Getting information about query results

Each time you query a database with the cfquery tag, you get the data (the record set) and the query variables; together these comprise the query object. The following table describes the query variables, which are sometimes referred to as query properties:

Variable

Description

RecordCount

The total number of records returned by the query.

ColumnList

A comma-delimited list of the query columns, in alphabetical order.

CurrentRow

The current row of the query being processed by cfoutput.

Variable	Description
RecordCount	The total number of records returned by the query.
ColumnList	A comma-delimited list of the query columns, in alphabetical order.
CurrentRow	The current row of the query being processed by `cfoutput`.

In your CFML code, you can use these variables as if they were columns in a database table.

To output the query record count on your page:

Edit emplist.cfm so that it appears as follows:

<html>
<head>
<title>Employee List</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Employee List</h1>
<cfquery name="EmpList" datasource="CompanyInfo">
  SELECT FirstName, LastName, Salary, Contract
  FROM Employee
</cfquery>
<cfoutput query="EmpList">
  #EmpList.FirstName#, #EmpList.LastName#, #EmpList.Salary#, #EmpList.Contract#<br>
</cfoutput>
<br>
<cfoutput>
  The query returned #EmpList.RecordCount# records.
</cfoutput>
</body>
</html>

Save the file and view it in your web browser:

The number of employees now appears below the list of employees. You might have to refresh your browser and scroll to see the RecordCount output.

Note: The variable cfquery.executionTime contains the amount of time, in milliseconds, it took for the query to complete. Do not prefix the variable name with the query name.

Reviewing the code

You now display the number of records retrieved in the query. The following table describes the code and its function:

Code

Description

<cfoutput>

Displays what follows.

The query returned

Displays the text "The query returned".

#EmpList.RecordCount#

Displays the number of records retrieved in the EmpList query.

records.

Displays the text "records..

</cfoutput>

Ends the cfoutput block.

Code	Description
<cfoutput>	Displays what follows.
The query returned	Displays the text "The query returned".
#EmpList.RecordCount#	Displays the number of records retrieved in the EmpList query.
records.	Displays the text "records..
</cfoutput>	Ends the `cfoutput` block.

Query variable notes and considerations

When using query variables, keep the following guidelines in mind:

Reference the query variable within a cfoutput block so that ColdFusion outputs the query variable value to the page.
Surround the query variable reference with pound signs (#) so that ColdFusion knows to replace the variable name with its current value.
Do not use the cfoutput tag query attribute when you output the RecordCount or ColumnList property. If you do, you get one copy of the output for each row. Instead, prefix the variable with the name of the query.

Developing ColdFusion MX Applications with CFML
Accessing and Retrieving Data

Getting information about query results

To output the query record count on your page:

Reviewing the code

Query variable notes and considerations

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