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MongoDB\Collection::find()

Definition

MongoDB\Collection::find

Finds documents matching the query.

function find($filter = [], array $options = []): MongoDB\Driver\Cursor

This method has the following parameters:

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

The $options parameter supports the following options:

Option Type Description
projection array|object Optional. The projection specification to determine which fields to include in the returned documents. See Project Fields to Return from Query and Projection Operators in the MongoDB manual.
sort array|object Optional. The sort specification for the ordering of the results.
skip integer Optional. Number of documents to skip. Defaults to 0.
limit integer

Optional. The maximum number of documents to return. If unspecified, then defaults to no limit. A limit of 0 is equivalent to setting no limit.

A negative limit is similar to a positive limit but closes the cursor after returning a single batch of results. As such, with a negative limit, if the limited result set does not fit into a single batch, the number of documents received will be less than the specified limit. By passing a negative limit, the client indicates to the server that it will not ask for a subsequent batch via getMore.

allowDiskUse boolean Optional. Enables writing to temporary files. When set to true, queries can write data to the _tmp sub-directory in the dbPath directory. The default is false.
batchSize integer

Optional. The number of documents to return in the first batch. Defaults to 101. A batchSize of 0 means that the cursor will be established, but no documents will be returned in the first batch.

Unlike the previous wire protocol version, a batchSize of 1 for the find command does not close the cursor.

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.

This option is available in MongoDB 3.4+ and will result in an exception at execution time if specified for an older server version.

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 string Optional. A comment to attach to the query to help interpret and trace query profile data.
cursorType integer

Optional. Indicates the type of cursor to use. cursorType supports the following values:

  • MongoDB\Operation\Find::NON_TAILABLE (default)
  • MongoDB\Operation\Find::TAILABLE
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 1.2.

maxAwaitTimeMS integer

Optional. Positive integer denoting the time limit in milliseconds for the server to block a getMore operation if no data is available. This option should only be used if cursorType is TAILABLE_AWAIT.

New in version 1.2.

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.

This is not supported for server versions prior to 3.2 and will result in an exception at execution time if used.

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.

Sessions are not supported for server versions prior to 3.6.

New in version 1.3.

max array|object

Optional. The exclusive upper bound for a specific index.

New in version 1.2.

maxScan integer

Optional. Maximum number of documents or index keys to scan when executing the query.

Deprecated since version 1.4.

New in version 1.2.

min array|object

Optional. The inclusive lower bound for a specific index.

New in version 1.2.

oplogReplay boolean

Optional. Internal use for replica sets. To use oplogReplay, you must include the following condition in the filter:

{ ts: { $gte: <timestamp> } }

The MongoDB\BSON\Timestamp class reference describes how to represent MongoDB’s BSON timestamp type with PHP.

Deprecated since version 1.7.

noCursorTimeout boolean Optional. Prevents the server from timing out idle cursors after an inactivity period (10 minutes).
returnKey boolean

Optional. If true, returns only the index keys in the resulting documents.

New in version 1.2.

showRecordId boolean

Optional. Determines whether to return the record identifier for each document. If true, adds a field $recordId to the returned documents.

New in version 1.2.

snapshot boolean

Optional. Prevents the cursor from returning a document more than once because of an intervening write operation.

Deprecated since version 1.4.

New in version 1.2.

allowPartialResults boolean Optional. For queries against a sharded collection, returns partial results from the mongos if some shards are unavailable instead of throwing an error.
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.
modifiers array|object Optional. Meta operators that modify the output or behavior of a query. Use of these operators is deprecated in favor of named options.

Return Values

A MongoDB\Driver\Cursor 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\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).

Examples

The following example finds restaurants based on the cuisine and borough fields and uses a projection to limit the fields that are returned. It also limits the results to 5 documents.

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

$cursor = $collection->find(
    [
        'cuisine' => 'Italian',
        'borough' => 'Manhattan',
    ],
    [
        'limit' => 5,
        'projection' => [
            'name' => 1,
            'borough' => 1,
            'cuisine' => 1,
        ],
    ]
);

foreach ($cursor as $restaurant) {
   var_dump($restaurant);
};

The output would then resemble:

object(MongoDB\Model\BSONDocument)#10 (1) {
  ["storage":"ArrayObject":private]=>
  array(4) {
    ["_id"]=>
    object(MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId)#8 (1) {
      ["oid"]=>
      string(24) "576023c6b02fa9281da3f983"
    }
    ["borough"]=>
    string(9) "Manhattan"
    ["cuisine"]=>
    string(7) "Italian"
    ["name"]=>
    string(23) "Isle Of Capri Resturant"
  }
}
object(MongoDB\Model\BSONDocument)#13 (1) {
  ["storage":"ArrayObject":private]=>
  array(4) {
    ["_id"]=>
    object(MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId)#12 (1) {
      ["oid"]=>
      string(24) "576023c6b02fa9281da3f98d"
    }
    ["borough"]=>
    string(9) "Manhattan"
    ["cuisine"]=>
    string(7) "Italian"
    ["name"]=>
    string(18) "Marchis Restaurant"
  }
}
object(MongoDB\Model\BSONDocument)#8 (1) {
  ["storage":"ArrayObject":private]=>
  array(4) {
    ["_id"]=>
    object(MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId)#10 (1) {
      ["oid"]=>
      string(24) "576023c6b02fa9281da3f99b"
    }
    ["borough"]=>
    string(9) "Manhattan"
    ["cuisine"]=>
    string(7) "Italian"
    ["name"]=>
    string(19) "Forlinis Restaurant"
  }
}
object(MongoDB\Model\BSONDocument)#12 (1) {
  ["storage":"ArrayObject":private]=>
  array(4) {
    ["_id"]=>
    object(MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId)#13 (1) {
      ["oid"]=>
      string(24) "576023c6b02fa9281da3f9a8"
    }
    ["borough"]=>
    string(9) "Manhattan"
    ["cuisine"]=>
    string(7) "Italian"
    ["name"]=>
    string(22) "Angelo Of Mulberry St."
  }
}
object(MongoDB\Model\BSONDocument)#10 (1) {
  ["storage":"ArrayObject":private]=>
  array(4) {
    ["_id"]=>
    object(MongoDB\BSON\ObjectId)#8 (1) {
      ["oid"]=>
      string(24) "576023c6b02fa9281da3f9b4"
    }
    ["borough"]=>
    string(9) "Manhattan"
    ["cuisine"]=>
    string(7) "Italian"
    ["name"]=>
    string(16) "V & T Restaurant"
  }
}

See Also