Chapter 5. Constructing queries
This chapter covers
- Querying an e-commerce data model
- The MongoDB query language in detail
- Query selectors and options
MongoDB doesn’t use SQL. It instead features its own JSON-like query language. You’ve explored this language throughout the book, but now let’s turn to some meatier, real-world examples. You’ll revisit the e-commerce data model introduced in the previous chapter and present a variety of queries against it. Among the queries you’ll practice are _id lookups, ranges, ordering, and projections. This chapter then surveys the MongoDB query language as a whole, looking at each available query operator in detail.
Keep in mind as you’re reading this chapter that MongoDB’s query language and aggregation functions (which chapter 6 covers) are still works in progress, and refinements are being added with each release. As it stands, mastering queries and aggregations in MongoDB isn’t so much a matter of mapping out every nook as it is finding the best ways to accomplish everyday tasks. Through the examples in this chapter, you’ll learn the clearest routes to take. By the end of the chapter, you should have a good intuitive understanding of queries in MongoDB, and you’ll be ready to apply these tools to the design of application schemas.