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Criteria API Reference

Complete API documentation for the XOOPS Criteria query building system.

Criteria System Architecture

classDiagram
    class CriteriaElement {
        <<abstract>>
        #string $order
        #string $sort
        #int $limit
        #int $start
        +setSort(sort)
        +getSort()
        +setOrder(order)
        +getOrder()
        +setLimit(limit)
        +getLimit()
        +setStart(start)
        +getStart()
        +setGroupby(groupby)
        +getGroupby()
        +render()
        +renderWhere()
        +renderLdap()
    }

    class Criteria {
        -string $prefix
        -string $function
        -string $column
        -string $operator
        -mixed $value
        +__construct(column, value, operator, prefix, function)
        +render()
        +renderWhere()
    }

    class CriteriaCompo {
        -array $criterias
        -array $conditions
        +__construct(criteria)
        +add(criteria, condition)
        +render()
        +renderWhere()
    }

    CriteriaElement <|-- Criteria
    CriteriaElement <|-- CriteriaCompo
    CriteriaCompo o-- CriteriaElement : contains

Criteria Class

Constructor

public function __construct(
    string $column,           // Column name
    mixed $value = '',        // Value to compare
    string $operator = '=',   // Comparison operator
    string $prefix = '',      // Table prefix
    string $function = ''     // SQL function wrapper
)

Operators

Operator Example SQL Output
= new Criteria('status', 1) status = 1
!= new Criteria('status', 0, '!=') status != 0
<> new Criteria('status', 0, '<>') status <> 0
< new Criteria('age', 18, '<') age < 18
<= new Criteria('age', 18, '<=') age <= 18
> new Criteria('age', 18, '>') age > 18
>= new Criteria('age', 18, '>=') age >= 18
LIKE new Criteria('title', '%php%', 'LIKE') title LIKE '%php%'
NOT LIKE new Criteria('title', '%spam%', 'NOT LIKE') title NOT LIKE '%spam%'
IN new Criteria('id', '(1,2,3)', 'IN') id IN (1,2,3)
NOT IN new Criteria('id', '(1,2,3)', 'NOT IN') id NOT IN (1,2,3)
IS NULL new Criteria('deleted', null, 'IS NULL') deleted IS NULL
IS NOT NULL new Criteria('email', null, 'IS NOT NULL') email IS NOT NULL
BETWEEN new Criteria('created', '1000 AND 2000', 'BETWEEN') created BETWEEN 1000 AND 2000

Usage Examples

// Simple equality
$criteria = new Criteria('status', 'published');

// Numeric comparison
$criteria = new Criteria('views', 100, '>=');

// Pattern matching
$criteria = new Criteria('title', '%XOOPS%', 'LIKE');

// With table prefix
$criteria = new Criteria('uid', 1, '=', 'u');
// Renders: u.uid = 1

// With SQL function
$criteria = new Criteria('title', '', '!=', '', 'LOWER');
// Renders: LOWER(title) != ''

CriteriaCompo Class

Constructor & Methods

// Create empty compo
$criteria = new CriteriaCompo();

// Or with initial criteria
$criteria = new CriteriaCompo(new Criteria('status', 'active'));

// Add criteria (AND by default)
$criteria->add(new Criteria('views', 10, '>='));

// Add with OR
$criteria->add(new Criteria('featured', 1), 'OR');

// Nesting
$subCriteria = new CriteriaCompo();
$subCriteria->add(new Criteria('author', 1));
$subCriteria->add(new Criteria('author', 2), 'OR');
$criteria->add($subCriteria); // (author = 1 OR author = 2)

Sorting and Pagination

$criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
$criteria->add(new Criteria('status', 'published'));

// Single sort
$criteria->setSort('created');
$criteria->setOrder('DESC');

// Multiple sort columns
$criteria->setSort('category_id, created');
$criteria->setOrder('ASC, DESC');

// Pagination
$criteria->setLimit(10);    // Items per page
$criteria->setStart(0);     // Offset (page * limit)

// Group by
$criteria->setGroupby('category_id');

Query Building Flow

flowchart TD
    A[Create CriteriaCompo] --> B[Add Criteria]
    B --> C{More Conditions?}
    C -->|Yes| B
    C -->|No| D[Set Sort/Order]
    D --> E[Set Limit/Start]
    E --> F[Pass to Handler]
    F --> G[Handler calls render]
    G --> H[Generate SQL WHERE]
    H --> I[Execute Query]
    I --> J[Return Results]

Complex Query Examples

Search with Multiple Conditions

$criteria = new CriteriaCompo();

// Status must be published
$criteria->add(new Criteria('status', 'published'));

// Category is 1, 2, or 3
$criteria->add(new Criteria('category_id', '(1, 2, 3)', 'IN'));

// Created in last 30 days
$thirtyDaysAgo = time() - (30 * 24 * 60 * 60);
$criteria->add(new Criteria('created', $thirtyDaysAgo, '>='));

// Search term in title OR content
$searchCriteria = new CriteriaCompo();
$searchCriteria->add(new Criteria('title', '%' . $searchTerm . '%', 'LIKE'));
$searchCriteria->add(new Criteria('content', '%' . $searchTerm . '%', 'LIKE'), 'OR');
$criteria->add($searchCriteria);

// Sort by views descending
$criteria->setSort('views');
$criteria->setOrder('DESC');

// Paginate
$criteria->setLimit($perPage);
$criteria->setStart($page * $perPage);

// Execute
$items = $itemHandler->getObjects($criteria);
$total = $itemHandler->getCount($criteria);

Date Range Query

$criteria = new CriteriaCompo();

// Between two dates
$startDate = strtotime('2024-01-01');
$endDate = strtotime('2024-12-31');

$criteria->add(new Criteria('created', $startDate, '>='));
$criteria->add(new Criteria('created', $endDate, '<='));

// Or using BETWEEN
$criteria->add(new Criteria('created', "$startDate AND $endDate", 'BETWEEN'));

User Permission Filter

$criteria = new CriteriaCompo();
$criteria->add(new Criteria('status', 'published'));

// If not admin, only show own items or public
if (!$xoopsUser || !$xoopsUser->isAdmin()) {
    $permCriteria = new CriteriaCompo();
    $permCriteria->add(new Criteria('visibility', 'public'));

    if (is_object($xoopsUser)) {
        $permCriteria->add(new Criteria('author_id', $xoopsUser->getVar('uid')), 'OR');
    }

    $criteria->add($permCriteria);
}

Join-like Query

// Get items where category is active
// (Using subquery approach)
$categoryHandler = xoops_getHandler('category');
$activeCatCriteria = new Criteria('status', 'active');
$activeCategories = $categoryHandler->getIds($activeCatCriteria);

if (!empty($activeCategories)) {
    $criteria->add(new Criteria('category_id', '(' . implode(',', $activeCategories) . ')', 'IN'));
}

Criteria to SQL Visualization

graph LR
    subgraph "PHP Code"
        A["new Criteria('status', 'published')"]
        B["new Criteria('views', 100, '>=')"]
        C["CriteriaCompo with A + B"]
    end

    subgraph "Generated SQL"
        D["status = 'published'"]
        E["views >= 100"]
        F["WHERE status = 'published' AND views >= 100"]
    end

    A --> D
    B --> E
    C --> F

Handler Integration

// Standard handler methods that accept Criteria

// Get multiple objects
$objects = $handler->getObjects($criteria);
$objects = $handler->getObjects($criteria, true);  // As array
$objects = $handler->getObjects($criteria, true, true); // As array, id as key

// Get count
$count = $handler->getCount($criteria);

// Get list (id => identifier)
$list = $handler->getList($criteria);

// Delete matching
$deleted = $handler->deleteAll($criteria);

// Update matching
$handler->updateAll('status', 'archived', $criteria);

Performance Considerations

graph TB
    subgraph "Optimization Tips"
        A[Use Indexes] --> E[Faster Queries]
        B[Limit Results] --> E
        C[Avoid LIKE '%...'] --> E
        D[Use Specific Columns] --> E
    end

    subgraph "Anti-Patterns"
        F[No Indexes] --> G[Slow Queries]
        H[SELECT *] --> G
        I[No LIMIT] --> G
        J[Leading Wildcards] --> G
    end

Best Practices

  1. Always set LIMIT for large tables
  2. Use indexes on columns used in criteria
  3. Avoid leading wildcards in LIKE ('%term' is slow)
  4. Pre-filter in PHP when possible for complex logic
  5. Use COUNT sparingly - cache results when possible

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