Apex Developer Guide

Apex Developer Guide
Getting Started with Apex
Writing Apex
Data Types and Variables
Control Flow Statements
Classes, Objects, and Interfaces
Working with Data in Apex
Working with sObjects
Data Manipulation Language
SOQL and SOSL Queries
Working with SOQL and SOSL Query Results
Accessing sObject Fields Through Relationships
Understanding Foreign Key and Parent-Child Relationship SOQL Queries
Working with SOQL Aggregate Functions
Working with Very Large SOQL Queries
Using SOQL Queries That Return One Record
Improve Performance by Avoiding Null Values
Working with Polymorphic Relationships in SOQL Queries
Using Apex Variables in SOQL and SOSL Queries
Querying All Records with a SOQL Statement
SOQL For Loops
sObject Collections
Dynamic Apex
Apex Security and Sharing
Custom Settings
Running Apex
Debugging, Testing, and Deploying Apex
Apex Reference
Appendices
Glossary
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Using Apex Variables in SOQL and SOSL Queries

SOQL and SOSL statements in Apex can reference Apex code variables and expressions if they’re preceded by a colon (:). This use of a local code variable within a SOQL or SOSL statement is called a bind. The Apex parser first evaluates the local variable in code context before executing the SOQL or SOSL statement. Bind expressions can be used as:

  • The search string in FIND clauses.
  • The filter literals in WHERE clauses.
  • The value of the IN or NOT IN operator in WHERE clauses, allowing filtering on a dynamic set of values. Note that this is of particular use with a list of IDs or Strings, though it works with lists of any type.
  • The division names in WITH DIVISION clauses.
  • The numeric value in LIMIT clauses.
  • The numeric value in OFFSET clauses.

For example:

Apex bind variables aren’t supported for the units parameter in the DISTANCE function. This query doesn’t work.

Note