org.hibernate
Interface Criteria

All Superinterfaces:
CriteriaSpecification
All Known Implementing Classes:
CriteriaImpl, CriteriaImpl.Subcriteria

public interface Criteria
extends CriteriaSpecification

Criteria is a simplified API for retrieving entities by composing Criterion objects. This is a very convenient approach for functionality like "search" screens where there is a variable number of conditions to be placed upon the result set.

The Session is a factory for Criteria. Criterion instances are usually obtained via the factory methods on Restrictions. eg.

 List cats = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
     .add( Restrictions.like("name", "Iz%") )
     .add( Restrictions.gt( "weight", new Float(minWeight) ) )
     .addOrder( Order.asc("age") )
     .list();
 
You may navigate associations using createAlias() or createCriteria().
 List cats = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
     .createCriteria("kittens")
         .add( Restrictions.like("name", "Iz%") )
     .list();
 
 List cats = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
     .createAlias("kittens", "kit")
     .add( Restrictions.like("kit.name", "Iz%") )
     .list();
 
You may specify projection and aggregation using Projection instances obtained via the factory methods on Projections.
 List cats = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
     .setProjection( Projections.projectionList()
         .add( Projections.rowCount() )
         .add( Projections.avg("weight") )
         .add( Projections.max("weight") )
         .add( Projections.min("weight") )
         .add( Projections.groupProperty("color") )
     )
     .addOrder( Order.asc("color") )
     .list();
 

Author:
Gavin King
See Also:
Session.createCriteria(java.lang.Class), Restrictions, Projections, Order, Criterion, Projection, a disconnected version of this API

Field Summary
 
Fields inherited from interface org.hibernate.criterion.CriteriaSpecification
ALIAS_TO_ENTITY_MAP, DISTINCT_ROOT_ENTITY, FULL_JOIN, INNER_JOIN, LEFT_JOIN, PROJECTION, ROOT_ALIAS, ROOT_ENTITY
 
Method Summary
 Criteria add(Criterion criterion)
          Add a restriction to constrain the results to be retrieved.
 Criteria addOrder(Order order)
          Add an ordering to the result set.
 Criteria createAlias(String associationPath, String alias)
          Join an association, assigning an alias to the joined association.
 Criteria createAlias(String associationPath, String alias, int joinType)
          Join an association using the specified join-type, assigning an alias to the joined association.
 Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath)
          Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity.
 Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath, int joinType)
          Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity, using the specified join type.
 Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath, String alias)
          Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity, assigning the given alias.
 Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath, String alias, int joinType)
          Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity, assigning the given alias and using the specified join type.
 String getAlias()
          Get the alias of the entity encapsulated by this criteria instance.
 List list()
          Get the results.
 ScrollableResults scroll()
          Get the results as an instance of ScrollableResults
 ScrollableResults scroll(ScrollMode scrollMode)
          Get the results as an instance of ScrollableResults based on the given scroll mode.
 Criteria setCacheable(boolean cacheable)
          Enable caching of this query result, provided query caching is enabled for the underlying session factory.
 Criteria setCacheMode(CacheMode cacheMode)
          Override the cache mode for this particular query.
 Criteria setCacheRegion(String cacheRegion)
          Set the name of the cache region to use for query result caching.
 Criteria setComment(String comment)
          Add a comment to the generated SQL.
 Criteria setFetchMode(String associationPath, FetchMode mode)
          Specify an association fetching strategy for an association or a collection of values.
 Criteria setFetchSize(int fetchSize)
          Set a fetch size for the underlying JDBC query.
 Criteria setFirstResult(int firstResult)
          Set the first result to be retrieved.
 Criteria setFlushMode(FlushMode flushMode)
          Override the flush mode for this particular query.
 Criteria setLockMode(LockMode lockMode)
          Set the lock mode of the current entity
 Criteria setLockMode(String alias, LockMode lockMode)
          Set the lock mode of the aliased entity
 Criteria setMaxResults(int maxResults)
          Set a limit upon the number of objects to be retrieved.
 Criteria setProjection(Projection projection)
          Used to specify that the query results will be a projection (scalar in nature).
 Criteria setResultTransformer(ResultTransformer resultTransformer)
          Set a strategy for handling the query results.
 Criteria setTimeout(int timeout)
          Set a timeout for the underlying JDBC query.
 Object uniqueResult()
          Convenience method to return a single instance that matches the query, or null if the query returns no results.
 

Method Detail

getAlias

String getAlias()
Get the alias of the entity encapsulated by this criteria instance.

Returns:
The alias for the encapsulated entity.

setProjection

Criteria setProjection(Projection projection)
Used to specify that the query results will be a projection (scalar in nature). Implicitly specifies the CriteriaSpecification.PROJECTION result transformer.

The individual components contained within the given projection determines the overall "shape" of the query result.

Parameters:
projection - The projection representing the overall "shape" of the query results.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

add

Criteria add(Criterion criterion)
Add a restriction to constrain the results to be retrieved.

Parameters:
criterion - The criterion object representing the restriction to be applied.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

addOrder

Criteria addOrder(Order order)
Add an ordering to the result set.

Parameters:
order - The order object representing an ordering to be applied to the results.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setFetchMode

Criteria setFetchMode(String associationPath,
                      FetchMode mode)
                      throws HibernateException
Specify an association fetching strategy for an association or a collection of values.

Parameters:
associationPath - a dot seperated property path
mode - The fetch mode for the referenced association
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
Throws:
HibernateException

setLockMode

Criteria setLockMode(LockMode lockMode)
Set the lock mode of the current entity

Parameters:
lockMode - The lock mode to be applied
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setLockMode

Criteria setLockMode(String alias,
                     LockMode lockMode)
Set the lock mode of the aliased entity

Parameters:
alias - The previously assigned alias representing the entity to which the given lock mode should apply.
lockMode - The lock mode to be applied
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

createAlias

Criteria createAlias(String associationPath,
                     String alias)
                     throws HibernateException
Join an association, assigning an alias to the joined association.

Functionally equivalent to createAlias(String, String, int) using CriteriaSpecification.INNER_JOIN for the joinType.

Parameters:
associationPath - A dot-seperated property path
alias - The alias to assign to the joined association (for later reference).
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
Throws:
HibernateException

createAlias

Criteria createAlias(String associationPath,
                     String alias,
                     int joinType)
                     throws HibernateException
Join an association using the specified join-type, assigning an alias to the joined association.

The joinType is expected to be one of CriteriaSpecification.INNER_JOIN (the default), CriteriaSpecification.FULL_JOIN, or CriteriaSpecification.LEFT_JOIN.

Parameters:
associationPath - A dot-seperated property path
alias - The alias to assign to the joined association (for later reference).
joinType - The type of join to use.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
Throws:
HibernateException

createCriteria

Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath)
                        throws HibernateException
Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity.

Functionally equivalent to createCriteria(String, int) using CriteriaSpecification.INNER_JOIN for the joinType.

Parameters:
associationPath - A dot-seperated property path
Returns:
the created "sub criteria"
Throws:
HibernateException

createCriteria

Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath,
                        int joinType)
                        throws HibernateException
Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity, using the specified join type.

Parameters:
associationPath - A dot-seperated property path
joinType - The type of join to use.
Returns:
the created "sub criteria"
Throws:
HibernateException

createCriteria

Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath,
                        String alias)
                        throws HibernateException
Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity, assigning the given alias.

Functionally equivalent to createCriteria(String, String, int) using CriteriaSpecification.INNER_JOIN for the joinType.

Parameters:
associationPath - A dot-seperated property path
alias - The alias to assign to the joined association (for later reference).
Returns:
the created "sub criteria"
Throws:
HibernateException

createCriteria

Criteria createCriteria(String associationPath,
                        String alias,
                        int joinType)
                        throws HibernateException
Create a new Criteria, "rooted" at the associated entity, assigning the given alias and using the specified join type.

Parameters:
associationPath - A dot-seperated property path
alias - The alias to assign to the joined association (for later reference).
joinType - The type of join to use.
Returns:
the created "sub criteria"
Throws:
HibernateException

setResultTransformer

Criteria setResultTransformer(ResultTransformer resultTransformer)
Set a strategy for handling the query results. This determines the "shape" of the query result.

Parameters:
resultTransformer - The transformer to apply
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
See Also:
CriteriaSpecification.ROOT_ENTITY, CriteriaSpecification.DISTINCT_ROOT_ENTITY, CriteriaSpecification.ALIAS_TO_ENTITY_MAP, CriteriaSpecification.PROJECTION

setMaxResults

Criteria setMaxResults(int maxResults)
Set a limit upon the number of objects to be retrieved.

Parameters:
maxResults - the maximum number of results
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setFirstResult

Criteria setFirstResult(int firstResult)
Set the first result to be retrieved.

Parameters:
firstResult - the first result to retrieve, numbered from 0
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setFetchSize

Criteria setFetchSize(int fetchSize)
Set a fetch size for the underlying JDBC query.

Parameters:
fetchSize - the fetch size
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
See Also:
Statement.setFetchSize(int)

setTimeout

Criteria setTimeout(int timeout)
Set a timeout for the underlying JDBC query.

Parameters:
timeout - The timeout value to apply.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
See Also:
Statement.setQueryTimeout(int)

setCacheable

Criteria setCacheable(boolean cacheable)
Enable caching of this query result, provided query caching is enabled for the underlying session factory.

Parameters:
cacheable - Should the result be considered cacheable; default is to not cache (false).
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setCacheRegion

Criteria setCacheRegion(String cacheRegion)
Set the name of the cache region to use for query result caching.

Parameters:
cacheRegion - the name of a query cache region, or null for the default query cache
Returns:
this (for method chaining)
See Also:
setCacheable(boolean)

setComment

Criteria setComment(String comment)
Add a comment to the generated SQL.

Parameters:
comment - a human-readable string
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setFlushMode

Criteria setFlushMode(FlushMode flushMode)
Override the flush mode for this particular query.

Parameters:
flushMode - The flush mode to use.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

setCacheMode

Criteria setCacheMode(CacheMode cacheMode)
Override the cache mode for this particular query.

Parameters:
cacheMode - The cache mode to use.
Returns:
this (for method chaining)

list

List list()
          throws HibernateException
Get the results.

Returns:
The list of matched query results.
Throws:
HibernateException

scroll

ScrollableResults scroll()
                         throws HibernateException
Get the results as an instance of ScrollableResults

Returns:
The ScrollableResults representing the matched query results.
Throws:
HibernateException

scroll

ScrollableResults scroll(ScrollMode scrollMode)
                         throws HibernateException
Get the results as an instance of ScrollableResults based on the given scroll mode.

Parameters:
scrollMode - Indicates the type of underlying database cursor to request.
Returns:
The ScrollableResults representing the matched query results.
Throws:
HibernateException

uniqueResult

Object uniqueResult()
                    throws HibernateException
Convenience method to return a single instance that matches the query, or null if the query returns no results.

Returns:
the single result or null
Throws:
HibernateException - if there is more than one matching result