Mongodb dynamic like operator

Question

Mongodb dynamic like operator

In mongodb the equivalent to sql "like" operator is

db.users.find({"shows": /m/})

Using nodejs/javascript I want to dynamically change letter, based on url paramater.

I have tried

letter = req.params.letter;

db.users.find({"shows": '/' + letter + '/'})

This doesn't work, I guess because the slashes are now strings are interpreted differently.

javascript
node.js
mongodb

Answer 1

One way to do it, according to the documentation page:

db.users.find( { shows : { $regex : letter } } );

Answer 2

+1 for mindandmedia on the syntax. However, please remember, that if you want the query to use an index efficiently, you have to use prefix queries (also called rooted regexps) like /^prefix/

Your query is likely to be horribly slow otherwise - see the note in the docs here:

http://www.mongodb.org/display/DOCS/Advanced+Queries#AdvancedQueries-RegularExpressions