Query
A specific question the app asks the database, like "all unpaid invoices from this month, newest first."
What it is
A query is a request for particular data: which records, filtered how, sorted in what order, how many. Every list, count, or report on screen comes from a query.
You don't have to write them, but describing them precisely helps: "show the 10 most recent orders over $100 for this customer" is a query in plain language.
Slow screens are often caused by queries that fetch far more than they need. "Only load the first 25" is a fix you can ask for.
How to ask for it
“Show the important orders on the dashboard.”
“On the dashboard, query orders that are unpaid and older than 30 days, sorted oldest first, limited to 10. Show the total count of all matching orders above the list.”
"Important orders" depends on who's reading; describing the query (filter, sort, limit) makes it exact.
You've seen this in
- Y"Unread" in your inbox
- SSpotify's "Recently played"
- AA sales report for last quarter