Package org.eclipse.persistence.expressions

Class Expression

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    Serializable, Cloneable
    Direct Known Subclasses:
    BaseExpression, CompoundExpression, ConstantExpression, LiteralExpression
    public abstract class Expression
extends Object
implements Serializable, Cloneable

    Purpose: Define an object-level representation of a database query where clause.

    Description: An expression is a tree-like structure that defines the selection criteria for a query against objects in the database. The expression has the advantage over SQL by being at the object-level, i.e. the object model attributes and relationships can be used to be query on instead of the database field names. Because it is an object, not a string the expression has the advantage that is can be easily manipulated through code to easily build complex selection criterias.

    Responsibilities:

    • Store the selection criteria in a tree-like structure.
    • Support public manipulation protocols for all comparison and function operators.
    • Use operator overloading to support all primitive types as well as objects.
    See Also:
    Serialized Form

    • Field Detail

      • lastTable

        protected transient DatabaseTable lastTable
        Temporary values for table aliasing

      • selectIfOrderedBy

        protected boolean selectIfOrderedBy

      • hashCode

        protected int hashCode
        PERF: Cache the hashCode.

      • shouldUseUpperCaseForIgnoreCase

        public static boolean shouldUseUpperCaseForIgnoreCase
        Use the upper() function for case insensitive expression operations (default). Seting this flag to false will use the lower() function instead.

    • Constructor Detail

      • Expression

        public Expression()
        Base Expression Constructor. Not generally used by Developers

    • Method Detail

      • addDate

        public Expression addDate​(String datePart,
                          int numberToAdd)
        PUBLIC: Function, return an expression that adds to a date based on the specified datePart. This is equivalent to the Sybase DATEADD function.

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").addDate("year", 2)
 Java: NA
 SQL: DATEADD(date, 2, year)

      • addDate

        public Expression addDate​(String datePart,
                          Object numberToAdd)
        PUBLIC: Function, return an expression that adds to a date based on the specified datePart. This is equivalent to the Sybase DATEADD function.

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").addDate("year", 2)
 Java: NA
 SQL: DATEADD(date, 2, year)

      • addMonths

        public Expression addMonths​(int months)
        PUBLIC: Function, to add months to a date.

      • addMonths

        public Expression addMonths​(Object months)
        PUBLIC: Function, to add months to a date.

      • allOf

        public Expression allOf​(String attributeName,
                        Expression criteria)
        PUBLIC: Returns an expression equivalent to all of attributeName holding true for criteria.

        For every expression with an anyOf, its negation has either an allOf or a noneOf. The following two examples will illustrate as the second is the negation of the first:

        AnyOf Example: Employees with a non '613' area code phone number. 

         ReadAllQuery query = new ReadAllQuery(Employee.class);
 ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
 Expression exp = employee.anyOf("phoneNumbers").get("areaCode").notEqual("613");

        AllOf Example: Employees with all '613' area code phone numbers. 

         ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ExpressionBuilder phones = new ExpressionBuilder();
 Expression exp = employee.allOf("phoneNumbers", phones.get("areaCode").equal("613"));
 SQL:
 SELECT ... EMPLOYEE t0 WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT ... PHONE t1 WHERE
                     (t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID) AND NOT (t1.AREACODE = '613'))

        allOf is the universal counterpart to the existential anyOf. To have the condition evaluated for each instance it must be put inside of a subquery, which can be expressed as not exists (any of attributeName some condition). (All x such that y = !Exist x such that !y).

        Likewise the syntax employee.allOf("phoneNumbers").get("areaCode").equal("613") is not supported for the 

        equal
        must go inside a subQuery.

        This method saves you from writing the sub query yourself. The above is equivalent to the following expression: 

         ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ExpressionBuilder phone = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ReportQuery subQuery = new ReportQuery(Phone.class, phone);
 subQuery.retreivePrimaryKeys();
 subQuery.setSelectionCriteria(phone.equal(employee.anyOf("phoneNumbers").and(
         phone.get("areaCode").notEqual("613")));
 Expression exp = employee.notExists(subQuery);

        Note if employee has no phone numbers allOf ~ noneOf.

        Parameters:
        criteria - must have its own builder, as it will become the separate selection criteria of a subQuery.
        Returns:
        a notExists subQuery expression

      • and

        public Expression and​(Expression theExpression)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that is the boolean logical combination of both expressions. This is equivalent to the SQL "AND" operator and the Java "&&" operator.

        Example: 

          EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").equal("Bob").and(employee.get("lastName").equal("Smith"))
  Java: (employee.getFirstName().equals("Bob")) && (employee.getLastName().equals("Smith"))
  SQL: F_NAME = 'Bob' AND L_NAME = 'Smith'

      • anyOf

        public Expression anyOf​(String attributeName)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression representing traversal of a 1:many or many:many relationship. This allows you to query whether any of the "many" side of the relationship satisfies the remaining criteria.

        Example:

        This table compares an example EclipseLink anyOf Expression to Java and SQL
        Format Equivalent
        EclipseLink 
         ReadAllQuery query = new ReadAllQuery(Employee.class);
        
 ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
        
 Expression exp = builder.get("id").equal("14858");
        
 exp = exp.or(builder.anyOf("managedEmployees").get("firstName").equal("Bob"));
        Java No direct equivalent
        SQL SELECT DISTINCT ... WHERE (t2.MGR_ID (+) = t1.ID) AND (t2.F_NAME = 'Bob')

      • anyOf

        public Expression anyOf​(String attributeName,
                        boolean shouldJoinBeIndependent)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing traversal of a 1:many or many:many relationship. This allows you to query whether any of the "many" side of the relationship satisfies the remaining criteria.

        Example:

        This table compares an example EclipseLink anyOf Expression to Java and SQL
        Format Equivalent
        EclipseLink 
         ReadAllQuery query = new ReadAllQuery(Employee.class);
        
 ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
        
 Expression exp = builder.get("id").equal("14858");
        
 exp = exp.or(builder.anyOf("managedEmployees").get("firstName").equal("Bob"));
        Java No direct equivalent
        SQL SELECT DISTINCT ... WHERE (t2.MGR_ID (+) = t1.ID) AND (t2.F_NAME = 'Bob')
        Parameters:
        shouldJoinBeIndependent - indicates whether a new expression should be created.

      • anyOfAllowingNone

        public Expression anyOfAllowingNone​(String attributeName)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing traversal of a 1:many or many:many relationship. This allows you to query whether any of the "many" side of the relationship satisfies the remaining criteria. This version of the anyOf operation performs an outer join. Outer joins allow the join to performed even if the target of the relationship is empty. NOTE: outer joins are not supported on all database and have differing semantics.

        Example:

        This table compares an example EclipseLink anyOfAllowingNone Expression to Java and SQL
        Format Equivalent
        EclipseLink 
         ReadAllQuery query = new ReadAllQuery(Employee.class);
        
 ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
        
 Expression exp = builder.get("id").equal("14858");
        
 exp = exp.or(builder.anyOfAllowingNone("managedEmployees").get("firstName").equal("Bob"));
        Java No direct equivalent
        SQL SELECT DISTINCT ... WHERE (t2.MGR_ID (+) = t1.ID) AND (t2.F_NAME = 'Bob')

      • anyOfAllowingNone

        public Expression anyOfAllowingNone​(String attributeName,
                                    boolean shouldJoinBeIndependent)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing traversal of a 1:many or many:many relationship. This allows you to query whether any of the "many" side of the relationship satisfies the remaining criteria. This version of the anyOf operation performs an outer join. Outer joins allow the join to performed even if the target of the relationship is empty. NOTE: outer joins are not supported on all database and have differing semantics.

        Example:

        This table compares an example EclipseLink anyOfAllowingNone Expression to Java and SQL
        Format Equivalent
        EclipseLink 
         ReadAllQuery query = new ReadAllQuery(Employee.class);
        
 ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
        
 Expression exp = builder.get("id").equal("14858");
        
 exp = exp.or(builder.anyOfAllowingNone("managedEmployees").get("firstName").equal("Bob"));
        Java No direct equivalent
        SQL SELECT DISTINCT ... WHERE (t2.MGR_ID (+) = t1.ID) AND (t2.F_NAME = 'Bob')
        Parameters:
        shouldJoinBeIndependent - indicates whether a new expression should be created.

      • as

        public Expression as​(String alias)
        ADVANCED: Assign an alias to the expression in the select clause.

      • treat

        public Expression treat​(Class castClass)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression that allows you to treat its base as if it were a subclass of the class returned by the base This can only be called on an ExpressionBuilder, the result of expression.get(String), expression.getAllowingNull(String), the result of expression.anyOf("String") or the result of expression.anyOfAllowingNull("String") downcast uses Expression.type() internally to guarantee the results are of the specified class.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("project").treat(LargeProject.class).get("budget").equal(1000)
     Java: ((LargeProject)employee.getProjects().get(0)).getBudget() == 1000
     SQL: LPROJ.PROJ_ID (+)= PROJ.PROJ_ID AND L_PROJ.BUDGET = 1000 AND PROJ.TYPE = "L"

      • ascending

        public Expression ascending()
        PUBLIC: This can only be used within an ordering expression. It will order the result ascending. Example: 
          readAllQuery.addOrderBy(expBuilder.get("address").get("city").ascending())

      • nullsFirst

        public Expression nullsFirst()
        PUBLIC: This can only be used within an ordering expression. Null results will be ordered first. Example: 
          readAllQuery.addOrderBy(expBuilder.get("address").get("city").ascending().nullsFirst())

      • nullsLast

        public Expression nullsLast()
        PUBLIC: This can only be used within an ordering expression. Null results will be ordered last. Example: 
          readAllQuery.addOrderBy(expBuilder.get("address").get("city").ascending().nullsLast())

      • asciiValue

        public Expression asciiValue()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the single character strings ascii value.

      • asOf

        public Expression asOf​(AsOfClause pastTime)
        Sets all tables represented by this expression to be queried as of a past time.

        Example: 

          EclipseLink: employee.asOf(new AsOfClause(pastTime))
  Java: None
  SQL (Flashback): SELECT ... FROM EMPLOYEE AS OF TIMESTAMP (pastTime) t0 ...
  SQL (Generic): .. WHERE (t1.START <= pastTime) AND ((t1.END IS NULL) OR t1.END > pastTime)

        Set an as of clause at the expression level to still query for current objects while expressing selection criteria like:

        • query objects as of one time that met some condition at another time.
        • query objects that changed a certain way over a certain interval (querying for change).

        Simultaneously querying on two versions of the same object (one past one present) lets you express these advanced selection criteria.

        Example: Querying on past attributes using parallel expressions. 

           // Finds all employees who lived in Ottawa as of a past time.
   ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
   ExpressionBuilder pastEmployee = new ExpressionBuilder(Employee.class);
   pastEmployee.asOf(pastTime);
   Expression pastAddress = pastEmployee.get("address"); // by default address will also be as of past time.
   Expression selectionCriteria = pastAddress.get("city").equal("Ottawa").and(
       employee.equal(pastEmployee));

        The advantage of the parallel expression is that you can still read current objects, the as of clause will affect only the where clause / selection criteria.

        You may be tempted to rewrite the above as employee.get("address").asOf(pastTime). That is allowed but see below for the finer points involved in this.

        Example: Querying on object changes using parallel expressions. 

           // Finds all employees who recently received a raise.  Note that current
   // objects are returned, so can be cached normally.
   ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
   Expression pastEmployee = new ExpressionBuilder(Employee.class);
   pastEmployee.asOf(yesterday);
   Expression parallelJoin = employee.equal(pastEmployee);
   Expression selectionCriteria = parallelJoin.and(
       employee.get("salary").greaterThan(pastEmployee.get("salary")));

        Example: Querying on object changes using custom query keys 

           // First define the custom query key and add it to your descriptor.
   ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder(Employee.class);
   Expression joinCriteria = builder.getField("EMPLOYEE.EMP_ID").equal(builder.getParameter("EMPLOYEE.EMP_ID"));
   OneToOneQueryKey selfReferential = new OneToOneQueryKey();
   selfReferential.setName("this");
   selfReferential.setJoinCriteria(joinCriteria);
   selfReferential.setReferenceClass(Employee.class);
   getSession().getDescriptor(Employee.class).addQueryKey(selfReferential);

   // Now build query as before.
   Expression employee = new ExpessionBuilder();
   Expression pastEmployee = employee.get("this").asOf(yesterday);
   Expression selectionCriteria = employee.get("salary").greaterThan(pastEmployee.get("salary"));

        Note in general that any parallel expression can be rewritten using a custom query key. EclipseLink will even automatically interpret x.get("this") for you so you do not need to define the above query key first.

        Full Reference:

        If an object is mapped to multiple tables, then each table will be as of the same time. Two objects mapped to the same table can not have different as of times. Conversely only expressions which have associated tables can have an as of clause.

        If an as of clause is not explicitly set an expression will use the clause of its base expression, and so on recursively until one is found or an ExpressionBuilder is reached. Some usage scenarios follow:

        • employee.asOf(pastTime).anyOf("projects"): projects as of past time.
        • expressionBuilder.asOf(pastTime): entire expression as of past time.
        • employee.asOf(pastTime).anyOf("projects").asOf(null): projects as of current time.
        • employee.anyOf("projects").asOf(pastTime): projects only as of past time.

        Watch out for x.asOf(oneTime).get("y").asOf(anotherTime).

        • emp.anyOf("phoneNumbers").asOf(yesterday) = emp.asOf(yesterday).anyOf("phoneNumbers") but:
        • emp.get("address").asOf(yesterday) != emp.asOf(yesterday).get("address").
        Whether the join is also as of yesterday depends on which table the foreign key field resides on. In an anyOf the foreign key is always on the right, but in a get (1-1) it could be on either side. For this reason employee.get("address").asOf(yesterday) is undefined as it can mean either 'my address as of yesterday', or 'my address, as of yesterday.'
        Parameters:
        pastTime - A read only data object used to represent a past time.
        Returns:
        this
        Since:
        OracleAS EclipseLink 10g (10.0.3)
        See Also:
        AsOfClause, hasAsOfClause(), Session.acquireHistoricalSession(org.eclipse.persistence.history.AsOfClause), ObjectLevelReadQuery.setAsOfClause(org.eclipse.persistence.history.AsOfClause)

      • assignAlias

        protected void assignAlias​(String name,
                           DatabaseTable tableOrExpression)
        INTERNAL: Alias a particular table within this node

      • assignTableAliasesStartingAt

        public int assignTableAliasesStartingAt​(int initialValue)
        INTERNAL: Assign aliases to any tables which I own. Start with t(initialValue), and return the new value of the counter , i.e. if initialValue is one and I have tables ADDRESS and EMPLOYEE I will assign them t1 and t2 respectively, and return 3.

      • average

        public Expression average()
        PUBLIC: Function, This represents the aggregate function Average. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • between

        public Expression between​(byte leftValue,
                          byte rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two bytes

      • between

        public Expression between​(char leftChar,
                          char rightChar)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two chars

      • between

        public Expression between​(double leftValue,
                          double rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two doubles

      • between

        public Expression between​(float leftValue,
                          float rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two floats

      • between

        public Expression between​(int leftValue,
                          int rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two ints

      • between

        public Expression between​(long leftValue,
                          long rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two longs

      • between

        public Expression between​(Object leftValue,
                          Object rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receiver's value is between two other values. This means the receiver's value is greater than or equal to the leftValue argument and less than or equal to the rightValue argument.

        This is equivalent to the SQL "BETWEEN AND" operator and Java ">=", "<=;" operators.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").between(19,50)
     Java: (employee.getAge() >= 19) && (employee.getAge() <= 50)
     SQL: AGE BETWEEN 19 AND 50

      • between

        public Expression between​(short leftValue,
                          short rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Function, between two shorts

      • caseStatement

        public Expression caseStatement​(Map caseItems,
                                Object defaultItem)
        PUBLIC: Function Convert values returned by the query to values given in the caseItems Map. The equivalent of the Oracle CASE function

        Example: 

         Map caseTable = new HashMap();
 caseTable.put("Robert", "Bob");
 caseTable.put("Susan", "Sue");

 EclipseLink: employee.get("name").caseStatement(caseTable, "No-Nickname")
 Java: NA
 SQL: CASE name WHEN "Robert" THEN "Bob"
     WHEN "Susan" THEN "Sue"
  ELSE "No-Nickname"
        Parameters:
        caseItems - java.util.Map A Map containing the items to be processed. Keys represent the items to match coming from the query. Values represent what a key will be changed to.
        defaultItem - java.lang.String the default value that will be used if none of the keys in the hashtable match

      • caseStatement

        public ArgumentListFunctionExpression caseStatement()
        INTERNAL: Creates an ArgumentListFunctionExpression that is capable of creating a case statement of the form: 
         SQL: CASE name WHEN "Robert" THEN "Bob"
     WHEN "Susan" THEN "Sue"
  ELSE "No-Nickname"
        This expression must be manipulated to successfully build a case statement by adding appropriate children to it. A child must be added for the "case expression" (name above), a pair of children must be added for each "when then" expression and a child must be added for the else.
        See Also:
        ArgumentListFunctionExpression

      • caseConditionStatement

        public Expression caseConditionStatement​(Map<Expression,​Object> caseConditions,
                                         Object defaultItem)
        PUBLIC: Function Convert values returned by the query to values given in the caseConditions Map. The equivalent of the SQL CASE function

        Example: 

         Map caseTable = new HashMap();
 caseTable.put(employee.get("name").equals("Robert"), "Bob");
 caseTable.put(employee.get("name").equals("Susan"), "Sue");

 EclipseLink: expressionBuilder.caseConditionStatement(caseTable, "No-Nickname")
 Java: NA
 SQL: CASE WHEN name = "Robert" THEN "Bob"
     WHEN name = "Susan" THEN "Sue"
  ELSE "No-Nickname"
        Parameters:
        caseConditions - java.util.Map A Map containing the items to be processed. Keys represent the items to match coming from the query. Values represent what a key will be changed to.
        defaultItem - java.lang.Object the default value that will be used if none of the keys in the Map match

      • caseConditionStatement

        public ArgumentListFunctionExpression caseConditionStatement()
        INTERNAL: Creates an ArgumentListFunctionExpression that is capable of creating a case statement of the form: 
         SQL: CASE WHEN name = "Robert" THEN "Bob"
     WHEN name = "Susan" THEN "Sue"
  ELSE "No-Nickname"
        This expression must be manipulated to successfully build a case statement by adding appropriate children to it. A pair of children must be added for each "when then" expression and a child must be added for the else.
        See Also:
        ArgumentListFunctionExpression

      • nullIf

        public Expression nullIf​(Object object)
        PUBLIC: Function Test if arguments are equal, returning null if they are and the value of the first expression otherwise.

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: builder.get("name").nullIf( "Bobby")
 Java: NA
 SQL: NULLIF(name, "Bobby")
        Parameters:
        object - java.lang.Object the value/expression that will be compared to the base expression

      • coalesce

        public ArgumentListFunctionExpression coalesce​(Collection expressions)
        PUBLIC: Function Return null if all arguments are null and the first non-null argument otherwise The equivalent of the COALESCE SQL function

        Example: 

         List list = new ArrayList(3);
 list.add(builder.get("firstName"));
 list.add(builder.get("lastName"));
 list.add(builder.get("nickname"));

 EclipseLink: expressionBuilder.coalesce(caseTable)
 Java: NA
 SQL: COALESCE(firstname, lastname, nickname)
        Parameters:
        expressions - java.util.Collection A Collection containing the items to check if null

      • clone

        public Object clone()
        INTERNAL: Clone the expression maintaining clone identity in the inter-connected expression graph.
        Overrides:
        clone in class Object

      • concat

        public Expression concat​(Object left)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the concatenation of the two string values.

      • containsAllKeyWords

        public Expression containsAllKeyWords​(String spaceSeparatedKeyWords)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that performs a key word search.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: project.get("description").containsAllKeyWords("EclipseLink rdbms java")

      • containsAnyKeyWords

        public Expression containsAnyKeyWords​(String spaceSeparatedKeyWords)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that performs a key word search.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: project.get("description").containsAllKeyWords("EclipseLink rdbms java")

      • containsSubstring

        public Expression containsSubstring​(String theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value contains the substring.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").containsSubstring("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().indexOf("Bob") != -1
     SQL: F_NAME LIKE '%BOB%'

      • containsSubstring

        public Expression containsSubstring​(Expression expression)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value contains the substring.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").containsSubstring("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().indexOf("Bob") != -1
     SQL: F_NAME LIKE '%BOB%'

      • containsSubstringIgnoringCase

        public Expression containsSubstringIgnoringCase​(String theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value contains the substring, ignoring case.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").containsSubstringIgnoringCase("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().toUpperCase().indexOf("BOB") != -1
     SQL: UPPER(F_NAME) LIKE '%BOB%'

      • containsSubstringIgnoringCase

        public Expression containsSubstringIgnoringCase​(Expression expression)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value contains the substring, ignoring case.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").containsSubstringIgnoringCase("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().toUpperCase().indexOf("BOB") != -1
     SQL: UPPER(F_NAME) LIKE '%BOB%'

      • convertNodeToUseOuterJoin

        protected void convertNodeToUseOuterJoin()

      • convertToUseOuterJoin

        public Expression convertToUseOuterJoin()
        INTERNAL: Modify this expression to use outer joins wherever there are equality operations between two field nodes.

      • copiedVersionFrom

        public Expression copiedVersionFrom​(Map alreadyDone)
        INTERNAL:

      • count

        public Expression count()
        PUBLIC: This represents the aggregate function Average. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • currentTimeStamp

        public Expression currentTimeStamp()
        PUBLIC: This gives access to the current timestamp on the database through expression. Please note, this method is added for consistency and returns the same result as currentDate.

      • currentDate

        public Expression currentDate()
        PUBLIC: This gives access to the current date on the database through expression.

      • currentDateDate

        public Expression currentDateDate()
        PUBLIC: This gives access to the current date only on the database through expression. Note the difference between currentDate() and this method. This method does not return the time portion of current date where as currentDate() does.

      • currentTime

        public Expression currentTime()
        PUBLIC: This gives access to the current time only on the database through expression. Note the difference between currentDate() and this method. This method does not return the date portion where as currentDate() does.

      • dateDifference

        public Expression dateDifference​(String datePart,
                                 Date date)
        PUBLIC: Function, Return the difference between the queried part of a date(i.e. years, days etc.) and same part of the given date. The equivalent of the Sybase function DateDiff

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").dateDifference("year", new Date(System.currentTimeMillis()))
 Java: NA
 SQL: DATEADD(date, 2, GETDATE)

      • dateDifference

        public Expression dateDifference​(String datePart,
                                 Expression comparisonExpression)
        PUBLIC: Function, Return the difference between the queried part of a date(i.e. years, days etc.) and same part of the given date. The equivalent of the Sybase function DateDiff

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").dateDifference("year", new Date(System.currentTimeMillis()))
 Java: NA
 SQL: DATEADD(date, 2, GETDATE)

      • dateName

        public Expression dateName​(String datePart)
        PUBLIC: return a string that represents the given part of a date. The equivalent of the Sybase DATENAME function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").dateName("year")
 Java: new String(date.getYear())
 SQL: DATENAME(date, year)

      • datePart

        public Expression datePart​(String datePart)
        PUBLIC: Function return an integer which represents the requested part of the date. Equivalent of the Sybase function DATEPART

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").datePart("year")
 Java: date.getYear()
 SQL: DATEPART(date, year)

      • dateToString

        public Expression dateToString()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the date converted to the string value in the default database format.

      • decode

        public Expression decode​(Map decodeableItems,
                         String defaultItem)
        PUBLIC: Function Convert values returned by the query to values given in the decodeableItems Map. The equivalent of the Oracle DECODE function. Note: This will only work on databases that support Decode with the syntax below.

        Example: 

         Map decodeTable = new HashMap();
 decodeTable.put("Robert", "Bob");
 decodeTable.put("Susan", "Sue");

 EclipseLink: employee.get("name").Decode(decodeTable, "No-Nickname")
 Java: NA
 SQL: DECODE(name, "Robert", "Bob", "Susan", "Sue", "No-Nickname")
        Parameters:
        decodeableItems - java.util.Map a Map containing the items to be decoded. Keys represent the items to match coming from the query. Values represent what a key will be changed to.
        defaultItem - the default value that will be used if none of the keys in the Map match

      • descending

        public Expression descending()
        PUBLIC: This can only be used within an ordering expression. It will order the result descending.

        Example: 

         readAllQuery.addOrderBy(expBuilder.get("address").get("city").descending())

      • descriptionOfNodeType

        public String descriptionOfNodeType()
        INTERNAL: Used in debug printing of this node.

      • difference

        public Expression difference​(String expression)
        PUBLIC: Function return a value which indicates how much difference there is between two expressions. Equivalent of the Sybase DIFFERENCE function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").difference("Frank")
 SQL: DIFFERENCE(name, 'Frank')

      • distinct

        public Expression distinct()
        PUBLIC: Function, This represents the distinct option inside an aggregate function. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • doesConform

        public boolean doesConform​(Object object,
                           AbstractSession session,
                           AbstractRecord translationRow,
                           int valueHolderPolicy)
                    throws QueryException
        INTERNAL: Check if the object conforms to the expression in memory. This is used for in-memory querying. By default throw an exception as all valid root expressions must override. If the expression in not able to determine if the object conform throw a not supported exception.
        Throws:
        QueryException

      • doesConform

        public boolean doesConform​(Object object,
                           AbstractSession session,
                           AbstractRecord translationRow,
                           int valueHolderPolicy,
                           boolean objectIsUnregistered)
                    throws QueryException
        INTERNAL: New parameter added to doesConform for feature 2612601
        Parameters:
        objectIsUnregistered - true if object possibly not a clone, but is being conformed against the unit of work cache; if object is not in the UOW cache but some of its attributes are, use the registered versions of object's attributes for the purposes of this method.
        Throws:
        QueryException

      • equals

        public boolean equals​(Object expression)
        INTERNAL: Return if the expression is equal to the other. This is used to allow dynamic expression's SQL to be cached. Two expressions should be considered equal if they have the same "parameterized" SQL. This must be over written by each subclass.
        Overrides:
        equals in class Object

      • hashCode

        public int hashCode()
        INTERNAL: Return a consistent hash-code for the expression. This is used to allow dynamic expression's SQL to be cached. Two expressions should have the same hashCode if they have the same "parameterized" SQL. This should be over written by each subclass to provide a consistent value.
        Overrides:
        hashCode in class Object

      • computeHashCode

        public int computeHashCode()
        INTERNAL: Compute a consistent hash-code for the expression. This is used to allow dynamic expression's SQL to be cached. Two expressions should have the same hashCode if they have the same "parameterized" SQL. This should be over written by each subclass to provide a consistent value.

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(byte theValue)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(char theChar)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(double theValue)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(float theValue)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(int theValue)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(long theValue)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receiver's value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").equal("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().equals("Bob")
     SQL: F_NAME = 'Bob'

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(Expression theValue)
        Returns an expression that compares if the receiver's value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

        Since OracleAS EclipseLink 10g (9.0.4) if this is an ExpressionBuilder and theValue is not used elsewhere, both will be translated to the same table. This can generate SQL with one less join for most exists subqueries.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("manager").equal(employee)
     Java: employee.getManager().equals(employee)
     SQL (optimized): EMP_ID = MANAGER_ID
     SQL (unoptimized): t0.MANAGER_ID = t1.EMP_ID AND t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(short theValue)

      • equal

        public Expression equal​(boolean theBoolean)

      • equalOuterJoin

        public Expression equalOuterJoin​(Object theValue)
        INTERNAL: Return an expression representing an outer join comparison

      • equalOuterJoin

        public Expression equalOuterJoin​(Expression theValue)
        INTERNAL: Return an expression representing an outer join comparison

      • equalsIgnoreCase

        public Expression equalsIgnoreCase​(String theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receiver's value is equal to the other value, ignoring case. This is equivalent to the Java "equalsIgnoreCase" method.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").equalsIgnoreCase("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().equalsIgnoreCase("Bob")
     SQL: UPPER(F_NAME) = 'BOB'

      • equalsIgnoreCase

        public Expression equalsIgnoreCase​(Expression theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receiver's value is equal to the other value, ignoring case. This is equivalent to the Java "equalsIgnoreCase" method.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").equalsIgnoreCase("Bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().equalsIgnoreCase("Bob")
     SQL: UPPER(F_NAME) = 'BOB'

      • exists

        public Expression exists​(ReportQuery subQuery)
        PUBLIC: Return a sub query expression. A sub query using a report query to define a subselect within another queries expression or select's where clause. The sub query (the report query) will use its own expression builder be can reference expressions from the base expression builder.

        Example: 

         ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ReportQuery subQuery = new ReportQuery(Employee.class, new ExpressionBuilder());
 subQuery.setSelectionCriteria(subQuery.getExpressionBuilder().get("name").equal(builder.get("name")));
 builder.exists(subQuery);

      • extractPrimaryKeyValues

        public boolean extractPrimaryKeyValues​(boolean requireExactMatch,
                                       ClassDescriptor descriptor,
                                       AbstractRecord primaryKeyRow,
                                       AbstractRecord translationRow)
        INTERNAL: Extract the primary key from the expression into the row. Ensure that the query is querying the exact primary key. Return false if not on the primary key.

      • extractValues

        public boolean extractValues​(boolean primaryKeyOnly,
                             boolean requireExactMatch,
                             ClassDescriptor descriptor,
                             AbstractRecord primaryKeyRow,
                             AbstractRecord translationRow)
        INTERNAL: Extract the primary key from the expression into the row. Ensure that the query is querying the exact primary key. Return false if not on the primary key.

      • extractFields

        public boolean extractFields​(boolean requireExactMatch,
                             boolean primaryKey,
                             ClassDescriptor descriptor,
                             List<DatabaseField> searchFields,
                             Set<DatabaseField> foundFields)
        INTERNAL: Return if the expression is not a valid primary key expression and add all primary key fields to the set.

      • get

        public Expression get​(String attributeName)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that wraps the attribute or query key name. This method is used to construct user-defined queries containing joins.

        Example: 

          builder.get("address").get("city").equal("Ottawa");

      • get

        public Expression get​(String attributeName,
                      boolean forceInnerJoin)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that wraps the attribute or query key name. This method is used to construct user-defined queries containing joins.

        Example: 

          builder.get("address", false).get("city").equal("Ottawa");
        Parameters:
        forceInnerJoin - - allows the get to not force an inner-join (if getAllowingNull was used elsewhere).

      • getAllowingNull

        public Expression getAllowingNull​(String attributeName)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression that wraps the attribute or query key name. This is only applicable to 1:1 relationships, and allows the target of the relationship to be null if there is no corresponding relationship in the database. Implemented via an outer join in the database.

        Example: 

          builder.getAllowingNull("address").get("city").equal("Ottawa");

      • getAsOfClauseRecursively

        public AsOfClause getAsOfClauseRecursively()
        INTERNAL: For Flashback: If this expression is not already as of some timestamp gets the clause from the base expression. Allows a clause to be set only on the builder and then propogated during normalize.

      • getBuilder

        public abstract ExpressionBuilder getBuilder()
        INTERNAL: Return the expression builder which is the ultimate base of this expression, or null if there isn't one (shouldn't happen if we start from a root)

      • getClonedField

        public DatabaseField getClonedField()
        INTERNAL: If there are any fields associated with this expression, return them

      • getField

        public Expression getField​(String fieldName)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a field in a data-level query. This is used internally in EclipseLink, or to construct queries involving fields and/or tables that are not mapped.

        Example: 

          builder.getField("ADDR_ID").greaterThan(100);
  builder.getTable("PROJ_EMP").getField("TYPE").equal("S");

      • getField

        public Expression getField​(DatabaseField field)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a field in a data-level query. This is used internally in EclipseLink, or to construct queries involving fields and/or tables that are not mapped.

        Example: 

          builder.getField(aField).greaterThan(100);

      • getFieldValue

        public Object getFieldValue​(Object objectValue,
                            AbstractSession session)
        INTERNAL: Transform the object-level value into a database-level value

      • join

        public Expression join​(Expression target,
                       Expression onClause)
        ADVANCED: Defines a join between the two objects based on the specified ON clause. This can be used to define a join condition on two unrelated objects, or to qualify a relationship join with additional criteria.

        Example: 

          Expression address = employee.getAllowingNull("address");
  employee.join(address, address.get("city").equal("Ottawa"));
  query.addNonFetchJoin(address);

      • leftJoin

        public Expression leftJoin​(Expression target,
                           Expression onClause)
        ADVANCED: Defines an outer join between the two objects based on the specified ON clause. This can be used to define a join condition on two unrelated objects, or to qualify a relationship join with additional criteria.

        Example: 

          Expression address = employee.getAllowingNull("address");
  employee.leftJoin(address, address.get("city").equal("Ottawa"));
  query.addNonFetchJoin(address);

      • getFunction

        public Expression getFunction​(String functionName)
        ADVANCED: Return a user defined function accepting the argument. The function is assumed to be a normal prefix function and will print like, UPPER(base).

        Example: 

          builder.get("firstName").getFunction("UPPER");

      • getFunction

        public Expression getFunction​(String functionName,
                              Object argument)
        ADVANCED: Return a user defined function accepting the argument. The function is assumed to be a normal prefix function and will print like, CONCAT(base, argument).

      • getFunctionWithArguments

        public Expression getFunctionWithArguments​(String functionName,
                                           List arguments)
        ADVANCED: Return a user defined function accepting all of the arguments. The function is assumed to be a normal prefix function like, CONCAT(base, value1, value2, value3, ...).

      • sql

        public Expression sql​(String sql,
                      List arguments)
        ADVANCED: Parse the SQL for parameter and return a custom function expression using a custom operator that will print itself as the SQL. Arguments are passed using '?', and must match the number of arguments.

      • type

        public Expression type()
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that wraps the inheritance type field in an expression.

        Example: 

          builder.getClassForInheritance().equal(SmallProject.class);
  builder.anyOf("projects").getClassForInheritance().equal(builder.getParameter("projectClass"));

      • getName

        public String getName()
        INTERNAL:

      • getOperator

        public ExpressionOperator getOperator()
        INTERNAL: Most expression have operators, so this is just a convenience method.

      • getOperator

        public ExpressionOperator getOperator​(int selector)
        INTERNAL: Create a new expression tree with the named operator. Part of the implementation of user-level "get"

      • getOwnedTables

        public List<DatabaseTable> getOwnedTables()
        INTERNAL: Return the tables that this node owns for purposes of table aliasing.

      • getParameter

        public Expression getParameter​(String parameterName,
                               Object type)
        INTERNAL: Return an expression representing a parameter with the given name and type

      • getParameter

        public Expression getParameter​(String parameterName)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a parameter with the given name.

      • getParameter

        public Expression getParameter​(DatabaseField field)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a parameter with the given name.

      • getProperty

        public Expression getProperty​(DatabaseField field)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a property with the given name.

      • getTable

        public Expression getTable​(String tableName)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a table in a data-level query. This is used internally in EclipseLink, or to construct queries involving fields and/or tables that are not mapped.

        Example: 

          builder.getTable("PROJ_EMP").getField("TYPE").equal("S");

      • getTable

        public Expression getTable​(DatabaseTable table)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a table in a data-level query. This is used internally in EclipseLink, or to construct queries involving fields and/or tables that are not mapped.

        Example: 

          builder.getTable(linkTable).getField("TYPE").equal("S");

      • getAlias

        public Expression getAlias​(Expression subSelect)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression representing a sub-select in the from clause.

        Example: 

          builder.getAlias(builder.subQuery(reportQuery)).get("type").equal("S");

      • getTableAliases

        public TableAliasLookup getTableAliases()
        INTERNAL: Return the aliases used. By default, return null, since we don't have tables.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(byte theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(char theChar)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(double theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(float theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(int theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(long theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receiver's value is greater than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">" operator.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(short theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThan

        public Expression greaterThan​(boolean theBoolean)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "=" operator and Java "equals" method.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(byte theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(char theChar)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(double theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(float theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(int theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(long theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(Expression theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(short theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • greaterThanEqual

        public Expression greaterThanEqual​(boolean theBoolean)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is greater and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL ">=" operator.

      • hasAsOfClause

        public boolean hasAsOfClause()
        ADVANCED: Answers true if this is to be queried as of a past time.
        Returns:
        false from asOf(null); hasAsOfClause().
        See Also:
        getAsOfClause()

      • hasBeenAliased

        public boolean hasBeenAliased()
        INTERNAL: Answers if the database tables associated with this expression have been aliased. This insures the same tables are not aliased twice.

      • hexToRaw

        public Expression hexToRaw()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns binary array value for the hex string.

      • ifNull

        public Expression ifNull​(Object nullValue)
        PUBLIC: Function return a specific value if item returned from the query is null. Equivalent of the oracle NVL function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").ifNull("no-name")
 Java: NA
 SQL: NVL(name, 'no-name')

      • in

        public Expression in​(byte[] theBytes)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(char[] theChars)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(double[] theDoubles)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(float[] theFloats)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(int[] theInts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(long[] theLongs)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(Object[] theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(short[] theShorts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(boolean[] theBooleans)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • in

        public Expression in​(Collection theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").in(ages)
     Java: ages.contains(employee.getAge())
     SQL: AGE IN (55, 18, 30)

      • indexOf

        public Expression indexOf​(Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the integer index of the substring within the source string.

      • isClassTypeExpression

        public boolean isClassTypeExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isCompoundExpression

        public boolean isCompoundExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isConstantExpression

        public boolean isConstantExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isDataExpression

        public boolean isDataExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isEmpty

        public Expression isEmpty​(String attributeName)
        PUBLIC: A logical expression for the collection attributeName being empty. Equivalent to size(attributeName).equal(0)

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.isEmpty("phoneNumbers")
     Java: employee.getPhoneNumbers().size() == 0
     SQL: SELECT ... FROM EMP t0 WHERE (
      (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PHONE t1 WHERE (t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID)) = 0)
        This is a case where a fast operation in java does not translate to an equally fast operation in SQL, requiring a correlated subselect.
        See Also:
        size(java.lang.String)

      • isExpressionBuilder

        public boolean isExpressionBuilder()
        INTERNAL:

      • isFieldExpression

        public boolean isFieldExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isFunctionExpression

        public boolean isFunctionExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isLiteralExpression

        public boolean isLiteralExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isLogicalExpression

        public boolean isLogicalExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isNull

        public Expression isNull()
        PUBLIC: Compare to null.

      • isObjectExpression

        public boolean isObjectExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isParameterExpression

        public boolean isParameterExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isQueryKeyExpression

        public boolean isQueryKeyExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isRelationExpression

        public boolean isRelationExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isSubSelectExpression

        public boolean isSubSelectExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isTableExpression

        public boolean isTableExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isTreatExpression

        public boolean isTreatExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isMapEntryExpression

        public boolean isMapEntryExpression()
        INTERNAL:

      • isValueExpression

        public boolean isValueExpression()
        INTERNAL: Subclasses implement (isParameterExpression() || isConstantExpression())

      • iterateOn

        public void iterateOn​(ExpressionIterator iterator)
        INTERNAL: For iterating using an inner class

      • lastDay

        public Expression lastDay()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the date with the last date in the months of this source date.

      • leftPad

        public Expression leftPad​(int size,
                          Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string padded with the substring to the size.

      • leftPad

        public Expression leftPad​(Object size,
                          Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string padded with the substring to the size.

      • leftTrim

        public Expression leftTrim()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string left trimmed for white space.

      • leftTrim

        public Expression leftTrim​(Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string with the substring trimed from the left.

      • length

        public Expression length()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the size of the string.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(byte theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(char theChar)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(double theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(float theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(int theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(long theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(short theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThan

        public Expression lessThan​(boolean theBoolean)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(byte theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(char theChar)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(double theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(float theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(int theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(long theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(Expression theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(short theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • lessThanEqual

        public Expression lessThanEqual​(boolean theBoolean)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is less than and equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<=" operator.

      • like

        public Expression like​(String value)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is like other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "LIKE" operator that except wildcards. The character "%" means any sequence of characters and the character "_" mean any character. i.e. "B%" == "Bob", "B_B" == "BOB"

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").like("B%")
     Java: NA
     SQL: F_NAME LIKE 'B%'

      • like

        public Expression like​(String value,
                       String escapeSequence)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is like other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "LIKE ESCAPE" operator that except wildcards. The character "%" means any sequence of characters and the character "_" mean any character. i.e. "B%" == "Bob", "B_B" == "BOB" The escape sequence specifies a set of characters the may be used to indicate that an one of the wildcard characters should be interpreted literally.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").like("B\_SMITH", "\")
     Java: NA
     SQL: F_NAME LIKE 'B\_SMITH ESCAPE '\''

      • like

        public Expression like​(Expression argument)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is like other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "LIKE" operator that except wildcards. The character "%" means any sequence of characters and the character "_" mean any character. i.e. "B%" == "Bob", "B_B" == "BOB"

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").like("B%")
     Java: NA
     SQL: F_NAME LIKE 'B%'

      • regexp

        public Expression regexp​(String regexp)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value matches the regular expression. This uses the databases support for regular expression. Regular expressions are similar to LIKE except support a much larger scope of comparisons. i.e. "^B.*" == "Bob", "^B.B$" == "BOB"

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").regexp("^B.*")
     Java: Pattern.compile("^B.*").matcher(employee.getFirstName()).matches()
     SQL: F_NAME REGEXP '^B.*'

      • regexp

        public Expression regexp​(Expression regexp)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value matches the regular expression. This uses the databases support for regular expression. Regular expressions are similar to LIKE except support a much larger scope of comparisons. i.e. "^B.*" == "Bob", "^B.B$" == "BOB"

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").regexp("^B.*")
     Java: Pattern.compile("^B.*").matcher(employee.getFirstName()).matches()
     SQL: F_NAME REGEXP '^B.*'

      • like

        public Expression like​(Expression value,
                       Expression escapeSequence)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is like other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "LIKE ESCAPE" operator that except wildcards. The character "%" means any sequence of characters and the character "_" mean any character. i.e. "B%" == "Bob", "B_B" == "BOB" The escape sequence specifies a set of characters the may be used to indicate that an one of the wildcard characters should be interpreted literally.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").like("B\_SMITH", "\")
     Java: NA
     SQL: F_NAME LIKE 'B\_SMITH ESCAPE '\''

      • likeIgnoreCase

        public Expression likeIgnoreCase​(String theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is like the other value, ignoring case. This is a case in-sensitive like.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").likeIgnoreCase("%Bob%")
     Java: none
     SQL: UPPER(F_NAME) LIKE 'BOB'

      • likeIgnoreCase

        public Expression likeIgnoreCase​(Expression theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is like the other value, ignoring case. This is a case in-sensitive like.

      • locate

        public Expression locate​(Object str)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the position of str in this

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").locate("ob")
 Java: employee.getFirstName().indexOf("ob") + 1
 SQL: LOCATE('ob', t0.F_NAME)

        Note that while in String.locate(str) -1 is returned if not found, and the index starting at 0 if found, in SQL it is 0 if not found, and the index starting at 1 if found.

      • locate

        public Expression locate​(String str,
                         int fromIndex)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the position of str in this, starting the search at fromIndex.

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").locate("ob", 1)
 Java: employee.getFirstName().indexOf("ob", 1) + 1
 SQL: LOCATE('ob', t0.F_NAME, 1)

        Note that while in String.locate(str) -1 is returned if not found, and the index starting at 0 if found, in SQL it is 0 if not found, and the index starting at 1 if found.

      • locate

        public Expression locate​(Object str,
                         Object fromIndex)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the position of str in this, starting the search at fromIndex.

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").locate("ob", 1)
 Java: employee.getFirstName().indexOf("ob", 1) + 1
 SQL: LOCATE('ob', t0.F_NAME, 1)

        Note that while in String.locate(str) -1 is returned if not found, and the index starting at 0 if found, in SQL it is 0 if not found, and the index starting at 1 if found.

      • maximum

        public Expression maximum()
        PUBLIC: This represents the aggregate function Maximum. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • minimum

        public Expression minimum()
        PUBLIC: This represents the aggregate function Minimum. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • monthsBetween

        public Expression monthsBetween​(Object otherDate)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the decimal number of months between the two dates.

      • mapEntry

        public Expression mapEntry()
        PUBLIC: Return a Map.Entry containing the key and the value from a mapping that maps to a java.util.Map This expression can only be used as a return value in a ReportQuery and cannot be used as part of the WHERE clause in any query EclipseLink: eb.get("mapAttribute").mapEntry()
        Returns:

      • mapKey

        public Expression mapKey()
        PUBLIC: Return the key from a mapping that maps to a java.util.Map This expression can be used either in as a return value in a ReportQuery or in the WHERE clause in a query EclipseLink: eb.get("mapAttribute").mapKey()
        Returns:

      • newTime

        public Expression newTime​(String timeZoneFrom,
                          String timeZoneTo)
        PUBLIC: funcation return a date converted to a new timezone. Equivalent of the Oracle NEW_TIME function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").newTime("EST", "PST")
 Java: NA
 SQL: NEW_TIME(date, 'EST', 'PST')

      • nextDay

        public Expression nextDay​(Object dayName)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the date with the next day from the source date as the day name given.

      • noneOf

        public Expression noneOf​(String attributeName,
                         Expression criteria)
        PUBLIC: Returns an expression equivalent to none of attributeName holding true for criteria.

        For every expression with an anyOf, its negation has either an allOf or a noneOf. The following two examples will illustrate as the second is the negation of the first:

        AnyOf Example: Employees with a '613' area code phone number. 

         ReadAllQuery query = new ReadAllQuery(Employee.class);
 ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
 Expression exp = employee.anyOf("phoneNumbers").get("areaCode").equal("613");

        NoneOf Example: Employees with no '613' area code phone numbers. 

         ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ExpressionBuilder phones = new ExpressionBuilder();
 Expression exp = employee.noneOf("phoneNumbers", phones.get("areaCode").equal("613"));
 SQL:
 SELECT ... EMPLOYEE t0 WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT ... PHONE t1 WHERE
                         (t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID) AND (t1.AREACODE = '613'))

        noneOf is the universal counterpart to the existential anyOf. To have the condition evaluated for each instance it must be put inside of a subquery, which can be expressed as not exists (any of attributeName some condition). (All x such that !y = !Exist x such that y).

        Likewise the syntax employee.noneOf("phoneNumbers").get("areaCode").equal("613") is not supported for the equal must go inside a subQuery.

        This method saves you from writing the sub query yourself. The above is equivalent to the following expression: 

         ExpressionBuilder employee = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ExpressionBuilder phone = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ReportQuery subQuery = new ReportQuery(Phone.class, phone);
 subQuery.retreivePrimaryKeys();
 subQuery.setSelectionCriteria(phone.equal(employee.anyOf("phoneNumbers").and(
         phone.get("areaCode").equal("613")));
 Expression exp = employee.notExists(subQuery);
        Parameters:
        criteria - must have its own builder, as it will become the separate selection criteria of a subQuery.
        Returns:
        a notExists subQuery expression

      • normalize

        public Expression normalize​(ExpressionNormalizer normalizer)
        INTERNAL: Normalize into a structure that is printable. Also compute printing information such as outer joins.

      • not

        public Expression not()
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that is the boolean logical negation of the expression. This is equivalent to the SQL "NOT" operator and the Java "!" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").equal(24).not()
     Java: (! (employee.getAge() == 24))
     SQL: NOT (AGE = 24)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(byte leftValue,
                             byte rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(char leftChar,
                             char rightChar)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(double leftValue,
                             double rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(float leftValue,
                             float rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(int leftValue,
                             int rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(long leftValue,
                             long rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(Object leftValue,
                             Object rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(Expression leftExpression,
                             Expression rightExpression)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notBetween

        public Expression notBetween​(short leftValue,
                             short rightValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not between two other values. Equivalent to between negated.
        See Also:
        between(Object, Object)

      • notEmpty

        public Expression notEmpty​(String attributeName)
        PUBLIC: A logical expression for the collection attributeName not being empty. Equivalent to size(attributeName).greaterThan(0)

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.notEmpty("phoneNumbers")
     Java: employee.getPhoneNumbers().size() > 0
     SQL: SELECT ... FROM EMP t0 WHERE (
      (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PHONE t1 WHERE (t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID)) > 0)
        This is a case where a fast operation in java does not translate to an equally fast operation in SQL, requiring a correlated subselect.
        See Also:
        size(java.lang.String)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(byte theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(char theChar)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(double theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(float theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(int theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(long theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(Expression theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(short theValue)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notEqual

        public Expression notEqual​(boolean theBoolean)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not equal to the other value. This is equivalent to the SQL "<>" operator
        See Also:
        equal(Object)

      • notExists

        public Expression notExists​(ReportQuery subQuery)
        PUBLIC: Return a sub query expression. A sub query using a report query to define a subselect within another queries expression or select's where clause. The sub query (the report query) will use its own expression builder be can reference expressions from the base expression builder.

        Example: 

         ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ReportQuery subQuery = new ReportQuery(Employee.class, new ExpressionBuilder());
 subQuery.setSelectionCriteria(subQuery.getExpressionBuilder().get("name").equal(builder.get("name")));
 builder.notExists(subQuery);

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(byte[] theBytes)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(char[] theChars)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(double[] theDoubles)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(float[] theFloats)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(int[] theInts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(long[] theLongs)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(Object[] theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(short[] theShorts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(boolean[] theBooleans)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • notIn

        public Expression notIn​(Collection theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. The collection can be a collection of constants or expressions. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").in(ages)
     Java: ages.contains(employee.getAge())
     SQL: AGE IN (55, 18, 30)

      • notLike

        public Expression notLike​(String aString)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not like the other value. Equivalent to like negated.
        See Also:
        like(String)

      • notLike

        public Expression notLike​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not like the other value. Equivalent to like negated.
        See Also:
        like(String)

      • notLike

        public Expression notLike​(String value,
                          String escapeSequence)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not like the other value. Equivalent to like negated.
        Parameters:
        value - string to compare
        escapeSequence - the escape character to use
        See Also:
        like(String)

      • notLike

        public Expression notLike​(Expression value,
                          Expression escapeSequence)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that compares if the receivers value is not like the other value. Equivalent to like negated.
        Parameters:
        value - string to compare
        escapeSequence - the escape character to use
        See Also:
        like(String)

      • notNull

        public Expression notNull()
        PUBLIC: Return an expression representing a comparison to null

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").notNull()
     Java: employee.getAge() != null
     SQL: AGE IS NOT NULL

      • or

        public Expression or​(Expression theExpression)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that is the boolean logical combination of both expressions. This is equivalent to the SQL "OR" operator and the Java "||" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").equal("Bob").OR(employee.get("lastName").equal("Smith"))
     Java: (employee.getFirstName().equals("Bob")) || (employee.getLastName().equals("Smith"))
     SQL: F_NAME = 'Bob' OR L_NAME = 'Smith'

      • postCopyIn

        protected void postCopyIn​(Map alreadyDone)

      • postfixSQL

        public Expression postfixSQL​(String sqlString)
        ADVANCED: Inserts the SQL as is directly into the expression. The sql will be printed immediately after (postfixed to) the sql for this. Warning: Allowing an unverified SQL string to be passed into this method makes your application vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.

      • prefixSQL

        public Expression prefixSQL​(String sqlString)
        ADVANCED: Insert the SQL as is directly into the expression. The sql will be printed immediately before (prefixed to) the sql for this. Warning: Allowing an unverified SQL string to be passed into this method makes your application vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.

      • printJava

        public void printJava​(ExpressionJavaPrinter printer)
        INTERNAL: Print java for project class generation

      • rebuildOn

        public abstract Expression rebuildOn​(Expression newBase)
        INTERNAL: This expression is built on a different base than the one we want. Rebuild it and return the root of the new tree If receiver is a complex expression, use cloneUsing(newBase) instead.
        See Also:
        cloneUsing(Expression newBase)

      • resetPlaceHolderBuilder

        public abstract void resetPlaceHolderBuilder​(ExpressionBuilder queryBuilder)
        INTERNAL: Search the tree for any expressions (like SubSelectExpressions) that have been built using a builder that is not attached to the query. This happens in case of an Exists call using a new ExpressionBuilder(). This builder needs to be replaced with one from the query.

      • ref

        public Expression ref()
        ADVANCED: For Object-relational support.

      • registerIn

        protected Expression registerIn​(Map alreadyDone)

      • replace

        public Expression replace​(Object stringToReplace,
                          Object stringToReplaceWith)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string with occurances of the first substring replaced with the second substring.

      • replicate

        public Expression replicate​(int constant)
        PUBLIC: return the result of this query repeated a given number of times. Equivalent of the Sybase REPLICATE function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").replicate(2)
 Java: NA
 SQL: REPLICATE(name, 2)

      • replicate

        public Expression replicate​(Object theValue)
        PUBLIC: return the result of this query repeated a given number of times. Equivalent of the Sybase REPLICATE function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").replicate(2)
 Java: NA
 SQL: REPLICATE(name, 2)

      • resetCache

        protected void resetCache()
        Reset cached information here so that we can be sure we're accurate.

      • reverse

        public Expression reverse()
        PUBLIC: Function return the reverse of the query result. Equivalent of the Sybase REVERSE function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").reverse()
 Java: NA
 SQL: REVERSE(name)

      • right

        public Expression right​(int characters)
        PUBLIC: Function return a given number of characters starting at the right of a string. Equivalent to the Sybase RIGHT function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").right(2)
 Java: NA
 SQL: RIGHT(name, 2)

      • right

        public Expression right​(Object characters)
        PUBLIC: Function return a given number of characters starting at the right of a string. Equivalent to the Sybase RIGHT function

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("name").right(2)
 Java: NA
 SQL: RIGHT(name, 2)

      • rightPad

        public Expression rightPad​(int size,
                           Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string padded with the substring to the size.

      • rightPad

        public Expression rightPad​(Object size,
                           Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string padded with the substring to the size.

      • rightTrim

        public Expression rightTrim()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string right trimmed for white space.

      • rightTrim

        public Expression rightTrim​(Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string with the substring trimed from the right.

      • roundDate

        public Expression roundDate​(Object yearOrMonthOrDayRoundToken)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the date rounded to the year, month or day.

      • selectIfOrderedBy

        public boolean selectIfOrderedBy()
        PUBLIC: Return whether this expression should be included in the SELECT clause if it is used in an ORDER BY clause

      • setLocalBase

        public void setLocalBase​(Expression exp)
        INTERNAL: Set the local base expression, ie the one on the other side of the operator Most types will ignore this, since they don't need it.

      • setSelectIfOrderedBy

        public void setSelectIfOrderedBy​(boolean selectIfOrderedBy)
        PUBLIC: Set whether this expression should be included in the SELECT clause of a query that uses it in the ORDER BY clause.
        Parameters:
        selectIfOrderedBy -

      • shallowClone

        public Expression shallowClone()
        INTERNAL:

      • size

        public Expression size​(String attributeName)
        PUBLIC: A logical expression for the size of collection attributeName.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.size("phoneNumbers")
     Java: employee.getPhoneNumbers().size()
     SQL: SELECT ... FROM EMP t0 WHERE  ...
      (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PHONE t1 WHERE (t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID))
        This is a case where a fast operation in java does not translate to an equally fast operation in SQL, requiring a correlated subselect.

      • size

        public Expression size​(Class returnType)
        PUBLIC: A logical expression for the size of collection expression.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.size(Class returnType)
     Java: employee.getPhoneNumbers().size()
     SQL: SELECT ... FROM EMP t0 WHERE  ...
      (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM PHONE t1 WHERE (t0.EMP_ID = t1.EMP_ID))
        This is a case where a fast operation in java does not translate to an equally fast operation in SQL, requiring a correlated subselect.

      • standardDeviation

        public Expression standardDeviation()
        PUBLIC: This represents the aggregate function StandardDeviation. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • subQuery

        public Expression subQuery​(ReportQuery subQuery)
        PUBLIC: Return a sub query expression. A sub query using a report query to define a subselect within another queries expression or select's where clause. The sub query (the report query) will use its own expression builder be can reference expressions from the base expression builder.

        Example: 

         ExpressionBuilder builder = new ExpressionBuilder();
 ReportQuery subQuery = new ReportQuery(Employee.class, new ExpressionBuilder());
 subQuery.addMaximum("salary");
 builder.get("salary").equal(builder.subQuery(subQuery));

      • substring

        public Expression substring​(int startPosition,
                            int size)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the substring from the source string. EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").substring(1, 2) Java: NA SQL: SUBSTR(FIRST_NAME, 1, 2)

      • substring

        public Expression substring​(Object startPosition,
                            Object size)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the substring from the source string. EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").substring(1, 2) Java: NA SQL: SUBSTR(FIRST_NAME, 1, 2)

      • substring

        public Expression substring​(int startPosition)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the substring from the source string. EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").substring(1) Java: NA SQL: SUBSTR(FIRST_NAME, 1)

      • substring

        public Expression substring​(Object startPosition)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the substring from the source string. EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").substring(1) Java: NA SQL: SUBSTR(FIRST_NAME, 1)

      • sum

        public Expression sum()
        PUBLIC: This represents the aggregate function Sum. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • toCharacter

        public Expression toCharacter()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the single character string with the ascii or character set value.

      • toDate

        public Expression toDate()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns date from the string using the default format.

      • toChar

        public Expression toChar()
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that represents the receiver value converted to a character string. This is equivalent to the SQL "TO_CHAR" operator and Java "toString" method.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("salary").toChar().equal("100000")
     Java: employee.getSalary().toString().equals("100000")
     SQL: TO_CHAR(SALARY) = '100000'

      • toChar

        public Expression toChar​(String format)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that represents the receiver value converted to a character string, with the database formating options (i.e. 'year', 'yyyy', 'day', etc.). This is equivalent to the SQL "TO_CHAR" operator and Java Date API.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("startDate").toChar("day").equal("monday")
     Java: employee.getStartDate().getDay().equals("monday")
     SQL: TO_CHAR(START_DATE, 'day') = 'monday'

      • toLowerCase

        public Expression toLowerCase()
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that represents the receiver value converted to lower case. This is equivalent to the SQL "LOWER" operator and Java "toLowerCase" method. This is only allowed for String attribute values.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").toLowerCase().equal("bob")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().toLowerCase().equals("bob")
     SQL: LOWER(F_NAME) = 'bob'

      • toNumber

        public Expression toNumber()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the number converted from the string.

      • toString

        public String toString()
        PUBLIC: Print a debug form of the expression tree.
        Overrides:
        toString in class Object

      • toUpperCase

        public Expression toUpperCase()
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that represents the receiver value converted to upper case. This is equivalent to the SQL "UPPER" operator and Java "toUpperCase" method. This is only allowed for String attribute values.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("firstName").toUpperCase().equal("BOB")
     Java: employee.getFirstName().toUpperCase().equals("BOB")
     SQL: UPPER(F_NAME) = 'BOB'

      • toUppercaseCasedWords

        public Expression toUppercaseCasedWords()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string with the first letter of each word capitalized.

      • translate

        public Expression translate​(Object fromString,
                            Object toString)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string with each char from the from string converted to the char in the to string.

      • trim

        public Expression trim()
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string trimmed for white space.

      • trim

        public Expression trim​(Object substring)
        PUBLIC: Function, returns the string right and left trimmed for the substring.

      • extractXml

        public Expression extractXml​(String xpath)
        PUBLIC: XMLType Function, extracts a secton of XML from a larget XML document
        Parameters:
        xpath - XPath expression representing the node to be returned

      • extract

        public Expression extract​(String part)
        PUBLIC: Extract the date part from the date/time value. EXTRACT is part of the SQL standard, so should be supported by most databases.
        Parameters:
        part - is the date part to extract, "YEAR", "MONTH", "DAY", "HOUR", "MINUTE", "SECOND", "TIMEZONE_HOUR", "TIMEZONE_MINUTE".

      • cast

        public Expression cast​(String type)
        PUBLIC: Cast the value to the database type. CAST is part of the SQL standard, so should be supported by most databases.
        Parameters:
        type - is the database type name, this is database specific but should include, "CHAR", "VARCHAR", "NUMERIC", "INTEGER", "DATE", "TIME", "TIMESTAMP", the type may include a size and scale.

      • extractValue

        public Expression extractValue​(String xpath)
        PUBLIC: XMLType Function, extracts a value from an XMLType field
        Parameters:
        xpath - XPath expression

      • existsNode

        public Expression existsNode​(String xpath)
        PUBLIC: XMLType Function, gets the number of nodes returned by the given xpath expression returns 0 if there are none
        Parameters:
        xpath - Xpath expression

      • isFragment

        public Expression isFragment()
        PUBLIC: XMLType Function - evaluates to 0 if the xml is a well formed document and 1 if the document is a fragment

      • getStringVal

        public Expression getStringVal()
        PUBLIC: XMLType Function - gets a string value from an XMLType

      • getNumberVal

        public Expression getNumberVal()
        PUBLIC: XMLType Function - gets a number value from an XMLType

      • truncateDate

        public Expression truncateDate​(String datePart)
        PUBLIC: return the date truncated to the indicated datePart. Equivalent to the Sybase TRUNC function for dates

        Example: 

         EclipseLink: employee.get("date").truncDate(year)
 Java: NA
 SQL: TRUNC(date, year)

      • twist

        public Expression twist​(Expression expression,
                        Expression newBase)
        INTERNAL: We are given an expression that comes from a different context than the one in which this was built, e.g. it is the selection criteria of a mapping, or the criteria on which multiple tables are joined in a descriptor. We need to transform it so it refers to the objects we are dealing with, and AND it into the rest of our expression. We want to replace the original base expression with (newBase), and any parameters will be given values based on the context which (this) provides. For example, suppose that the main expression is emp.address.streetName = 'something' and we are trying to twist the selection criteria for the mapping 'address' in Employee. Because that mapping selects addresses, we will use the 'address' node as the base. Values for any parameters will come from the 'emp' node, which was the base of the original expression. Note that the values need not be constants, they can be fields. We do this by taking the tree we're trying to merge and traverse it more or less re-executing it it with the appropriate initial receiver and context. Return the root of the new expression tree. This will probably need to be AND'ed with the root of the old tree.

      • twistedForBaseAndContext

        public Expression twistedForBaseAndContext​(Expression newBase,
                                           Expression context,
                                           Expression oldBase)
        INTERNAL: Rebuild myself against the base, with the values of parameters supplied by the context expression. This is used for transforming a standalone expression (e.g. the join criteria of a mapping) into part of some larger expression. You normally would not call this directly, instead calling twist See the comment there for more details"

      • validateNode

        public void validateNode()
        INTERNAL: Do any required validation for this node. Throw an exception for any incorrect constructs.

      • value

        public Expression value()
        PUBLIC: Function, this represents the value function, used in nestedtable

      • value

        public Expression value​(byte constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(char constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(double constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(float constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(int constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(long constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(Object constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(short constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • value

        public Expression value​(boolean constant)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression on the constant.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("a constant", builder.value("a constant"));

      • literal

        public Expression literal​(String literal)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression on the literal. A literal is a specific SQL syntax string that will be printed as is without quotes in the SQL. It can be useful for printing database key words or global variables.

        Example: 

         reportQuery.addItem("currentTime", builder.literal("SYSDATE"));

      • alias

        public Expression alias​(String alias)
        ADVANCED: Return an expression for the alias. This allows an alias used in the select clause to be used in other clauses.

      • valueFromObject

        public Object valueFromObject​(Object object,
                              AbstractSession session,
                              AbstractRecord translationRow,
                              int valueHolderPolicy,
                              boolean isObjectUnregistered)
        INTERNAL: Return the value for in memory comparison. This is only valid for valueable expressions. New parameter added for feature 2612601
        Parameters:
        isObjectUnregistered - true if object possibly not a clone, but is being conformed against the unit of work cache.

      • valueFromObject

        public Object valueFromObject​(Object object,
                              AbstractSession session,
                              AbstractRecord translationRow,
                              int valueHolderPolicy)
        INTERNAL: Return the value for in memory comparison. This is only valid for valueable expressions.

      • variance

        public Expression variance()
        PUBLIC: Function, this represents the aggregate function Variance. Can be used only within Report Queries.

      • writeDescriptionOn

        public void writeDescriptionOn​(BufferedWriter writer)
                        throws IOException
        INTERNAL: Used to print a debug form of the expression tree.
        Throws:
        IOException

      • any

        public Expression any​(byte[] theBytes)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that is used with a comparison expression. The ANY keyword denotes that the search condition is TRUE if the comparison is TRUE for at least one of the values that is returned. If the subquery returns no value, the search condition is FALSE

      • any

        public Expression any​(char[] theChars)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(double[] theDoubles)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(float[] theFloats)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(int[] theInts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(long[] theLongs)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(Object[] theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(short[] theShorts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(boolean[] theBooleans)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • any

        public Expression any​(List theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").in(ages)
     Java: ages.contains(employee.getAge())
     SQL: AGE IN (55, 18, 30)

      • union

        public Expression union​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return a union expression with the subquery.

      • intersect

        public Expression intersect​(ReportQuery query)
        PUBLIC: Return a intersect expression with the subquery.

      • intersectAll

        public Expression intersectAll​(ReportQuery query)
        PUBLIC: Return a intersect all expression with the subquery.

      • intersect

        public Expression intersect​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return a intersect expression with the subquery.

      • except

        public Expression except​(ReportQuery query)
        PUBLIC: Return a except expression with the subquery.

      • exceptAll

        public Expression exceptAll​(ReportQuery query)
        PUBLIC: Return a except all expression with the subquery.

      • except

        public Expression except​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return a except expression with the subquery.

      • union

        public Expression union​(ReportQuery query)
        PUBLIC: Return a union expression with the subquery.

      • unionAll

        public Expression unionAll​(ReportQuery query)
        PUBLIC: Return a union all expression with the subquery.

      • unionAll

        public Expression unionAll​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return a union all expression with the subquery.

      • intersectAll

        public Expression intersectAll​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return a intersect all expression with the subquery.

      • exceptAll

        public Expression exceptAll​(Expression arguments)
        PUBLIC: Return a except all expression with the subquery.

      • some

        public Expression some​(byte[] theBytes)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that is used with a comparison expression. The SOME keyword denotes that the search condition is TRUE if the comparison is TRUE for at least one of the values that is returned. If the subquery returns no value, the search condition is FALSE

      • some

        public Expression some​(char[] theChars)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(double[] theDoubles)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(float[] theFloats)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(int[] theInts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(long[] theLongs)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(Object[] theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(short[] theShorts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(boolean[] theBooleans)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • some

        public Expression some​(List theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").in(ages)
     Java: ages.contains(employee.getAge())
     SQL: AGE IN (55, 18, 30)

      • all

        public Expression all​(byte[] theBytes)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that is used with a comparison expression. The SOME keyword denotes that the search condition is TRUE if the comparison is TRUE for at least one of the values that is returned. If the subquery returns no value, the search condition is FALSE

      • all

        public Expression all​(char[] theChars)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(double[] theDoubles)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(float[] theFloats)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(int[] theInts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(long[] theLongs)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(Object[] theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(short[] theShorts)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(boolean[] theBooleans)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

      • all

        public Expression all​(List theObjects)
        PUBLIC: Return an expression that checks if the receivers value is contained in the collection. This is equivalent to the SQL "IN" operator and Java "contains" operator.

        Example: 

             EclipseLink: employee.get("age").in(ages)
     Java: ages.contains(employee.getAge())
     SQL: AGE IN (55, 18, 30)