Find and delete a document (Java)

Finds a single document in a collection using filter and sort clauses, and then deletes that document.

This method and the method to delete a document have the same database effect but differ in their return value. This method returns the document that was found and deleted. The method to delete a document returns details about the success of the deletion.

Ready to write code? See the examples for this method to get started. If you are new to the Data API, check out the quickstart.

Result

Deletes a document that matches the specified parameters, and returns the document (Optional<T>). If no document was found, returns returns Optional.empty().

The fields included in the returned document depend on the projection specified in the method.

Parameters

Use the findOneAndDelete method, which belongs to the com.datastax.astra.client.Collection class.

Method signature

Optional<T> findOneAndDelete(
  Filter filter
)

Optional<T> findOneAndDelete(
  Filter filter,
  CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options
)

Name Type Summary

Name	Type	Summary
`filter`	`Filter`	An object that defines filter criteria using the Data API filter syntax. The method only finds documents that match the filter criteria. Filters can improve performance by reducing the number of documents that the Data API processes. You must use `&` to escape any `.` or `&` in field names in the filter clause. You cannot use `&` to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with `.` and `&` in field names (Java). For a list of available filter operators and more examples, see Filter operators for collections (Java). Filters can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in a filter. For an example, see Delete a document that matches a filter.
`options`	`CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions`	Optional. The options for this operation. See Methods of the `CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions` class for more details.

filter

Filter

An object that defines filter criteria using the Data API filter syntax. The method only finds documents that match the filter criteria. Filters can improve performance by reducing the number of documents that the Data API processes.

You must use & to escape any . or & in field names in the filter clause. You cannot use & to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with . and & in field names (Java).

For a list of available filter operators and more examples, see Filter operators for collections (Java).

Filters can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in a filter.

For an example, see Delete a document that matches a filter.

options

CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions

Optional. The options for this operation. See Methods of the CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions class for more details.

Methods of the `CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions` class
Method	Parameters	Summary
`sort()`	`float[] \| String \| Sort \| Map<String, Object>`	Optional. Sorts documents by one or more fields, or performs a vector search. You must use `&` to escape any `.` or `&` in field names in the sort clause. You cannot use `&` to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with `.` and `&` in field names (Java). For more information, see Sort clauses for collections (Java). Sort clauses can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in sort queries. For vector searches, this parameter can use either `$vector` or `$vectorize`. For examples, see Delete a document after applying a non-vector sort, Delete a document that is most similar to a search vector, and Delete a document that is most similar to a search string.
`projection()`	`Projection`	Optional. Controls which fields are included or excluded in the returned document. You must use `&` to escape any `.` or `&` in field names in the projection clause. You cannot use `&` to escape any other characters. For more information, see Work with `.` and `&` in field names (Java). For more information, see Projections for collections (Java). Default: The default projection for the collection. All fields prefixed with `$` are excluded by default and will only be returned if you include them in the projection. `_id` is included by default and will always be returned unless you exclude it from the projection. For examples, see Include only specific fields in the response and Exclude specific fields from the response.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to delete a document in a collection.

Delete a document by ID

All documents have a unique _id property. You can use a filter to find a document with a specific _id, and then delete that document.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Delete a document
    Filter filter = Filters.eq("_id", "101");
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Delete a document that matches a filter

You can use a filter to find a document that matches specific criteria. For example, you can find a document with an is_checked_out value of false and a number_of_pages value less than 300.

For a list of available filter operators and more examples, see Filter operators for collections (Java).

Filters can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in a filter.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Delete a document
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(Filters.eq("is_checked_out", false), Filters.lt("number_of_pages", 300));
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Delete a document that is most similar to a search vector

To find the document whose $vector value is most similar to a given vector, use a sort with the vector embeddings that you want to match. For more information, see Find data with vector search.

Vector search is only available for vector-enabled collections. For more information, see Create a collection that can store vector embeddings and $vector in collections (Java).

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.commands.options.CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Sort;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Delete a document
    Filter filter = new Filter();
    CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options =
        new CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions()
            .sort(Sort.vector(new float[] {0.08f, -0.62f, 0.39f}));
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter, options);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Delete a document that is most similar to a search string

To find the document whose $vector value is most similar to the $vector value of a given search string, use a sort with the search string that you want to vectorize and match. For more information, see Find data with vector search.

Vector search with vectorize is only available for collections that have vectorize enabled. For more information, see Create a collection that can automatically generate vector embeddings and $vectorize in collections (Java).

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.commands.options.CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Sort;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Delete a document
    Filter filter = new Filter();
    CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options =
        new CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions().sort(Sort.vectorize("Text to vectorize"));
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter, options);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Delete a document based on lexicographical matching

Lexicographical matching is currently in public preview. Development is ongoing, and the features and functionality are subject to change. Astra DB Serverless, and the use of such, is subject to the DataStax Preview Terms.

There are two ways to use lexicographical matching to find documents with the Data API:

Sort on the $lexical field to find the documents whose $lexical field value is most relevant to a given string of space-separated keywords or terms
Filter on the $lexical field with the $match operator to find the documents whose $lexical field value is a lexicographical match to the specified string of space-separated keywords or terms

You can use these strategies together or separately.

You can only use lexicographical matching on collections that have lexical enabled. For more information, see Create a collection that supports lexicographical matching.

Documents must have the $lexical field populated to be included in lexicographical matching. For examples, see Insert a document for retrieval with lexicographical matching and Insert documents for retrieval with lexicographical matching.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.commands.options.CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Sort;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Find and delete a document
    Filter filter = Filters.match("tree hill");

    CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options =
        new CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions().sort(Sort.lexical("tree hill grassy"));

    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter, options);

    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Delete a document after applying a non-vector sort

You can use a sort clause to sort documents by one or more fields.

For more information, see Sort clauses for collections (Java).

Sort clauses can use only indexed fields. If you apply selective indexing when you create a collection, you cannot reference non-indexed fields in sort queries.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.commands.options.CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Sort;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Delete a document
    Filter filter = Filters.eq("metadata.language", "English");
    CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options =
        new CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions()
            .sort(Sort.ascending("rating"), Sort.descending("title"));
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter, options);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Include only specific fields in the response

To specify which fields to include or exclude in the returned document, use a projection.

All fields prefixed with $ are excluded by default and will only be returned if you include them in the projection. _id is included by default and will always be returned unless you exclude it from the projection.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.commands.options.CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Projection;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Find a document
    Filter filter = Filters.eq("metadata.language", "English");
    CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options =
        new CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions()
            .projection(Projection.include("is_checked_out", "title"));
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter, options);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Exclude specific fields from the response

To specify which fields to include or exclude in the returned document, use a projection.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClient;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.Collection;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.commands.options.CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions;
import com.datastax.astra.client.collections.definition.documents.Document;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Projection;
import java.util.Optional;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing collection
    Collection<Document> collection =
        new DataAPIClient("APPLICATION_TOKEN")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT")
            .getCollection("COLLECTION_NAME");

    // Find a document
    Filter filter = Filters.eq("metadata.language", "English");
    CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions options =
        new CollectionFindOneAndDeleteOptions()
            .projection(Projection.exclude("is_checked_out", "title"));
    Optional<Document> result = collection.findOneAndDelete(filter, options);
    System.out.println(result);
  }
}

Client reference

For more information, see the client reference.

Find and delete a document (Java)

Result

Parameters

Examples

Delete a document by ID

Delete a document that matches a filter

Delete a document that is most similar to a search vector

Delete a document that is most similar to a search string

Delete a document based on lexicographical matching

Delete a document after applying a non-vector sort

Include only specific fields in the response

Exclude specific fields from the response

Client reference

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