CAML (Collaborative Application Markup Language) Query syntax in SharePoint

SPQuery is the SharePoint object which is used to perform a query operation against SharePoint data.

SPList.getItems(SPQuery) is the step, will return SPListItemCollection which satisfies the query.

SPQuery has one data member ‘Query’, which need to set before passing SPQuery object to SPList.

Example : SPQuery.

SPQuery objQuery = new SPQuery();

SPQuery.Query=”<Where><Eq><FieldRef Name ='File_x0020_Type'/><Value Type ='Text'>par</Value></Eq></Where>” ;

SPListItemCollection Obj = SPList.getItems(SPQuery);

Comparison Operators, Logical Joins and Order/ Group Operators, plays an important role to make this syntax.

Comparison Operator

Comparison Operators	General Meaning
Eq	=
Gt	>
Lt	<
Geq	>=
Leq	<=
Neq	<>
Contains	Like
IsNull	Null
IsNotNull	NotNull
BeginsWith	Beginning with word
DateRangesOverlap	compare the dates in a recurring event with a specified DateTime value, to determine whether they overlap

Example: DateRangesOverlap

<Where>
<DateRangesOverlap>
<FieldRef Name="EventDate"></FieldRef>
<FieldRef Name="EndDate"></FieldRef>
<FieldRef Name="RecurrenceID"></FieldRef>
<Value Type="DateTime">
<Now/>
</Value>
</DateRangesOverlap>
</Where>

Logical Joins:

Logical Joins	Comments
And	Used within the ‘Where’ element to group filters in a query for a view
Or	Used within the ‘Where’ element to group filters in a query for a view

Example: And

<Where>
<And>
<Neq>
<FieldRef Name="Status"></FieldRef>
<Value Type="Text">Completed</Value>
</Neq>
<IsNull>
<FieldRef Name="Sent"></FieldRef>
</IsNull>
</And>
</Where>

Order/Group Operators:

Order/Group Operators	Comments
OrderBy	Determines the sort order for a query. The OrderBy element contains a group of FieldRef elements
GroupBy	Contains a Group By section for grouping the data returned through a query in a list view

Example: OrderBy

<OrderBy>
<FieldRef Name="Modified" Ascending="FALSE"></FieldRef>
</OrderBy>
<Where>
<Or>
<Neq>
<FieldRef Name="Status"></FieldRef>
<Value Type="Text">Completed</Value>
</Neq>
<IsNull>
<FieldRef Name="Status"></FieldRef>
</IsNull>
</Or>
</Where>

Example: GroupBy

<GroupBy>
<FieldRef Name="Modified"/>
</GroupBy>
<Where>
<Or>
<Neq>
<FieldRef Name="Status"></FieldRef>
<Value Type="Text">Completed</Value>
</Neq>
<IsNull>
<FieldRef Name="Status"></FieldRef>
</IsNull>
</Or>
</Where>