Getting and Filtering Records in DataMgr

In working with a subcontractor, I realized that I have done a poor job so far in providing a simple example of getting and filtering records with DataMgr. DataMgr makes this task very easy, but it does require a little explanation.

DataMgr essentially provides a ColdFusion API for many basic database interactions. Although it sounds like it, this isn't really meant to be a replacement for SQL. I love SQL and wouldn't want to replace it. In some situations, however, it can become tedious to write the same SQL queries repeatedly. Moreover, DataMgr provides a syntax that works like much of the rest of CFML.

Like SQL, the DataMgr API is declarative  meaning that you describe what you want instead of how you want to achieve it. This is often the first leap in using DataMgr. The initial desire is to get DataMgr to perform a certain SQL function rather than return a specific result.

In order to retrieve records from a table, use DataMgr's getRecords() method.

Here is an example table:

employees

To get records from this table, use the following syntax:

The qEmployees variable will now hold a recordset with every row and column from the employees table.

In order to only get employees with a last name of "Smith", first create a structure to indicate that filter:

Then include the filter:

In order to have the recordset only return the employee_id and firstname, use the following code:

That's it!

If you have any questions about filtering data with DataMgr, let me know.

DataMgr is open source and free for any use.