Query interface and Native Queries
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This is the official documentation of the @forestadmin/agent
Node.js agent.
Forest Admin can connect to any data source, as long as it can be represented as a collection of records that have a common structure.
To achieve that, Forest Admin needs to abstract away data source differences: each connector "speaks" the language of a given API on one side and exposes the Forest Admin Query Interface on the other.
This interface is called the Forest Admin Query Interface
, it is not a full-featured ORM: its objective is to be "just enough" to fuel Forest Admin as keeping it small makes it easier to implement and maintain for customers.
The Forest Admin Query Interface is used to implement all native features of the admin panel, however, when writing custom code (, , ...), you can either access your data using the Forest Admin Query Interface or using the native driver.
The choice is yours, and you will probably use both depending on the situation.
Code consistency
👍 Use the same query interface for all data sources
👎 Different API for each database / SaaS
Customizations can be queried (computed field, relationships, ...)
👍 Yes
👎 No
Features
👎 Common denominator is exposed
👍 All features of the underlying API
In-app deployments
👎 Difficult to reuse your existing code
👍 Re-use your existing code
Learning curve
👎 The interface is Forest Admin specific
👍 You already know how to write SQL
Native support for filters from the UI
👍 Yes
👎 No
Total
3 x 👍 + 3 x 👎
3 x 👍 + 3 x 👎
As the name implies, native drivers have different interfaces for each data source.
It is accessible during customization on the nativeDriver
property of each collection and documented in each data source documentation.
Queries can be executed directly, by calling the methods exposed by context.dataSource
and context.collection
.
Using the connector.
Using the connector.
API Reference:
API Reference: