getRecordsByPartialKeyRange

JSON DB "getRecordsByPartialKeyRange" action retrieves zero or more records from a database table using the specified key range

The "getRecordsByPartialKeyRange" action is the fastest way to return all records that match a partial key value in index order ascending or descending. When the results contain too many records to retrieve all at once, use a cursor, which makes it easy, fast, and efficient to paginate results. See Most effective ways to return data from the JSON DB API. Returning a cursor and returning records directly are mutually exclusive operations.

This action returns records that match index keys against a partial key supplied by you, such as records starting with "Mi". If no matching key is found, no records are returned and the current record for a cursor is set to the last record in the index.

  • In JSON all binary values are encoded as a base64 value inside a string. Thus, if the key is a binary value, you encode a binary value as a base64 value and assign it to the partial key.
  • Results can be further filtered by a table filter expression, which filters records using one or more fields in the table. 
  • A table filter is applied after a record is retrieved from the index. The index filter primarily controls which records are returned and the table filter subsequently filters the records.
  • The results are returned in ascending or descending index order.
  • This action can also return specific subsets of records from the results by skipping over records (forward or backward) and limiting the number returned.
  • You can specify which fields and JSON properties are included in the results.
  • This action can return a cursor, which allows the "getRecordsFromCursor" action to retrieve a large number of records efficiently.
Performance considerations:
  • Results are returned quickly when the index range returns few records.
  • Results return less quickly when:
    • The "indexFilter" property creates a large range of records.
    • The "skipRecords" property skips over many records.
    • The "tableFilter" property further filters the results.

Important The index is required and is used to limit which records are retrieved. Records are retrieved in index order.

 

Request examples

Minimal

{
  "action": "getRecordsByPartialKeyRange",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "athlete",
    "indexFilter": {
      "indexName": "admin_athlete_id_pk",
      "partialKey": "Mi"
    }
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}
 
 

Cursor

{
  "api": "db",
  "requestId": "2",
  "action": "getRecordsByPartialKeyRange",
  "params": {
    "databaseName": "ctreeSQL",
    "tableName": "athlete",
    "indexFilter": {
      "indexName": "admin_athlete_id_pk",
      "partialKey": "Mi"
    },
    "returnCursor": true
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}
 
 

Maximal

{
  "api": "db",
  "apiVersion": "1.0",
  "requestId": "3",
  "action": "getRecordsByPartialKeyRange",
  "params": {
    "databaseName": "ctreeSQL",
    "ownerName": "admin",
    "tableName": "athlete",
    "fixedLengthCharFormat": "sql",
    "tableFilter": "ranking < 4",
    "indexFilter": {
      "indexName": "admin_athlete_id_pk",
      "partialKey": "M"
    },
    "reverseOrder": false,
    "returnCursor": false,
    "skipRecords": 0,
    "maxRecords": -1
  },
  "responseOptions": {
    "includebookmarks": false,
    "binaryFormat": "hex",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "numberFormat": "string",
    "variantFormat": "variantObject",
    "includeFields": [
      "name"
    ],
    "excludeFields": []
  },
  "debug": "max",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}
 
 

 

Response examples

Minimal

{
  "result": {
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "hex",
    "fields": [
      {
        "name": "id",
        "type": "bigint",
        "length": null,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": false,
        "primaryKey": 1,
        "autoValue": "incrementOnInsert"
      },
      {
        "name": "changeId",
        "type": "bigint",
        "length": null,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "changeId"
      },
      {
        "name": "name",
        "type": "varchar",
        "length": 30,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      },
      {
        "name": "ranking",
        "type": "smallint",
        "length": null,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": false,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      },
      {
        "name": "birthDate",
        "type": "date",
        "length": null,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      },
      {
        "name": "playerNumber",
        "type": "number",
        "length": 32,
        "scale": 6,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      },
      {
        "name": "livedPast2000",
        "type": "bit",
        "length": null,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      },
      {
        "name": "earnings",
        "type": "money",
        "length": 32,
        "scale": 4,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      },
      {
        "name": "favoriteSaying",
        "type": "varchar",
        "length": 500,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      }
    ],
    "data": [
      {
        "birthDate": "1963-02-17",
        "changeId": 1291366,
        "earnings": 1700000000,
        "favoriteSaying": "There is no 'i' in team but there is in win.",
        "id": 1,
        "livedPast2000": true,
        "name": "Michael Jordan",
        "playerNumber": 23,
        "ranking": 1
      },
      {
        "birthDate": "1895-02-06",
        "changeId": 1291366,
        "earnings": 800000,
        "favoriteSaying": "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.",
        "id": 2,
        "livedPast2000": false,
        "name": "Babe Ruth",
        "playerNumber": 3,
        "ranking": 2
      },
      {
        "birthDate": "1942-01-17",
        "changeId": 1291366,
        "earnings": 60000000,
        "favoriteSaying": "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.",
        "id": 3,
        "livedPast2000": true,
        "name": "Muhammad Ali",
        "playerNumber": 1,
        "ranking": 3
      },
      {
        "birthDate": "1940-10-23",
        "changeId": 1291366,
        "earnings": 115000000,
        "favoriteSaying": "Everything is practice.",
        "id": 4,
        "livedPast2000": true,
        "name": "Pele",
        "playerNumber": 10,
        "ranking": 4
      },
      {
        "birthDate": "1961-01-26",
        "changeId": 1291366,
        "earnings": 1720000,
        "favoriteSaying": "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.",
        "id": 5,
        "livedPast2000": true,
        "name": "Wayne Gretzky",
        "playerNumber": 99,
        "ranking": 5
      },
      {
        "birthDate": "1969-01-03",
        "changeId": 1291366,
        "earnings": 990000000,
        "favoriteSaying": "Once something is a passion, the motivation is there.",
        "id": 6,
        "livedPast2000": true,
        "name": "Michael Schumacher",
        "playerNumber": 1,
        "ranking": 6
      }
    ],
    "primaryKeyFields": [
      "id"
    ],
    "changeIdField": "changeId",
    "moreRecords": false,
    "requestedRecordCount": 20,
    "returnedRecordCount": 6,
    "totalRecordCount": 6
  },
  "errorCode": 0,
  "errorMessage": "",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}
 
 

Cursor

{
  "result": {
    "cursorId": "cursorId",
    "totalRecordCount": -1
  },
  "requestId": "2",
  "errorCode": 0,
  "errorMessage": "",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}
 
 

Maximal

{
  "result": {
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "hex",
    "fields": [
      {
        "name": "name",
        "type": "varchar",
        "length": 30,
        "scale": null,
        "defaultValue": null,
        "nullable": true,
        "primaryKey": 0,
        "autoValue": "none"
      }
    ],
    "data": [
      {
        "name": "Michael Jordan"
      },
      {
        "name": "Babe Ruth"
      },
      {
        "name": "Muhammad Ali"
      }
    ],
    "primaryKeyFields": [
      "id"
    ],
    "changeIdField": "changeId",
    "moreRecords": false,
    "requestedRecordCount": 3,
    "returnedRecordCount": 3,
    "totalRecordCount": 3
  },
  "requestId": "3",
  "debugInfo": {
    "request": {
      "api": "db",
      "action": "getRecordsByPartialKeyRange",
      "params": {
        "databaseName": "ctreeSQL",
        "ownerName": "admin",
        "tableName": "athlete",
        "tableFilter": "ranking < 4",
        "indexFilter": {
          "indexName": "admin_athlete_id_pk",
          "partialKey": "M"
        },
        "reverseOrder": false,
        "returnCursor": false,
        "skipRecords": 0,
        "maxRecords": -1
      },
      "apiVersion": "1.0",
      "requestId": "3",
      "responseOptions": {
        "binaryFormat": "hex",
        "dataFormat": "objects",
        "numberFormat": "string",
        "variantFormat": "variantObject",
        "includeFields": [
          "name"
        ],
        "excludeFields": []
      },
      "debug": "max",
      "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
    },
    "serverSuppliedValues": {
      "databaseName": "ctreeSQL",
      "ownerName": "admin"
    },
    "errorData": {
      "errorData": null
    },
    "warnings": []
  },
  "errorCode": 0,
  "errorMessage": "",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}
 
 

 

Properties

Request properties ("params")

Property Description Default Type Limits (inclusive)

databaseName

The "databaseName" property specifies the database that contains an object, such as a table or code package. If it is set to null or is omitted, it defaults to the default database of the JSON Action session, see "createSession" and the "defaultDatabaseName" property. 

You specify this property when you want to use a different database instead of the default. 

This property is useful because objects, such as tables and code packages, can have the same name in multiple databases. This feature allows you to create multiple environments in the same server and reuse the same JSON actions in each environment. For example, you can create "dev", "test", "stage", and "prod" databases on the same server and use the "defaultDatabaseName" or "databaseName" properties to specify the desired environment.

It is an error to set "databaseName" to the empty string "".

If no default database is specified during "createSession", the server sets the "defaultDatabaseName" to the "defaultDatabaseName" value specified in the services.json file.

 Defaults to the session's "defaultDatabaseName" property string 1 to 64 bytes

fixedLengthCharFormat

The "fixedLengthCharFormat" property controls how the "getRecords" actions return values from fields with the "char" data type (CT_FSTRING), which is FairCom's fixed-length string field. It does not apply to other field types, such as "varchar", "lvarchar", "binary", "varbinary", and "lvarbinary".

 

For more details, see "fixedLengthCharFormat". 

 Optional with default "sql" string

"sql"

"trimTrailingSpaces"

"trimTrailingPadding"

indexFilter

The "indexFilter" property selects an index and defines the lower and upper bounds of records to be returned from the index.

 

One-field index
"indexFilter":
    {
      "indexName": "name_livedpast2000",
      "partialKey": "Mi"
    }
Multi-field index
"indexFilter":
    {
      "indexName": "name_livedpast2000",
      "partialKey": [ "2023-09-22", "Mi" ] 
    }

Required - No default value

 object

"indexName"

"partialKey"

"indexFieldFilters"

 

indexFilter

.indexName

The "indexName" property specifies the name of an index. A zero-length "indexName" is invalid.

"params": {
  "indexName": "index1"
}

Required - No default value

 string 1 to 64 bytes

indexFilter

.partialKey

The "partialKey" property defines the range of returned records. For more details, see "partialKey". 

Optional with default of "" or []

Required in the Key-Value API 

 string or array

1 or more strings/arrays

1 to 128 bytes in the Key-Value API 

maxRecords

 The "maxRecords" property specifies the maximum number of records to be returned. It is used with "skipRecords" to paginate the results. If the value is not null or omitted, the server returns the maximum number of results specified by "maxRecords". Optional with default of 20  integer -1 to 65535

ownerName

The "ownerName" property specifies the account that owns an object, such as a table or code package. See "createSession" and the "defaultOwnerName" property for more details. 

You specify this property when you want to use a different account instead of the default. Your session's account must have the appropriate privileges to access the code package. 

This property is useful because objects, such as tables and code packages, can have the same name in the same database as long as different accounts own each object. This feature allows you to create duplicate objects for different users on the same server and reuse the same JSON actions on those objects. For example, an administrator can copy objects from a production environment to her account so she can troubleshoot an issue using the same JSON actions, JavaScript, and SQL code.

It is an error to set "ownerName" to the empty string "".

If no default owner is specified during "createSession", the server sets the "defaultOwnerName" to the "defaultOwnerName" value specified in the services.json file.

 Optional with default of the session's "defaultOwnerName" property string 1 to 64 bytes

returnCursor

The "returnCursor" property causes the action to return a cursor instead of directly returning records when set to true.

  • To retrieve records, call the "getRecordsFromCursor" action and pass the "cursorId" value into it.
  • When "returnCursor" is "true" and one of the "skipRecords", "maxRecords", and "reverseOrder" properties is specified, an error is returned.
    • "returnCursor" is mutually exclusive with the "skipRecords", "maxRecords", and "reverseOrder" properties.
 Optional with default of false Boolean

true

false

reverseOrder

The "reverseOrder" returns results in reverse order when set to true. 

  • It works with "maxRecords" and "skipRecords" to provide pagination.
  • An error is returned when "returnCursor" is true.
 Optional with default of false Boolean

true

false

skipRecords

 The "skipRecords" property specifies the number of records to skip over when paginating the results. It is used with "maxRecords" to paginate the results. If the value is not null or omitted, the server returns results from the beginning. If it is > 0, the server skips over the specified number of records and returns results starting from that point up until it returns the maximum number of results as defined by "maxRecords". Optional with default of 0 integer 0 to 9223372036854775807

tableFilter

The "tableFilter" property filters the results by the value of the "tableName" property. No table filter is applied when it is an empty string, a null value, or is omitted. It is a server-side filter of the records in a table. It includes records in the result only when they match the filter requirements. It works like a SQL WHERE clause except for using C syntax and C functions.

  • See Use Table Filters for more information and examples.
  • It uses FairCom's expression language, which is based on C syntax and supports arbitrarily nested expressions, operators, and functions, such as:
    • "tableFilter": "((name IS NOT NULL && name != \"Michael Jordan\" && strnicmp( name, \"m\", 1 ) == 0 && (ranking - 5) * 2 <= 6 && livedPast2000 ) || ( earnings < 1000000 && ! livedPast2000 )) && (ranking % 2 == 1)"
  • A zero-length table filter, such as "tableFilter": "" does not filter any records.
  • A "tableFilter" can be combined with other query techniques. For example, the "getRecordsInKeyRange" action can be used to retrieve a limited range of records that are further filtered by a "tableFilter".
  • To include a double quote character in a "tableFilter" expression, precede it with the backslash (escape) character, \".
  • The first time you include a "tableFilter" string in a "getRecords..." action, the server processes the string to produce an optimized filter. The server automatically reuses the optimized filter in subsequent calls to eliminate the initial processing overhead.
 Optional with default of "" string 0 to unlimited bytes

tableName

The "tableName" property contains the unique, user-defined name of a table.

See table name in System specifications for the table naming requirements and limitations.

 

"params": {
  "tableName": "ctreeTable"
}
 Required - No default value string 1 to 64 bytes

Response properties ("result")

Property Description Type Limits (inclusive)

binaryFormat

 The "binaryFormat" property designates the format of binary values embedded in JSON strings. See binaryFormat for more details.  string One of the following: "base64", "hex", or "byteArray".

changeIdField

This property's value designates the name of the field used for change-tracking functionality if you are not using the "changeId" field for change tracking.

"createTable" automatically creates the "changeId" field to hold the change tracking number used for optimistic locking. Using the "changeId" field for optimistic locking is a best practice.

However, if you use the name "changeId" for another purpose, you can use the "changeIdField" property to designate a different field as the change tracking number field.

 string 1 to 64 bytes

cursorid

The "cursorId" property is a unique identifier returned by the server.

  • The "getRecordsFromCursor" action uses it to quickly and efficiently retrieve paginated records.
  • It is not returned when "returnCursor" is false.

Important Do not assume the "cursorId" is a number embedded in a string.

 string 0 to 255 bytes

data

The "data" property contains a response message. Its contents are defined by the action. It is an empty array when no results are available. The following is an example of the data property from a code package action.

  "result": {
    "data": [
      {
        "codeId": 6,
        "databaseName": "faircom",
        "ownerName": "admin",
        "codeName": "convertAndCategorizeTemperature",
        "codeVersion": 1,
        "clonedCodeId": 1,
        "codeStatus": "active",
        "codeLanguage": "javascript",
        "serviceName": "javascript",
        "codeType": "module",
        "description": "optional new description",
        "metadata": {},
        "createdBy": "ADMIN",
        "createdOn": "2025-08-25T21:48:38.109",
        "updatedBy": "ADMIN",
        "updatedOn": "2025-08-25T21:48:38.109",
        "comment": "Cloned from convertTemperature",
        "codeFormat": "utf8"
      },
    ]
 array of objects The action determines its contents.

dataFormat

The "dataFormat" property (case-insensitive) defines the format of the "data" property. The default for "dataFormat" can be changed during a "createSession" action by assigning a different value to the "dataFormat" property in "defaultResponseOptions".

  • "dataFormat" in the response shows the client how the server formatted the "data" property.
    • Possible values include:
      • "arrays"
        • This is the default and causes the server to return results as an array of arrays, which is the most efficient.
      • "objects"
        • This returns results as an array of objects. This is less efficient but is simpler to generate, read, and troubleshoot.
 string

"autoDetect"

"arrays"

"objects"

fields

The "fields" property is an array of objects. Each object in the array defines a field by specifying its properties.

 

"fields": [
  {
    "autoValue": "none",
    "name": "name",
    "type": "varchar",
    "length": 50,
    "scale": null,
    "defaultValue": null,
    "nullable": false
  }
]
 array

"autoTimestamp"

"autoValue"

"primaryKey"
"name"
"type"
"length"
"scale"
"defaultValue"
"nullable"

 

updateRecords and deleteRecords only: 

"bookmark"

fields

.autoValue

 The "autoValue" property indicates when and how the server automatically sets the field value. See autoValue for more details.  string

"none"

"incrementOnInsert"

"timestampOnInser"

"timestampOnUpdate"

"timestampOnUpdateAndInsert"

"changeid"

 

Some actions only:

"bookmark"

fields

.defaultValue

 The "defaultValue" property specifies the default value of a field. string 0 to 65,500 bytes

fields

.length

 Identifies the length of the field. integer 1 to 65500 

fields

.name

The "name" property is the name of a label or field. 

The "group" and "name" properties combined uniquely identify each label. The "createLabel" and "alterLabel" actions return an error if the "group" and "name" properties do not create a unique label name.

The "id" property also uniquely identifies each label so you can rename a label's group and name without breaking "id" references to the label.

 

 string 1 to 64 bytes

fields

.nullable

 "nullable" identifies whether a field can contain a NULL value. Boolean

true

false

fields

.primaryKey

 When > 0, the "primaryKey" property identifies the ordinal position of the field within the table's primary key. integer 0 to 32

fields

.scale

 If the type is "number" or "money", the "scale" property identifies the number of places to the right of the decimal point,. integer 0 to 32

fields

.type

 Identifies the type of the field. See Data types. string

"bit"

"tinyint"

"smallint"

"integer"

"bigint"

"real"

"float"

"number"

"money"

"date"

"time"

"timestamp"

"char"

"varchar"

"lvarchar"

"binary"

"varbinary"

"lvarbinary"

"json"

moreRecords

 The "moreRecords" property indicates if there are more records that match the filters in the request.  Boolean

true

false

primaryKeyFields

This property specifies the fields of the table’s primary key when multiple fields are combined to form the primary key.

Note The best practice is not to use the "primaryKeyFields" or "primaryKey" properties, so the "createTable" action will automatically create a primary key field named "id" with a unique index named "id_pk".

The order of fields in this property is the order of fields in the primary key index. The "fields" property contains the name and type of each field that is specified in the "primaryKeyFields" array. 

A primary key with multiple fields has an index named "pk". If you specify just one field, the index is named "<fieldname>_pk".

If only one field is used as the primary key, the "primaryKey" property defines the primary key.

Note The "primaryKeyFields" and "primaryKey" properties cannot be used together.

 

Example

"primaryKeyFields": [
  "a",
  "b",
  "c"
],
"fields": [
  {
    "name": "a",
    "type": "tinyint"
  },
  {
    "name": "b",
    "type": "smallint"
  },
  {
    "name": "c",
    "type": "integer"
  }
]
 array an array

requestedRecordCount

The "requestedRecordCount" property is a signed, 32-bit integer set by the server in response to the "getRecordsFromCursor" method.

  • It makes it easy to know how many records were requested in the last call to "getRecordsFromCursor".
  • An application can use "requestedRecordCount" in conjunction with "returnedRecordCount" to determine if fewer records were returned than requested, which occurs when the cursor reaches the end of the recordset.
 integer

0 to 2147483647

returnedRecordCount

The "returnedRecordCount" is a 32-bit integer set by the server in response to the "getRecordsFromCursor" method.

  • It makes it easy to know how many records were returned from the last call to "getRecordsFromCursor".
  • An application can use "returnedRecordCount" in conjunction with "requestedRecordCount" to determine if fewer records were returned than requested, which occurs when the cursor reaches the end of the recordset.
 integer

0 to 2147483647

totalRecordCount

The "totalRecordCount" property contains the total available number of records that can be returned from a query.

  • The "totalRecordCount" is set to -1, when the server does not know the total record count.
  • A very fast way to get the total number of records in a table is to call the "getRecordsByTable" method without applying a "tableFilter". This immediately returns the count without reading and counting records.
  • For most methods, the server does not calculate "totalRecordCount" because calculating it requires walking all records in the query, which may take a significant amount of time.
  • When the result is returned as a cursor, "totalRecordCount" is the total number of records that the cursor can traverse.
    • This does not apply to cursor responses.
  • When the result returns records directly, "totalRecordCount" is the total number of records that can be retrieved – not necessarily the number of records returned.
 integer

-1 to 99999999999999999999999999999999

 

 

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