MongoDB\Collection::deleteMany()

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Definition
Return Values
Errors/Exceptions
Behavior
Example
See Also

Definition

MongoDB\Collection::deleteMany

Deletes all documents that match the filter criteria.

function deleteMany(array|object $filter, array $options = []): MongoDB\DeleteResult

This method has the following parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description
`$filter`	array\|object	The filter criteria that specifies the documents to delete.
`$options`	array	Optional. An array specifying the desired options.

The $options parameter supports the following options:

Option	Type	Description
`collation`	array\|object	Optional. Collation allows users to specify language-specific rules for string comparison, such as rules for lettercase and accent marks. When specifying collation, the `locale` field is mandatory; all other collation fields are optional. For descriptions of the fields, see Collation Document. If the collation is unspecified but the collection has a default collation, the operation uses the collation specified for the collection. If no collation is specified for the collection or for the operation, MongoDB uses the simple binary comparison used in prior versions for string comparisons.
`comment`	mixed	Optional. Enables users to specify an arbitrary comment to help trace the operation through the database profiler, currentOp output, and logs. This is not supported for server versions prior to 4.4 and will result in an exception at execution time if used. New in version 1.13.
`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. This option is available in MongoDB 4.4+ and will result in an exception at execution time if specified for an older server version. New in version 1.7.
`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 1.13.
`session`	MongoDB\Driver\Session	Optional. Client session to associate with the operation. New in version 1.3.
`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.

Return Values

A MongoDB\DeleteResult object, which encapsulates a MongoDB\Driver\WriteResult object.

Errors/Exceptions

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\BulkWriteException for errors related to the write operation. Users should inspect the value returned by getWriteResult() to determine the nature of the error.

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

Behavior

When evaluating query criteria, MongoDB compares types and values according to its own comparison rules for BSON types, which differs from PHP’s comparison and type juggling rules. When matching a special BSON type the query criteria should use the respective BSON class in the driver (e.g. use MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId to match an ObjectId).

If a MongoDB\Driver\Exception\BulkWriteException is thrown, users should call getWriteResult() and inspect the returned MongoDB\Driver\WriteResult object to determine the nature of the error.

For example, a write operation may have been successfully applied to the primary server but failed to satisfy the write concern (e.g. replication took too long). Alternatively, a write operation may have failed outright (e.g. unique key violation).

Example

The following example deletes all of the documents in the users collection that have "ny" as the value for the state field:

copy

<?php

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

$collection->insertOne(['name' => 'Bob', 'state' => 'ny']);
$collection->insertOne(['name' => 'Alice', 'state' => 'ny']);
$deleteResult = $collection->deleteMany(['state' => 'ny']);

printf("Deleted %d document(s)\n", $deleteResult->getDeletedCount());

The output would then resemble: