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SQL rendering

Applies to ✅ Open Source Edition   ✅ Express Edition   ✅ Professional Edition   ✅ Enterprise Edition

Every org.jooq.QueryPart must implement the accept(Context) method to render its SQL string to a org.jooq.RenderContext. This RenderContext has two purposes:

  • It provides some information about the "state" of SQL rendering.
  • It provides a common API for constructing SQL strings on the context's internal java.lang.StringBuilder

An overview of the org.jooq.RenderContext API is given here:

// These methods are useful for generating unique aliases within a RenderContext (and thus within a Query)
String peekAlias();
String nextAlias();

// These methods return rendered SQL
String render();
String render(QueryPart part);

// These methods allow for fluent appending of SQL to the RenderContext's internal StringBuilder
RenderContext keyword(String keyword);
RenderContext literal(String literal);
RenderContext sql(String sql);
RenderContext sql(char sql);
RenderContext sql(int sql);
RenderContext sql(QueryPart part);

// These methods allow for controlling formatting of SQL, if the relevant Setting is active
RenderContext formatNewLine();
RenderContext formatSeparator();
RenderContext formatIndentStart();
RenderContext formatIndentStart(int indent);
RenderContext formatIndentLockStart();
RenderContext formatIndentEnd();
RenderContext formatIndentEnd(int indent);
RenderContext formatIndentLockEnd();

// These methods control the RenderContext's internal state
boolean       inline();
RenderContext inline(boolean inline);
boolean       qualify();
RenderContext qualify(boolean qualify);
boolean       namedParams();
RenderContext namedParams(boolean renderNamedParams);
CastMode      castMode();
RenderContext castMode(CastMode mode);
Boolean       cast();
RenderContext castModeSome(SQLDialect... dialects);

The following additional methods are inherited from a common org.jooq.Context, which is shared among org.jooq.RenderContext and org.jooq.BindContext:

// These methods indicate whether fields or tables are being declared (MY_TABLE AS MY_ALIAS) or referenced (MY_ALIAS)
boolean declareFields();
Context declareFields(boolean declareFields);
boolean declareTables();
Context declareTables(boolean declareTables);

// These methods indicate whether a top-level query is being rendered, or a subquery
boolean subquery();
Context subquery(boolean subquery);

// These methods provide the bind value indices within the scope of the whole Context (and thus of the whole Query)
int nextIndex();
int peekIndex();

An example of rendering SQL

A simple example can be provided by checking out jOOQ's internal representation of a (simplified) CompareCondition. It is used for any org.jooq.Condition comparing two fields as for example the AUTHOR.ID = BOOK.AUTHOR_ID condition here:

-- [...]
FROM AUTHOR
JOIN BOOK ON AUTHOR.ID = BOOK.AUTHOR_ID
-- [...]

This is how jOOQ renders such a condition (simplified example):

@Override
public final void accept(Context<?> context) {
    // The CompareCondition delegates rendering of the Fields to the Fields
    // themselves and connects them using the Condition's comparator operator:
    context.visit(field1)
           .sql(" ")
           .keyword(comparator.toSQL())
           .sql(" ")
           .visit(field2);
}

See the manual's sections about custom QueryParts and plain SQL QueryParts to learn about how to write your own query parts in order to extend jOOQ.

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