Introduction

qb is a fluent query builder for CFML. It is heavily inspired by Eloquent from Laravel.

Using qb, you can:

• Quickly scaffold simple queries

• Make complex, out-of-order queries possible

• Abstract away differences between database engines

Requirements

• Adobe ColdFusion 2016+

• Lucee 5+

qb supports four major database grammars:

• MySQL (MySQLGrammar)

• Oracle (OracleGrammar)

• Postgres (PostgresGrammar)

• Microsoft SQL Server (SqlServerGrammar)

Installation

Installation is easy through CommandBox and ForgeBox. Simply type box install qb to get started.

Code Samples

Compare these two examples:

// Plain old CFML
q = queryExecute("SELECT * FROM users");

// qb
query = wirebox.getInstance('QueryBuilder@qb');
q = query.from('users').get();

The differences become even more stark when we introduce more complexity:

// Plain old CFML
q = queryExecute(
    "SELECT * FROM posts WHERE published_at IS NOT NULL AND author_id IN ?",
    [ { value = '5,10,27', cfsqltype = 'CF_SQL_NUMERIC', list = true } ]
);

// qb
query = wirebox.getInstance('QueryBuilder@qb');
q = query.from('posts')
         .whereNotNull('published_at')
         .whereIn('author_id', [5, 10, 27])
         .get();

With qb you can easily handle setting order by statements before the columns you want or join statements after a where clause:

query = wirebox.getInstance('QueryBuilder@qb');
q = query.from('posts')
         .orderBy('published_at')
         .select('post_id', 'author_id', 'title', 'body')
         .whereLike('author', 'Ja%')
         .join('authors', 'authors.id', '=', 'posts.author_id')
         .get();

// Becomes

q = queryExecute(
    "SELECT post_id, author_id, title, body FROM posts INNER JOIN authors ON authors.id = posts.author_id WHERE author LIKE ? ORDER BY published_at",
    [ { value = 'Ja%', cfsqltype = 'CF_SQL_VARCHAR', list = false, null = false } ]
);

qb enables you to explore new ways of organizing your code by letting you pass around a query builder object that will compile down to the right SQL without you having to keep track of the order, whitespace, or other SQL gotchas!

Here's a gist with an example of the powerful models you can create with this! https://gist.github.com/elpete/80d641b98025f16059f6476561d88202

Usage

To start a new query, instantiate a new Builder: wirebox.getInstance('QueryBuilder@qb').

By default, qb uses a generic Grammar. You can specify your specific grammar in ColdBox by setting the defaultGrammar in your moduleSettings.

moduleSettings = {
    qb = {
        defaultGrammar = "MySQLGrammar@qb"
    }
};

If you are not using WireBox, just make sure to wire up the Builder object with the correct grammar:

var grammar = new qb.models.Query.Grammars.MySQLGrammar();
var builder = new qb.models.Query.Builder( grammar );

8.2.2

• Default to html for the dump format argument to writeDump.

8.2.1

• Correctly use the passed in strictDateDetection to the QueryUtils.cfc.

8.2.0

• Added a dump command to aid in debugging a query while chaining.

8.1.0

• orderByRaw now can accept bindings.

• A new, optional strictDateDetection setting is available to check the underlying Java class of a date object instead of using isDate.

8.0.3

• Ignore select bindings for aggregate queries.

• Allow spaces in table aliases.

• Split FLOAT and DECIMAL column types in SQL Server.

8.0.2

• Clear orderBy bindings when calling clearOrders.

8.0.1

• Trim table definitions before searching for aliases. Makes qb more lenient with extra whitespace.

8.0.0

BREAKING CHANGES

• when callbacks now automatically scope and group where clauses when an OR combinator is used.

Other Changes

• Combine clearOrders and orderBy with a new reordermethod.

• Clear current selected columns with clearSelect.

• Combine clearSelect and either select or selectRaw with reselect and reselectRaw respectively.

7.10.0

• Expose nested where functions to enable advanced query manipulation in downstream libraries like Quick.

7.9.9

• Fixes for OracleGrammar including table aliases and wrapped subqueries.

7.9.8

• Allow nullable timestamps in MySQL.

7.9.7

• Return 0 on null aggregates.

7.9.6

• Match type hints to documentation for join functions

7.9.5

• Handle enhanced numeric checks with Secure Profile enabled.

7.9.4

• Allow raw statements in basic where clauses.

7.9.3

• Passed along the options struct to the count method when calling paginate.

7.9.2

• Allow for space-delimited sort directions like column DESC.

• Add helpful message when trying to use a closure with from instead of fromSub.

• value and values now work with column formatters.

• Correctly format RETURNING clauses with column formatters and ignoring table qualifiers.

7.9.1

• Handle multi-word columns in queryRemoveColumns.

7.9.0

• Remove elvis operator due to ACF compatibility issues

7.8.0

• Add support for MONEY and SMALLMONEY data types to SchemaBuilder.

7.7.3

• Fix wrapping of enum types for Postgres.

7.7.2

• Compatibility fix for ACF 2018 and listLast parsing.

• Include current_timestamp default for timestamp columns in SchemaBuilder.

• Ignore table qualifiers for insert and update.

7.7.1

• Fix a bug with preventDuplicateJoins when using the closure syntax with a join.

7.7.0

• Add executionTime to the data output from BaseGrammar, including being available in interceptors.

7.6.2

• Fix a case where a column was not wrapped correctly when a where used a subquery for the value.

7.6.1

• Avoid duplicate function due to cbORM / Hibernate bugs when used in the same application.

7.6.0

• Split off a private whereBasic method. This is used in Quick to provide extra sql type features.

• Add a clearOrders method. Any already configured orders are cleared. Any orders added after this call will be added as normal.

• selectRaw now can take an array of expressions.

7.5.1

Fixed an issue using column formatters with update and insert.

7.5.0

Using a new preventDuplicateJoins setting in the module settings, qb can detect duplicate joins and ignore them. This is especially useful in a heavily filtered and dynamic query where you may or may not need the join at all or more than one column may need the same join. preventDuplicateJoins defaults to false, so it is opt-in. It may be turned on by default in a future breaking release of qb.

7.4.0

Enhance order by's with more direction options (c767ac8)

You can now use two shortcut methods: orderByAsc and orderByDesc. Additionally, orderBySub or using orderBy with a closure or builder instance will respect the direction argument.

7.3.15

• Fix using whereBetween with query param structs (07c9b72)

7.3.14

• Ignore orders in aggregate queries (39e1338)

7.3.13

• Format with cfformat (dc2a9b6)

7.3.12

• Improve column wrapping with trimming (d98a5cb)

• Prefer the parent query over magic methods when the parent query has the exact method. (f9fd8d1)

7.3.9, 7.3.10, 7.3.11

• Switch to using ForgeBox Storage.

7.3.8

• Allow passing query options in to paginate (cdecfb3)

7.3.7

• Fix for inserting null values directly (1de27a6)

7.3.5, 7.3.6

• Use cfformat for automatic formatting (119e434)

• Add a type to the onMissingMethod exception (90d1093)

7.3.4

• Correctly wrap comments in MySQLGrammar.

7.3.2, 7.3.3

• Publish qb apidocs to Ortus API Docs.

7.3.1

• Fix for null values breaking the new checkIsActuallyNumeric method in QueryUtils.

7.3.0

• Add a parameterLimit public property to SqlServerGrammar. This property is used in Quick to split up eager loading to work around the 2100 param limit of SQL Server.

7.2.0

• Allow a parent query to be set. A parent query will receive any method calls that are not found on the Query Builder instance. This is especially useful for instances like Quick to allow Quick features like scopes to be available inside any closures.

7.1.0

• Lambdas (arrow functions) are now allowed wherever closures are allowed.

• Add an orderByRaw method.

• Allow for fully-qualified column names (table_name.column.name) in the value and values methods.

7.0.0

BREAKING CHANGES

Please see the Migration Guide for more information on these changes.

• Drop support for Lucee 4.5 and Adobe ColdFusion 11.

• MSSQLGrammar renamed to SqlServerGrammar

• Remove variadic parameters support in builder functions like select.

• The defaultGrammar mapping needs to be the full WireBox mapping, including the @qb, if needed.

  • For instance, MSSQLGrammar would become MSSQLGrammar@qb.

  • This will allow for other grammars to be more easily contributed via third party modules.

• The argument names of forPage changed to match the new paginate method.

• Add defaultValue and optional exception throwing to value. (This changed the argument order.)

• All methods that could conceivably take a subquery as well as a value now accept a closure or another builder instance to use as a subquery. (This changed the argument names in some instances.)

Other Changes

• Completely revamped documentation! (You're looking at it right now.)

• Add new flag to toSQL( showBindings = true ) to replace question marks (?) with cfqueryparam-compatible structs for debugging.

• Preserve column case and order when converting a query to an array using the default "array" return format.

• Add a new paginate method to generate a pagination struct alongside the results. This can be customized using a custom PaginationCollector.

• Allow raw values in insert calls.

• Allow default queryExecute options to be configure at a Query Builder level. This also enables custom QueryBuilders a la Hyper.

• Add a whereLike method.

• Allow closures to be used in left and right joins.

• Provide an addUpdate method to programmatically build the SET clause of an update query.

• Add a new chunk method to grab records from the database in small sets.

• Add raw in alterTable segments.

• Add dropAllObjects support for SqlServerGrammar and OracleGrammar to support migrate fresh from cfmigrations.

• Add a renameTable alias for rename.

• Remove default constraints when dropping columns with a default on SqlServerGrammar.

• Add more column types and column helpers to SchemaBuilder, including:

  • datetimeTz

  • lineString

  • nullableTimestamps

  • point

  • polygon

  • softDeletes

  • softDeletesTz

  • timeTz

  • timestamps

  • timestampTz

  • timestampsTz

  • withCurrent

6.4.0

• Allow Expressions (query.raw) in update statements.

Installation

Installation is easy through CommandBox and ForgeBox. Simply type box install qb to get started.

Usage

To start a new query, instantiate a new Builder: wirebox.getInstance('QueryBuilder@qb').

By default, qb uses a generic Grammar. You can specify your specific grammar in ColdBox by setting the defaultGrammar in your moduleSettings.

moduleSettings = {
    qb = {
        defaultGrammar = "MySQLGrammar@qb"
    }
};

The grammars provided by qb are:

• MySQLGrammar

• OracleGrammar

• PostgresGrammar

• SqlServerGrammar

If you are not using WireBox, just make sure to wire up the Builder object with the correct grammar:

var grammar = new qb.models.Grammars.MySQLGrammar();
var builder = new qb.models.Query.QueryBuilder( grammar );

Integrating With FW/1

Note: These instructions assume a basic knowledge of FW/1, a working FW/1 application structure with qb installed in the /subsystems directory (manually or via CommandBox), and a database configured to run with your application.

Wiring Up With DI/1

Once the application structure is setup, now we need to wire up qb to a bean factory using DI/1.

First we will add a mapping in Application.cfc.

this.mappings = {
    "/qb" = expandPath("./subsystems/qb")
};

Next we need to tell DI/1 where qb's components are and how to reference them for later use in the application. We can do so by defining the configuration settings in the variables.framework.subsystems struct in Application.cfc. The example below makes use of a load listener to declare each component instance and pass in any constructor arguments.

qb = {
  diLocations = "/qb/models",
  diConfig = {
    loadListener = function( di1 ) {
      di1.declare( "BaseGrammar" ).instanceOf( "qb.models.Query.Grammars.Grammar" ).done()
         .declare( "MySQLGrammar" ).instanceOf( "qb.models.Query.Grammars.MySQLGrammar" ).done()
         .declare( "QueryUtils" ).instanceOf( "qb.models.Query.QueryUtils" ).done()
         .declare( "QueryBuilder" ).instanceOf( "qb.models.Query.QueryBuilder" )
         .withOverrides({
            grammar = di1.getBean( "MySQLGrammar" ),
            utils = di1.getBean( "QueryUtils" ),
            returnFormat = "array"
         })
         .asTransient();
    }
  }
}

Usage In Your FW/1 Application

Now that everything is configured, you can launch your application with CommandBox by entering start in the terminal or use whatever method you're accustomed to.

To access qb from your application's code, you can call on it by using getBeanFactory().

// Create an instance of qb
builder = getBeanFactory( "qb" ).getBean( "QueryBuilder" );
// Query the database
posts = builder.from( "Posts" ).get();
posts = builder.from( "Posts" ).where( "IsDraft", "=", 0 ).get();

For further instructions on getting started with qb & FW/1, refer to this blog post.

v8.0.0

Where clauses with an OR combinator are now automatically wrapped inside when callbacks

This isn't a breaking change that will affect most people. In fact, it will most likely improve your code.

Previously, when using the when control flow function, you were fully responsible for the wrapping of your where statements. For example, the following query:

qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 )
    .when( len( url.q ), function( q ) {
        q.where( "username", "LIKE", q & "%" )
            .orWhere( "email", "LIKE", q & "%" );   
    } );

Would generate the following SQL:

SELECT *
FROM "users"
WHERE "active" = ?
    AND "username" = ?
    OR "email" = ?

The problem with this statement is that the OR can short circuit the active check.

The fix is to wrap the LIKE statements in parenthesis. This is done in qb using a function callback to where.

qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 )
    .where( function( q ) {
        q.where( "username", "LIKE", q & "%" )
            .orWhere( "email", "LIKE", q & "%" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM "users"
WHERE "active" = ?
    AND (
        "username" = ?
        OR "email" = ?
    )

When using the when control flow function, it was easy to miss this. This is because you are already in a closure - it looks the same as when using where to group the clauses.

In qb 8.0.0, when will automatically group added where clauses when needed. That means our original example now produces the SQL we probably expected.

// qb 8.0.0
qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 )
    .when( len( url.q ), function( q ) {
        q.where( "username", "LIKE", q & "%" )
            .orWhere( "email", "LIKE", q & "%" );   
    } );

SELECT *
FROM "users"
WHERE "active" = ?
    AND (
        "username" = ?
        OR "email" = ?
    )

Grouping is not needed if there is no OR combinator. In these cases no grouping is added.

// qb 8.0.0
qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 )
    .when( url.keyExists( "admin" ), function( q ) {
        q.where( "admin", 1 )
            .whereNotNull( "hireDate" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM "users"
WHERE "active" = ?
    AND "admin" = ?
    AND "hireDate IS NOT NULL

If you had already wrapped your expression in a group inside the when callback, nothing changes. Your code works as before. The OR combinator check only works on the top most level of added where clauses.

qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 )
    .when( len( url.q ), function( q ) {
        q.where( function( q2 ) {
            q2.where( "username", "LIKE", q & "%" )
                .orWhere( "email", "LIKE", q & "%" );
        } );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM "users"
WHERE "active" = ?
    AND (
        "username" = ?
        OR "email" = ?
    )

Additionally, if you do not add any where clauses inside a when callback, nothing changes from qb 7.

The breaking change part is if you were relying on these statements residing at the same level without grouping. In those cases, you may pass the withoutScoping flag to the when callback.

// qb 8.0.0
qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 )
    .when(
        condition = len( url.q ),
        onTrue = function( q ) {
            q.where( "username", "LIKE", q & "%" )
                .orWhere( "email", "LIKE", q & "%" );   
        },
        withoutScoping = true
    );

SELECT *
FROM "users"
WHERE "active" = ?
    AND "username" = ?
    OR "email" = ?

v7.0.0

Lucee 4.5 and Adobe ColdFusion 11 EOL

Support for Lucee 4.5 and Adobe ColdFusion 11 has been dropped. If you need support for these engines, please remain on an earlier version of qb.

MSSQLGrammar renamed to SqlServerGrammar

MSSQLGrammar was visually too close to MySQLGrammar and was hard to differentiate quickly. SqlServerGrammar is much more unique and easily identifiable. Additionally, more people that use this library refer to their database engine as "SQL Server" than "MSSQL".

To migrate, replace any instances of MSSQLGrammar with SqlServerGrammar. Make sure to also append the @qb namespace, if needed, as explained below.

Variadic Parameters Support Removed

Variadic parameter support was the ability to pass any number of arguments to certain methods like select.

qb.select( "name", "email", "createdDate" );

This code came with a slight performance cost and readability cost. That, combined with the fact that the above syntax is very close to an array, we are dropping support for variadic parameters. To migrate, wrap instances of variadic parameters in an array:

qb.select( [ "name", "email", "createdDate" ] );

defaultGrammar updated to be the full WireBox mapping

In previous versions, the value passed to defaultGrammar was used to look up a mapping in the @qb namespace. This made it difficult to add or use grammars that weren't part of qb. (You could get around this be registering your custom grammar in the @qb namespace, but doing so seemed strange.)

To migrate this code, change your defaultGrammar to be the full WireBox mapping in your moduleSettings:

moduleSettings = {
    "qb": {
        "defaultGrammar": "MSSQLGrammar@qb"
    }
};

value method argument order changed

A defaultValue parameter and optional exception throwing was added to value. This pushed the options struct to the end of the method. If you are using positional parameters with value, you will need to update your method calls to either use named parameters or the new positions.

public any function value(
    required string column,
    string defaultValue = "",
    boolean throwWhenNotFound = false,
    struct options = {}
);

Some methods renamed callback to query

All methods that could conceivably take a subquery as well as a value now accept a closure or another builder instance to use as a subquery. This led to changing the callback argument to query in the following cases:

• whereSub

• whereInSub

• whereExists

• orWhereExists

• whereNotExists

• andWhereNotExists

• orWhereNotExists

• whereNullSub

• orderBySub

• subSelect

If you are using named parameters with any of the above methods you will need to migrate your method calls.

v5.0.0

Version v5.0.0 brings support for SchemaBuilder inside qb. To avoid naming confusion, Builder was renamed to QueryBuilder. Any references in your code to Builder@qb need to be updated to QueryBuilder@qb.

We welcome all types of contributions!

The most common type of contribution is to fix an incorrect SQL generation for a database grammar.

To debug what SQL is being ran, you can always call toSQL on any QueryBuilder or SchemaBuilder object. Additionally, you can listen to the preQBExecute interception point for the generated SQL.

Each of the database grammars have two tests — {Grammar}QueryBuilderSpec.cfc and {Grammar}SchemaBuilderSpec.cfc. These tests run the same qb syntax across the different grammars. In each test are methods that return SQL strings like so:

// MSSQLQueryBuilderSpec.cfc
function orWhere() {
    // If just a string is returned, we assume the bindings is an empty array ([])
    return {
        sql = "SELECT * FROM [users] WHERE [id] = ? OR [email] = ?",
        bindings = [ 1, "foo" ]
    };
}

// OracleSchemaBuilderSpec.cfc
function boolean() {
    // returns an array since schema builder can execute multiple statements.
    return [ "CREATE TABLE ""USERS"" (""ACTIVE"" NUMBER(1, 0) NOT NULL)" ];
}

If you find an issue with the SQL generated from a grammar, please file a pull request with the correct SQL in these tests. It's okay if you don't submit a fix as well. (But we'd greatly appreciate it!) Doing so will help expedite the fix.

If you want to add support for a new database grammar, simply copy these two tests from an existing grammar, rename them, change the getBuilder method to return your new grammar, and fill out the SQL as it should be. That will guide your implementation to be 100% compatible with the other grammars in qb.

A query builder is a stateful, transient object. That means that if you want to execute two different queries, you need two separate instances of QueryBuilder.

// This will cause you pain and grief...

var user = query.from( "users" )
  .where( "username", rc.username )
  .first();

var posts = query.from( "posts" ).get();
// This will error because `username` is not a column in `posts`.

As such, be careful when injecting QueryBuilder in to a component. If the component is a singleton, you will need to create the QueryBuilder inline or use a provider. This applies to ColdBox handlers as well.

component {

    property name="query" inject="QueryBuilder@qb";

    function create( event, rc, prc ) {
        query.table( "posts" )
            .where( "id", rc.id )
            .update( event.getOnly( [ "body" ] ) );
    }

}

While the above may seem innoculous, it can run in to issues as multiple requests come in to your application. Each request is sharing the same query builder instance and subsequent requests will have unintended results as the where clause keeps growing request after request.

The solution is to either create the QueryBuilder inline, ensuring that each request has its own query to execute:

component {

    function create( event, rc, prc ) {
        getInstance( "QueryBuilder@qb" )
            .table( "posts" )
            .where( "id", rc.id )
            .update( event.getOnly( [ "body" ] ) );
    }

}

Or to use a WireBox provider to create a new query each time it is accessed:

component {

    property name="query" inject="provider:QueryBuilder@qb";

    function create( event, rc, prc ) {
        query.table( "posts" )
            .where( "id", rc.id )
            .update( event.getOnly( [ "body" ] ) );
    }

}

newQuery

Once you have access to a QueryBuilder instance, you can create a new query using the same datasource, utils, returnFormat, paginationCollector, columnFormatter, and defaultOptions as the current QueryBuilder instance.

// This will cause you pain and grief...

var user = query.from( "users" )
  .where( "username", rc.username )
  .first();

var posts = query.newQuery().from( "posts" ).get();
// This will work as we expect it to.

Specifying A Select Clause

You may not always want to select all columns from a database table. You can influence the select list of a query with the following methods.

Individual columns can contain fully-qualified names (some_table.some_column), table aliases (alias.some_column), and even set column aliases themselves (some_column AS c). The columns argument can be a single column, a list of columns (comma-separated), or an array of columns.

select

When calling select any previous columns are discarded. If you want to incrementally select columns, use the addSelect method.

If you pass no columns to this method, it will default to "*".

query.select( [ "fname AS firstName", "age" ] ).from( "users" );

SELECT `fname` AS `firstName`, `age` FROM `users`

distinct

Calling distinct will cause the query to be executed with the DISTINCT keyword.

query.select( "username" ).distinct().from( "users" );

SELECT DISTINCT `username` FROM `users`

addSelect

This method adds the columns passed to it to the currently selected columns.

query.addSelect( [ "fname AS firstName", "age" ] ).from( "users" );

SELECT `fname` AS `firstName`, `age` FROM `users`

selectRaw

A shortcut to use a raw expression in the select clause.

The expression is added to the other already selected columns.

(To learn more about raw and expressions, check out the docs on Raw Expressions.)

query.selectRaw( "YEAR(birthdate) AS birth_year" ).from( "users" );

SELECT YEAR(birthdate) AS birth_year FROM `users`

subSelect

The method lets you pass either a callback or a QueryBuilder instance to be used as a subselect expression. If a callback is passed it will be passed a new query instance as the only parameter.

The subselect is added to the other already selected columns.

query.subSelect( "last_login_date", function( q ) {
    q.selectRaw( "MAX(created_date)" )
        .from( "logins" )
        .whereColumn( "users.id", "logins.user_id" );
} ).from( "users" );

SELECT (
    SELECT MAX(created_date)
    FROM `logins`
    WHERE `users`.`id` = `logins`.`user_id`
) AS `last_login_date`
FROM `users

clearSelect

Clears out the selected columns for a query along with any configured select bindings.

query.from( "users" )
    .select( [ "fname AS firstName", "age" ] )
    .clearSelect();

SELECT * FROM `users`

reselect

Clears out the selected columns for a query along with any configured select bindings. Then sets a selection of columns to select from the query. Any valid argument to select can be passed here.

query.from( "users" )
    .select( [ "fname AS firstName", "age" ] )
    .reselect( "username" );

SELECT `username` FROM `users`

reselectRaw

Clears out the selected columns for a query along with any configured select bindings. Then adds an Expression or array of expressions to the already selected columns.

query.from( "users" )
    .select( [ "fname AS firstName", "age" ] )
    .reselectRaw( "YEAR(birthdate) AS birth_year" );

SELECT YEAR(birthdate) AS birth_year FROM `users`

from

Used to set the base table for the query.

query.from( "users" );

SELECT * FROM `users`

You can optionally specify an alias for the table.

query.from( "users as u" );

SELECT * FROM `users` AS `u`

table

An alias for from where you like how calling table looks.

query.table( "users" ).insert( { "name" = "jon" } );

INSERT INTO `users` (`name`) VALUES (?)

fromRaw

Sometimes you need more control over your from clause in order to add grammar specific instructions, such as adding SQL Server table hints to your queries.

query.fromRaw( "[users] u (nolock)" ).get();

SELECT * FROM [users] u (nolock) 

Since the fromRaw() takes your string verbatim, it's important that you make sure your SQL declaration is escaped properly. Failure to properly escape your table names may result in SQL errors.

Many database engines allow you to define User Defined Functions. For example, SQL Server allows you to define UDFs that will return a table. In these type of cases, it may be necessary to bind parameters to your from clause.

You can bind parameters to the fromRaw() method by passing a secondary argument that is an array of the parameters to bind.

query.fromRaw(
    "dbo.generateDateTable(?, ?, ?) as dt",
    [ "2017-01-01", "2017-12-31", "m" ]
).get();

SELECT * FROM dbo.generateDateTable(?, ?, ?) as dt

fromSub

Complex queries often contain derived tables. Derived tables are essentially a temporal table defined as a subquery in the from statement.

query.select( [ "firstName", "lastName" ] )
    .fromSub( "legalUsers", function ( q ) {
        q.select( [ "lName as lastName", "fName as firstName" ] )
            .from( "users" )
            .where( "age", ">=", 21 )
        ;
    } )
    .orderBy( "lastName" )
    .get()

SELECT `firstName`, `lastName`
FROM (
    SELECT `lName` as `lastName`, `fName` as `firstName`
    FROM `users`
    WHERE `age` >= 21
) AS `legalUsers`
ORDER BY `lastName`

In additional a function callback, a separate QueryBuilder instance can be passed to the fromSub method.

var legalUsersQuery = query
    .select( [ "lName as lastName", "fName as firstName" ] )
    .from( "users" )
    .where( "age", ">=", 21 );

query.select( [ "firstName", "lastName" ] )
    .fromSub( "legalUsers", legalUsersQuery )
    .orderBy( "lastName" )
    .get();

SELECT `firstName`, `lastName`
FROM (
    SELECT `lName` as `lastName`, `fName` as `firstName`
    FROM `users`
    WHERE `age` >= 21
) AS `legalUsers`
ORDER BY `lastName`

Join clauses range from simple to complex including joining complete subqueries on multiple conditions. qb has your back with all of these use cases.

join

Applies a join to the query. The simplest join is to a table based on two columns:

query.from( "users" )
    .join( "posts", "users.id", "=", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

When doing a simple join using = as the operator, you can omit it and pass just the column names:

query.from( "users" )
    .join( "posts", "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

``Expressions are also supported as the table argument (though you may prefer the readability of the joinRaw method):

query.from( "users" )
    .join( query.raw( "posts (nolock)" ), "users.id", "=", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM [users]
JOIN posts (nolock)
  ON [users].[id] = [posts].[author_id]

When you need to specify more clauses to join, you can pass a function as the second argument:

query.from( "users" )
    .join( "posts", function( j ) {
        j.on( "users.id", "=", "posts.author_id" );
        j.on( "users.prefix", "=", "posts.prefix" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`
  AND `users`.`prefix` = `posts`.`prefix`

You can specify where clauses in your joins as well.

query.from( "users" )
    .join( "posts", function( j ) {
        j.on( "users.id", "=", "posts.author_id" );
        j.whereNotNull( "posts.published_date" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`
  AND `posts`.`published_date` IS NOT NULL

Conditions inside a join clause can be grouped using a function.

query.from( "users" )
    .join( "posts", function( j ) {
        j.on( function( j1 ) {
            j1.on( "users.id", "posts.author_id" )
                .orOn( "users.id", "posts.reviewer_id" );
        } );
        j.whereNotNull( "posts.published_date" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON (
      `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`
      OR `users`.`id` = `posts`.`reviewer_id`
  )
  AND `posts`.`published_date` IS NOT NULL

A preconfigured JoinClause can also be passed to the join function. This allows you to extract shared pieces of code out to different functions.

var j = query.newJoin( "contacts" )
    .on( "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

query.from( "users" ).join( j );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

joinWhere

Adds a join to another table based on a WHERE clause instead of an ON clause. WHERE clauses introduce parameters and parameter bindings whereas on clauses join between columns and don't need parameter bindings.

For simple joins, this specifies a column on which to join the two tables:

query.from( "users" )
    .joinWhere( "contacts", "contacts.balance", "<", 100 );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `contacts`
  WHERE `contacts`.`balance` < ?

For complex joins, a function can be passed to first. This allows multiple on and where conditions to be applied to the join. See the documentation for join for more information.

joinRaw

Uses the raw SQL provided to as the table for the join clause. All the other functionality of joinRaw matches the join method. Additionally, there are leftJoinRaw, rightJoinRaw, and crossJoinRaw methods available.

query.from( "users" )
    .joinRaw( "posts (nolock)", "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM [users]
JOIN posts (nolock)
  ON [users].[id] = [posts].[author_id]

joinSub

Adds a join to a derived table. All the functionality of the join method applies to constrain the query. The derived table can be defined using a QueryBuilder instance:

var sub = query.newQuery()
    .select( "id" )
    .from( "contacts" )
    .whereNotIn( "id", [ 1, 2, 3 ] );

query.from( "users as u" )
    .joinSub( "c", sub, "u.id", "=", "c.id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users` AS `u`
JOIN (
  SELECT `id`
  FROM `contacts`
  WHERE `id` NOT IN (?, ?, ?)
) AS `c`
  ON `u`.`id` = `c`.`id`

Alternatively, a function may be used to define the derived table:

query.from( "users as u" )
    .joinSub( "c", function ( q ) {
        q.select( "id" )
            .from( "contacts" )
            .whereNotIn( "id", [ 1, 2, 3 ] );
    }, "u.id", "=", "c.id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users` AS `u`
JOIN (
  SELECT `id`
  FROM `contacts`
  WHERE `id` NOT IN (?, ?, ?)
) AS `c`
  ON `u`.`id` = `c`.`id`

Complex join conditions are also possible by passing a function as the third parameter:

query.from( "users as u" )
    .joinSub( "c", function ( q ) {
        q.select( "id" )
            .from( "contacts" )
            .whereNotIn( "id", [ 1, 2, 3 ] );
    }, function( j ) {
        j.on( "u.id", "c.id" );
        j.on( "u.type", "c.type" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users` AS `u`
JOIN (
  SELECT `id`
  FROM `contacts`
  WHERE `id` NOT IN (?, ?, ?)
) AS `c`
  ON `u`.`id` = `c`.`id`
  AND `u`.`type` = `c`.`type`

leftJoin

query.from( "posts" )
    .leftJoin( "users", "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM `posts`
LEFT JOIN `users`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

leftJoinRaw

Uses the raw SQL provided to as the table for the left join clause. All the other functionality of leftJoinRaw matches the join method.

query.from( "posts" )
    .leftJoinRaw( "users (nolock)", "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM [posts]
LEFT JOIN users (nolock)
  ON [users].[id] = [posts].[author_id]

leftJoinSub

Adds a left join to a derived table. All the functionality of the joinSub method applies to define and constrain the query.

var sub = query.newQuery()
    .select( "id" )
    .from( "contacts" )
    .whereNotIn( "id", [ 1, 2, 3 ] );

query.from( "users as u" )
    .leftJoinSub( "c", sub, "u.id", "=", "c.id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users` AS `u`
LEFT JOIN (
  SELECT `id`
  FROM `contacts`
  WHERE `id` NOT IN (?, ?, ?)
) AS `c`
  ON `u`.`id` = `c`.`id`

rightJoin

query.from( "users" )
    .rightJoin( "posts", "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
RIGHT JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

rightJoinRaw

Uses the raw SQL provided to as the table for the right join clause. All the other functionality of rightJoinRaw matches the join method.

query.from( "users" )
    .rightJoinRaw( "posts (nolock)", "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

SELECT *
FROM [users]
LEFT JOIN posts (nolock)
  ON [users].[id] = [posts].[author_id]

rightJoinSub

Adds a right join to a derived table. All the functionality of the joinSub method applies to define and constrain the query.

var sub = query.newQuery()
    .select( "id" )
    .from( "contacts" )
    .whereNotIn( "id", [ 1, 2, 3 ] );

query.from( "users as u" )
    .rightJoinSub( "c", sub, "u.id", "=", "c.id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users` AS `u`
RIGHT JOIN (
  SELECT `id`
  FROM `contacts`
  WHERE `id` NOT IN (?, ?, ?)
) AS `c`
  ON `u`.`id` = `c`.`id`

crossJoin

query.from( "users" ).crossJoin( "posts" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
CROSS JOIN `posts`

crossJoinRaw

Uses the raw SQL provided to as the table for the cross join clause. Cross joins cannot be further constrained with on or where clauses.

query.from( "users" ).crossJoinRaw( "posts (nolock)" );

SELECT *
FROM [users]
CROSS JOIN posts (nolock)

crossJoinSub

Adds a cross join to a derived table. The derived table can be defined using a QueryBuilder instance or a function just as with joinSub. Cross joins cannot be constrained, however.

var sub = query.newQuery()
    .select( "id" )
    .from( "contacts" )
    .whereNotIn( "id", [ 1, 2, 3 ] );

query.from( "users as u" ).crossJoinSub( "c", sub );

SELECT *
FROM `users` AS `u`
CROSS JOIN (
  SELECT `id`
  FROM `contacts`
  WHERE `id` NOT IN (?, ?, ?)
)

newJoin

Creates a new JoinClause. A JoinClause is a specialized version of a QueryBuilder. You may call on or orOn to constrain the JoinClause. You may also call any where methods.

Creating a JoinClause directly is useful when you need to share a join between different queries. You can create and configure the JoinClause in a function and pass it to queries as needed.

var j = query.newJoin( "contacts" )
    .on( "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

query.from( "users" ).join( j );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

// This is still an inner join because
// the JoinClause is an inner join
var j = query.newJoin( "contacts", "inner" )
    .on( "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

query.from( "users" ).leftJoin( j );

-- This is still an inner join because
-- the JoinClause is an inner join
SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

JoinClause

A JoinClause is a specialized version of a QueryBuilder. You may call on or orOn to constrain the JoinClause. You may also call any where methods.

on

Applies a join condition to the JoinClause. An alias for whereColumn.

var j = query.newJoin( "contacts" )
    .on( "users.id", "posts.author_id" );

query.from( "users" ).join( j );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`

orOn

Applies a join condition to the JoinClause using an or combinator. An alias for orWhereColumn.

var j = query.newJoin( "contacts" )
    .on( "users.id", "posts.author_id" )
    .orOn( "users.id", "posts.reviewer_id" );

query.from( "users" ).join( j );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
JOIN `posts`
  ON `users`.`id` = `posts`.`author_id`
  OR `users`.`id` = `posts`.`reviewer_id`

Preventing Duplicate Joins

You can optionally configure qb to ignore duplicate joins. With this setting turned on each JoinClause is inspected and checked if it matches any existing JoinClause instances on the query. This is useful if you have a table shared between optional constraints and want to ensure it is only added once.

You can opt-in to this behavior by setting preventDuplicateJoins = true in your moduleSettings in config/ColdBox.cfc.

moduleSettings = {
    "qb": {
         "preventDuplicateJoins": true  
    }
};

Where Methods

where

Adds a where clause to a query.

query.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", "=", 1 );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `active` = ?

You can also pass an Expression as the value.

query.from( "users" )
    .where( "last_logged_in", ">", query.raw( "NOW()" ) );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `last_logged_in` > NOW()

Any of the following operators can be used in a where clause.

When using the "=" constraint, you can use a shortcut and define the value as the second argument.

query.from( "users" )
    .where( "active", 1 );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `active` = ?

To group where statements together, pass a function to the where clause as the only parameter.

query.from( "users" )
    .where( function( q ) {
        q.where( "active", 1 )
            .where( "last_logged_in", ">", dateAdd( "ww", -1, now() ) )
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE (
    `active` = ?
    AND
    `last_logged_in` > ?
)

A Function or QueryBuilder can be used as a subselect expression when passed to value.

query.from( "users" )
    .where( "email", "foo" )
    .orWhere( "id", "=", function( q ) {
        q.select( q.raw( "MAX(id)" ) )
            .from( "users" )
            .where( "email", "bar" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `email` = ?
  OR `id` = (
    SELECT MAX(id)
    FROM `users`
    WHERE `email` = ?
  )

andWhere

This method is simply an alias for where with the combinator set to "and".

orWhere

This method is simply an alias for where with the combinator set to "or".

whereBetween

Adds a where between clause to the query.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereBetween( "id", 1, 2 );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `id` BETWEEN ? AND ?

If a function or QueryBuilder is passed it is used as a subselect expression.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereBetween(
        "id",
        function( q ) {
            q.select( q.raw( "MIN(id)" ) )
                .from( "users" )
                .where( "email", "bar" );
        },
        builder.newQuery()
            .select( builder.raw( "MAX(id)" ) )
            .from( "users" )
            .where( "email", "bar" )
    );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `id` BETWEEN (
    SELECT MIN(id)
    FROM `users`
    WHERE `email` = ?
)
AND (
    SELECT MAX(id)
    FROM `users`
    WHERE `email` = ?
)

whereNotBetween

Adds a where not in clause to the query. This behaves identically to the whereBetween method with the negateflag set to true. See the documentation for whereBetween for usage and examples.

whereColumn

Adds a where clause to a query that compares two columns.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereColumn( "first_name", "=", "last_name" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `first_name` = `last_name`

Just as with where, when using "=" as the operator you can use a shorthand passing the second column in as the operator and leaving the second column null.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereColumn( "first_name", "last_name" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `first_name` = `last_name`

Expressions can be passed in place of either column.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereColumn( "first_name", query.raw( "LOWER(first_name)" ) );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `first_name` = LOWER(first_name)

whereExists

Adds a where exists clause to the query.

It can be configured with a function.

query.from( "orders" )
    .whereExists( function( q ) {
        q.select( q.raw( 1 ) )
            .from( "products" )
            .whereColumn( "products.id", "orders.id" );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `orders`
WHERE EXISTS (
    SELECT 1
    FROM `products`
    WHERE `products`.`id` = `orders`.`id`
)

It can also be configured with a QueryBuilder instance.

var existsQuery = query.newQuery()
    .select( q.raw( 1 ) )
    .from( "products" )
    .whereColumn( "products.id", "orders.id" );

query.from( "orders" )
    .whereExists( existsQuery );

SELECT *
FROM `orders`
WHERE EXISTS (
    SELECT 1
    FROM `products`
    WHERE `products`.`id` = `orders`.`id`
)

whereNotExists

Adds a where not in clause to the query. This behaves identically to the whereExists method with the negateflag set to true. See the documentation for whereExists for usage and examples.

whereLike

A shortcut for calling where with "like" set as the operator.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereLike( "username", "J%" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `username` LIKE ?

whereIn

Adds a where in clause to the query.

The values passed to whereIn can be a single value, a list of values, or an array of values.

query.from( "orders" )
    .whereIn( "id", [ 1, 4, 66 ] );

SELECT *
FROM `orders`
WHERE `id` IN (?, ?, ?)

If a list of values is passed in, it is converted to an array of values using a single comma (",") delimiter.

query.from( "orders" )
    .whereIn( "id", "1,4,66" );

SELECT *
FROM `orders`
WHERE `id` IN (?, ?, ?)

Any value in the list or array can also be passed using a custom parameter type to have more control over the parameter settings.

query.from( "orders" )
    .whereIn( "id", [ 1, 4, { value = "66", cfsqltype = "CF_SQL_VARCHAR" } ] );

SELECT *
FROM `orders`
WHERE `id` IN (?, ?, ?)

Expressions can be freely mixed in with other values.

query.from( "orders" )
    .whereIn( "id", [ query.raw( "MAX(id)" ), 4, 66 ] );

SELECT *
FROM `orders`
WHERE `id` IN (MAX(id), ?, ?)

A function or QueryBuilder instance can be passed to be used as a subquery expression instead of a list of values.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereIn( "id", function( q ) {
        q.select( "id" )
            .from( "users" )
            .where( "age", ">", 25 );
    } );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE IN (
    SELECT `id`
    FROM `users`
    WHERE `age` > ?
)

whereNotIn

Adds a where not in clause to the query. This behaves identically to the whereIn method with the negateflag set to true. See the documentation for whereIn for usage and examples.

whereRaw

Shorthand to add a raw SQL statement to the where clauses.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereRaw(
        "id = ? OR email = ? OR is_admin = 1",
        [ 1, "foo" ]
    );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE id = ? OR email = ? OR is_admin = 1

whereNull

Adds a where null clause to the query.

query.from( "users" )
    .whereNull( "id" );

SELECT *
FROM `users`
WHERE `id` IS NULL

whereNotNull

Adds a where not in clause to the query. This behaves identically to the whereNull method with the negateflag set to true. See the documentation for whereNull for usage and examples.

Dynamic Where Methods

qb uses onMissingMethod to provide a few different helpers when working with where... methods.

andWhere... and orWhere...

Every where... method in qb can be called prefixed with either and or or. Doing so will call the original method using the corresponding combinator.