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Dynamic Queries

The Dynamic query system is a layer, on top of the LINQ provider, that allows a more dynamic manipulation of queries at run-time.

This system is not meant to be used directly from client code, but used as a service from the Windows or Web SearchControl, CounSearchControl, or Email, Reporting and Chart module.

QueryLogic

The QueryLogic is the main facade of the dynamic query system.

This class is responsible of:

  • Registering queries
  • Registering expressions
  • Execute the different flavors of QueryRequest.

Registering queries

.Queries.Register method is used to add a query to the pool of queries that will be available to the SearchControl in the user interface. This queries will only be the starting point, since the SearchControl is able to change order, add filters and add or remove columns.

    public void Register<T>(object queryName, Func<IQueryable<T>> lazyQuery, Implementations? entityImplementations = null)

Example in OrderLogic.Start:

QueryLogic.Queries.Register(typeof(OrderEntity), () =>
    from o in Database.Query<OrderEntity>()
    select new
    {
        Entity = o,
        o.Id,
        o.State,
        o.Customer,
        o.Employee,
        o.OrderDate,
        o.RequiredDate,
        o.ShipAddress,
        o.ShipVia,
    });

QueryLogic.Queries.Register(OrderQuery.OrderLines, () =>
    from o in Database.Query<OrderEntity>()
    from od in o.Details
    select new
    {
        Entity = o,
        o.Id,
        od.Product,
        od.Quantity,
        od.UnitPrice,
        od.Discount,
        od.SubTotalPrice,
    });

Some interesting points:

  • QueryName: This object is the key that will be used to access the query. By convention, the default query for a entity of type T will be typeof(T), but enums can also be used for alternative non-default views.
  • Lazy init: Instead of a IQueryable<T>, RegisterQuery requires a Func<IQueryable<T>>. The only reason is to avoid creating thousands of expression trees every time the application starts, but the lambda will be called just once.
  • Entity property: The first property, Entity, is mandatory and represents the entity that will be 'behind' each row in the result. The one that will be opened when double-click / view button and the one that will receive the contextual operations.
  • Lite is optional: While calling ToLite has important performance consequences when using the LINQ provider directly, here the registered queries will be always manipulated by QueryLogic.Queries, and one of this changes is adding ToLite to every column of type entity automatically.

Metadata

Additionally, the query will be processed not only to be translated to the database, also to get some metadata. This metadata is used to inherit some information from the property/ies used in each column expression:

  • Localized names that will be used in the headers.
  • Implementations to allow smarter filters.
  • Unit and Format to show the results properly.
  • The PropertyRoute itself to allow removing any unauthorized column.

This meta-data can be overriden using a different variation of QueryLogic.Queries.Register:

public void RegisterQuery<T>(object queryName, Func<DynamicQueryCore<T>> lazyQueryCore, Implementations? entityImplementations = null)

And using Column method (or ColumnDisplayName) to override each column meta-data like this:

QueryLogic.Queries.Register(typeof(OrderEntity), () =>DynamicQueryCore.Auto(
    from o in Database.Query<OrderEntity>()
    select new
    {
        Entity = o.ToLite(),
        o.Id,
        o.State,
        o.Customer,
        o.Employee,
        o.OrderDate,
        Lines = o.Details.Count
    }).ColumnDisplayName(a => a.Lines, () => OrderMessage.Lines.NiceToString());

Manual queries (Advanced)

So far we have seen how to use RegisterQuery to create a automatic dynamic queries. This types of queries are super-concise and inherit as much as they can from your entities.

Sometimes you need more fine-grained control over how the query is executed. The typical scenario is concatenating rows from two different tables in the same result.

In this case we use RegisterQuery in combination of DynamicQuery.Manual.

public static ManualDynamicQueryCore<T> Manual<T>(Func<QueryRequest, QueryDescription, DEnumerableCount<T>> execute)

DynamicQuery.Manual gives you complete control to return the results that you want from a QueryRequest from the user and a QueryDefinition required to create a DQueryable.

Example:

QueryLogic.Queries.Register(typeof(CustomerEntity), () => DynamicQuery.Manual((QueryRequest request, QueryDescription descriptions) =>
{
    var persons = Database.Query<PersonEntity>().Select(p => new
    {
        Entity = p.ToLite<CustomerEntity>(),
        Id = "P " + p.Id,
        Name = p.FirstName + " " + p.LastName,
        p.Address,
        p.Phone,
        p.Fax
    }).ToDQueryable(descriptions).AllQueryOperations(request);

    var companies = Database.Query<CompanyEntity>().Select(p => new
    {
        Entity = p.ToLite<CustomerEntity>(),
        Id = "C " + p.Id,
        Name = p.CompanyName,
        p.Address,
        p.Phone,
        p.Fax
    }).ToDQueryable(descriptions).AllQueryOperations(request);

    return persons.Concat(companies)
        .OrderBy(request.Orders)
        .TryPaginate(request.Pagination);

})
.ColumnProperyRoutes(a => a.Id, 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.Id), 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((CompanyEntity p) => p.Id))
.ColumnProperyRoutes(a => a.Name, 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.FirstName), 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.LastName), 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((CompanyEntity p) => p.CompanyName))
.ColumnProperyRoutes(a => a.Address, 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.Address), 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.Address))
.ColumnProperyRoutes(a => a.Phone, 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.Phone), 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((CompanyEntity p) => p.Phone))
.ColumnProperyRoutes(a => a.Fax, 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((PersonEntity comp) => comp.Fax), 
    PropertyRoute.Construct((CompanyEntity p) => p.Fax))
, entityImplementations: Implementations.By(typeof(PersonEntity), typeof(CompanyEntity)));

Using ToDQueryable we get a dynamic query (DQueryable<T>) that can be manipulated using the dynamic versions of Select, SelectMany, Where, OrderBy, Unique, TryTake and TryPaginate. Most of the time you just need to execute all the operations requested by the SearchControl using AllQueryOperations method.

DQueryable<T> is generic, but the type T doesn't change after executing any operation (like Select), instead, the generic type is only used to make the compiler ensure that two manual queries have the exact same column when using Concat (in this case persons and companies).

Finally, note how manual queries have no way to inherit the matadata, and all this information has to be manually set using ColumnProperyRoutes, and from there, the columns now where to get the NiceName, Format, Unit and athorization.

Registering expressions

The other main usage of QueryLogic is to call Expressions.Register, that let any of our expressionMethod to be available for the user as a query token that he can use in the SearchControl for adding filters, columns or use it in any other extension (chart, word and email templates, etc...).

There are many overloads:

public ExtensionInfo RegisterExpression<E, S>(Expression<Func<E, S>> lambdaToMethodOrProperty)
public ExtensionInfo RegisterExpression<E, S>(Expression<Func<E, S>> lambdaToMethodOrProperty, Func<string> niceName)
public ExtensionInfo RegisterExpression<E, S>(Expression<Func<E, S>> extensionLambda, Func<string> niceName, string key)
public ExtensionInfo RegisterExpression(ExtensionInfo extension)

public class ExtensionInfo
{
   public ExtensionInfo(Type sourceType, LambdaExpression lambda, Type type, string key, Func<string> niceName)
}

Typically you only need to use the two first ones, and all the information is taken from there.

Let's suppose that we have an expressionMethod like this one:

static Expression<Func<RegionEntity, IQueryable<TerritoryEntity>>> TerritoriesExpression =
    r => Database.Query<TerritoryEntity>().Where(a => a.Region.Is(r));
public static IQueryable<TerritoryEntity> Territories(this RegionEntity r)
{
    return TerritoriesExpression.Evaluate(r);
}

This expressionMethod let's us simplify queries like this one:

Database.Query<RegionEntity>().Where(r => !r.Territories().Any()).UnsafeDelete();

But Territories is a concept that is only available for programmers, without QueryLogic.Expression.Register the user is not able to take advantage of it in the SearchControl. Let's do it then:

//In TerritoryLogic.Start
QueryLogic.Expression.Register((RegionEntity r) => r.Territories());

Now, the a new expression with key "Territories" has been registered on RegionEntity and returns an IQueryable<TerritoryEntity>.

Unfortunately, the NiceName will always be "Territories", independently of the user CultureInfo (logic assembly and arbitrary methods are not localized).

Let's fix that re-using the NicePluralName of TerritoryEntity:

//In TerritoryLogic.Start
QueryLogic.Expression.Register((RegionEntity r) => r.Territories(), () => typeof(TerritoryEntity).NiceName());

Executing queries (Advanced)

QueryLogic.Queries also has a bunch of method that are used as a service by the SearchControl, CountSearchControl, etc... You shoudn't need to know about them if you're not doing internal plumbing.

   public QueryDescription QueryDescription(object queryName)
   public ResultTable ExecuteQuery(QueryRequest request)
   public int ExecuteQueryCount(QueryCountRequest request)
   public ResultTable ExecuteGroupQuery(QueryGroupRequest request)
   public Lite<IdentifiableEntity> ExecuteUniqueEntity(UniqueEntityRequest request)
  • QueryDescription: Returns all the registered metadata of a query to configure the SearchControl, already filtered and localized for a particular user.
  • ResultTable: Represents a result that will be shown in the SearchControl. Think of it as a DataTable that can also contains complex types, like Lite<T>.
  • QueryRequest: Contains the Columns, Filters, Orders, and Pagination requested by the SearchControl when pressing search.
  • QueryGroupRequest: Contains the Columns, Filters, Orders requested by a control with GroupBy capabilities (like charting).

Additionally, many of this objects make use of the concept of QueryToken.

QueryToken (Advanced)

A QueryToken is a chain of identifiers that can be used as a filter, or be added as a column in query. When the user explores the tables using a sequence of ComboBoxes in the SearchControl, he is ultimately creating a QueryToken.

There are many different types of QueryToken, like ColumnToken, EntityPropertyToken, CountToken, AggregateToken,... all with a Parent property creating a chain.

QueryToken can be parsed using QueryUtils.Parse and ultimately can be converted to a System.Expression that can be used in the LINQ provider.