Feature request: Join on Postgres JSONB functions

Feature Description

I have an array of IDs in a Postgres JSONB field that I need to join the secondary table on. Due to PG limitations such as inability to pass set-returning functions to Joins, I need to create a temporary table by Joining jsonb_array_elements_text.

TypeORM expects the first parameter of a Join method to be a table name. Passing in a JSONB method causes that to be wrapped in quotes, which expectedly fails. See below for code snippets.

The Problem

    queryBuilder
      .innerJoin("jsonb_array_elements_text(tableA.fields->'scIds')", "scid", "true")
      .addSelect("tableB.fields->>'number'", "container_number")
      .innerJoin(
        TableB,
        "tableB",
        "scid::uuid = tableB.id"
      )
      .orderBy("container_number", "ASC");

The desired SQL output is

SELECT ...
FROM "public"."tableA" "tableA" 
INNER JOIN jsonb_array_elements_text(tableA.fields->'scIds') scids on true 
INNER JOIN "public"."tableB" on scids::uuid = tableB.id
WHERE ... (conditions)

TypeORM expects a model name on Join methods which puts quotes around jsonb_array_elements_text and splits on ., resulting in:

INNER JOIN  "jsonb_array_elements_text(tableA"."fields->'scIds')"

The Solution

Two potential feature adds:

1. Detect json* in the first Join arg and don’t wrap it in quotes.
2. Add new methods such as rawInnerJoin and rawLeftJoin that use the first arg as-is without parsing.

Considered Alternatives

We crafted a subquery on the IDs array but it is VERY slow (8-10 seconds vs sub-second).

Relevant Database Driver(s)

DB Type	Relevant
aurora-data-api	no
aurora-data-api-pg	no
better-sqlite3	no
cockroachdb	no
cordova	no
expo	no
mongodb	no
mysql	no
nativescript	no
oracle	no
postgres	yes
react-native	no
sap	no
sqlite	no
sqlite-abstract	no
sqljs	no
sqlserver	no

Are you willing to resolve this issue by submitting a Pull Request?

• ✖️ Yes, I have the time, and I know how to start.
• ✅ Yes, I have the time, but I don’t know how to start. I would need guidance.
• ✖️ No, I don’t have the time, but I can support (using donations) development.
• ✖️ No, I don’t have the time and I’m okay to wait for the community / maintainers to resolve this issue.

[Ginden]

@peacechen I used CTE for short snippet purposes.

Query built using query builder can look like (I didn’t test it):

    queryBuilder
      .addSelect("tableB.fields->>'number'", "container_number")
      .innerJoin(
        TableB,
        "tableB",
        "tableB.id IN (SELECT v::uuid FROM json_array_elements_text(tableA"."fields->'scIds') t(v))"
      )
      .orderBy("container_number", "ASC");

Also, there is following overload for innerJoin method:

    innerJoin(subQueryFactory: (qb: SelectQueryBuilder<any>) => SelectQueryBuilder<any>, alias: string, condition?: string, parameters?: ObjectLiteral): this;

So you can join against subquery.

[Ginden]

I’m closing this issue - it seems to be out of scope for ORM to implement this unusual pattern, and there are workarounds.