# Built-in Functions The built-in functions described in this page are usable from DeltaStream SQL [streaming queries](/overview/core-concepts/queries.md#streaming_or_continuous_query). ## Aggregate Functions | SQL Function | Description | | -------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | COUNT(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the number of distinct input rows for which the `expression` is not `NULL`. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | COUNT(\*) | Returns the number of input rows. | | AVG(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the average (arithmetic mean) of `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. Precision is only added if `expression` is of type `DECIMAL`. See [Data Types](/reference/sql-syntax/data-types.md#numeric) for more information on numeric data types. | | SUM(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the sum of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | MAX(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the maximum value of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | MIN(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the minimum value of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | STDDEV\_POP(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the population standard deviation of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | STDDEV\_SAMP(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the sample standard deviation of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | VAR\_POP(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the population variance (square of the population standard deviation) of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | VAR\_SAMP(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | By default or with ALL, returns the sample variance (square of the sample standard deviation) of the `expression` across all input rows. Use DISTINCT for one unique instance of each value. | | VARIANCE(\[ ALL \| DISTINCT] expression) | Synonyms for `VAR_SAMP()`. | | FIRST\_VALUE(expression) | Returns the first value in an ordered set of values. | | LAST\_VALUE(expression) | Returns the last value in an ordered set of values. | | LISTAGG(expression \[, separator]) | Concatenates the values of string `expression` and places separator values between them. The `separator` is not added at the end of string. The default value of `separator` is `,`. | | DS\_LAG\_\(value \, integer) |

Returns the value at integer number of rows before the current row in the window. The type of the value must match the DS\_LAG\_\ function and must not be NULL.

If no such value can be found, NULL is returned.

Note: if your value is nullable, one workaround is to use the IFNULL function to change nulls to some other value.
Example: DS\_LAG\_VARCHAR(IFNULL(col1, 'EMPTY'), 2)

| ## Arithmetic Functions | Function | Description | | ---------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | + numeric | Returns `numeric`. | | - numeric | Returns negative `numeric`. | | numeric1 + numeric2 | Returns `numeric1` plus `numeric2`. | | numeric1 - numeric2 | Return `numeric1` minus `numeric2`. | | numeric1 \* numberic2 | Returns `numeric1` multiplied by `numeric2`. | | numeric1 / numeric2 | Returns `numeric1` divided by `numeric2`. | | numeric1 % numeric2 | Returns the remainder (modulus) of `numeric1` divided by `numeric2`. The result is negative only if `numeric1` is negative. | | POWER(numeric1, numeric2) | `numeric1` to the power of `numeric2`. | | ABS(numeric) | Returns the absolute value of `numeric`. | | SQRT(numeric) | Returns the square root of `numeric`. | | LN(numeric) | Returns the natural logarithm (base e) of `numeric`. | | LOG10(numeric) | Returns the base 10 logarithm of `numeric`. | | LOG2(numeric) | Returns the base 2 logarithm of `numeric`. | | LOG(numeric1 \[, numeric2]) | When called with one argument, returns the natural logarithm of `numeric2`. When called with two arguments, this function returns the logarithm of `numeric2` to the base `numeric1`. `numeric2` must be greater than `0` and `numeric1` must be greater than `1`. | | EXP(numeric) | Returns e raised to the power of `numeric`. | |

CEIL(numeric)
CEILING(numeric)

| Rounds `numeric` up, and returns the smallest number that is greater than or equal to `numeric`. | | FLOOR(numeric) | Rounds `numeric` down, and returns the largest number that is less than or equal to `numeric`. | | SIN(numeric) | Returns the sine of `numeric`. | | SINH(numeric) | Returns the hyperbolic sine of `numeric`. The return type is `DOUBLE`. | | COS(numeric) | Returns the cosine of `numeric`. | | TAN(numeric) | Returns the tangent of `numeric`. | | TANH(numeric) | Returns the hyperbolic tangent of `numeric`. The return type is `DOUBLE`. | | COT(numeric) | Returns the cotangent of a `numeric`. | | ASIN(numeric) | Returns the arc sine of `numeric`. | | ACOS(numeric) | Returns the arc cosine of `numeric`. | | ATAN(numeric) | Returns the arc tangent of `numeric`. | | ATAN2(numeric1, numeric2) | Returns the arc tangent of a coordinate `(numeric1, numeric2)`. | | COSH(numeric) | Returns the hyperbolic cosine of `numeric`. Return value type is `DOUBLE`. | | DEGREES(numeric) | Returns the degree representation of a radian `numeric`. | | RADIANS(numeric) | Returns the radian representation of a degree `numeric`. | | SIGN(numeric) | Returns the signum of `numeric`. | | ROUND(numeric, integer) | Returns a number rounded to `integer` decimal places for `numeric`. | | PI() | Returns a value that is closer than any other values to pi. | | E() | Returns a value that is closer than any other values to e. | | RAND() | Returns a pseudorandom double value in the range \[0.0, 1.0) | | RAND(integer) | Returns a pseudorandom double value in the range \[0.0, 1.0) with an initial seed `integer`. Two `RAND` functions will return identical sequences of numbers if they have the same initial seed. | | RAND\_INTEGER(integer) | Returns a pseudorandom integer value in the range \[0, `integer`). | | RAND\_INTEGER(integer1, integer2) | Returns a pseudorandom integer value in the range \[0, `integer2`) with an initial seed `integer1`. Two `RAND_INTGER` functions will return identical sequences of numbers if they have the same initial seed and bound. | | UUID() | Returns a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) string (e.g., `3d3c68f7-f608-473f-b60c-b0c44ad4cc4e`) according to RFC 4122 type 4 (pseudo randomly generated) UUID. The UUID is generated using a cryptographically strong pseudo random number generator. | | BIN(integer) | Returns a string representation of `integer` in binary format. Returns `NULL`, if `integer` is `NULL`. | |

HEX(numeric)
HEX(string)

| Returns a string representation of an integer `numeric` value or a `string` in hex format. Returns `NULL`, if the argument is `NULL`. | | TRUNCATE(numeric1 \[, integer2]) |

Returns a numeric of truncated to integer2 decimal places. Returns NULL, if numeric1 or integer2 is NULL. If integer2 is 0, the result has no decimal point or fractional part. integer2 can be negative to cause integer2 digits left of the decimal point of the value to become zero.

This function can also pass in only one numeric1 parameter and not set Integer2 to use. If Integer2 is not set, the function truncates as if Integer2 were 0.

| ## Collection Functions | Function | Description | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `CARDINALITY(array)` | Returns the number of elements in `array`. See [Data Types](/reference/sql-syntax/data-types.md) for defining an `Array` data. | ## Comparison Functions | Function | Description | | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | value1 = value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if value1 is equal to `value2`; returns `NULL`, if `value1` or `value2` is `NULL`. | | value1 <> value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is not equal to `value2`; returns `NULL`, if `value1` or `value2` is `NULL`. | | value1 > value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is greater than `value2`; returns `NULL`, if `value1` or `value2` is `NULL`. | | value1 >= value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is greater than or equal to `value2`; returns `NULL`, if `value1` or `value2` is `NULL`. | | value1 < value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is less than `value2`; returns `NULL`, if `value1` or `value2` is `NULL`. | | value1 <= value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is less than or equal to `value2`; returns `NULL`, if `value1` or `value2` is `NULL`. | | value IS NULL | Returns `TRUE`, if value is `NULL`. | | value IS NOT NULL | Returns `TRUE`, if value is `NULL`. | | value1 IS DISTINCT FROM value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if two values are different. `NULL` values are treated as identical. | | value1 IS NOT DISTINCT FROM value2 | Returns `TRUE`, if two values are equal. `NULL` values are treated as identical. | | value1 BETWEEN value2 AND value3 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is greater than or equal to `value2` and less than or equal to `value3`. When either `value2` or `value3` is `NULL`, returns `FALSE` or `NULL`. | | value1 NOT BETWEEN value2 AND value3 | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` is less than `value2` or greater than `value3`. When either `value2` or `value3` is `NULL`, returns `TRUE` or `NULL`. | | string1 LIKE string2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `string1` matches pattern `string2`; returns `NULL`, if `string1` or `string2` is `NULL`. | | string1 NOT LIKE string2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `string1` does not match pattern `string2`; returns `NULL` if `string1` or `string2` is `NULL`. | | value1 IN (value2 \[, value3]\* ) | Returns `TRUE`, if `value1` exists in the given list `(value2, value3, …)`. When `(value2, value3, …)`. contains `NULL`, returns `TRUE`, if the element can be found and `NULL` otherwise. Always returns `NULL` if `value1` is `NULL`. | | value1 NOT IN (value2 \[, value3]\* ) | Returns `TRUE` if value1 does not exist in the given list `(value2, value3, …)`. When `(value2, value3, …)`. contains `NULL`, returns `FALSE` if `value1` can be found and `NULL` otherwise. Always returns `NULL` if `value1` is `NULL`. | ## Conditional Functions | Function | Description | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | CASE value WHEN value1\_1 \[, value1\_2]\* THEN RESULT1 (WHEN value2\_1 \[, value2\_2 ]\* THEN result\_2)\* (ELSE result\_z) END | Returns `resultX` when the first time value is contained in (`valueX_1`, `valueX_2`, …). When no value matches, returns `result_z`, if it is provided and returns `NULL` otherwise. | | CASE WHEN condition1 THEN result1 (WHEN condition2 THEN result2)\* (ELSE result\_z) END | Returns `resultX` when the first `conditionX` is met. When no condition is met, returns `result_z`, if it is provided and returns `NULL` otherwise. | | NULLIF(value1, value2) | Returns `NULL` if `value1` is equal to `value2`; returns `value1` otherwise. | | COALESCE(value1 \[, value2]\*) |

Returns the first argument that is not NULL.

If all arguments are NULL, the query fails. The return type is the least restrictive and common type of all of its arguments. The return type is nullable if all arguments are nullable as well.

| | IF(condition, true\_value, false\_value) | Returns the `true_value` if the condition is met, otherwise `false_value`. | | IFNULL(input, null\_replacement) |

Returns null\_replacement if input is NULL; otherwise input is returned.

Compared to COALESCE or CASE WHEN, this function returns a data type that is very specific in terms of nullability. The returned type is the common type of both arguments but only nullable if the null\_replacement is nullable.

The function allows to pass nullable columns into a function or table that is declared with a NOT NULL constraint.

| | IS\_ALPHA(string) | Returns `TRUE` if all characters in `string` are letter; otherwise `FALSE`. | | IS\_DECIMAL(string) | Returns `TRUE` if `string` can be parsed to a valid numeric; otherwise `FALSE`. | | IS\_DIGIT(string) | Returns `TRUE`, if all characters in `string` are digits; otherwise `FALSE`. | | GREATEST(value1\[, value2]\*) | Returns the greatest value of the list of arguments. Returns `NULL`, if any argument is `NULL`. | | LEAST(value1\[, value2]\*) | Returns the least value of the list of arguments. Returns `NULL`, if any argument is `NULL`. | ## Hash Functions | Function | Description | | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | MD5(string) | Returns the MD5 hash of `string` as a string of 32 hexadecimal digits; returns `NULL`, if `string` is `NULL`. | | SHA1(string) | Returns the SHA-1 hash of `string` as a string of 40 hexadecimal digits; returns `NULL`, if `string` is `NULL`. | | SHA224(string) | Returns the SHA-224 hash of `string` as a string of 56 hexadecimal digits; returns `NULL`, if `string` is `NULL`. | | SHA256(string) | Returns the SHA-256 hash of `string` as a string of 64 hexadecimal digits; returns `NULL`, if `string` is `NULL`. | | SHA384(string) | Returns the SHA-384 hash of `string` as a string of 96 hexadecimal digits; returns `NULL`, if `string` is `NULL`. | | SHA512(string) | Returns the SHA-512 hash of `string` as a string of 128 hexadecimal digits; returns `NULL`, if `string` is `NULL`. | | SHA2(string, hashLength) | Returns the hash of `string` using the SHA-2 family of hash functions (SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512). `hashLength` is the bit length of the result (`224`, `256`, `384`, or `512`). Returns `NULL`, if `string` or `hashLength` is `NULL`. | | DS\_HASHUUID(string) | Returns the hash of `string` to a UUID (returned as a String) generated from the `string` bytes. | ## JSON Functions
FunctionDescription
JSON_VALUE(jsonString, path [RETURNING ] [ { NULL | ERROR | DEFAULT } ON EMPTY ] [ { NULL | ERROR | DEFAULT } ON ERROR ])

Extracts a scalar from a JSON string.

This method searches a JSON string for a given path expression and returns the value if the value at that path is scalar. Non-scalar values cannot be returned. By default, the value is returned as VARCHAR. Using dataType a different type can be chosen, with the following types being supported:

  • VARCHAR
  • BOOLEAN
  • INTEGER
  • DOUBLE

For empty path expressions or errors a behavior can be defined to either return null, raise an error or return a defined default value instead. When omitted, the default is NULL ON EMPTY or NULL ON ERROR, respectively. The default value may be a literal or an expression. If the default value itself raises an error, it falls through to the error behavior for ON EMPTY, and raises an error for ON ERROR.

For path contains special characters such as spaces, you can use ['property'] or ["property"] to select the specified property in a parent object. Be sure to put single or double quotes around the property name. When using JSON_VALUE in SQL, the path is a character parameter which is already single quoted, so you have to escape the single quotes around property name, such as JSON_VALUE('{"a b": "true"}', '$.[''a b'']').

-- "true"
JSON_VALUE('{"a": true}', '$.a')
-- TRUE
JSON_VALUE('{"a": true}', '$.a' RETURNING BOOLEAN)
-- "false"
JSON_VALUE('{"a": true}', 'lax $.b'
DEFAULT FALSE ON EMPTY)
-- "false"
JSON_VALUE('{"a": true}', 'strict $.b'
DEFAULT FALSE ON ERROR)
-- 0.998D
JSON_VALUE('{"a.b": [0.998,0.996]}','$.["a.b"][0]'
RETURNING DOUBLE)
-- "right"
JSON_VALUE('{"contains blank": "right"}', 'strict $.[''contains blank'']' NULL ON EMPTY DEFAULT 'wrong' ON ERROR)
JSON_QUERY(jsonString, path [RETURNING ] [ { WITHOUT | WITH CONDITIONAL | WITH UNCONDITIONAL } [ ARRAY ] WRAPPER ] [ { NULL | EMPTY ARRAY | EMPTY OBJECT | ERROR } ON EMPTY ] [ { NULL | EMPTY ARRAY | EMPTY OBJECT | ERROR } ON ERROR ])

Extracts JSON values from a JSON string.

The result is returned as a VARCHAR or ARRAY<VARCHAR>. This can be controlled with the RETURNING clause.

The wrappingBehavior determines whether the extracted value should be wrapped into an array, and whether to do so unconditionally or only if the value itself isn’t an array already.

onEmpty and onError determine the behavior in case the path expression is empty, or in case an error was raised, respectively. By default, in both cases null is returned. Other choices are to use an empty array, an empty object, or to raise an error.

-- '{ "b": 1 }'
JSON_QUERY('{ "a": { "b": 1 } }', '$.a')
-- '[1, 2]'
JSON_QUERY('[1, 2]', '$')
-- NULL
JSON_QUERY(CAST(NULL AS VARCHAR), '$')
-- '["c1","c2"]'
JSON_QUERY('{"a":[{"c":"c1"},{"c":"c2"}]}',
'lax $.a[].c')
-- ['c1','c2']
JSON_QUERY('{"a":[{"c":"c1"},{"c":"c2"}]}', 'lax $.a[].c' RETURNING ARRAY<VARCHAR>)
-- Wrap result into an array
-- '[{}]'
JSON_QUERY('{}', '$' WITH CONDITIONAL ARRAY WRAPPER)
-- '[1, 2]'
JSON_QUERY('[1, 2]', '$' WITH CONDITIONAL ARRAY WRAPPER)
-- '[[1, 2]]'
JSON_QUERY('[1, 2]', '$' WITH UNCONDITIONAL ARRAY WRAPPER)
-- Scalars must be wrapped to be returned
-- NULL
JSON_QUERY(1, '$')
-- '[1]'
JSON_QUERY(1, '$' WITH CONDITIONAL ARRAY WRAPPER)
-- Behavior if path expression is empty / there is an error
-- '{}'
JSON_QUERY('{}', 'lax $.invalid' EMPTY OBJECT ON EMPTY)
-- '[]'
JSON_QUERY('{}', 'strict $.invalid' EMPTY ARRAY ON ERROR)
DS_JSON_MAP(jsonString)

Converts a JSON string to a Map of keys and values. The result is returned as a MAP<VARCHAR, VARCHAR> . An empty Map is returned if the input is null or an empty string.

DS_JSON_MAP('{"a.b": [0.998,0.996]')
-- MAP["a.b": "[0.998,0.996]"]
DS_JSON_MAP('')
-- MAP[]
DS_JSON_MAP(null)
-- MAP[]
DS_JSON_MAP('{"a.b": [0.998,0.996], "a":[{"c":"c1"},{"c":"c2"}], "b": { "b": 1 } }}')
-- MAP["a": "[{"c":"c1"},{"c":"c2"}]", "b": "{"b":1}", "a.b": "[0.998,0.996]"]
## Logical Functions | Function | Description | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | boolean1 OR boolean2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `boolean1` is `TRUE` or `boolean2` is `TRUE`. Supports three-valued logic. | | boolean1 AND boolean2 | Returns `TRUE`, if `boolean1` and `boolean2` are both `TRUE`. Supports three-valued logic. | | NOT boolean | Returns `TRUE`, if `boolean` is `FALSE`; returns `FALSE`, if `boolean` is `TRUE`; returns `NULL`, if `boolean` is `NULL`. | ## Offset Functions These functions are used in the scope of the [MATCH\_RECOGNIZE](/reference/sql-syntax/query/select/match_recognize.md) operator: | Function | Description | | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | LAST(variable.column \[, n]) |

Returns the value of the column from the record that was mapped to the n-th last element of the variable. The counting starts at the last element mapped.

If n is not provided, the last occurance of the variable definition is returned.

| | FIRST(variable.column \[, n]) |

Returns the value of the column from the record that was mapped to the n-th element of the variable. The counting starts at the first element mapped.

If n is not provided, the first occurance of the variable definition is returned.

| ## String Functions | Function | Description | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | string1 \|\| string2 | Returns the concatenation of `string1` and `string2`. | | CHAR\_LENGTH(string) CHARACTER\_LENGTH(string) | Returns the number of characters in `string`. | | UPPER(string) | Returns `string` in uppercase. | | LOWER(string) | Returns `string` in lowercase. | | POSITION(string1 IN string2) | Returns the position (start from 1) of the first occurrence of `string1` in `string2`; returns `0` if `string1` cannot be found in `string2`. | | TRIM(\[ BOTH \| LEADING \| TRAILING ] string1 FROM string2) | Returns a string that removes leading and/or trailing characters `string2` from `string2`. By default, whitespaces at both sides are removed. | | LTRIM(string) | Returns a string that removes the left whitespaces from `string`. | | RTRIM(string) | Returns a string that removes the right whitespaces from `string`. | | REPEAT(string, integer) | Returns a string that repeats the base `string`, `integer` times. | | REGEXP\_REPLACE(string1, string2, string3) | Returns a string from `string1` with all the substrings that match a regular expression `string2` consecutively being replaced with `string3`. | | OVERLAY(string1 PLACING string2 FROM integer1 \[ FOR integer2 ]) | Returns a string that replaces `integer2` (`string2`’s length by default) characters of `string1` with `string2` from position `integer1`. | | SUBSTRING(string FROM integer1 \[ FOR integer2 ]) | Returns a substring of `string` starting from position `integer1` with length `integer2` (to the end by default). | | REPLACE(string1, string2, string3) | Returns a new string which replaces all the occurrences of `string2` with `string3` (non-overlapping) from `string1`. | | REGEXP\_EXTRACT(string1, string2\[, integer]) |

Returns a string from string1, which extracted with a specified regular expression string2 and a regex match group index integer.

The regex match group index starts from 1 and 0 means matching the whole regex. In addition, the regex match group index should not exceed the number of the defined groups.

| | INITCAP(string) | Returns a new form of `string` with the first character of each word converted to uppercase and the rest characters to lowercase. Here a word means a sequence of alphanumeric characters. | | CONCAT(string1, string2,...) | Returns a string that concatenates `string1`, `string2`, … Returns `NULL`, if any argument is `NULL`. | | CONCAT\_WS(string1, string2, string3,...) | Returns a string that concatenates `string2`, `string3`, … with a separator `string1`. The separator is added between the strings to be concatenated. Returns `NULL`, If `string1` is `NULL`. Compared with `CONCAT()`, `CONCAT_WS()` automatically skips `NULL` arguments. | | LPAD(string1, integer, string2) | Returns a new string from `string1` left-padded with `string2` to a length of `integer` characters. If the length of `string1` is shorter than `integer`, returns `string1` shortened to `integer` characters. | | RPAD(string1, integer, string2) | Returns a new string from `string1` right-padded with `string2` to a length of `integer` characters. If the length of `string1` is shorter than `integer`, returns `string1` shortened to `integer` characters. | | FROM\_BASE64(string) | Returns the base64-decoded result from `string`; returns `NULL`, if string is `NULL`. | | TO\_BASE64(string) | Returns the base64-encoded result from `string`; returns `NULL`, if string is `NULL`. | | DS\_FROMBASE64(string) | Returns the decoded bytes as a value of the data type `BYTES` for a base64-encoded `string`; returns `NULL`, if string is `NULL`. | | DS\_TOBASE64(bytes) | Returns the base64-encoded `string` from `BYTES` ; returns `NULL`, if input bytes argument is `NULL`. | | ASCII(string) | Returns the numeric value of the first character of string. Returns `NULL` if string is `NULL`. | | CHR(integer) | Returns the ASCII character having the binary equivalent to an `integer`. If an `integer` is larger than 255, we will get the modulus of integer divided by 255 first, and returns `CHR` of the modulus. Returns `NULL`, if integer is `NULL`. | | DECODE(binary, string) | Decodes `binary` into a `STRING` using the `string` character set. Valid character sets are `US-ASCII`, `ISO-8859-1`, `UTF-8`, `UTF-16BE`, `UTF-16LE`, `UTF-16`. If either argument is `NULL`, the result will also be `NULL`. | | ENCODE(string1, string2) | Encodes `string1` into a `BINARY` using `string2` character set. Valid character sets are `US-ASCII`, `ISO-8859-1`, `UTF-8`, `UTF-16BE`, `UTF-16LE`, `UTF-16`. If either argument is `NULL`, the result will also be `NULL`. | | INSTR(string1, string2) | Returns the position of the first occurrence of `string2` in `string1`. Returns `NULL`, if any of the arguments is `NULL`. | | LEFT(string, integer) | Returns the leftmost `integer` characters from the `string`. Returns `EMPTY` String, if `integer` is negative. Returns `NULL`, if any argument is `NULL`. | | RIGHT(string, integer) | Returns the rightmost `integer` characters from the `string`. Returns `EMPTY` String, if `integer` is negative. Returns `NULL` if any argument is `NULL`. | | LOCATE(string1, string2\[, integer]) | Returns the position of the first occurrence of `string1` in `string2` after position `integer`. Returns `0`, if not found. Returns `NULL`, if any argument is `NULL`. | | PARSE\_URL(string1, string2\[, string3]) |

Returns the specified part from the URL. Valid values for string2 include HOST, PATH, QUERY, REF, PROTOCOL, AUTHORITY, FILE, and USERINFO. Returns NULL if any argument is NULL.

A value of a particular key in string1 can also be extracted by providing the key as the third argument string3.

| | REGEXP(string1, string2) | Returns `TRUE` if any (possibly empty) substring of `string1` matches the Java regular expression `string2`; otherwise `FALSE`. Returns `NULL`, if an argument is `NULL`. | | REVERSE(string) | Returns the reversed string. Returns `NULL` if string is `NULL`. | | SPLIT\_INDEX(string1, string2, integer) | Splits `string1` by the delimiter `string2`, returns the `integer` index (zero-based) string of the split strings. Returns `NULL`, if `integer` is negative. Returns `NULL`, if any argument is `NULL`. | | STR\_TO\_MAP(string1\[, string2, string3]) | Returns a map after splitting the `string1` into key/value pairs using delimiters. `string2` is the pair delimiter, default is `,`. And `string3` is the key-value delimiter, default is `=`. Both the pair delimiter and key-value delimiter are treated as regular expressions. So special characters (e.g. `<([{\^-=$!\|]})?*+.>`) need to be properly escaped before using as a delimiter literally. | | SUBSTR(string, integer1\[, integer2]) | Returns a substring of `string` starting from position `integer1` with length `integer2` (to the end by default). | ## Temporal Functions | Function | Description | | --------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | DATE string | Returns a SQL date parsed from `string` in form of `yyyy-MM-dd`. | | TIME string | Returns a SQL time parsed from `string` in form of `HH:mm:ss`. | | NOW() | Returns the current SQL timestamp in the local time zone; this is a synonym of `CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()`. | | CURRENT\_ROW\_TIMESTAMP() | Returns the current SQL timestamp in the local time zone; the return type is `TIMESTAMP_LTZ(3)`. It is evaluated for each record no matter in batch or streaming mode. | | EXTRACT(timeinteravlunit FROM temporal) | Returns a long value extracted from the `timeintervalunit` part of `temporal`. | | YEAR(date) | Returns the year from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(YEAR FROM date)`. | | QUARTER(date) | Returns the quarter of a year (an integer between 1 and 4) from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(QUARTER FROM date)`. | | MONTH(date) | Returns the month of a year (an integer between 1 and 12) from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(MONTH FROM date)`. | | WEEK(date) | Returns the week of a year (an integer between 1 and 53) from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(WEEK FROM date)`. | | DAYOFYEAR(date) | Returns the day of a year (an integer between 1 and 366) from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(DOY FROM date)`. | | DAYOFMONTH(date) | Returns the day of a month (an integer between 1 and 31) from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(DAY FROM date)`. | | DAYOFWEEK(date) | Returns the day of a week (an integer between 1 and 7) from the SQL date. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(DOW FROM date)`. | | HOUR(timestamp) | Returns the hour of a day (an integer between 0 and 23) from the SQL timestamp. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(HOUR FROM timestamp)`. | | MINUTE(timestamp) | Returns the minute of an hour (an integer between 0 and 59) from the SQL timestamp. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(MINUTE FROM timestamp)`. | | SECOND(timestamp) | Returns the second of a minute (an integer between 0 and 59) from the SQL timestamp. Equivalent to `EXTRACT(SECOND FROM timestamp)`. | | FLOOR(timepoint TO timeintervalunit) | Returns a value that rounds the `timepoint` down to the time unit `timeintervalunit`. | | CEIL(timepoint TO timeintervaluntit) | Returns a value that rounds the `timepoint` up to the time unit `timeintervalunit`. | | CONVERT\_TZ(string1, string2, string3) | Converts a datetime `string1` (with default ISO timestamp format `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss`) from time zone `string2` to time zone `string3`. The format of the time zone should be either an abbreviation such as `PST`, a full name such as `America/Los_Angeles`, or a custom ID such as `GMT-08:00`. | | FROM\_UNIXTIME(numeric\[, string]) | Returns a representation of the `numeric` argument as a value in `string` format (default is `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss`). `numeric` is an internal timestamp value representing seconds since `1970-01-01 00:00:00` UTC, such as produced by the `UNIX_TIMESTAMP()` function. The return value is expressed in the session time zone. | | UNIX\_TIMESTAMP() | Gets current Unix timestamp in seconds. This function is not deterministic, which means the value would be recalculated for each record. | | UNIX\_TIMESTAMP(string1\[, string2]) | Converts date time string `string1` in format `string2` (by default: `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss`, if not specified) to a Unix timestamp (in seconds), using the specified timezone in table config. | | TO\_DATE(string1\[, string2]) | Converts a date string `string1` with format `string2` (by default `yyyy-MM-dd`) to a date. | | TO\_TIMESTAMP\_LTZ(numeric, precision) | Converts epoch seconds or epoch milliseconds to a `TIMESTAMP_LTZ`; the valid precision is `0` or `3`, and the `0` represents `TO_TIMESTAMP_LTZ(epochSeconds, 0)`, the `3` represents `TO_TIMESTAMP_LTZ(epochMilliseconds, 3)`. | | TO\_TIMESTAMP(string1\[, string2]) | Converts date time string `string1` with format `string2` (by default: `yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss`) under the `UTC+0` time zone to a timestamp. | | DS\_TOEPOCH(\) | Converts a `TIMESTAMP_LTZ` instance (in the UTC time zone) to its epoch milliseconds. | ## Type Conversion Functions | Function | Description | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | CAST(expression AS datatype) | Returns a new value being cast to `datatype`. A `CAST()` error throws an exception and stops a query. When performing a cast operation that may fail, like `STRING` to `INTEGER`, one should rather use `TRY_CAST()`, in order to handle errors. | | TRY\_CAST(expression AS datatype) | Like `CAST()`, but in case of error, returns `NULL` rather than failing the query. | ## Value Construction Functions | SQL Function | Description | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | STRUCT(expression \[, expression, ...]) |

Returns a new STRUCT\ created from a list of items (expression1item, expression2item, …) from (expression1, expression2, ...), respectively.

This function requires at least two expressions to construct a new value.
The return value yields a new STRUCT<> column data type. See /pages/RVSlBTxhanmYZDFNrAJB#constructed-data-types for more information.

See CAST() and TRY\_CAST() for user-defined field names for constructing a new STRUCT\ value.

| | MAP\[expression := expression \[, expression := expression, ...]] |

Returns a MAP\ created from a list of key-value pairs ((k1, v1), (k2, v2), …).

See /pages/RVSlBTxhanmYZDFNrAJB#constructed-data-types for more information.

| | ARRAY\[expression \[, expression, ...]] |

Returns an ARRAY\ created from a list of items (v1, v2, …).

See /pages/RVSlBTxhanmYZDFNrAJB#constructed-data-types for more information.

| *We use* [*Apache Flink®*](https://flink.apache.org/) *as our processing engine, and most of these functions come fully-supported with Flink® out of the box. We'd like to thank and give credit to the Flink® contributors and community for providing a great open source project.* --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.deltastream.io/reference/sql-syntax/query/functions/built-in-functions.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.