Array

An Array is used to contain zero or more other values (representable using fields) in the form of a numerically indexed list.

Import

from marrow.mongo.field import Array

Inherits

marrow.mongo:Field

Attributes

This field type inherits all Field attributes. As a complex type, the first positional argument is always the nested field instance, other positional ordering is unaffected.

`kind`

A Field subclass instance, or an instance of Field itself if the type is dynamic.

Required

Usage

Instantiate and assign an instance of this class during construction of a new Document subclass, passing another Field instance representing the type to embed as the first positional parameter. Accessing as a class attribute will return a Queryable allowing array-like filtering operations, and access as an instance attribute will return a list subclass containing cast values.

To reduce boilerplate when costructing new document instances utilizing Array fields, if the assign attribute is truthy and no default is otherwise assigned, an empty list will be assumed and assigned, eliminating the need for armour against None or non-existant conditions.

Examples

Arrays of Scalar Values

Tags are a very, very common storage pattern, modelled here using an Array of free-form String values. Foreign references are also common, though MongoDB itself provides no referential integrity validation.

class Record(Document):
    tags = Array(String(), assign=True)
    actors = Array(Reference('Account'))

Array of Embedded Documents

Another principal pattern is that of an array of embedded documents, for example, an invoice with line items.

class Invoice(Document):
    class Item(Document):
        ...

    items = Array(Embed(Item), assign=True)