. Attribute `a` can be likened to a foreign key.	`Person[] plist = Person:notRelationshipIn(reportsTo, person);`
`contains`	`Obj:contains(a,b)`	Returns records with substring `b` found anywhere within value of `a`.	`Person[] plist = Person:contains(name, "a");`
`beginsWith`	`Obj:beginsWith(a,b)`	Returns records with substring `b` found at the beginning of the value of `a`.	`Person[] plist = Person:beginsWith(name, "a");`
`endsWith`	`Obj:endsWith(a,b)`	Returns records with substring `b` found at the end of the value of `a`.	`Person[] plist = Person:endsWith(name, "a");`
`notContains`	`Obj:notContains(a,b)`	Returns records with substring `b` found nowhere within value of `a`.	`Person[] plist = Person:notContains(name, "a");`
`notBeginWith`	`Obj:notBeginWith(a,b)`	Returns records with substring `b` not found at the beginning of the value of `a`.	`Person[] plist = Person:notBeginWith(name, "a");`
`notEndsWith`	`Obj:notEndsWith(a,b)`	Returns records with substring `b` not found at the end of the value of `a`.	`Person[] plist = Person:notEndsWith(name, "a");`
`union`	`Obj:union(selector1(a,b), selector2(x,y))`	Combines the results of two or more selectors. Does not return the same record twice.	`Person[] plist = Person:union(equals(rating, "good"), equals(rating, "excellent"));`
`diff`	`Obj:diff(selector1(a,b), selector2(x,y))`	Compares the results of two or more selectors and returns only the difference.	`Person[] plist = Person:diff(equals(), equals());`
`intersect`	`Obj:intersect(selector1(a,b), selector2(x,y))`	Returns records for which all the selectors are true.	`Person[] plist = Person:intersect(equals(deleted, false), equals(active, true));`
`and`	`Obj:and(selector1(a,b), selector2(x,y))`	Returns records for which all the selectors are true.	`Person[] plist = Person:and(equals(deleted, false), equals(active, true));`

Version	Old Version 5	New Version Current
Changes made by	Former user	Charl Viljoen
Saved on	Mar 08, 2017	Jan 03, 2022

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Selector Built-in Functions

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