The N1QL overview

So far, you have learned how to fetch documents in two ways: using document ID and views. If you are reading this book sequentially from the first chapter, you will agree with me. Otherwise, I recommend that you go through Chapter 6, Retrieving Documents without Keys Using Views, in order to understand this chapter better.

The third way of retrieving documents is by using N1QL. Personally, I feel that it is a great move by Couchbase to provide SQL-like syntax, since most engineers and IT professionals are quite familiar with SQL, which is usually part of their formal education. It brings confidence in them and also provides ease of using Couchbase in their applications. Moreover, it provides most database operational activities related to development.

N1QL can be used to:

• Store documents, that is, the INSERT command

• Fetch documents, that is, the SELECT command

Prior to the advent of N1QL, developers need to perform key-based operations, which were quite complex when it came...