Azure DocumentDB lets you query JSON documents using familiar and friendly SQL syntax. If you know SQL, you can get up and running quickly with Azure DocumentDB – and we have an easy to print reference sheet to help you get started.

Download the SQL reference sheet

      If you've worked with relational databases, you'll find two key differences when writing queries on Azure DocumentDB.

1. You can query without specifying explicit schema or creating secondary indexes. This is possible due to DocumentDB's deep commitment to the JSON data model. Since JSON always contains metadata in the form of property names in addition to values, DocumentDB can determine the schema and index data as documents are inserted, and let you query against that index.
2. The SQL type system, expression evaluation, function invocation (UDFs) and other aspects of DocumentDB mirror that of JavaScript. DocumentDB is a JSON document database capable of executing JavaScript directly in the database engine, using JavaScript's programming model as the foundation for the query language.

Want to learn more?

Read the introduction for querying DocumentDB with SQL. If you prefer the functional programming style of JavaScript, we have support for JavaScript language integrated queries as an alternative to SQL.  

Ready to start applying your new DocumentDB query knowledge?

Get hands-on using the DocumentDB playground or start coding using one of the SDKs. If you need any help, please reach out to us through Stack Overflow, or schedule a 1:1 chat with the DocumentDB engineering team. To stay up to date on the latest DocumentDB news and features, follow us on Twitter @DocumentDB.