Difference between dot-walk and getElement()

[Nam Nguyen]

Hi folks

Is there be any difference between the following, specifically in terms of performance?

var value = current.request_item.cat_item;

var value = current.getElement('request_item.cat_item');

Thanks

[Chuck Tomasi · Accepted solution]

Hi Nam,

As far as I know, there's no difference in performance. Both return a GlideElement object. That being said, based on the script you wrote, you are looking for a value and for that you would want getValue() which doesn't work on dot-walking. I haven't tried getElement() with a dot-walk notation. Have you seen it used somewhere? Test it and let me know.

http://wiki.servicenow.com/index.php?title=GlideElement#gsc.tab=0

[Nam Nguyen]

Thanks Chuck,

I've just tested the dot-walked element as above and it does appear to work

Do you know if there is any more efficient way than referencing the GlideElement though?

[Chuck Tomasi]

Hi Nam,

Dot-walking and getElement() are the two ways to get the GlideElement information.

You ask about performance an efficiency. Are you experiencing issues or just trying to be proactive?

[Nam Nguyen]

Hi Chuck,

Yeap I'm having a bit of issue implementing a query restriction, I found that it runs multiple time when, says, a list of parent records is brought up. It slows down the whole system considerably due to that it has to run 4-5 queries on top of the original