Inserts, Updates, and Deletes

The following methods all have the same return value:

{
    "result": "Value of the `result` parameter to `queryExecute`",
    "query": "Return value of running `queryExecute` - a CFML query object"
}

insert, update, and delete actions always return a query object for query, regardless of your configured returnFormat.

insert

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

values

struct | array<struct>

true

A struct or array of structs to insert in to the table.

options

struct

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSQL

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

This call must come after setting the query's table using from or table.

You can insert a single record by passing a struct:

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .insert( {
        "name" = "Robert",
        "email" = "robert@test.com",
        "age" = 55
    } );
MySQL
INSERT INTO `users` (`age`, `email`, `name`)
VALUES (?, ?, ?)

You can specify any query param options such as the SQL type by passing a struct with the parameters you would pass to cfqueryparam.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .insert( {
        "name" = "Robert",
        "email" = "robert@test.com",
        "age" = { value = 55, cfsqltype = "CF_SQL_INTEGER" }
    } );
MySQL
INSERT INTO `users` (`age`, `email`, `name`)
VALUES (?, ?, ?)

Raw values can be supplied to an insert statement.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .insert( {
        "name" = "Robert",
        "email" = "robert@test.com",
        "updatedDate" = query.raw( "NOW()" )
    } );
MySQL
INSERT INTO `users` (`age`, `email`, `updatedDate`)
VALUES (?, ?, NOW())

Multiple rows can be inserted in a batch by passing an array of structs to insert.

This is not the same as looping over and array and calling insert in the loop. Using an array with insert will batch the inserts in one SQL call. Looping over an array and calling insert each time will create a SQL request for each item in the array. Bottom line, pass your array to insert!

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).insert( [
    { "email" = "john@example.com", "name" = "John Doe" },
    { "email" = "jane@example.com", "name" = "Jane Doe" }
] );
INSERT INTO `users` (`email`, `name`)
VALUES (?, ?), (?, ?)

insertIgnore

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

values

struct | array<struct>

true

A struct or array of structs to insert in to the table.

target

array<string>

false

[]

An array of key column names to match on. (SQL Server and Oracle grammars only.)

options

struct

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSQL

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

This call must come after setting the query's table using from or table.

Inserts data into a table while ignoring duplicate key conflicts.

target is only required for SQLServerGrammar and OracleGrammar

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .insertIgnore(
        values = [
            { "email" = "foo", "name" = "bar" },
            { "email" = "baz", "name" = "bam" }
        ],
        target = [ "email" ]
    );
INSERT IGNORE INTO `users` (`email`, `name`)
VALUES (?, ?), (?, ?)

insertUsing

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

source

function | QueryBuilder

true

A callback or builder instance to serve as the source of the insert.

columns

array<string>

false

An array of column names that will be inserted. If no columns are passed, the columns will be derived from the source columns and aliases.

options

struct

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSQL

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

This call must come after setting the query's table using from or table.

Inserts data into a table using a subquery as the source.

qb.from( "users" )
    .insertUsing( function( q ) {
        q.from( "activeDirectoryUsers" )
            .select( [ "email", "modifiedDate AS createdDate" ] )
            .where( "active", 1 );
    } );
INSERT INTO `users` (`email`, `createdDate`)
SELECT `email`, `modifiedDate` AS `createdDate`
FROM `activeDirectoryUsers`
WHERE `active` = ?

You can also pass in an array of column names to avoid aliasing in your source query.

qb.from( "users" )
    .insertUsing(
        columns = [ "email", "createdDate" ],
        source = function( q ) {
            q.from( "activeDirectoryUsers" )
                 .select( [ "email", "modifiedDate" ] )
                 .where( "active", 1 );
        }
    );
INSERT INTO `users` (`email`, `createdDate`)
SELECT `email`, `modifiedDate`
FROM `activeDirectoryUsers`
WHERE `active` = ?

Alternatively, the source can be defined as a QueryBuilder object:

qb.from( "users" )
    .insertUsing(
        qb.newQuery()
            .from( "activeDirectoryUsers" )
            .select( [ "email", "modifiedDate AS createdDate" ] )
            .where( "active", 1 )
    );
INSERT INTO `users` (`email`, `createdDate`)
SELECT `email`, `modifiedDate` AS `createdDate`
FROM `activeDirectoryUsers`
WHERE `active` = ?

update

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

values

struct

false

{}

options

struct

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSQL

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

This call must come after setting the query's table using from or table.

Updates a table with a struct of column and value pairs.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .update( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "bar"
    } );
MySQL
UPDATE `users`
SET `email` = ?,
    `name` = ?

You can specify any query param options such as the SQL type by passing a struct with the parameters you would pass to cfqueryparam.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .update( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "bar",
        "updatedDate" = { value = now(), cfsqltype = "CF_SQL_TIMESTAMP" }
    } );
MySQL
UPDATE `users`
SET `email` = ?,
    `name` = ?,
    `updatedDate` = ?

Any constraining of the update query should be done using the appropriate WHERE statement before calling update.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .whereId( 1 )
    .update( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "bar"
    } );
MySQL
UPDATE `users`
SET `email` = ?,
    `name` = ?
WHERE `Id` = ?

You can update a column based on another column using a raw expression.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "hits" )
    .where( "page", "someUrl" )
    .update( {
        "count" = query.raw( "count + 1" )
    } );
MySQL
UPDATE `hits`
SET `count` = count + 1
WHERE `page` = ?

Updating Null values

Null values can be inserted by using queryparam syntax:

query.from("user")
		.whereId( 10 )
		.update( {
			manager_FK = { value = "", null=true },
		} )

if you are using full null support the following (easier) syntax is also allowed:

query.from("user")
		.whereId( 10 )
		.update( {
			manager_FK = { value = null },
		} )

Updating with Subselects

Subselects can be used to update values by passing a closure as the value

qb.table( "employees" )
    .update( {
		    "departmentName" = function( q ) {
		        q.from( "departments" )
		            .select( "name" )
		            .whereColumn( "employees.departmentId", "departments.id" );
		    } )
		} );
UPDATE `employees`
SET `departmentName` = (
    SELECT `name`
    FROM `departments`
    WHERE `employees`.`departmentId` = `departments`.`id`
)

You can also pass a builder instance in place of the closure.

qb.table( "employees" )
    .update( {
		    "departmentName" = qb.newQuery()
		        .from( "departments" )
		        .select( "name" )
		        .whereColumn( "employees.departmentId", "departments.id" )
		    } )
		} );

Updating with Joins

qb will correctly format JOIN clauses in your UPDATE statements for your database grammar.

OracleGrammar does not support JOIN clauses inUPDATE statements. Consider using subselects in your UPDATE statement instead.

qb.table( "employees" )
    .join( "departments", "departments.id", "employees.departmentId" )
    .update( {
        "employees.departmentName": qb.raw( "departments.name" )
    } );
UPDATE `employees`
INNER JOIN `departments`
    ON `departments`.`id` = `employees`.`departmentId`
SET `employees`.`departmentName` = departments.name

addUpdate

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

values

struct

true

A struct of column and value pairs to add to the update clause.

Adds values to a later update, similar to addSelect.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .whereId( 1 )
    .addUpdate( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "bar"
    } )
    .when( true, function( q ) {
        q.addUpdate( {
            "foo": "yes"
        } );
    } )
    .when( false, function( q ) {
        q.addUpdate( {
            "bar": "no"
        } );
    } )
    .update();
MySQL
UPDATE `users`
SET `email` = ?,
    `foo` = ?,
    `name` = ?
WHERE `Id` = ?

updateOrInsert

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

values

struct

true

A struct of column and value pairs to either update or insert.

options

boolean

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSql

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

Performs an update statement if the configured query returns true for exists. Otherwise, performs an insert statement.

If an update statement is performed qb applies a limit( 1 ) to the update statement.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .where( "email", "foo" )
    .updateOrInsert( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "baz"
    } );
MySQL
UPDATE `users`
SET `email` = ?,
    `name` = ?
WHERE `email` = ?
LIMIT 1

If the configured query returns 0 records, then an insert statement is performed.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .where( "email", "foo" )
    .updateOrInsert( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "baz"
    } );
MySQL
INSERT INTO `users` (`email`, `name`)
VALUES (?, ?)

upsert

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

values

struct | array<struct> | array<string>

true

A struct or array of structs to insert into or update on the table. If a source is provided, this should be an array of column names to update instead.

target

string | array<string>

true

A column name or array of column names to match the values to the table. If a match is found, the record will be updated. Otherwise, a new record will be inserted. Most database grammars required these columns to have either a primary key or a unique index.

update

array | struct

false

null

Either an array of columns to update using the current value matched or a struct containing the column names as keys and the corresponding to update. If blank, it will update all the columns in the passed in value.

source

function | QueryBuilder

false

null

A callback function or QueryBuilder object to use as the source for the upsert. When using this parameter, values must be an array of column names to update.

deleteUnmatched

boolean

false

false

Boolean flag to delete any unmatched source records as part the upsert. (SQL Server only.)

options

boolean

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSql

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

An upsert is a batch operation that either inserts or updates a row depending on if a target match is found. If a row is matched with the target column(s), then the matched row is updated. Otherwise a new row is inserted.

In most database grammars, the target columns are required to be primary key or unique indexes.

qb.table( "users" )
    .upsert(
        values = [
            {
                "username": "johndoe",
                "active": 1,
                "createdDate": "2021-09-08 12:00:00",
                "modifiedDate": "2021-09-08 12:00:00"
            },
            {
                "username": "janedoe",
                "active": 1,
                "createdDate": "2021-09-10 10:42:13",
                "modifiedDate": "2021-09-10 10:42:13"
            },
        ],
        target = [ "username" ],
        update = [ "active", "modifiedDate" ],
    );
INSERT INTO `users`
    (`active`, `createdDate`, `modifiedDate`, `username`)
VALUES
    (?, ?, ?, ?),
    (?, ?, ?, ?)
ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE
    `active` = VALUES(`active`),
    `modifiedDate` = VALUES(`modifiedDate`)

The update clause in a upsert can also accept raw values, making it very useful for tracking data like statistics.

qb.table( "stats" )
    .upsert(
        values = [
            { "postId": 1, "viewedDate": "2021-09-08", "views": 1 },
            { "postId": 2, "viewedDate": "2021-09-08", "views": 1 }
        ],
        target = [ "postId", "viewedDate" ],
        update = { "views": qb.raw( "stats.views + 1" ) }
    );
INSERT INTO `stats`
    (`postId`, `viewedDate`, `views`)
VALUES
    (?, ?, ?),
    (?, ?, ?)
ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE
    `views` = stats.views + 1

A source callback or QueryBuilder instance can be used instead of explicit values. This allows you to do upserts across tables or subqueries.

To do this, provide a source that is either a function to configure a new QueryBuilder instance or an already configured QueryBuilder instance. Then specify the columns that will be affected as an array of strings to values.

qb.table( "stats" )
    .upsert(
        source = function( q ) {
            q.from( "activeDirectoryUsers" )
                .select( [
                    "username",
                    "active",
                    "createdDate",
                    "modifiedDate"
                ] );
        },
        values = [ "username", "active", "createdDate", "modifiedDate" ],
        target = [ "username" ],
        update = [ "active", "modifiedDate" ]
    );
INSERT INTO `users`
    (`username`, `active`, `createdDate`, `modifiedDate`)
SELECT `username`, `active`, `createdDate`, `modifiedDate`
FROM `activeDirectoryUsers`
ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE
    `active` = VALUES(`active`),
    `modifiedDate` = VALUES(`modifiedDate`)

delete

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

id

any

false

idColumn

string

false

"id"

The name of the id column for the delete shorthand.

options

boolean

false

{}

Any additional queryExecute options.

toSql

boolean

false

false

If true, returns the raw SQL string instead of running the query. Useful for debugging.

Deletes all records that the query returns.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .where( "email", "foo" )
    .delete();
MySQL
DELETE FROM `users`
WHERE `email` = ?

The id argument is a convenience to delete a single record by id.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .delete( 1 );
MySQL
DELETE FROM `users`
WHERE `id` = ?

returning

Name
Type
Required
Default
Description

columns

string | array

true

A single column, a list or columns, or an array of columns to return from the inserted query.

returning is only supported in PostgresGrammar, SqlServerGrammar, and SQLiteGrammar. Using this method on unsupported grammars will result in an UnsupportedOperation exception. Be aware that using this method constrains your grammar choices.

Specifies columns to be returned from the insert query.

QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .returning( "id" )
    .insert( {
        "email" = "foo",
        "name" = "bar"
    } );
INSERT INTO [users] ([email], [name])
OUTPUT INSERTED.[id]
VALUES (?, ?)

The returning function also applies to update and delete calls.

QueryBuilder
query.table( "users" )
    .returning( [ "id", "modifiedDate" ] )
    .where( "id", 1 )
    .update( { "email": "john@example.com" } );
UPDATE [users]
SET [email] = ?
OUTPUT INSERTED.[id], INSERTED.[modifiedDate]
WHERE [id] = ?
QueryBuilder
query.table( "users" )
    .returning( "id" )
    .where( "active", 0 )
    .delete();
DELETE FROM [users]
OUTPUT DELETED.[id]
WHERE [active] = ?

You can also use raw Expressions in a returning call. This is especially useful for SQL Server returning both the old and new values from an update call.

QueryBuilder
qb.from( "users" )
    .where( "id", 1 )
    .returningRaw( [
        "DELETED.modifiedDate AS oldModifiedDate",
        "INSERTED.modifiedDate AS newModifiedDate"
    ] )
    .update( { "email": "john@example.com" } );
UPDATE [users]
SET [email] = ?
OUTPUT
    DELETED.modifiedDate AS oldModifiedDate,
    INSERTED.modifiedDate AS newModifiedDate
WHERE [id] = ?
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