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Filters 

This chapter provides information on the existing filters and illustrates how to create new filters.

Filters are used to limit a set of data or request additional information returned by the API.

Filters for fields that have a database index are enabled automatically. Filters by all other fields should be enabled explicitly.

ComparisonFilter Filter 

The ComparisonFilter is the default filter used to filter data by a field value using various comparison types.

All supported comparison types are listed in the following table:

Comparison Type

Operator

Description

eq

=

For fields and not collection valued associations, it checks whether a field value is equal to a filter value. For collection valued associations, it checks whether a collection contains any of the filter values.

neq

!=

For fields and not collection valued associations, it checks whether a field value is not equal to a filter value. For collection valued associations, it checks that a collection does not contain any filter values. Records with null as the field value or an empty collection are not returned. To return them, use the neq_or_null comparison type.

lt

<

Checks whether a field value is less than a filter value. Supports numeric, date, and time fields.

lte

<=

Checks whether a field value is less than or equal to a filter value. Supports numeric, date, and time fields.

gt

>

Checks whether a field value is greater than a filter value. Supports numeric, date, and time fields.

gte

>=

Checks whether a field value is greater than or equal to a filter value. Supports numeric, date, and time fields.

exists

*

For fields and not collection valued associations, it checks whether a field value is not null (if a filter value is true) or a field value is null (if a filter value is false). For collection valued associations, it checks whether a collection is not empty (if a filter value is true) or empty (if a filter value is false).

neq_or_null

!*

For fields and not collection valued associations checks whether a field value is not equal to a filter value, or is null. For collection valued associations, it checks whether a collection does not contain any filter values or is empty.

contains

~

For string fields, it checks whether a field value contains a filter value. The LIKE ‘%value%’ comparison is used. For collection valued associations, it checks whether a collection contains all of the filter values.

not_contains

!~

For string fields, it checks that a field value does not contain a filter value. The NOT LIKE ‘%value%’ comparison is used. For collection valued associations, it checks that a collection does not contain all of the filter values.

starts_with

^

Checks whether a field value starts with a filter value. The LIKE ‘value%’ comparison is used. Supports only string fields.

not_starts_with

!^

Checks that a field value does not start with a filter value. The NOT LIKE ‘value%’ comparison is used. Supports only string fields.

ends_with

$

Checks whether a field value ends with a filter value. The LIKE ‘%value’ comparison is used. Supports only string fields.

not_ends_with

!$

Checks that a field value does not end with a filter value. The NOT LIKE ‘%value’ comparison is used. Supports only string fields.

empty

Checks whether a field value is empty or null (if a filter value is true) or a field value is not empty and not null (if a filter value is false). Supports string and array fields.

Existing Filters 

A list of filters that are configured automatically according to the data type of a field:

Data Type / Filter Type

Operators enabled by default

string

=, !=, *, !*

boolean

=, !=, *, !*

integer

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

smallint

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

bigint

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

unsignedInteger

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

decimal

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

float

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

date

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

time

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

datetime

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

guid

=, !=, *, !*

text

*

percent

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

money

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

money_value

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

currency

=, !=, *, !*

duration

=, !=, <, <=, >, >=, *, !*

All these filters are implemented by ComparisonFilter.

See Enable Advanced Operators for String Filter and Enable Case-insensitive String Filter for examples of advanced filter configuration.

The following filters are also configured automatically:

A list of filters that should be configured explicitly using the type option:

Filter Type

Enabled Operators

Implemented by

primaryField

=, !=, *, !*

PrimaryFieldFilter

nestedTree

>, >=

NestedTreeFilter

searchQuery

=

SearchQueryFilter

searchAggregation

=

SearchAggregationFilter

You can also run the php var/console debug:config oro_api command to view all the existing filters in the filters section and all the existing operators for filters in the filter_operators section.

FilterInterface Interface 

All filters must implement the FilterInterface interface.

Consider checking out the following classes before implementing your own filters, as each of them may serve as a good base class for your own filters:

FieldFilterInterface Interface 

The FieldFilterInterface is a marker interface that filters applied to a field must implement.

Examples of such filters are ComparisonFilter, CompositeIdentifierFilter, AssociationCompositeIdentifierFilter, NestedTreeFilter, ExtendedAssociationFilter and PrimaryFieldFilter.

FieldAwareFilterInterface Interface 

Filters that are applied to a field and need to know the field name. must implement the FieldAwareFilterInterface interface.

Examples of such filters are ComparisonFilter, ExtendedAssociationFilter, PrimaryFieldFilter and AssociationCompositeIdentifierFilter.

CollectionAwareFilterInterface Interface 

Filters that can handle a collection valued association must implement the CollectionAwareFilterInterface interface.

Examples of such filters are ComparisonFilter, ExtendedAssociationFilter and PrimaryFieldFilter.

ConfigAwareFilterInterface Interface 

Filters that depend on the entity configuration must implement the ConfigAwareFilterInterface interface.

MetadataAwareFilterInterface Interface 

Filters that depend on the entity metadata must implement the MetadataAwareFilterInterface interface. An example of such a filter is CompositeIdentifierFilter and AssociationCompositeIdentifierFilter.

RequestAwareFilterInterface Interface 

Filters that depend on a request type must implement the RequestAwareFilterInterface interface.

Examples of such filters are ExtendedAssociationFilter, CompositeIdentifierFilter and AssociationCompositeIdentifierFilter.

SelfIdentifiableFilterInterface Interface 

Filters that should search for their value themselves must implement the SelfIdentifiableFilterInterface interface.

An example of such a filter is ExtendedAssociationFilter.

NamedValueFilterInterface Interface 

Filters with a named value should implement the NamedValueFilterInterface interface.

An example of such a filter is ExtendedAssociationFilter.

SpecialHandlingFilterInterface Interface 

Filters with special handling must implement the SpecialHandlingFilterInterface interface. As a result, common normalization should not be applied to their values.

Examples of such a filter are MetaPropertyFilter, FieldsFilter, and IncludeFilter.

StandaloneFilter Base Class 

The StandaloneFilter is the base class for filters you can use independently of other filters.

Examples of such filters are:

StandaloneFilterWithDefaultValue Base Class 

The StandaloneFilterWithDefaultValue is the base class for filters that you can use independently of other filters and have a predefined default value.

Examples of such filters are PageNumberFilter, PageSizeFilter and SortFilter.

Criteria Class 

The Criteria class represents criteria for filtering data returned by ORM queries. This class extends the Doctrine Criteria class and adds methods to work with joins. It is required as API filters can be applied to associations at any nesting level.

CriteriaConnector Class 

The CriteriaConnector class is used to apply criteria stored in the Criteria object to the QueryBuilder object.

This class uses CriteriaNormalizer to prepare the Criteria object before criteria are applied to the QueryBuilder object.

Keep in mind that you can decorate RequireJoinsDecisionMakerInterface and OptimizeJoinsDecisionMakerInterface interfaces and oro_api.query.require_joins_decision_maker and oro_api.query.optimize_joins_decision_maker services if your expressions require this.

QueryExpressionVisitor Class 

The QueryExpressionVisitor is used to walk a graph of DQL expressions from the Criteria object and turns them into a query. This class is similar to Doctrine QueryExpressionVisitor, but allows adding new types of expressions easily and helps to build subquery-based expressions.

Query Expressions 

The following query expressions are implemented out-of-the-box:

Operator

Class

Description

AND

AndCompositeExpression

Logical AND

OR

OrCompositeExpression

Logical OR

NOT

NotCompositeExpression

Logical NOT

=

EqComparisonExpression

EQUAL TO comparison

<>

NeqComparisonExpression

NOT EQUAL TO comparison

<

LtComparisonExpression

LESS THAN comparison

<=

LteComparisonExpression

LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO comparison

>

GtComparisonExpression

GREATER THAN comparison

>=

GteComparisonExpression

GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO comparison

IN

InComparisonExpression

IN comparison

NIN

NinComparisonExpression

NOT IN comparison

EXISTS

ExistsComparisonExpression

EXISTS (IS NOT NULL) and DOES NOT EXIST (IS NULL) comparisons

EMPTY

EmptyComparisonExpression

EMPTY and NOT EMPTY comparisons for collections

NEQ_OR_NULL

NeqOrNullComparisonExpression

NOT EQUAL TO OR IS NULL comparison

NEQ_OR_EMPTY

NeqOrEmptyComparisonExpression

NOT EQUAL TO OR EMPTY comparison for collections

MEMBER_OF

MemberOfComparisonExpression

checks whether a collection contains any of specific values

ALL_MEMBER_OF

AllMemberOfComparisonExpression

checks whether a collection contains all of specific values

ALL_NOT_MEMBER_OF

AllMemberOfComparisonExpression

checks whether a collection does not contain all of specific values

CONTAINS

ContainsComparisonExpression

LIKE %value% comparison

NOT_CONTAINS

NotContainsComparisonExpression

NOT LIKE %value% comparison

STARTS_WITH

StartsWithComparisonExpression

LIKE value% comparison

NOT_STARTS_WITH

NotStartsWithComparisonExpression

NOT LIKE value% comparison

ENDS_WITH

EndsWithComparisonExpression

LIKE %value comparison

NOT_ENDS_WITH

NotEndsWithComparisonExpression

NOT LIKE %value comparison

EMPTY_VALUE

EmptyValueComparisonExpression

EQUAL TO empty value OR IS NULL and NOT EQUAL TO empty value AND NOT IS NULL comparisons

NESTED_TREE

NestedTreeComparisonExpression

returns all child nodes for a given node depending on the nesting level

NESTED_TREE_WITH_ROOT

NestedTreeComparisonExpression

returns a given node and all child nodes for this node depending on the nesting level

You can add new comparison expressions and use them in your filters if necessary. For this, create a class that implements the expression logic, register it as a service tagged with the oro.api.query.comparison_expression in the dependency injection container, and decorate the oro_api.query.require_joins_decision_maker and oro_api.query.optimize_joins_decision_maker services if required.

Creating a New Filter 

To create a new filter:

  • Create a class that implements the filtering logic. This class must implement FilterInterface Interface or extend one of the classes implementing this interface.

  • If your filter is complex and depends on other services, create a factory to create the filter. Register the factory as a service in the dependency injection container.

  • Register this class in the oro_api / filters section using Resources/config/oro/app.yml. You can find examples of filters registration in ApiBundle/Resources/config/oro/app.yml.

To configure your filter for an API resource, use the type option of the filter.

Other Classes 

Consider checking out the list of other classes below, as they can provide insight on how data filtering works:

  • FilterNames - contains names of predefined filters for a specific request type.

  • FilterNamesRegistry - a container for names of predefined filters for all registered request types.

  • FilterValue - represents a filter value.

  • FilterValueAccessorInterface - represents a collection of the FilterValue objects.

  • RestFilterValueAccessor - extracts values of filters from REST API HTTP request.

  • FilterHelper - reusable utility methods that can be used to get filter values.

  • FilterCollection - a collection of filters.

  • SimpleFilterFactory - the default implementation of a factory to create filters.

  • FilterOperatorRegistry - the container for all registered operators for filters.

  • MetaPropertyFilter - a filter used to request to add entity meta properties to the result or to perform some additional operations.

  • AddMetaPropertyFilter - a processor that adds the “meta” filter that is used to specify which entity meta properties should be returned or which additional operations should be performed.

  • HandleMetaPropertyFilter - a processor that handles the “meta” filter.

  • ValidateMetaPropertyFilterSupported - a processor that validates that the “meta” filter is supported and all requested meta properties are allowed.

  • AddMetaProperties - a processor that adds the configuration of meta properties requested via the “meta” filter.

  • FieldsFilter - a filter that is used to filter entity fields.

  • AddFieldsFilter - a processor that adds “fields” filters that are used to filter entity fields.

  • HandleFieldsFilter - a processor that handles “fields” filters.

  • FilterFieldsByExtra - a processor that modifies configuration of entities according to “fields” filters.

  • IncludeFilter - a filter that is used to request information about related entities.

  • AddIncludeFilter - a processor that adds “include” filters that are used to request information about related entities.

  • HandleIncludeFilter - a processor that handles “include” filters.

  • ExpandRelatedEntities - a processor that adds configuration of related entities requested via “include” filters.

  • BuildCriteria - a processor that applies all requested filters to the Criteria object.

  • NormalizeFilterValues - a processor that converts values of all requested filters according to the type of the filters and validates that all requested filters are supported.

  • RegisterConfiguredFilters - a processor that registers filters according to the filters configuration section.

  • RegisterDynamicFilters - a processor that registers nested filters.