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15.6. Example queries

The class org.hibernate.criterion.Example allows you to construct a query criterion from a given instance. 
Cat cat = new Cat();
cat.setSex('F');
cat.setColor(Color.BLACK);
List results = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
    .add( Example.create(cat) )
    .list();
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Version properties, identifiers and associations are ignored. By default, null valued properties are excluded.
You can adjust how the Example is applied. 
Example example = Example.create(cat)
    .excludeZeroes()           //exclude zero valued properties
    .excludeProperty("color")  //exclude the property named "color"
    .ignoreCase()              //perform case insensitive string comparisons
    .enableLike();             //use like for string comparisons
List results = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
    .add(example)
    .list();
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You can even use examples to place criteria upon associated objects. 
List results = session.createCriteria(Cat.class)
    .add( Example.create(cat) )
    .createCriteria("mate")
        .add( Example.create( cat.getMate() ) )
    .list();
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