Query table features

Highlight demographic data in a table joined to a feature layer.

What are table feature queries?

To access features in a table, you need to use the feature service query operation. To do so, you can use ArcGIS Maps SDKs, open source libraries, scripting APIs, or the REST API to make a SQL query to a feature service. To make the request, you will need the service URL or item ID.

You use table features queries to:

  • Access a subset of features in a table
  • Request features with a SQL WhereClause query
  • Return features in different data formats e.g. JSON, GeoJSON, and PBF
  • Return all or a subset of attribute fields for features
  • Return features without geometries

How to query table features

The steps to access and query features are:

  1. Find the service URL for the feature layer to query.
  2. Define the query SQL parameters (where clause).
  3. Define the output parameters (data format).
  4. Execute the query.

Types of queries

In general, the two types of feature queries you can implement are repeatable queries and unique queries.

Repeatable query

A repeatable query is a query you send to a feature service that contains consistent and repeatable input values that multiple users will execute from an application. The values of the parameters such as geometry, SQL where clause, search text, spatial relationship operator, or a combination of them will all be the same for each request. Since the query is repeatable, the responses will be the same for the queries, and you can use cacheHint=true to ask the service to cache the results.

Below is an example of a repeatable query with a repeatable where clause:

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https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/LA_County_Parcels/FeatureServer/0/query?f=pbf&cacheHint=true&resultRecordCount=100&where=UseType = 'Irrigated Farm'&outFields=APN,UseType,TaxRateCity,TaxRateArea,Roll_LandValue&returnGeometry=false&token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>

Unique query

A unique query is a query you send to a feature service that contains unique input values defined by the user of an application. The values of the parameters for the geometry, SQL where clause, search text, spatial relationship operator, or a combination of them are unique and unknown. Since the queries are unique, the responses are also unique and are not automatically cached. You should not use cacheHint=true to ask the service to cache results from unique queries.

Below is an example of a unique query with a user-defined geometry:

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https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/LA_County_Parcels/FeatureServer/0/query?f=pbf&geometry={"rings":[[[-13228576.521843342,4033084.7250306536],[-13222485.595442941,4033084.7250306536],[-13222485.595442941,4030103.75557307],[-13228576.521843342,4030103.75557307],[-13228576.521843342,4033084.7250306536]]]}&outFields=APN,UseType,TaxRateCity,Roll_LandValue&spatialRel=esriSpatialRelIntersects&geometryType=esriGeometryPolygon&token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>

Feature queries and caches

When you query and/or display features, different response caches are available to help maximize the performance and scalability of applications. A response cache is the data returned from a query request that is stored and managed so it can be reused by clients. Response caches are only beneficial to applications that make repeatable queries. Making use of response caches improves both performance and scalability allowing your application to perform well even when experiencing high load.

There are multiple levels of caches available to applications. This includes the following:

  1. Client-side cache: A response cache stored and managed by a web browser, native application, or operating system.
  2. CDN cache: A response cache stored and managed by CDN servers worldwide (ArcGIS Location Platform and ArcGIS Online only). This cache is configurable.
  3. Feature tile cache: A response cache stored and managed internally by the feature service.

All three levels of caches can exist at the same time. How the caches are used by an application, however, depends on the type of API you are using, the CDN cache max age settings you apply, and the parameters you include with the request.

In general, when a query request is sent to a feature service, the response caches are accessed in the following order:

  1. Client-side cache (if available)
  2. CDN cache (if available)
  3. Feature tile cache (if available)

If a cache is available, the response cache is sent back to the client immediately. If a cache isn't available, the request will look for the next level of cache that is available. If no caches are found, the query is processed by the feature service and the response is sent back to the client. If the response is cacheable, it will be stored at the appropriate caching level so it can be reused in the future.

URL request

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https://{host}/{organizationID}/ArcGIS/rest/services/{serviceName}/FeatureServer/{id}/query?{queryParameters}

Required parameters

NameDescriptionExamples
fThe format of the data returned.f=json f=pjson f=geojson f=pbf f=html
tokenAn API key or OAuth 2.0 access token.token=<ACCESS_TOKEN>

SQL parameters

Use this parameter to define a WhereClause for a SQL query.

NameDescriptionExamples
whereA SQL clause that defines which data to return based upon attribute values. To query based upon geometry, see the geometry and spatialRel parameters. Learn more about the SQL-92 format here.

Output parameters

Use these parameters to define and optimize the query response.

NameDescriptionExamples
outFieldsA list of field names that specifies the attributes to return with any records (for example, outFields=AREANAME,ST,POP2000). The more fields you request, the larger the attributes portion of the response JSON payload and the longer it could take to download. Only request the fields you need for display or analysis. To return all fields, which can be useful during development and testing, use outFields=*.
orderByFieldsOrder the records that are included in the response by specifying which fields to sort by and a sort order for each field:
- ASC - ascending order (default)
- DESC - descending
For example, orderByFields=STATE_NAME ASC, RACE DESC, GENDER.

Cache parameters

NameDescriptionExamples
cacheHintAsk the service to store the query response for later use. This should only be used when client applications send consistent and repeatable queries. Using cacheHint can significantly improve performance. See the Query a feature layer (SQL) example.cacheHint=true cacheHint=false

Pagination parameters

Use these parameters to paginate through records that are beyond the services maxRecordCount property.

NameDescriptionExamples
resultRecordCountThe number of records to return from a query, if not specificed the service defaults to maxRecordCount.resultRecordCount = 500
resultOffsetSkip this number of records and start from the next record (that is, resultOffset + 1). The default is 0.resultOffset = 0

Code examples

Query all features

To query and display features (records) in a table, you reference the layer by its URL or ID and specify which data attributes to return. In this example, a Trailheads hosted table is accessed and all of the records are displayed. To specify the fields returned, outFields is used in the query.

Steps

  1. Get the hosted table URL and layer ID.
  2. Add the hosted table and define the fields.
  3. Display the fields and records.
ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScriptArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScriptArcGIS Maps SDK for KotlinArcGIS Maps SDK for SwiftArcGIS Maps SDK for .NETArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaArcGIS API for PythonArcGIS REST JS
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        const q = trailsLayer.createQuery()
        q.where = "1=1"
        q.cacheHint = true
        q.outFields = Object.keys(outFields)

        trailsLayer.queryFeatures(q).then(loadTable)

SQL query for features

To search for features (records) in a table, you can query features using a SQL where clause. In the example below, a where clause is used to return parcel features from a table based on input values. Since these queries are unknown and unique based on user input they should not be cached.

Steps

  1. Get the hosted table URL and layer ID.
  2. Create and execute a SQL query.
  3. Display the records.
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          const parcelQuery = {
            where: whereClause,
            outFields: Object.keys(outFields), // Attributes to return
            orderByFields: ["yearbuilt1 ASC", "sqftmain1 ASC"],
          }

          parcelsTable.queryFeatures(parcelQuery).then(resp => {
            document.getElementById(
              "resultCountLabel"
            ).innerHTML = `${resp.features.length} records returned`
            addToTable(resp, true)
            setLoading(false)
          })

REST API

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curl https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/Santa_Monica_parcels_table/FeatureServer/0/query? \
-d "where=yearbuilt1 >= 2019 and sqftmain1 >= 4000 and bedrooms1 <= 4 and bathrooms1 >= 3" \
-d "outFields=usetype, ain, situsfulla, yearbuilt1, sqftmain1, bedrooms1, bathrooms1" \
-d "f=json"

Query features with paging

The maximum number of features returned by a single query to a hosted feature layer is constrained by the services maxRecordCount property. You can use pagination to return features that exceed the maxRecordCount. This example uses paged queries to return features in sets of 1000 based on object id.

To learn more, visit the REST services documentation.

Steps

  1. Get the hosted table item ID or URL and layer ID.
  2. Set the resultRecordCount, and resultOffset parameters of the query and execute.
  3. Display the paginated records.

APIs

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        // create initial query params
        const queryParams = {
          where: "1=1",
          outFields: Object.keys(appParams.outFields),
          orderByFields: ["FID asc"],
          returnGeometry: true,
          num: appParams.returnCount, // number of records to return
          start: appParams.currentPage, // offset for pagination
        }

        /**
         * Set current page and send query request to the server
         */
        const queryFeatures = () => {
          // set the page to retrieve
          queryParams.start = appParams.currentPage // set offset based on what page to return
          parcelsLayer.queryFeatures(queryParams).then(displayResults)
        }

REST API

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curl "https://services3.arcgis.com/GVgbJbqm8hXASVYi/arcgis/rest/services/Santa_Monica_public_parcels/FeatureServer/0/query? \
-d f=json \
-d &token="{ACCESS_TOKEN}"
-d &where="1=1" \
-d &outFields="FID, ain, situsfulla, usetype" \
-d &orderByFields="FID ASC"
-d &resultRecordCount=1000
-d &resultOffset=0"