how-to-iterate-and-retrieve-a-multi_index-table
Overview
This guide provides instructions to iterate and retrieve data from a multi-index table.
Reference
See the following code reference:
- The
multi-index
class. - The
multi-index::find(...)
method.
Before you begin
Make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:
- An Antelope development environment, for details consult the Get Started Guide,
- A multi-index
testab
table instance which storesuser
objects indexed by the primary key which is of typeeosio::name
. Consult the section How to instantiate a multi-index table to learn how to set it up.
Procedure
Complete the following steps to iterate, retrieve and print data from the testtab
multi-index table.
1. Define The print(...) Action
Add a print
action to the testtab
multi-index table. The print
action takes an account name as a parameter.
[[eosio::action]] void print( name user );
Optionally, for ease of use add the action wrapper definition as well.
[[eosio::action]] void print( name user );
+using print_action = action_wrapper<"print"_n, &multi_index_example::print>;
2. Implement The print(...)
Action
Search for the user
name in the multi-index table using the primary index. If found, print out the value of field datum
. Otherwise raise an error with a custom message. In the contract definition add the following implementation for print
action:
[[eosio::action]] void multi_index_example::print( name user ) {
// searches for the row that corresponds to the user parameter
auto itr = testtab.find(user.value);
// asserts if the row was found for user parameter, if fails use the given message
check( itr != testtab.end(), "user does not exist in table" );
// prints the test_primary and datum fields stored for user parameter
eosio::print_f("Test Table : {%, %}\n", itr->test_primary, itr->datum);
}
3. Put It All Together
The full definition and implementation files for the contract should look like this:
multi_index_example.hpp
#include <eosio/eosio.hpp>
using namespace eosio;
// multi-index example contract class
class [[eosio::contract]] multi_index_example : public contract {
public:
using contract::contract;
// contract class constructor
multi_index_example( name receiver, name code, datastream<const char*> ds ) :
// contract base class contructor
contract(receiver, code, ds),
// instantiate multi-index instance as data member (find it defined below)
testtab(receiver, receiver.value)
{ }
// the row structure of the multi-index table, that is, each row of the table
// will contain an instance of this type of structure
struct [[eosio::table]] test_table {
// this data member stores a name for each row of the multi-index table
name test_primary;
// additional data stored in table row
uint64_t datum;
// mandatory definition for primary key getter
uint64_t primary_key( ) const { return test_primary.value; }
};
// the multi-index type definition, for ease of use define a type alias `test_table_t`,
// based on the multi_index template type, parametarized with a random name and
// the test_table data structure
typedef eosio::multi_index<"testtaba"_n, test_table> test_table_t;
// the multi-index table instance declared as a data member of type test_table_t
test_table_t testtab;
[[eosio::action]] void set( name user );
[[eosio::action]] void print( name user );
using set_action = action_wrapper<"set"_n, &multi_index_example::set>;
using print_action = action_wrapper<"print"_n, &multi_index_example::print>;
};
multi_index_example.cpp
#include <multi_index_example.hpp>
[[eosio::action]] void multi_index_example::set( name user ) {
// check if the user already exists
auto itr = testtab.find(user.value);
if ( itr == testtab.end() ) {
// user is not found in table, use emplace to insert a new row data structure in table
testtab.emplace( _self, [&]( auto& u ) {
u.test_primary = user;
u.secondary = "second"_n;
u.datum = 0;
});
}
}
[[eosio::action]] void multi_index_example::print( name user ) {
// searches for the row that corresponds to the user parameter
auto itr = testtab.find(user.value);
// asserts if the row was found for user parameter, if fails use the given message
check( itr != testtab.end(), "user does not exist in table" );
// prints the test_primary and datum fields stored for user parameter
eosio::print_f("Test Table : {%, %}\n", itr->test_primary, itr->datum);
}
A full example project demonstrating the instantiation and usage of multi-index table can be found here.
Summary
In conclusion, the above instructions show how to iterate and retrieve a multi-index table.
Next Steps
- You can insert data into the multi-index table.
- You can delete data from the multi-index table.