Explicit and Implicit Syntax

Here is a simple query that retrieves all documents from the Orders collection.

//Declare a data node
with {from Orders} as orders
    
//Create the search pattern
match 
    (orders)

It uses an explicit syntax: nodes and edges are explicitly declared using a with clause before including them in the search pattern.

And here is a second query, exactly equivalent to the first, that uses an implicit syntax.

//Create the search pattern
match
    (Orders as orders)

Implicit queries allow you to include nodes and edges in your search pattern without explicitly declaring them first, inviting RavenDB to declare them automatically.

The two queries produce the exact same results:

Explicitly Declaring Data Elements

• Declaring Data Nodes
  Declare a data node using a with clause with curly brackets.
  Provide each node with a unique alias.

  The following query retrieves all documents from the Products collection.

  //Declare a data node
  with {from Products} as products
      
  match 
      (products)

  

  Data Nodes: Products

• Declaring Edges
  Declare an edge using a with edges clause with parentheses.
  Provide each edge with a unique alias.

  The following query shows the relations between products and their suppliers.

  //Declare data nodes
  with {from Products} as products
  with {from Suppliers} as suppliers
  
  //Declare an edge
  with edges (Supplier) as supplier
  
  match 
       (products)-
       [supplier]->
       (suppliers)

  Documents are retrieved from the Products collection, and each product is related to its supplier's profile by the edge: an ID string in the product's Supplier property.
  

  Edges between Products and Suppliers

Mixing Explicit and Implicit Declarations

You can freely mix and match the explicit and implicit syntaxes.
E.g. -

//Declare a data node
with {from Products} as products
    
//Create the search pattern with declared and undeclared elements
match 
     (products)-
     [Supplier as supplier]->
     (Suppliers as suppliers)