How can I avoid duplicates in ScriptDb? - database

Question

I have some objects to save in the database, but they must be unique every time the script is executed. These objects are just going to change values every instance of the application. The problem is that when I create the first object, more copies are also created every time the script is executed after that. I try to use the same object again, but when I do the query, I get objects from previous executions giving me the wrong values. I just want to be able to reset the same objects to their default values and not have many unnecessary copies in the ScriptDb.
Here is some code:
// Get a database instance
var database = getDb();
// Create a new employee instance
var myEmployee = {
element: "currentEmployee",
firstName: "",
lastName: "",
ID: 0,
manager: "",
managerEmail: "",
department: "1 - University Store",
startDate: "",
endDate: "",
regularHours: 0,
vacationHours: 0,
sickHours: 0,
personalHours: 0,
H2Hours: 0,
overtimeHours: 0,
totalHours: 0,
rowLocation: 0,
salaryType: "H",
};
var week1 = {
// Identify the week and for query purposes
element: "Week1",
// User entries
HW: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
VH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
SH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
PH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
TH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
// Calculated totals
TotalHW:0, TotalVH: 0, TotalSH: 0, TotalPH: 0, TotalHours: 0,
// Week totals
Vacation: 0, Sick: 0, Personal: 0, H2: 0, OT: 0, Regular: 0,
}
var week2 = {
// Identify the week and for query purposes
element: "Week2",
// User entries
HW: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
VH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
SH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
PH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
TH: {THUR: 0, FRI: 0, SAT: 0, SUN: 0, MON: 0, TUES: 0, WED: 0},
// Calculated totals
TotalHW:0, TotalVH: 0, TotalSH: 0, TotalPH: 0, TotalHours: 0,
// Week totals
Vacation: 0, Sick: 0, Personal: 0, H2: 0, OT: 0, Regular: 0,
}
// Save these to the database
database.save(myEmployee);
database.save(week1);
database.save(week2);
Then, I would use the statement ScriptDb.getMyDb.query({element: element}).next() to retrieve the object. The string element containing "currentEmployee", "Week1", or "Week2".

Answer 1

To avoid re-creating uniquely-keyed objects in ScriptDb, you must first check whether the object you're thinking of saving is already there. If it is, then you need to get the handle of the stored object to use for updates. If it's not there, you will save() your new object, and the return value will be the handle of the copy in the database.
The general pattern is this:
// Get a database instance
var db = getDb();
var result = db.query( {key:keyval, ...} );
if (result.hasNext()) {
// The object already exists in ScriptDb
var obj = result.next()
}
else {
// The object doesn't exist in ScriptDb, so create it
// This example would start by creating only the key values,
// expanding the object during the update stage below.
// Alternatively, you could create the entire object with all
// its properties.
obj = db.save({key:keyval, ...})
}
// Can now update the obj that is in ScriptDb
obj.prop1 = value1;
obj.prop2 = value2;
...
// Save updated object
db.save(obj);
Here's an example of how that pattern could apply to your code. You'll see here that the alternative approach to creating new objects is being used, in which the new object is created in ScriptDb with all its properties at once.
// Get a database instance
var database = getDb();
// Find or create employee instance
var result = database.query({element: "currentEmployee"});
if (result.hasNext()) {
var myEmployee = result.next();
} else {
myEmployee = database.save({
element: "currentEmployee",
firstName: "",
lastName: "",
ID: 0,
manager: "",
managerEmail: "",
department: "1 - University Store",
startDate: "",
endDate: "",
regularHours: 0,
vacationHours: 0,
sickHours: 0,
personalHours: 0,
H2Hours: 0,
overtimeHours: 0,
totalHours: 0,
rowLocation: 0,
salaryType: "H"
});
};
// Find or create Week1 instance
result = database.query({element: "Week1"});
if (result.hasNext()) {
var week1 = result.next();
} else {
week1 = database.save({
// Identify the week and for query purposes
element: "Week1",
// User entries
HW: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
VH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
SH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
PH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
TH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
// Calculated totals
TotalHW: 0, TotalVH: 0, TotalSH: 0, TotalPH: 0, TotalHours: 0,
// Week totals
Vacation: 0, Sick: 0, Personal: 0, H2: 0, OT: 0, Regular: 0,
});
}
// Find or create Week2 instance
result = database.query({element: "Week2"});
if (result.hasNext()) {
var week2 = result.next();
} else {
week2 = database.save({
// Identify the week and for query purposes
element: "Week2",
// User entries
HW: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
VH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
SH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
PH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
TH: {THUR: 0,FRI: 0,SAT: 0,SUN: 0,MON: 0,TUES: 0,WED: 0},
// Calculated totals
TotalHW: 0, TotalVH: 0, TotalSH: 0, TotalPH: 0, TotalHours: 0,
// Week totals
Vacation: 0, Sick: 0, Personal: 0, H2: 0, OT: 0, Regular: 0,
});
}
// At this point, myEmployee, week1 and week2 refer to the ScriptDb objects.
// While we can use them as any javascript object, they also contain information
// relevant to their state as ScriptDb objects.
...