Skip to main content

Delete Data

The hypi platform supports two types of deletions. The first one is a Soft Delete that does not actually delete data but ‘marks’ it as deleted. Use the trash function to perform a soft delete. You may reverse the soft delete to restore data.

The second type of delete is irreversible. The data is permanently deleted from the system and cannot be undone. Use the delete or deleteScalars functions to delete data permanently.

So, there are four functions related to deletion.

Let's check them out!

trash​

In some cases, you want your data to ‘appear’ deleted. But you may restore it if required. Take an example of an email application. There is often a "recycle" or "trash" folder. By using the trash function, you can put unwanted data in Trash.

trash(type: HypiMutationType!, arcql: String!): Int!

The function returns the number of records that were marked as trash.

mutation {
  trash(type: Author, 
  arcql: "hypi.id = '01F0DN278W6NMQFRW4TVRCA52V'")
}

If you use the ‘get’ or ‘find’ queries now, the result will not display the trashed object by default. You must set the ‘includeTrashed’ parameter to ‘true’ to get the object.

untrash​

The opposite of the trash function is untrash. Use this function to remove the marker from the data that was previously marked as trash.

untrash(type: HypiMutationType!, arcql: String!): Int!

The function returns the number of records that were marked untrashed.

mutation {
  untrash(
  type: Author, arcql: "hypi.id = '01F0DN278W6NMQFRW4TVRCA52V'")
}

delete​

If you want to delete data permanently, use the delete function.


delete(type: HypiMutationType!, arcql: String!,clearArrayReferences:Boolean=false): Int!

The function returns the number of records that were marked deleted. You may delete the records using the ArcQL query. The arcql parameter takes the query. Maximum 25 records will be deleted in one request.

clearArrayReferences parameter is used to implement deletion of the array fields with one-to-many references. (See References.)

Hypi supports “lightweight” Referential Integrity on array fields. The referential integrity check can be forcibly disabled by setting the clearArrayReferences to true when deleting objects. The default is set to 'false' which means if there are existing references to an object, you cannot delete it. But setting clearArrayReferences to true removes the references by unlinking the referenced objects and then deletes the object specified by 'arcql' query.

note

Setting clearArrayReferences to true only removes references to data in array fields as the name implies and it does not delete the referenced objects in the array. Only the object specified by the 'arcql' field will get deleted.

Let's look at the example from our Author and Book data types now. If you try to delete data from Book table without setting clearArrayReferences values, it would result in an error. As the references exist between Author and Book tables through the 'booklist' field, the Book records cannot be deleted without removing the references.

mutation {
  delete(type: Book, arcql: "hypi.id = '01F2X8203XKRFR7G62T6SP1MW4'")
}

Setting parameter clearArrayReferences to true will remove the object.

mutation {
  delete(type: Book, arcql: "hypi.id = '01F2X8203XKRFR7G62T6SP1MW4'",
  clearArrayReferences:true)
}
caution

clearArrayReferences can lead to an inconsistent state if your app re-uses object IDs. Hypi never re-use an object ID but if you specify your IDs manually make sure not to re-use them. Otherwise using clearArrayReferences and then using an ID that was deleted will result in the new object reappearing on non-array fields but pointing to the new data. This is because clearArrayReferences only removes references to data in array fields as the name implies.

Please note that you may remove the references using the unlink function and then delete the object without setting clearArrayReferences field. You may not set clearArrayReferences if you are deleting objects that do not deal with an object- array or have one-to-many references.

deleteScalars​

Array fields in Hypi are not stored directly with the other scalar fields in an object. This allows you to add an unlimited number of items to an array field. So, if you want to delete data permanently from a scalar array, use the deleteScalars function.

If there is an array that references another type, note that deleteScalars will not delete scalar data from that array. ‘link’ function is used for that purpose.

deleteScalars(
    type: HypiMutationType!
    field: String!
    values: [String!]!
    arcql: String!
): Int!
ParameterDescriptionExample
typeThe type (table) to delete scalar array values fromMessage, Author
fieldThe name of the array fieldNumber
valuesThe values to be deleted[2,5,6]
arcqlThe id of the object to delete values fromarcql: "hypi.id= '01F0FW9XYQWQNNEDYV3S5P2WGQ'"

Consider the data type ‘Question’ which holds question-answer keys for a test.

type Question {
    hypi: Hypi
    question: [Int!]
    answer: [String!]  
}

The below example shows the use of the ‘deleteScalars’ function to delete data from scalar arrays. In the example, from an ‘ans’ field from Question, string values (“b” and “c”) are deleted. The function returns the number of records affected by the deletion.

Frame arcql query to select the object and get an id. In the example, hypi id has been hardcoded.

mutation{
  deleteScalars(
    type:Question,
    field:"ans",
    values:["b","c"],
    arcql:"hypi.id ='01F0FW9XYQWQNNEDYV3S5P2WGQ'"
  )
}
Read More...