jLinq Demo Site

If you’ve seen the early versions of jLinq then you know there is a dedicated online section to test out the project before you download it.

Well the new jLinq demo is now online with a shiny new logo and 25 code samples to show how to perform common (and not so common) tasks.

Of course, the rest of the site needs to be built… and the documentation needs to be written… well pretty much all the not fun coding parts still need to be done…

But in the meantime check out the new site and feel free to send any feedback!

jLinq in MongoDB (Oh snap!!)

My new project CSMongo, a Mongo driver for .NET, is now online! Check it out!

Yeah, you read that right – jLinq in MongoDB!

Lately I’ve been working on a Mongo database driver and I got to thinking — Since I can use Javascript with MongoDB then I wonder if I could use jLinq to write queries? As it turns out the answer is yes!

… and if you don’t know what jLinq is… – jLinq is a javascript query language, similar to the LINQ project created by Microsoft, for JSON data which was designed to run within web pages using Javascript

Getting Started

I’m not really sure how you can get a Javascript library to load directly into MongoDB but for now I was simply copying and pasting the existing jLinq packed library into the command line and allowing it to evaluate the script — and that is it! You can use jLinq right away!

You should be aware though that you can’t just evaluate results directly. You actually need to call the toArray() function on each of them to see the results. So for example, your query would look something like…

jLinq.from(db.users.find().toArray()).startsWith("name", "h").select();

You don’t need to actually do anything with the results since they are automatically displayed on the screen for you.

So far everything works. I could do standard queries, use the OR operator, reorder records, join different databases, perform comparisons against sub-properties — really everything I’ve tried has worked just the way I’d expect it to!

Granted, database and collection names are going to be different, here are some interesting queries you can try with your database.

//Selects records where the name starts with a, b or c (case-insensitive)
jLinq.from(db.users.find().toArray())
    .startsWith("name", "a")
    .or("b")
    .or("c")
    .select();

//selects users older than 50 and are administrators then orders them by their names
jLinq.from(db.users.find().toArray())
    .greater("age", 50)
    .is("admin")
    .orderBy("name")
    .select();

//performs a join against another database to get locations
//and then queries the location to find users that live in 'texas'
//and then selects only the name of the person and location
jLinq.from(db.users.find().toArray())
    .join(db.locations.find().toArray(), "location", "locationId", "id")
    .equals("location.name", "texas")
    .select(function(rec) {
        return {
            person: rec.name,
            location: rec.location.name
        };
    });

More On jLinq

Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to go over all of the cool stuff you can do with jLinq – but here are some screencasts and blog posts that you can read that might help you get started.

jLinq Project Page
Screencast 1 – Getting Started
Screencast 2 – Extending jLinq (Custom commands)
Screencast 3 – Modifying Live Data In A Query (Joins, Assignment)
Screencast 4 – jLinq 2.2.1 (Updates)

Anyways, for now I’m not sure how to integrate jLinq into Mongo queries but keep an eye for future blog posts as I find out more.

jLinq Update (2.2.1)

I’m off from work this week so the first thing I did was get some work done on jLinq. I’ve had a few bugs I’ve needed to sort out along with a new feature I wanted to implement. I’m also going to be working on documentation this week. Previously, I had created a Wiki and was hoping that people might add to the documentation… but instead spam bots pretty much ruined it so I’ll be starting over from scratch… oh well..

New Features

jLinq itself doesn’t really have a new feature but instead a new way to get the jLinq library. Instead of simply downloading a standard jLinq library you can use the new online jLinq Framework Generator to select only the functionality that you want to include. You can still download the basic pack but this option gives you a little more control what goes into your version of jLinq.

Changes

The most notable change for jLinq is that all of the operator commands have been included as standard functions for the framework. Before, these functions were actually methods extended onto the framework. Since these functions are required for jLinq to work I’ve moved them so that they are in every jLinq framework by default.

Bug Fixes

orderBy with joined records would return incorrect results
jLinq uses eval to figure out the values of field names since you can provide methods, array indexes or whatever. The code used to sort the values wasn’t getting the values correctly so the sorted result was always wrong.

using 0 in certain comparisons would return incorrect results
Ah, this one was fun. So check out the code below…

var values = [ 0 ];
var index = 0;
var a = !values[index];
var b = values[index] == null;


So what is a and what is b? If you said true and false then give yourself a cookie.

jLinq uses the number of arguments passed to help determine if anything is being memorized (like the field name). jLinq makes a quick pass to select all values until it finds a null value… or at least that is what I meant for it to do. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking when I wrote that method and didn’t check explicitly for null.

Feedback

If you find any problems with jLinq or have any suggestions, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Double Whammy – jLinq Release And Screencast!

Now that you’re all excited time for some disappointment – it is just a minor update to fix a few bugs and to add one new feature.

But instead of just blogging about it I’ve also done a new screencast to talk about the updates and new feature in this release.

• Dynamic Queries (using OR) – Before, if you used “OR” at the start of a query then you’d get an exception. jLinq would try and tag “||” at the start of your query which would cause the whole thing to collapse. Now, jLinq correctly handles this and prevents the error. In turn, writing dynamic queries just got a whole lot easier!.
• Range Comparisons With Dates – Version 2.2.0 introduced smarter comparisons by evaluating the types of values being passed in instead of expecting only one type. However, in the change, the range comparisons like greater, less, between, etc, would all incorrectly evaluate Dates as strings… bummer.
• Bitwise Flag Comparisons – jLinq 2.2.1 introduces a new query method called has which performs bitwise flag comparisons on records. It even works with regular ol’ numbers by converting them before performing the comparisons.

Anyways, go check out he new screen cast now and tell me what you think!

Bonus: CamStudio Icon

Last night while I was setting up CamStudio for this screencast I was looking at their UGLY icon they use for their program — I just couldn’t stand it being in my beautiful RocketDock – so I designed a new one for them. If you’re looking for an improved logo then you can download the PNG for the CamStudio icon.

jLinq Screencast #3 – Modifying Records During A Query

Sometimes when you get your records they aren’t exactly what you we’re needing, or sometimes some of the fields need to be formatted before they can be queried against. Fortunately, jLinq comes with that functionality built into it.

This screencast goes over several of the methods you have available to you that allow records to be formatted before they are selected.

• each(delegate(record)): Performs a loop through each of the values in the array. This code can be used to modify records, create new properties or anything you need it to do.
• attach(alias, delegate(record)): Performs the method passed in on each of the records in the array and attaches the result to the record using the alias provided.
• join(records, alias, foreignKey, primaryKey): Joins two arrays together using the alias and the keys to match the values. Joins tend to be slow when using large arrays, so use caution.

If you have any recommendations or requests for the next screencast, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

Side note: Never improvise on a screen cast – nothing like having to redo a screen cast twice because you say something that isn’t true and then realize it while recording. 🙂

jLinq (LINQ for JSON) Screencast #2 – Creating Your Own Extension Methods

jLinq is a Javascript library that allows you to do LINQ style queries with JSON data.

Did you know that jLinq let’s you extend the base library with your own methods? Did you realize that any method you create plugs right in and works with the built in jLinq features?

This screencast goes over some of the basics to creating your first extension method for jLinq.

Creating A Query Method

A Query method is what determines what records stay and which records are removed from a jLinq query. Here is a sample of what a extension method looks like.

jLinq.extend({
    name:"evenValues", //the name of this method
    type:"query", //the kind of method this is
    count:0, //how many parameters we expect
    method:function(query) {	

        //determine how to evaluate the value being compared
        var compare = query.when({
            "string":function() {
                return query.value.length;
            },
            "array":function() {
                return query.value.length;
            },
            "other":function() {
                return query.helper.getNumericValue(query.value);
            }
        });		
        
        //the actual comparison
        return compare % 2 == 0;		
    }
});

You’ll notice we provide the name of this new method, the kind of method (in this instance, a query method), the expected number of parameters (not counting the field name) and then the actual method we use to determine if we keep the record.

If you don’t understand how this works exactly then you might want to watch the screencast at the end of this post to see how this works step by step.

Operator Naming

This screencast also explains operator naming. When you extend a query method, several additional operator prefixed name methods are added to jLinq as well. Each of these perform the correct switches when they are used. For example…

//this method is one way to do it
jLinq.from(data.users)
    .less("age", 30)
    .or()
    .evenValues()
    .select();

//this method was generated automatically - saves us a step!
jLinq.from(data.users)
    .less("age", 30)
    .orEvenValues()
    .select();

Of course, if you name your method something like orHasSomeValue() you’re going to end up with some strangely named operator methods (for example orOrHasSomeValue()).

It’s Simple–ish

Extension methods are a little confusing at first but after you create your first one you should be on your way. This screencast will get you started in that direction.

Watch Screencast #2 – Extending A Method In jLinq

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jLinq Screencast #1 – Getting Started With jLinq

Want to get started using jLinq, but want to see it in action a little before you do? You could go try it out online or you could watch the brand new jLinq screencast!

Yep, with a lot of effort, I’ve done my first screencast and it turned out not half bad (my wife survived 45 seconds before she left – she felt it was too boring 🙂 )

jLinq Screencast #1

• The four different types of commands in jLinq — source, query, action and selection.
• How to select a new object type from the .select() command.
• Reuse a query after selecting records.
• Explained how Command Memorizing and Field Memorizing works.
• Several sample queries.

So, what would you like to see next?