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Operators

Operators

A variety of operators in SurrealQL allow for complex manipulation of data, and advanced logic.

OperatorDescription
&& AND Checks whether both of two values are truthy
|| OR Checks whether either of two values is truthy
! Reverses the truthiness of a value
!! Determines the truthiness of a value
?? Check whether either of two values are truthy and not NULL
?: Check whether either of two values are truthy
= IS Check whether two values are equal
!= IS NOT Check whether two values are not equal
== Check whether two values are exactly equal
?= Check whether any value in a set is equal to a value
*= Check whether all values in a set are equal to a value
~ Compare two values for equality using fuzzy matching
!~ Compare two values for inequality using fuzzy matching
?~ Check whether any value in a set is equal to a value using fuzzy matching
*~ Check whether all values in a set are equal to a value using fuzzy matching
< Check whether a value is less than another value
<= Check whether a value is less than or equal to another value
> Check whether a value is greater than another value
>= Check whether a value is greater than or equal to another value
+ Add two values together
- Subtract a value from another value
* × Multiply two values together
/ ÷ Divide a value by another value
** Raises a base value by another value
CONTAINS ∋ Checks whether a value contains another value
CONTAINSNOT ∌ Checks whether a value does not contain another value
CONTAINSALL ⊇ Checks whether a value contains all other values
CONTAINSANY ⊃ Checks whether a value contains any other value
CONTAINSNONE ⊅ Checks whether a value contains none of the following values
INSIDE IN ∈ Checks whether a value is contained within another value
NOTINSIDE NOT IN ∉ Checks whether a value is not contained within another value
ALLINSIDE ⊆ Checks whether all values are contained within other values
ANYINSIDE ⊂ Checks whether any value is contained within other values
NONEINSIDE ⊄ Checks whether no value is contained within other values
OUTSIDE Checks whether a geometry type is outside of another geometry type
INTERSECTS Checks whether a geometry type intersects another geometry type
@@ @[ref]@ Checks whether the terms are found in a full-text indexed field
<|4|> <|3,HAMMING| > Performs a K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) search to find a specified number of records closest to a given data point, optionally using a defined distance metric. Supports customizing the number of results and choice of distance calculation method.

&& or AND

The and operator checks whether both of two values are truthy.

SELECT * FROM 10 AND 20 AND 30;

-- 30


|| or OR

The or operator checks whether either of two values are truthy.

SELECT * FROM 0 OR false OR 10;

-- 10


!

The not operator reverses the truthiness of a value.

SELECT * FROM !(TRUE OR FALSE);
-- false

SELECT * FROM !"Has a value";
-- false


!!

The not not operator is simply an application of the ! operator twice. It can be used to determines the truthiness of a value.

SELECT * FROM !!"Has a value";
-- true

??

The null coalescing operator checks whether either of two values are truthy and not NONE or NULL.

SELECT * FROM NULL ?? 0 ?? false ?? 10;

-- 0


?:

The truthy coalescing operator checks whether either of two values are truthy.

SELECT * FROM NULL ?: 0 ?: false ?: 10;

-- 10


= or IS

The equal operator checks whether two values are equal.

SELECT * FROM true = "true";
-- false
SELECT * FROM 10 = "10";
-- false
SELECT * FROM 10 = 10.00;
-- true
SELECT * FROM 10 = "10.3";
-- false
SELECT * FROM [1, 2, 3] = [1, 2, 3];
-- true
SELECT * FROM [1, 2, 3] = [1, 2, 3, 4];
-- false
SELECT * FROM { this: "object" } = { this: "object" };
-- true
SELECT * FROM { this: "object" } = { another: "object" };
-- false


!= or IS NOT

The not equal operator checks whether two values are not equal.

SELECT * FROM 10 != "15";
-- true
SELECT * FROM 10 != "test";
-- true
SELECT * FROM [1, 2, 3] != [3, 4, 5];
-- true


==

The exact operator checks whether two values are exact. This operator also checks that each value has the same type.

SELECT * FROM 10 == 10;
-- true
SELECT * FROM 10 == "10";
-- false
SELECT * FROM true == "true";
-- false


?=

The any equal operator checks whether any value in an array equals another value.

SELECT * FROM [10, 15, 20] ?= 10;
-- true


*=

The all equal operator checks whether all values in an array equals another value.

SELECT * FROM [10, 10, 10] *= 10;
-- true


~ ?~ !~ *~

These operators used to compare two values for equality using fuzzy matching. They have been removed since 3.0 to avoid implicitly preferring one algorithm over another, as the type of fuzzy matching to use will depend on each individual case.

Please use the string::similarity::* functions instead:

let $threshold = 10;

string::similarity::smithwaterman("test text", "Test") > $threshold;
-- true


<

The less than operator checks whether a value is less than another value.

SELECT * FROM 10 < 15;
-- true


<=

The less than or equal operator checks whether a value is less than or equal to another value.

SELECT * FROM 10 <= 15;
-- true


>

The greater than operator checks whether a value is less than another value.

SELECT * FROM 15 > 10;
-- true


>=

The greater than or equal operator checks whether a value is less than or equal to another value.

SELECT * FROM 15 >= 10;
-- true


+

The add operator adds two values together.

SELECT * FROM 10 + 10;
-- 20
SELECT * FROM "test" + " " + "this";
-- "test this"
SELECT * FROM 13h + 30m;
-- "13h30m"


-

The subtract operator subtracts a value from another value.

SELECT * FROM 20 - 10;
-- 10
SELECT * FROM 2m - 1m;
-- 1m


* or ×

The multiply operator multiplies a value by another value.

SELECT * FROM 20 * 2;
-- 40


/ or ÷

The divide operator divides a value by another value.

SELECT * FROM 20 / 2;
-- 10


**

The power operator raises a base value by another value.

SELECT * FROM 20 ** 3;
-- 8000


CONTAINS or ∋

The contains operator checks whether a value contains another value.

SELECT * FROM [10, 20, 30] CONTAINS 10;
-- true
SELECT * FROM "this is some text" CONTAINS "text";
-- true
SELECT * FROM {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386], [0.1785278, 51.37692386],
		[0.1785278, 51.61460570], [-0.38314819, 51.61460570],
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386]
	]]
} CONTAINS (-0.118092, 51.509865);

-- true


CONTAINSNOT or ∌

The not contains operator checks whether a value does not contain another value.

SELECT * FROM [10, 20, 30] CONTAINSNOT 15;
-- true
SELECT * FROM "this is some text" CONTAINSNOT "other";
-- true
SELECT * FROM {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386], [0.1785278, 51.37692386],
		[0.1785278, 51.61460570], [-0.38314819, 51.61460570],
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386]
	]]
} CONTAINSNOT (-0.518092, 53.509865);

-- true


CONTAINSALL or ⊇

The contains all operator checks whether a value contains all of multiple values.

SELECT * FROM [10, 20, 30] CONTAINSALL [10, 20, 10];
-- true


CONTAINSANY or ⊃

The contains any operator checks whether a value contains any of multiple values.

SELECT * FROM [10, 20, 30] CONTAINSANY [10, 15, 25];
-- true


INSIDE or ∈ or IN

The inside operator checks whether a value is contained within another value.

SELECT * FROM 10 INSIDE [10, 20, 30];
-- true
SELECT * FROM "text" INSIDE "this is some text";
-- true
SELECT * FROM (-0.118092, 51.509865) INSIDE {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386], [0.1785278, 51.37692386],
		[0.1785278, 51.61460570], [-0.38314819, 51.61460570],
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386]
	]]
};

true

This operator can also be used to check for the existence of a key inside an object. To do so, precede IN with the field name as a string.

"name" IN {
    name: "Riga",
    country: "Latvia"
};

-- true

IN can also be used with a record ID as long as the ID is expanded to include the fields. Both of the following queries will return true.

CREATE city:riga SET name = "Riga", country = "Latvia", population = 605273;

"name" IN city:riga.*;
"name" IN city:riga.{ name, country };


NOTINSIDE or ∉ or NOT IN

The not inside operator checks whether a value is not contained within another value.

SELECT * FROM 15 NOTINSIDE [10, 20, 30];
-- true
SELECT * FROM "other" NOTINSIDE "this is some text";
-- true
SELECT * FROM (-0.518092, 53.509865) NOTINSIDE {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386], [0.1785278, 51.37692386],
		[0.1785278, 51.61460570], [-0.38314819, 51.61460570],
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386]
	]]
};

-- true


ALLINSIDE or ⊆

The all inside operator checks whether all of multiple values are contained within another value.

SELECT * FROM [10, 20, 10] ALLINSIDE [10, 20, 30];
-- true


ANYINSIDE or ⊂

The any inside operator checks whether any of multiple values are contained within another value.

SELECT * FROM [10, 15, 25] ANYINSIDE [10, 20, 30];
-- true


NONEINSIDE or ⊄

The none inside operator checks whether none of multiple values are contained within another value.

SELECT * FROM [15, 25, 35] NONEINSIDE [10, 20, 30];
-- true


OUTSIDE

The outside operator checks whether a geometry value is outside another geometry value.

SELECT * FROM (-0.518092, 53.509865) OUTSIDE {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386], [0.1785278, 51.37692386],
		[0.1785278, 51.61460570], [-0.38314819, 51.61460570],
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386]
	]]
};

-- true


INTERSECTS

The intersects operator checks whether a geometry value intersects another geometry value.

SELECT * FROM {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386], [0.1785278, 51.37692386],
		[0.1785278, 51.61460570], [-0.38314819, 51.61460570],
		[-0.38314819, 51.37692386]
	]]
} INTERSECTS {
	type: "Polygon",
	coordinates: [[
		[-0.11123657, 51.53160074], [-0.16925811, 51.51921169],
		[-0.11466979, 51.48223813], [-0.07381439, 51.51322956],
		[-0.11123657, 51.53160074]
	]]
};

-- true


MATCHES

The matches operator checks whether the terms are found in a full-text indexed field.

SELECT * FROM book WHERE title @@ 'rust web';


[
	{
		id: book:1,
		title: 'Rust Web Programming'
	}
]

Using the matches operator with a reference checks whether the terms are found, highlights the searched terms, and computes the full-text score.

SELECT id,
		search::highlight('<b>', '</b>', 1) AS title,
		search::score(1) AS score
FROM book
WHERE title @1@ 'rust web'
ORDER BY score DESC;

[
	{
		id: book:1,
		score: 0.9227996468544006f,
		title: '<b>Rust</b> <b>Web</b> Programming'
	}
]

AND, OR, and numeric operators inside @@

In addition to the AND keyword, the OR matches operator can also be used as of 3.0.0-beta. This allows a single string to be compared against instead of needing to specify individual parts of the string.

CREATE document:1 SET text = "It is rare that I find myself penning a personal note in my chronicles.";
DEFINE ANALYZER simple TOKENIZERS blank,class FILTERS lowercase;
DEFINE INDEX some_index ON document FIELDS text FULLTEXT ANALYZER simple;

-- @AND@ and @OR@: can use the entire string
SELECT * FROM document WHERE text @AND@ "personal rare";
SELECT * FROM document WHERE text @OR@ "personal nice weather today";

-- Separate AND and OR outside of matches operator:
-- Must specify parts of string to check for match
SELECT * FROM document WHERE text @@ "personal" AND text @@ "rare";
SELECT * FROM document WHERE text @@ "personal note";
SELECT * FROM document WHERE text @@ "personal" OR text @@ "nice weather today";

KNN

K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) is a fundamental algorithm used for classifying or regressing based on the closest data points in the feature space, with its performance and scalability critical in applications involving large datasets.

In practice, the efficiency and scalability of the KNN algorithm are crucial, especially when dealing with large datasets. Different implementations of KNN are tailored to optimize these aspects without compromising the accuracy of the results.

SurrealDB supports different K-Nearest Neighbors methods to perform KNN searches, each with unique requirements for syntax. Below are the details for each method, including how to format your query with examples:

Brute Force Method

Best for smaller datasets or when the highest accuracy is required.

SurrealQL Syntax

<|K,DISTANCE_METRIC|>

  • K: The number of nearest neighbors to retrieve.

  • DISTANCE_METRIC: The metric used to calculate distances, such as EUCLIDEAN or MANHATTAN.

CREATE pts:3 SET point = [8,9,10,11];
SELECT id FROM pts WHERE point <|2,EUCLIDEAN|> [2,3,4,5];

HNSW Method

Recommended for very large datasets where speed is essential and some loss of accuracy is acceptable.

SurrealQL Syntax

<|K,EF|>

  • K: The number of nearest neighbors.

  • EF: The size of the dynamic candidate list during the search, affecting the search's accuracy and speed.

CREATE pts:3 SET point = [8,9,10,11];
DEFINE INDEX mt_pts ON pts FIELDS point HNSW DIMENSION 4 DIST EUCLIDEAN EFC 150 M 12;
SELECT id FROM pts WHERE point <|10,40|> [2,3,4,5];


Using the ANY/ALL operators for string indexes

An index defined on a string value can be used via the operators CONTAINSANY, ALLINSIDE, or ANYINSIDE. The operator CONTAINS, however, will not use a defined index as CONTAINS is used for substring matches between strings themselves as opposed to an index lookup.

DEFINE FIELD name ON account TYPE string;
DEFINE INDEX name_index ON account FIELDS name;

CREATE account:billy SET name = "Billy McConnell";

-- Both return the user Billy McConnell
SELECT * FROM account WHERE name CONTAINS "Billy McConnell";
SELECT * FROM account WHERE name CONTAINSANY ["Billy McConnell"];

-- However, CONTAINS does not use the index
SELECT * FROM account WHERE name CONTAINS "Billy McConnell" EXPLAIN FULL;
-- CONTAINSANY + putting the value inside an array will use the index
SELECT * FROM account WHERE name CONTAINSANY ["Billy McConnell"] EXPLAIN FULL;

Types of operators, order of operations and binding power

To determine which operator is executed first, a concept called "binding power" is used. Operators with greater binding power will operate directly on their neighbours before those with lower binding power. The following is a list of all operator types from greatest to lowest binding power.

Operator nameDescription
Unary The Unary operators are !, +, and -.
Nullish The Nullish operators are ?: and ??.
Range The Range operator is ...
Cast The Cast operator is `, with type_name a stand in for the type to cast into. For example, or `.
Power The only Power operator is **.
MulDiv The MulDiv (multiplication and division) operators are *, /, ÷, and %.
AddSub The AddSub (addition and subtraction) operators are + and -.
Relation The Relation operators are `=, ∋, CONTAINS, ∌, CONTAINSNOT, ∈, INSIDE, ∉, NOTINSIDE, ⊇, CONTAINSALL, ⊃, CONTAINSANY, ⊅, CONTAINSNONE, ⊆, ALLINSIDE, ⊂, ANYINSIDE, ⊄, NONEINSIDE, OUTSIDE, INTERSECTS, NOT, and IN`.
Equality The Equality operators are =, IS, ==, !=, *=, ?=, and @.
And The And operators are && and AND.
Or The Or operators are || and OR.

Examples of binding power

The following samples show examples of basic operations of varying binding power. The original example is followed by the same example with the parts with higher binding power in parentheses, then the final expression after the first bound portion is calculated, and finally the output.

MulDiv first, then AddSub

1 + 3 * 4;
1 + (3 * 4);
-- Final expression
1 + 12;
-- Output
13

Power first, then MulDiv

2**3 * 3;
(2**3) * 3;
-- Final expression
8*3;
-- Output
24

Unary first, then cast

<string>-4;
<string>(-4);
-- Output
"-4"

Cast first, then Power

<number>"9"**9;
(<number>"9")**9;
-- Final expression
9**9;
-- Output
387420489

AddSub first, then Relation

"c" + "at" IN "cats";
("c" + "at") IN "cats";
-- Final expression
"cat" IN "cats";
-- Output
true

And first, then Or

true AND false OR true;
(true AND false) OR true;
-- Final expression
false OR true;
-- Output
true

Unary, then Cast, then Power, then AddSub

<decimal>-4**2+4;
((<decimal>(-4))**2)+4;
-- Output
20dec
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