Part IV. 3. SOQL Basics in Salesforce

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To read a record from Salesforce, you need to write a query. Salesforce provides the Salesforce Object Query Language, or SOQL in short, that you can use to read saved records. SOQL is similar to the standard SQL language but is customized for the Lightning Platform.

Because Apex has direct access to Salesforce records that are stored in the database, you can embed SOQL queries in your Apex code and get results in a straightforward fashion. When SOQL is embedded in Apex, it is referred to as inline SOQL.

To include SOQL queries within your Apex code, wrap the SOQL statement within square brackets and assign the return value to an array of sObjects. For example, the following retrieves all account records with two fields, Name and Phone, and returns an array of Account sObjects.

Account[] accts = [SELECT Name,Phone FROM Account];

Prerequisites

Some queries in this unit expect the org to have accounts and contacts. Before you run the queries, create some sample data.

  1. In the Developer Console, open the Execute Anonymous window from the Debug menu.
  2. Insert the below snippet in the window and click Execute.

// Add account and related contact
Account acct = new Account(
Name=’SFDC Computing’,
Phone='(415)555-1212′,
NumberOfEmployees=50,
BillingCity=’San Francisco’);
insert acct;
// Once the account is inserted, the sObject will be
// populated with an ID.
// Get this ID.
ID acctID = acct.ID;
// Add a contact to this account.
Contact con = new Contact(
FirstName=’Carol’,
LastName=’Ruiz’,
Phone='(415)555-1212′,
Department=’Wingo’,
AccountId=acctID);
insert con;
// Add account with no contact
Account acct2 = new Account(
Name=’The SFDC Query Man’,
Phone='(310)555-1213′,
NumberOfEmployees=50,
BillingCity=’Los Angeles’,
Description=’Expert in wing technologies.’);
insert acct2;

Using the Query Editor

The Developer Console provides the Query Editor console, which enables you to run your SOQL queries and view results. The Query Editor provides a quick way to inspect the database. It is a good way to test your SOQL queries before adding them to your Apex code. When you use the Query Editor, you need to supply only the SOQL statement without the Apex code that surrounds it.

Let’s try running the following SOQL example:

  1. In the Developer Console, click the Query Editor tab.
  2. Copy and paste the following into the first box under Query Editor, and then click Execute.

SELECT Name,Phone FROM Account

All account records in your org appear in the Query Results section as rows with fields.This training is very useful to learn about the basics of SOQL in salesforce.

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