MongoDB\Collection::aggregate()

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Definition
Return Values
Errors/Exceptions
Behavior
Examples
See Also

Definition

MongoDB\Collection::aggregate

Executes an aggregation framework pipeline operation on the collection.

function aggregate(array $pipeline, array $options = []): Traversable

This method has the following parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$pipeline`	array	Specifies an aggregation pipeline operation.
`$options`	array	Optional. An array specifying the desired options.

The $options parameter supports the following options:

Option	Type	Description
`allowDiskUse`	boolean	Optional. Enables writing to temporary files. When set to `true`, aggregation stages can write data to the `_tmp` sub-directory in the `dbPath` directory.
`batchSize`	integer	Optional. Specifies the batch size for the cursor, which will apply to both the initial `aggregate` command and any subsequent `getMore` commands. This determines the maximum number of documents to return in each response from the server. A batchSize of `0` is special in that and will only apply to the initial `aggregate` command; subsequent `getMore` commands will use the server’s default batch size. This may be useful for quickly returning a cursor or failure from `aggregate` without doing significant server-side work.
`bypassDocumentValidation`	boolean	Optional. If `true`, allows the write operation to circumvent document level validation. Defaults to `false`. This only applies when using the $out and $out stages.
`comment`	mixed	Optional. Enables users to specify an arbitrary comment to help trace the operation through the database profiler, currentOp output, and logs. The comment can be any valid BSON type for server versions 4.4 and above. Earlier server versions only support string values. New in version 1.3.
`explain`	boolean	Optional. Specifies whether or not to return the information on the processing of the pipeline. New in version 1.4.
`hint`	string\|array\|object	Optional. The index to use. Specify either the index name as a string or the index key pattern as a document. If specified, then the query system will only consider plans using the hinted index. New in version 1.3.
`let`	array\|object	Optional. Map of parameter names and values. Values must be constant or closed expressions that do not reference document fields. Parameters can then be accessed as variables in an aggregate expression context (e.g. `$$var`). This is not supported for server versions prior to 5.0 and will result in an exception at execution time if used. New in version 1.9.
`maxTimeMS`	integer	Optional. The cumulative time limit in milliseconds for processing operations on the cursor. MongoDB aborts the operation at the earliest following interrupt point.
`readConcern`	MongoDB\Driver\ReadConcern	Optional. Read concern to use for the operation. Defaults to the collection’s read concern. It is not possible to specify a read concern for individual operations as part of a transaction. Instead, set the `readConcern` option when starting the transaction with startTransaction.
`readPreference`	MongoDB\Driver\ReadPreference	Optional. Read preference to use for the operation. Defaults to the collection’s read preference.
`session`	MongoDB\Driver\Session	Optional. Client session to associate with the operation. New in version 1.3.
`typeMap`	array	Optional. The type map to apply to cursors, which determines how BSON documents are converted to PHP values. Defaults to the collection’s type map.
`useCursor`	boolean	Optional. Indicates whether the command will request that the server provide results using a cursor. The default is `true`. Note MongoDB 3.6+ no longer supports returning results without a cursor (excluding when the explain option is used) and specifying false for this option will result in a server error.
`writeConcern`	MongoDB\Driver\WriteConcern	Optional. Write concern to use for the operation. Defaults to the collection’s write concern. It is not possible to specify a write concern for individual operations as part of a transaction. Instead, set the `writeConcern` option when starting the transaction with startTransaction. This only applies when a $out or $merge stage is specified.

Return Values

A MongoDB\Driver\Cursor or ArrayIterator object. In both cases, the return value will be Traversable.

Errors/Exceptions

MongoDB\Exception\UnexpectedValueException if the command response from the server was malformed.

MongoDB\Exception\UnsupportedException if options are used and not supported by the selected server (e.g. collation, readConcern, writeConcern).

MongoDB\Exception\InvalidArgumentException for errors related to the parsing of parameters or options.

MongoDB\Driver\Exception\RuntimeException for other errors at the driver level (e.g. connection errors).

Behavior

MongoDB\Collection::aggregate()’s return value depends on the MongoDB server version and whether the useCursor option is specified. If useCursor is true, a MongoDB\Driver\Cursor object is returned. If useCursor is false, an ArrayIterator is returned that wraps the result array from the command response document. In both cases, the return value will be Traversable.

Examples

The following aggregation example uses a collection called names and groups the first_name field together, counts the total number of results in each group, and sorts the results by name.

copy

<?php

$collection = (new MongoDB\Client)->test->names;

$cursor = $collection->aggregate(
    [
        ['$group' => ['_id' => '$first_name', 'name_count' => ['$sum' => 1]]],
        ['$sort' => ['_id' => 1]],
    ]
);