Vertical Flattening
It is possible to retrieve an array of documents as if it were a separate table. Take the following JSON structure from the restaurants collection for example:
{
"_id" : ObjectId("568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932"),
"address" : {
"building" : "1007",
"coord" : [-73.856077, 40.848447],
"street" : "Morris Park Ave",
"zipcode" : "10462"
},
"borough" : "Bronx",
"cuisine" : "Bakery",
"grades" : [{
"date" : ISODate("2014-03-03T00:00:00Z"),
"grade" : "A",
"score" : 2
}, {
"date" : ISODate("2013-09-11T00:00:00Z"),
"grade" : "A",
"score" : 6
}, {
"date" : ISODate("2013-01-24T00:00:00Z"),
"grade" : "A",
"score" : 10
}, {
"date" : ISODate("2011-11-23T00:00:00Z"),
"grade" : "A",
"score" : 9
}, {
"date" : ISODate("2011-03-10T00:00:00Z"),
"grade" : "B",
"score" : 14
}],
"name" : "Morris Park Bake Shop",
"restaurant_id" : "30075445"
}
Vertical flattening will allow you to retrieve the grades array as a separate table:
SELECT * FROM [restaurants.grades]This query returns the following data set:
| date | grade | score | P_id | _index |
| 2014-03-03T00:00:00.000Z | A | 2 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 1 |
| 2013-09-11T00:00:00.000Z | A | 6 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 2 |
| 2013-01-24T00:00:00.000Z | A | 10 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 3 |
SELECT [restaurants].[restaurant_id], [restaurants.grades].* FROM [restaurants.grades] JOIN [restaurants] WHERE [restaurants].name = 'Morris Park Bake Shop'This query returns the following data set:
| restaurant_id | date | grade | score | P_id | _index |
| 30075445 | 2014-03-03T00:00:00.000Z | A | 2 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 1 |
| 30075445 | 2013-09-11T00:00:00.000Z | A | 6 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 2 |
| 30075445 | 2013-01-24T00:00:00.000Z | A | 10 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 3 |
| 30075445 | 2011-11-23T00:00:00.000Z | A | 9 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 4 |
| 30075445 | 2011-03-10T00:00:00.000Z | B | 14 | 568c37b748ddf53c5ed98932 | 5 |
It's also possible to build queries targeting arrays within other arrays.
Consider this sample Inventory collection:
{
"_id": {
"$oid": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
},
"Company Branch": "Main Branch",
"ItemList": [
{
"item": "journal",
"instock": [
{
"warehouse": "A",
"qty": 15
},
{
"warehouse": "B",
"qty": 45
}
]
},
{
"item": "paper",
"instock": [
{
"warehouse": "A",
"qty": 50
},
{
"warehouse": "B",
"qty": 5
}
]
}
]
}
Insert data into the nested arrays using the syntax of <parent array>.<index>.<child array>, as follows:
INSERT INTO [Inventory.ItemList] (p_id, item, [instock.0.warehouse], [instock.0.qty], [instock.0.price]) VALUES ('xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx', 'NoteBook', 'B', 20, '5$')
The Inventory collection after executing the INSERT statement:
{
"_id": {
"$oid": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
},
"Company Branch": "Main Branch",
"ItemList": [
{
"item": "journal",
"instock": [
{
"warehouse": "A",
"qty": 15
},
{
"warehouse": "B",
"qty": 45
}
]
},
{
"item": "paper",
"instock": [
{
"warehouse": "A",
"qty": 50
},
{
"warehouse": "B",
"qty": 5
}
]
},
{
"item": "NoteBook",
"instock": [
{
"warehouse": "B",
"qty": 20,
"price": "5$"
}
]
}
]
}