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$position
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Definition
$position
-
The
$position
modifier specifies the location in the array at which the$push
operator inserts elements. Without the$position
modifier, the$push
operator inserts elements to the end of the array. See $push modifiers for more information.To use the
$position
modifier, it must appear with the$each
modifier.{ $push: { <field>: { $each: [ <value1>, <value2>, ... ], $position: <num> } } }
Changed in version 3.6:
$position
can accept a negative array index value to indicate the position starting from the end, counting from (but not including) the last element of the array.<num>
indicates the position in the array, based on a zero-based index:- A non-negative number corresponds to the position in the array, starting from the beginning of the array. If the value of
<num>
is greater or equal to the length of the array, the$position
modifier has no effect and$push
adds elements to the end of the array. - A negative number corresponds to the position in the array, counting from (but not including) the last element of the array. For example,
-1
indicates the position just before the last element in the array. If you specify multiple elements in the$each
array, the last added element is in the specified position from the end. If the absolute value of<num>
is greater than or equal to the length of the array, the$push
adds elements to the beginning of the array.
- A non-negative number corresponds to the position in the array, starting from the beginning of the array. If the value of
Examples
Add Elements at the Start of the Array
Consider a collection students
that contains the following document:
{ "_id" : 1, "scores" : [ 100 ] }
The following operation updates the scores
field to add the elements 50
, 60
and 70
to the beginning of the array:
db.students.update(
{ _id: 1 },
{
$push: {
scores: {
$each: [ 50, 60, 70 ],
$position: 0
}
}
}
)
The operation results in the following updated document:
{ "_id" : 1, "scores" : [ 50, 60, 70, 100 ] }
Add Elements to the Middle of the Array
Consider a collection students
that contains the following document:
{ "_id" : 1, "scores" : [ 50, 60, 70, 100 ] }
The following operation updates the scores
field to add the elements 20
and 30
at the array index of 2
:
db.students.update(
{ _id: 1 },
{
$push: {
scores: {
$each: [ 20, 30 ],
$position: 2
}
}
}
)
The operation results in the following updated document:
{ "_id" : 1, "scores" : [ 50, 60, 20, 30, 70, 100 ] }
Use a Negative Index to Add Elements to the Array
Changed in version 3.6: $position
can accept a negative array index value to indicate the position starting from the end, counting from (but not including) the last element of the array. For example, -1
indicates the position just before the last element in the array.
Consider a collection students
that contains the following document:
{ "_id" : 1, "scores" : [ 50, 60, 20, 30, 70, 100 ] }
The following operation specifies -2
for the $position
to add 90
at the position two places before the last element, and then 80
at the position two places before the last element.
Important
With a negative index position, if you specify multiple elements in the $each
array, the last added element is in the specified position from the end.
db.students.update(
{ _id: 1 },
{
$push: {
scores: {
$each: [ 90, 80 ],
$position: -2
}
}
}
)
The operation results in the following updated document:
{ "_id" : 1, "scores" : [ 50, 60, 20, 30, 90, 80, 70, 100 ] }