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ReQL command: literal

Command syntax

r.literal(object) → special

Description

Replace an object in a field instead of merging it with an existing object in a merge or update operation. Using literal with no arguments in a merge or update operation will remove the corresponding field.

Assume your users table has this structure:

[ { "id": 1, "name": "Alice", "data": { "age": 18, "city": "Dallas" } } ... ] 

Using update to modify the data field will normally merge the nested documents:

r.table('users').get(1).update({ data: { age: 19, job: 'Engineer' } }).run(conn, callback) // Result passed to callback { "id": 1, "name": "Alice", "data": { "age": 19, "city": "Dallas", "job": "Engineer" } } 

That will preserve city and other existing fields. But to replace the entire data document with a new object, use literal.

Example: Replace one nested document with another rather than merging the fields.

r.table('users').get(1).update({ data: r.literal({ age: 19, job: 'Engineer' }) }).run(conn, callback) // Result passed to callback { "id": 1, "name": "Alice", "data": { "age": 19, "job": "Engineer" } } 

Example: Use literal to remove a field from a document.

r.table('users').get(1).merge({ data: r.literal() }).run(conn, callback) // Result passed to callback { "id": 1, "name": "Alice" } 

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