Search types

There are three Types of search definitions:

<base:Role id="501" [...] active="true">
    <roleName>Super user limited</roleName>
    <parentRole>1</parentRole>
    <flatPermissionNames>~</flatPermissionNames>
</base:Role>

In the following the general functionality of the search builder is described by examples.

Queries to the Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration database are handled as search objects, exchanged between client and server in XML format. In imports (see Import), Lobster_data assumes the client role and provides search objects in XML format.

The following example shows the XML representation of a search (with irrelevant content skipped as '...' for better transparency):

At (1) the type of search (see Search types) must be selected. The main difference between search types is the data format of results (data objects, tuple objects, CSV).

A search task always requires the specification of an Entity (2), to define the type of data object to return, similar to the FROM-clause of a SELECT-statement. This choice defines the value of the entity attribute in the root node of the XML.

The elements of the search definition are also represented in a tree view (3) at the left side of the view. The main window of then view shows details (4) depending on the selection in the tree view. In the screenshot above, a Where-condition (with property restriction) is selected.

A Where (4) condition resembles the WHERE-clause in SQL. It combines a Projection (5) (see Projections) with a restriction (6) (see Einschränkungen).

In the example above, the Where (4) condition specifies a Property (5) restriction for the name1-property of the consignee-address(cne.value.address.name1) which is matches by like (6) against a plain text criterion (7) ('Smith*').

Editing search definitions

Generally, editing a search definition is possible from the tree view (1) on the left as well as the details view (2) on the right.

The content displayed in the details view (2) depends on selection in the tree view.

General settings

To edit general setting for a search, the top node in the tree view should be selected. This will show general settings in the details view to the right, below the Joins, Where and Order-By areas explained in the following sections.

First result defines an offset (e.g. for paging) and the Max results specifies the limit for results to return.

The option Apply changes? is checked by default, to enable a flush of data changes when a search is executed in a transaction. Unchecking this option suppresses the flush.

The option Search optimization? is checked by default, to ensure performance optimization by automatically skipping optional Joins not used in a search.

The option Calculate total number? is checked by default, so the total number of results is determined by a COUNT-statement and returned in the count attribute of the search result.

Examples:

Scenario: 23 of the shipments accessible in the context of a session match the criteria of a search.

Join

Joins can be added to a search definition by clicking either of the icons indicated by (1) in the screenshot. The context menu features various types of joins (see Joins).

To Copy, Cut or Remove a join, click as indicated by (2). Clicking the tree element opens the context menu.

Clicking a join-node in the tree view (1) produces the details for editing on the right.

Sorting (Order by)

Defining a 'search order' for a search is optional.

By clicking (1) one or more sort criteria (SearchOrder-objects) can be added.

Each sort criterion combines a Projection (2) with a direction (3). The ASC option defines ascending order when checked (default), and descending order when unchecked.

Show and apply XML definition

Switch to the XML (1) tab to show the XML definition (2) of the current search in a highlight-editor, which also supports editing (incl. copy & paste). Edits to the XML must be committed by clicking Apply (3) to become effective and available in the Editor tab.

Execute search

Click on Execute in the ribbon of the search builder to execute the current search.

Search results will appear in XML format in a new browser tab.

A search might produce output like the following:

The search results includes the number of rows or objects returned (or total count determined with option 'Calculate total number?') and the maximum number of results (see 'Basic settings') defined for the search.

Copying searches from overviews

Clicking the Search button with the Ctrl-key in any type of overview will paste the definition of a Tuple search object (in JSON format) into the clipboard, which resembles a snapshot of the following features of the overview:

• all column Projections (regardless of visibility in overview) in sequence of overview

• applicable filters in the overview transformed to Where-conditions

• applicable sort criteria in the overview as Order by parameters

• all Joins required by projections etc.

The search object can be pasted from clipboard into the Search builder via the context menu item Paste (2) of the search type combobox (1). The definition of the search object appears in the tree view and the details section.

►IMPORTANT◄ An interactive choice for Entity (3) is necessary before or after pasting the search object, to be able to execute the query.