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Use Pimcore Query Language (PQL) as a Developer

Execute searches based on PQL queries​

If you want to use the Pimcore Query Language (PQL) as a developer to search for data in the Pimcore Generic Data Index, you can use one of the following methods:

1. Search Modifier for the Generic Data Index search services​

You can use the PqlFilter search modifier to filter search results based on a PQL query. The PqlFilter search modifier can be used with the search services provided by the Generic Data Index bundle. Take a look at the Search Services documentation for details.

2. Direct use of the PQL processor to get the search query​

Use the Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\QueryLanguage\ProcessorInterface together with the Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Service\SearchIndex\IndexEntityServiceInterface to process a PQL query.

// inject both services via Symfony dependency injection
/** @var \Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\QueryLanguage\ProcessorInterface $queryLanguageProcessor */
/** @var \Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Service\SearchIndex\IndexEntityServiceInterface $indexEntityService */

$query = $queryLanguageProcessor->process(
    'color = "red" or color = "blue"', // The PQL query
    $indexEntityService->getByEntityName('Car') // 'Asset', 'Document' or the name of the data object class
);

// $query is now a valid OpenSearch query array which can be used to search in the index

Exception Handling​

In both cases, the PQL processor will throw an exception if the PQL query is invalid. The exception message will contain detailed information about the error. Especially when you would like to allow users to enter PQL queries, you should catch the exception and provide a user-friendly error feedback.

Example​

This example will produce a error message like this:

PQL Syntax ErrorPQL Syntax ErrorPQL Syntax Error

## Catching the exception
use Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Exception\QueryLanguage\ParsingException;

try {
    $pqlQuery = 'series = "E-Type"
        and color "red"';

    $query = $queryLanguageProcessor->process(
        $pqlQuery, // The PQL query
        $indexEntityService->getByEntityName('Car') // 'Asset', 'Document' or the name of the data object class
    );
} catch (ParsingException $e) {
    // Provide user-friendly error feedback
    return $twig->render('pql-syntax-error.html.twig', [
        'error' => $e->getMessage(),
        'syntaxBeforeError' => substr($e->getQuery(), 0, $e->getPosition()),
        'syntaxAfterError' => substr($e->getQuery(), $e->getPosition()),
    ]);
}
{# pql-syntax-error.html.twig #}

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <!-- Bootstrap CSS -->
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.0.2/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" integrity="sha384-EVSTQN3/azprG1Anm3QDgpJLIm9Nao0Yz1ztcQTwFspd3yD65VohhpuuCOmLASjC" crossorigin="anonymous">

    <style>
        .pql-syntax-error {
            line-height: 2em;
        }

        .pql-syntax-error-location {
            position: relative;
        }

        .pql-syntax-error-location span {
            position: absolute;
            left: -0.5em;
            top: 10px;
            color: #f44336;
        }
    </style>

</head>
<body>
    <div class="container pt-5">
        <div class="alert alert-danger">
            <p><strong>{{ error }}</strong></p>
            <div class="alert alert-light">
                <div class="pql-syntax-error">
                    {{ syntaxBeforeError|nl2br }}
                    <span class="pql-syntax-error-location"><span>⇧</span></span>
                    {{ syntaxAfterError|nl2br }}
                </div>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>