MQL

The mql (Model Query Language) Go package provides a language that end users can use to query your database models, without them having to learn SQL or exposing your application to SQL injection.

Examples

github.com/go-gorm/gorm

w, err := mql.Parse(`name="alice" or name="bob"`,User{})
if err != nil {
  return nil, err
}
err = db.Where(w.Condition, w.Args...).Find(&users).Error

database/sql

w, err := mql.Parse(`name="alice" or name="bob"`,User{}, mql.WithPgPlaceholders())
if err != nil {
  return nil, err
}
q := fmt.Sprintf("select * from users where %s", w.Condition)
rows, err := db.Query(q, w.Args...)

github.com/hashicorp/go-dbw

w, err := mql.Parse(`name="alice" or name="bob")`,User{})
if err != nil {
  return nil, err
}
err := rw.SearchWhere(ctx, &users, w.Condition, w.Args)

Some bits about usage

First, you define a model you wish to query as a Go struct and then provide a mql query. The package then uses the query along with a model to generate a parameterized SQL where clause.

Fields in your model can be compared with the following operators: =, !=, >=, <=, <, >, % .

Strings must be quoted. Double quotes ", single quotes ' or backticks ` can be used as delimiters. Users can choose whichever supported delimiter makes it easier to quote their string.

Comparison operators can have optional leading/trailing whitespace.

The % operator allows you to do partial string matching using LIKE "%value%". This matching is case insensitive.

The = equality operator is case insensitive when used with string fields.

Comparisons can be combined using: and, or.

More complex queries can be created using parentheses.

See GRAMMAR.md for a more complete documentation of mql's grammar.

Example query:

name="alice" and age > 11 and (region % 'Boston' or region="south shore")

Date/Time fields

If your model contains a time.Time field, then we'll append ::date to the column name when generating a where clause and the comparison value must be in an ISO-8601 format.

Note: It's possible to compare date-time fields down to the millisecond using ::date and a literal in ISO-8601 format.

Currently, this is the only supported way to compare dates, if you need something different then you'll need to provide your own custom validator/converter via WithConverter(...) when calling mql.Parse(...).

We provide default validation+conversion of fields in a model when parsing and generating a WhereClause. You can provide optional validation+conversion functions for fields in your model via WithConverter(...).

Example date comparison down to the HH::MM using an ISO-8601 format:

name="alice" and created_at>"2023-12-01 14:01"

Note: Expressions with the same level of precedence are evaluated right to left. Example: name="alice" and age > 11 and region = "Boston" is evaluated as: name="alice" and (age > 11 and region = "Boston")

Mapping column names

You can also provide an optional map from query column identifiers to model field names via WithColumnMap(...) if needed.

Example WithColumnMap(...) usage:

type User {
    FullName string
}

// map the column alice to field name FullName
columnMap := map[string]string{
    "name": "FullName",
}

w, err := mql.Parse(
    `name="alice"`,
    User{}, 
    mql.WithColumnMap(columnMap))

if err != nil {
    return nil, err
}

Ignoring fields

If your model (Go struct) has fields you don't want users searching then you can optionally provide a list of columns to be ignored via WithIgnoreFields(...)

Example WithIgnoreFields(...) usage:

type User {
    Name string
    CreatedAt time.Time
    UpdatedAt time.Time
}

// you want to keep users from using queries that include the user fields
// of: created_at updated_at
w, err := mql.Parse(
    `name="alice"`,
    User{}, 
    mql.WithIgnoreFields("CreatedAt", "UpdatedAt"))

if err != nil {
    return nil, err
}

Custom converters/validators

Sometimes the default out-of-the-box bits doesn't fit your needs. If you need to override how expressions (column name, operator and value) is converted and validated during the generation of a WhereClause, then you can optionally provide your own validator/convertor via WithConverter(...)

Example WithConverter(...) usage:

// define a converter for mySQL dates
mySQLDateConverter := func(columnName string, comparisonOp mql.ComparisonOp, value *string) (*mql.WhereClause, error) {
  // you should add some validation of function parameters here.
  return &mql.WhereClause{
    Condition: fmt.Sprintf("%s%sSTR_TO_DATE(?)", columnName, comparisonOp),
    Args:      []any{*value},
  }, nil
}

w, err := mql.Parse(
    `name="alice" and created_at > "2023-06-18"`,
    User{}, 
    mql.WithConverter("CreatedAt", mySqlDateConverter))

if err != nil {
    return nil, err
}

Grammar

See: GRAMMAR.md

Security

Please note: We take security and our users' trust very seriously. If you believe you have found a security issue, please responsibly disclose by contacting us at security@hashicorp.com.

Contributing

Thank you for your interest in contributing! Please refer to CONTRIBUTING.md for guidance.