JQL is a nightmare

[DrChills]

So I wanted to see if anyone else has problems with JQL being the only way to filter and sort?

I find it insane that it's the only option. 

Typically it takes me about 20mins to google and then write JQL, but to be honest I just don't really bother - randomly scan-read tickets and picking them up.

Basic filter and sorting should be so easy to implement; A 'Filter' button at the top of the page, a side menu floats in, some checkboxes and selects = assigned to me, sort by priority, unassigned, with label blah

It's neither complicated nor revolutionary; it's just standard. Obviously, JQL is clever and powerful, but it's not for everyone. 

Try watching teams in the real world. I bet you'll see more people bumbling through Jira than you expect!

[Joel Ireland]

Personally I like JQL , but i am a heavy SQL user so i guess it just comes naturally. There is a "Non - Advanced " mode that lets you add and remove components to a filter. I believe you can get to this by using the filter creator. 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Most of my job has been working with teams who need to search Jira.  The basic search is enough for a big proportion of them.  Have you tried that?

But when they need to use JQL, most take to it like a duck to water, stumbling only on precedence (how have several clauses joined with and and or might work) and needing a bookmark for the functions references for the really clever stuff.

[Max Foerster - K15t]

I think Nic brought up a good point. The basic search is good for most of the users and of course the more "special" your search has to be, the more confident you have to be with writing good queries and using the right functions/operators/etc. . And the advanced search documentation is a must-have for that but at least the doc is pretty good :)

[Marc Isikoff]

JQL has some interesting tricks but ultimately it's shortcomings are the reason there is a marketplace and had they just used MySQL it would have been so much better. So many limitations of JQL are obvious that I cannot recommend it.

The saying "he basic search is enough for a big proportion of them.  Have you tried that?" is answered by "if you feel that way why does this thread exist?" 

I am now looking for a different support and project task system that uses SQL so people can do basic things like count and group by and basic joins.