selget

Selget is a term used in information technology to denote a data access primitive that merges selection and retrieval into a single operation. The concept appears in theoretical discussions of query processing, data streaming, and database APIs, where efficiency is gained by evaluating a predicate while accessing storage or in-memory structures. In this article, selget refers to a data access primitive used in theoretical and practical discussions; it is not a universal standard.

Definition: Selget retrieves elements from a dataset that satisfy a given predicate and returns them as a sequence, stream, or cursor. Unlike a two-step pattern of first filtering then fetching, selget emphasizes a single pass where the predicate is evaluated during access, potentially reducing data movement.

Variants and semantics: Implementations vary. Some provide lazy evaluation and on-demand materialization; others return a fully materialized collection. Predicate support ranges from simple comparisons to complex boolean expressions. The exact semantics may differ across systems in terms of short-circuiting, null handling, and error behavior.

History and usage: The term selget is not a standardized operator with a universal specification. It appears in scholarly discussions and as a descriptive name for optimization ideas in data access. As a practical concept, it is often realized as a combination of filter conditions with a retrieval API in programming languages and database interfaces.

See also: filter, predicate pushdown, data retrieval, streaming API, cursor, projection.