This session provides methods for searching Package objects. The search query is constructed using the PackageQuery. The package record Type also specifies the record for the package query.

getPackagesByQuery() is the basic search method and returns a list of Packages. A more advanced search may be performed with getPackagesBySearch(). It accepts a PackageSearch in addition to the query for the purpose of specifying additional options affecting the entire search, such as ordering. getPackagesBySearch() returns a PackageSearchResults that can be used to access the resulting PackageList or be used to perform a search within the result set through PackageSearch.

This session defines views that offer differing behaviors for searching.

• federated depot view: searches include packages in depots of which this depot is a ancestor in the depot hierarchy
• isolated depot view: searches are restricted to packages in this depot
• normalized version view: multiple versions of the same package are suppressed
• denormalized version vew: all versions of an installation are returned
• normalized dependency view: supporting installations upon which other installations depend are suppressed
• denormalized dependency view: all dependencies are returned

Packages may have a query record indicated by their respective record types. The query record is accessed via the PackageQuery.