As you’ve seen, the syntax and structure of JPQL are pretty similar to SQL. This makes JPQL easy to learn when you’re already familiar with SQL. But you have to keep in mind that SQL supports a lot of advanced features that you can’t use with JPQL.

This section will focus on dissecting a handful of complex queries to deepen your understanding of how Jira jql queries work in practice. Tip – One easy way to see the limitations of basic search is to try & switch to the Basic search from JQL search. Remember how Jira itself converted basic search into the JQL query? Well, now if your JQL is complex it will say something like ‘This JQL query is complex & cannot be converted into a basic search’. Arguably, functions in JQL are an important & differentiating factor.

Search JIRA like a boss with JQL

If you need one or more of them for a specific use case, you should use a native SQL query. You can define the order in which the database shall return your query results with an ORDER BY clause. You can provide one or more entity attributes to the ORDER BY clause and specify an ascending (ASC) or a descending (DESC) order.

It then maps each row of the result set to the selected entities. The syntax of a JPQL FROM clause is similar to SQL but uses the entity model instead of table or column names. The following code snippet shows jira query examples a simple JPQL query in which I select all Author entities. The “WAS NOT IN” operator is used to search for issues where the value of the specified field has never been one of multiple specified values.

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However, if you wanted to see all issues that meet all the above criteria or any bug whose title includes the word ‘Critical’ – the basic search won’t be of immediate help. We also have a downloadable cheat sheet to keep close on hand as you perform searches with JQL. Copy and paste fields, operators and functions into the Jira search bar, as well as learn more advanced queries.

jql vs sql

The definition of the Author entity provides all information Hibernate needs to join it to the Book entity, and you don’t have to provide an additional ON statement. In this example, Hibernate uses the primary keys of the Author and Book entity to join them via the association table of the many-to-many association. Before we dive into the details of JPQL, let’s have a quick look at the entity model I use for all examples. The “CHANGED” operator is used to find issues that have a value that had changed for the specified field. The “WAS NOT” operator is used to find issues that have never had the specified value for the specified field. The “WAS” operator is used to find issues that currently have or previously had the specified value for the specified field.

When Release Notes Go Wrong: A Cautionary Tale

Scalar value projections are very similar to the projections you know from SQL. Instead of database columns, you select one or more entity attributes or the return value of a function call with your query. The “IN” operator is used to search for issues where the value of the specified field is one of multiple specified values. The values are specified as a comma-delimited list, surrounded by parentheses.

  • Note that not all fields are compatible with this operator; see the individual field reference for details.
  • But you should always keep in mind that all entities are managed by the persistence context which creates overhead for read-only use cases.
  • That creates an implicit join between the Book and Publisher entity which will be translated into an additional join statement in the SQL query.
  • The “WAS IN” operator is used to find issues that currently have or previously had any of multiple specified values for the specified field.
  • Hibernate, or any other JPA implementation, maps the entities to the according database tables.

JQL empowers you to cut through the noise in a landscape brimming with countless boards and issues, swiftly extracting the precise information you seek. First, while you’re looking for a specific detail in Jira, you’ve to start from the ‘search’ bar. Before we move onto the process of creating JQL queries, you’ll have to first understand the types of searches in Jira. Every issue will have a unique project name, issue key, assignee, status, time taken, and so on.

System Status

– Supports a range of operators to compare values, combine conditions, and perform text matching. With Jira, the go-to project management tool trusted by countless organizations worldwide, you can streamline workflows and improve productivity. In the fast-paced world of project management, staying organized and effectively tracking tasks and projects is crucial for success. Let’s take a look at a visual representation of a set of issues that get returned from JIRA. This will return all of the issues that were fixed in that particular release. What if we want a list that always shows the issues fixed in the last release whenever it was run?

jql vs sql

In SQL, you specify a set of database columns and functions as your projection. You can do the same in JPQL by selecting a set of entity attributes or functions as scalar values, but you can also define entities or constructor calls as your projection. Hibernate, or any other JPA implementation, maps this information to a set of database columns and function calls to define the projection of the generated SQL statement. So more often than not, you will work with your colleagues in there. That’s where the workload of creating various JQL queries can be distributed amongst the team. As seen below, a Jira jql query can be broken down into small elements – fields, operators, values, keywords, functions & more.

Practical Examples of Advanced JQL Queries

So it is natural for anyone who wants to use Jira to learn writing JQL queries. You can also search issues from the “Issues” section in the dropdown menu. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Sign up below for my newsletter to get my best Java persistence tips every weekday and the “10 Hibernate Mistakes that cripple your performance” cheat sheet. It’s an in-memory instance shared by all the users (multitenant architecture). By keeping documentation accessible, practicing with real-world scenarios, leveraging learning resources, and using a cheat sheet, you can continually enhance your JQL skills.

jql vs sql

Whether you’re saving and sharing filters, setting up subscriptions, or leveraging advanced functions, these strategies will help you use JQL more efficiently. In this query the “is empty” statement only includes issues where the value of the assignee field is blank. As a result, the above query will return all issues that do not have an assignee that are at least one day old.

Use advanced search with Jira Query Language (JQL)

If users are added to the test-engineering group, this query will start including issues assigned to the new members. It’s a more flexible solution than using assignee in (user1, user2, user3). There are numerous benefits of jql queries over the basic search available in Jira. Designing an advanced jql query will need some way to connect multiple search criteria together. I can’t be sure, but you could be
running into a case sensitivity issue
which is quite common when using
native queries.

jql vs sql