Compare columns of the same table with raw queries

Comparing different columns from the same table is a common scenario that developers encounter. Some examples include comparing two numeric values in the same table or comparing two dates in a same table. There's an existing GitHub Issue regarding the same.

warning

From version 4.3.0, you do not need to use raw queries to compare columns in the same table. You can use the <model>.fields property to compare the columns.

The below information is kept for backwards compatibility with Prisma ORM versions prior to 4.3.0.

Workaround

Comparing values from two columns in the same table can be achieved by using raw queries.

Comparing numeric values

info

From version 4.3.0, you do not need to use raw queries to compare columns in the same table. You can use the <model>.fields property to compare the columns. Learn more

One use case for comparing values from different columns would be retrieving posts that have more comments than likes; in this case, you need to compare the values of commentsCount and likesCount.

model Post {
  id            Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  createdAt     DateTime @default(now())
  updatedAt     DateTime @updatedAt
  title         String
  content       String?
  published     Boolean  @default(false)
  author        User     @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId      Int
  likesCount    Int
  commentsCount Int
}

Queries (depending upon which database) could look something like:

PostgreSQL / CockroachDB

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function initiateNumbersComparisonRawQuery() {
  const response =
    await prisma.$queryRaw`SELECT * FROM "public"."Post" WHERE "likesCount" < "commentsCount";`

  console.log(response)
}

await initiateNumbersComparisonRawQuery()

MySQL

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function initiateNumbersComparisonRawQuery() {
  const response =
    await prisma.$queryRaw`SELECT * FROM \`public\`.\`Post\` WHERE \`likesCount\` < \`commentsCount\`;`

  console.log(response)
}

await initiateNumbersComparisonRawQuery()

Sqlite

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function initiateNumbersComparisonRawQuery() {
  const response =
    await prisma.$queryRaw`SELECT * FROM "Post" WHERE "likesCount" < "commentsCount";`

  console.log(response)
}

await initiateNumbersComparisonRawQuery()

Running the above queries (depending upon the database) would filter posts that has fewer likes compared to comments.

Query Response

;[
  {
    id: 1,
    createdAt: '2022-03-03T12:08:11.421+00:00',
    updatedAt: '2022-03-03T12:08:11.422+00:00',
    title: 'Hello World',
    content: 'This is my first post',
    published: false,
    authorId: 1,
    likesCount: 50,
    commentsCount: 100,
  },
]

Comparing date values

info

From version 4.3.0, you do not need to use raw queries to compare columns in the same table. You can use the <model>.fields property to compare the columns. Learn more

Similarly, if you need to compare dates, you could also achieve the same thing using raw queries.

For example, a use case could be to get all projects completed after the due date.

model Project {
  id            Int      @id @default(autoincrement())
  title         String
  author        User     @relation(fields: [authorId], references: [id])
  authorId      Int
  dueDate       DateTime
  completedDate DateTime
  createdAt     DateTime @default(now())
}

Queries (depending upon the database) could look something like:

PostgreSQL / CockroachDB

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function initiateDatesComparisonRawQuery() {
  const response =
    await prisma.$queryRaw`SELECT * FROM "public"."Project" WHERE "completedDate" > "dueDate";`

  console.log(response)
}

await initiateDatesComparisonRawQuery()

MySQL

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function initiateDatesComparisonRawQuery() {
  const response =
    await prisma.$queryRaw`SELECT * FROM \`public\`.\`Project\` WHERE \`completedDate\` > \`dueDate\`;`

  console.log(response)
}

await initiateDatesComparisonRawQuery()

Sqlite

import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client'

const prisma = new PrismaClient()

async function initiateDatesComparisonRawQuery() {
  const response =
    await prisma.$queryRaw`SELECT * FROM "Project" WHERE "completedDate" > "dueDate";`

  console.log(response)
}

await initiateDatesComparisonRawQuery()

Running the above query would fetch projects where completedDate is after the dueDate.

Query Response

;[
  {
    id: 1,
    title: 'Project 1',
    authorId: 1,
    dueDate: '2022-03-10T00:00:00+00:00',
    completedDate: '2022-03-12T00:00:00+00:00',
    createdAt: '2022-03-03T12:08:11.421+00:00',
  },
]