FiTL (Filter Table (Query) Language)

Pronounced like "Fiddle"

A simple easy to learn and remember language used to filter down a table of data within a simple string. Easy to implement, easy to write, but also easy to specify and detail.

How does it differ from SQL?

Designed specifically to write quickly in the moment
Filters single tables only (no joining tables or referencing other tables)
Super easy for non-programmer people to learn, though deep enough to master and create complex and detailed queries
Easy to quickly write within a text box, even on mobile (looking at you regex)

Real World Examples of Where This Would Be Implemented

Spotify Playlist/Liked Songs Search Box
- Query example: artist = Outkast & album != Idlewild
Product search pages
- Query example brand != Apple & (ram = 32GB | resolution = "2560x1440")

Writing queries

For programmers: writing queries is similar to writing boolean conditionals

For people who touch grass:

The simplest query is based on the base operation schema:

<column name> <comparison operation> <compared to value>

For example

artist = Prince

From a data table (for example a song playlist), will only return the rows where the artist() is equal to Prince

This can be expanded upon with a boolean operator to combine operations

artist = Prince & title = "When Doves Cry"

You can inverse this filter by an exclamation point (parentheses are recommended, but not required)

!(artist = Prince & title = "When Doves Cry")

Like in PEMDAS, Operations are executed from left to right. Parentheses, like in math, will prioritize operations in a specified order.

album = 1999 | (artist = Prince & title = "When Doves Cry")

Also on the topic of word odering: no, Yodaing is not allowed

Prince = artist // Will not work

A somewhat extreme example:

artist ^= 2Pac | artist =: pac | artist = Makaveli & (album =: theory or title =: "Ain't Hard 2 Find")

Symbols Dictionary

T -> Generic Symbol (For below chart purposes only)

<value> -> inputted value

Word	Symbol	Description
not	!T	Negates Operation
is / equals	=	Exact match
contains	=:	Left contains right (Nickolas Picklous =: Nick)
isin	:=	Right contains left (Nick := Nickolas Picklous)
lessthan	<	"Less than" comparison of numbers or of characters/strings based on ASCII value of characters
morethan	>	"greater than" comparison of numbers or of characters/strings based on ASCII value of characters
lessthanequals	<=	"Less than or equals" comparison of numbers or of characters/strings based on ASCII value of characters
morethan	>=	"greater than or equals" comparison of numbers or of characters/strings based on ASCII value of characters
or	\|	Or boolean operation
and	&	And boolean operation
Parenthesis	()	Prioritizes statements inside parenthesis
NA	""	Combines multiple words into single string. Necessary for multi-worded tokens, optional for single worded tokens
NA	^T	Makes statement case sensitive queries are case insensitive by default

Slad3/FilterTableQueryLanguage