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Retrieving Results

get
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
columns
string | array
false
​
A shortcut parameter to retrieve only these columns overriding any columns previously set on the QueryBuilder.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
The get method is the most common method used for retrieving results. It executes using the configured QueryBuilder and returns the results.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).get();
SQL (MySQL)
SELECT * FROM `users`
get can also take a list or array of columns to use as a shortcut. If any are passed, those columns will be used instead of any columns previously set on the QueryBuilder.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).get( [ "id", "name" ] );
SQL (MySQL)
SELECT `id`, `name` FROM `users`
first
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
If you just need to retrieve a single row from the database table, you may use the first method. This method will return a single record (a Struct by default). If no row is found an empty Struct will be returned by default.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).first();
SQL (MySQL)
SELECT * FROM `users`
 LIMIT(1)
firstOrFail
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
errorMessage
string
false
​
An optional string error message or callback to produce a string error message. If a callback is used, it is passed the QueryBuilder instance as the only argument.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
throws: EntityNotFound
Returns the first matching row for the configured query, just like first. If no records are found, it throws an EntityNotFound exception.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).firstOrFail();
SQL (MySQL)
SELECT * FROM `users`
 LIMIT(1)
values
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
column
any
true
​
The name of the column to retrieve or an Expression to retrieve.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
If you don't even need an entire row, you may extract a single value from each record using the values method. The values method will return the column of your choosing as a simple array.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).values( "firstName" );
Result
[ "jon", "jane", "jill", ... ]
An expression can also be passed to values:
qb.from( "users" ).values( qb.raw( "CONCAT(fname, ' ', lname) AS fullName" ) );
The valuesRaw function can make this pattern more ergonomic.
valuesRaw
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
column
string
true
​
The sql to use as an Expression.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
The values method will return the expression given for each row as a simple array.
query.from( "users" ).valuesRaw( "CONCAT(fname, ' ', lname) AS fullName" );
value
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
column
any
true
​
The name of the column to retrieve or an Expression to retrieve.
defaultValue
string
false
(empty string)
The default value returned if there are no records returned for the query.
throwWhenNotFound
boolean
false
false
If true, it throws a RecordCountException if no records are returned from the query.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
This method is similar to values except it only returns a single, simple value. Where values calls get under the hood, this method calls first.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).value( "firstName" );
Result
"jon"
If no records are returned from the query, one of two things will happen. If the throwWhenNotFound boolean is set to true, a RecordCountException will be thrown. Otherwise the defaultValue provided to the method will be returned.
An expression can also be passed to value:
qb.from( "users" ).value( qb.raw( "CONCAT(fname, ' ', lname) AS fullName" ) );
The valueRaw function can make this pattern more ergonomic.
valueRaw
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
column
string
true
​
The sql to use as an Expression.
defaultValue
string
false
(empty string)
The default value returned if there are no records returned for the query.
throwWhenNotFound
boolean
false
false
If true, it throws a RecordCountException if no records are returned from the query.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
The value method will return the expression given for the first row found.
query.from( "users" ).valueRaw( "CONCAT(fname, ' ', lname) AS fullName" );
chunk
Name
Type
Default
Description
max
numeric
​
The number of results to return in each chunk.
callback
Function
​
The function that will be called with each chunk.
options
struct
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
Large datasets can be broken up and retrieved in chunks. This allows you to work with a subset of results at once to keep your memory footprint under control.
chunk can be called on any query like you would call get. You can stop the retrieving and processing early by returning false from the callback.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" ).chunk( 100, function( users ) {
    // Process the users here
    // Returning false from the callback stops processing
} );
paginate
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
page
numeric
false
1
The page number to retrieve.
maxRows
numeric
false
25
The number of records per page.  If a number less than 0 is passed, 0 is used instead.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
Generates a pagination struct along with the results of the executed query. It does this by calling both count and forPage.
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .paginate();
Results
{
    "pagination": {
        "maxRows": 25,
        "offset": 0,
        "page": 1,
        "totalPages": 2,
        "totalRecords": 45
    },
    "results": [ { /* ... */ }, ]
}
The behavior when a maxRows of 0 or lower is passed is determined by the shouldMaxRowsOverrideToAll callback function. The default callback returns all rows for values <= 0. You can customize this behavior by passing a new callback to the shouldMaxRowsOverrideToAll setting or init argument.
simplePaginate
Name
Type
Required
Default
Description
page
numeric
false
1
The page number to retrieve.
maxRows
numeric
false
25
The number of records per page.  If a number less than 0 is passed, 0 is used instead.
options
struct
false
{}
Any additional queryExecute options.
Generates a simple pagination struct along with the results of the executed query. It does so without getting a count of the number of records the query would return.  This can be desirable for performance reasons if your query count is rather large.  It instead determines if there are more records by asking for one more row that your specified maxRows.  If the number of rows returned exceeds your specified maxRows then the pagination returns hasMore: true.  The results will always contain your specified maxRows (or less, if there aren't enough records).
QueryBuilder
query.from( "users" )
    .simplePaginate();
Results
{
    "pagination": {
        "maxRows": 25,
        "offset": 0,
        "page": 1,
        "hasMore": true
    },
    "results": [ { /* ... */ }, ]
}
The behavior when a maxRows of 0 or lower is passed is determined by the shouldMaxRowsOverrideToAll callback function. The default callback returns all rows for values <= 0. You can customize this behavior by passing a new callback to the shouldMaxRowsOverrideToAll setting or init argument.
Custom Pagination Collectors
A pagination collector is the name given to the struct returned from calling the paginate method. It can be a struct or a component. It needs one function defined and will be passed the following parameters.
generateWithResults
Name
Type
Description
totalRecords
numeric
The total records count.
results
any
The results of the query execution.  It will be passed as whatever return format the user has defined.
page
numeric
The current page number.
maxRows
numeric
The maximum number of rows retrieved per page.
You can set your custom pagination collector either in the constructor using the paginationCollector argument or by calling setPaginationCollector on a query builder instance.
By default, qb ships with cbpaginator as its pagination collector. The return format of cbpaginator is the example shown above.
In qb 8.4.0 the simplePaginate method was added.  This uses a new method on the paginationCollector.
generateSimpleWithResults
Name
Type
Description
results
any
The results of the query execution.  It will be passed as whatever return format the user has defined.
page
numeric
The current page number.
maxRows
numeric
The maximum number of rows retrieved per page.
If you use a custom paginationCollector, ensure it has been updated with this new generateSimpleWithResults method before calling simplePaginate.
Query Builder - Previous
Executing Queries
Aggregates
Last modified 6mo ago
Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
columns	string \| array	false		A shortcut parameter to retrieve only these columns overriding any columns previously set on the QueryBuilder.
options	struct	false	`{}`	Any additional `queryExecute` options.