Functions, operators, and conditionals

This topic is a compilation of functions, operators, and conditional expressions.

To learn more about how to call functions, function call rules, the SAFE prefix, and special types of arguments, see Function calls.


OPERATORS AND CONDITIONALS

Operators

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports operators. Operators are represented by special characters or keywords; they do not use function call syntax. An operator manipulates any number of data inputs, also called operands, and returns a result.

Common conventions:

  • Unless otherwise specified, all operators return NULL when one of the operands is NULL.
  • All operators will throw an error if the computation result overflows.
  • For all floating point operations, +/-inf and NaN may only be returned if one of the operands is +/-inf or NaN. In other cases, an error is returned.

Operator precedence

The following table lists all GoogleSQL operators from highest to lowest precedence, i.e., the order in which they will be evaluated within a statement.

Order of Precedence Operator Input Data Types Name Operator Arity
1 Field access operator STRUCT
Field access operator Binary
  Array subscript operator ARRAY Array position. Must be used with OFFSET or ORDINAL—see Array Functions . Binary
2 + All numeric types Unary plus Unary
  - All numeric types Unary minus Unary
  ~ Integer or BYTES Bitwise not Unary
3 * All numeric types Multiplication Binary
  / All numeric types Division Binary
  || STRING, BYTES, or ARRAY<T> Concatenation operator Binary
4 + All numeric types, DATE with INT64 Addition Binary
  - All numeric types, DATE with INT64 Subtraction Binary
5 << Integer or BYTES Bitwise left-shift Binary
  >> Integer or BYTES Bitwise right-shift Binary
6 & Integer or BYTES Bitwise and Binary
7 ^ Integer or BYTES Bitwise xor Binary
8 | Integer or BYTES Bitwise or Binary
9 (Comparison Operators) = Any comparable type. See Data Types for a complete list. Equal Binary
  < Any comparable type. See Data Types for a complete list. Less than Binary
  > Any comparable type. See Data Types for a complete list. Greater than Binary
  <= Any comparable type. See Data Types for a complete list. Less than or equal to Binary
  >= Any comparable type. See Data Types for a complete list. Greater than or equal to Binary
  !=, <> Any comparable type. See Data Types for a complete list. Not equal Binary
  [NOT] LIKE STRING and BYTES Value does [not] match the pattern specified Binary
  [NOT] BETWEEN Any comparable types. See Data Types for a complete list. Value is [not] within the range specified Binary
  [NOT] IN Any comparable types. See Data Types for a complete list. Value is [not] in the set of values specified Binary
  IS [NOT] NULL All Value is [not] NULL Unary
  IS [NOT] TRUE BOOL Value is [not] TRUE. Unary
  IS [NOT] FALSE BOOL Value is [not] FALSE. Unary
10 NOT BOOL Logical NOT Unary
11 AND BOOL Logical AND Binary
12 OR BOOL Logical OR Binary

For example, the logical expression:

x OR y AND z

is interpreted as:

( x OR ( y AND z ) )

Operators with the same precedence are left associative. This means that those operators are grouped together starting from the left and moving right. For example, the expression:

x AND y AND z

is interpreted as:

( ( x AND y ) AND z )

The expression:

x * y / z

is interpreted as:

( ( x * y ) / z )

All comparison operators have the same priority, but comparison operators are not associative. Therefore, parentheses are required to resolve ambiguity. For example:

(x < y) IS FALSE

Operator list

Name Summary
Field access operator Gets the value of a field.
Array subscript operator Gets a value from an array at a specific position.
Arithmetic operators Performs arithmetic operations.
Date arithmetics operators Performs arithmetic operations on dates.
Bitwise operators Performs bit manipulation.
Logical operators Tests for the truth of some condition and produces TRUE, FALSE, or NULL.
Comparison operators Compares operands and produces the results of the comparison as a BOOL value.
IS operators Checks for the truth of a condition and produces either TRUE or FALSE.
LIKE operator Checks if values are like or not like one another.
Concatenation operator Combines multiple values into one.

Field access operator

expression.fieldname[. ...]

Description

Gets the value of a field. Alternatively known as the dot operator. Can be used to access nested fields. For example, expression.fieldname1.fieldname2.

Input values:

  • STRUCT

Return type

  • For STRUCT: SQL data type of fieldname. If a field is not found in the struct, an error is thrown.

Example

In the following example, the field access operations are .address and .country.

SELECT
  STRUCT(
    STRUCT('Yonge Street' AS street, 'Canada' AS country)
      AS address).address.country

/*---------*
 | country |
 +---------+
 | Canada  |
 *---------*/

Array subscript operator

array_expression "[" array_subscript_specifier "]"

array_subscript_specifier:
  { index | position_keyword(index) }

position_keyword:
  { OFFSET | SAFE_OFFSET | ORDINAL | SAFE_ORDINAL }

Description

Gets a value from an array at a specific position.

Input values:

  • array_expression: The input array.
  • position_keyword(index): Determines where the index for the array should start and how out-of-range indexes are handled. The index is an integer that represents a specific position in the array.
    • OFFSET(index): The index starts at zero. Produces an error if the index is out of range. To produce NULL instead of an error, use SAFE_OFFSET(index). This position keyword produces the same result as index by itself.
    • SAFE_OFFSET(index): The index starts at zero. Returns NULL if the index is out of range.
    • ORDINAL(index): The index starts at one. Produces an error if the index is out of range. To produce NULL instead of an error, use SAFE_ORDINAL(index).
    • SAFE_ORDINAL(index): The index starts at one. Returns NULL if the index is out of range.
  • index: An integer that represents a specific position in the array. If used by itself without a position keyword, the index starts at zero and produces an error if the index is out of range. To produce NULL instead of an error, use the SAFE_OFFSET(index) or SAFE_ORDINAL(index) position keyword.

Return type

T where array_expression is ARRAY<T>.

Examples

In following query, the array subscript operator is used to return values at specific position in item_array. This query also shows what happens when you reference an index (6) in an array that is out of range. If the SAFE prefix is included, NULL is returned, otherwise an error is produced.

SELECT
  ["coffee", "tea", "milk"] AS item_array,
  ["coffee", "tea", "milk"][0] AS item_index,
  ["coffee", "tea", "milk"][OFFSET(0)] AS item_offset,
  ["coffee", "tea", "milk"][ORDINAL(1)] AS item_ordinal,
  ["coffee", "tea", "milk"][SAFE_OFFSET(6)] AS item_safe_offset

/*---------------------+------------+-------------+--------------+------------------*
 | item_array          | item_index | item_offset | item_ordinal | item_safe_offset |
 +---------------------+------------+-------------+--------------+------------------+
 | [coffee, tea, milk] | coffee     | coffee      | coffee       | NULL             |
 *----------------------------------+-------------+--------------+------------------*/

When you reference an index that is out of range in an array, and a positional keyword that begins with SAFE is not included, an error is produced. For example:

-- Error. Array index 6 is out of bounds.
SELECT ["coffee", "tea", "milk"][6] AS item_offset
-- Error. Array index 6 is out of bounds.
SELECT ["coffee", "tea", "milk"][OFFSET(6)] AS item_offset

The following queries contain an array subscript operator that is applied to a column family called cell_plan in a table called test_table:

SELECT MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[0] AS results FROM test_table LIMIT 1

/*----------------*
 | results        |
 +----------------+
 | data_plan_01gb |
 *----------------*/
SELECT MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[1] AS results FROM test_table LIMIT 1

/*----------------*
 | results        |
 +----------------+
 | data_plan_05gb |
 *----------------*/
SELECT MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[OFFSET(1)] AS results FROM test_table LIMIT 1

/*----------------*
 | results        |
 +----------------+
 | data_plan_05gb |
 *----------------*/
SELECT MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[ORDINAL(0)] AS results FROM test_table LIMIT 1

/*----------------*
 | results        |
 +----------------+
 | data_plan_01gb |
 *----------------*/
SELECT MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[SAFE_OFFSET(5)] AS results FROM test_table LIMIT 1

/*----------------*
 | results        |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/

Arithmetic operators

All arithmetic operators accept input of numeric type T, and the result type has type T unless otherwise indicated in the description below:

Name Syntax
Addition X + Y
Subtraction X - Y
Multiplication X * Y
Division X / Y
Unary Plus + X
Unary Minus - X

NOTE: Divide by zero operations return an error. To return a different result, consider the IEEE_DIVIDE or SAFE_DIVIDE functions.

Result types for Addition, Subtraction and Multiplication:

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

Result types for Division:

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

Result types for Unary Plus:

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64

Result types for Unary Minus:

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64

Date arithmetics operators

Operators '+' and '-' can be used for arithmetic operations on dates.

date_expression + int64_expression
int64_expression + date_expression
date_expression - int64_expression

Description

Adds or subtracts int64_expression days to or from date_expression. This is equivalent to DATE_ADD or DATE_SUB functions, when interval is expressed in days.

Return Data Type

DATE

Example

SELECT DATE "2020-09-22" + 1 AS day_later, DATE "2020-09-22" - 7 AS week_ago

/*------------+------------*
 | day_later  | week_ago   |
 +------------+------------+
 | 2020-09-23 | 2020-09-15 |
 *------------+------------*/

Bitwise operators

All bitwise operators return the same type and the same length as the first operand.

Name Syntax Input Data Type Description
Bitwise not ~ X Integer or BYTES Performs logical negation on each bit, forming the ones' complement of the given binary value.
Bitwise or X | Y X: Integer or BYTES
Y: Same type as X
Takes two bit patterns of equal length and performs the logical inclusive OR operation on each pair of the corresponding bits. This operator throws an error if X and Y are bytes of different lengths.
Bitwise xor X ^ Y X: Integer or BYTES
Y: Same type as X
Takes two bit patterns of equal length and performs the logical exclusive OR operation on each pair of the corresponding bits. This operator throws an error if X and Y are bytes of different lengths.
Bitwise and X & Y X: Integer or BYTES
Y: Same type as X
Takes two bit patterns of equal length and performs the logical AND operation on each pair of the corresponding bits. This operator throws an error if X and Y are bytes of different lengths.
Left shift X << Y X: Integer or BYTES
Y: INT64
Shifts the first operand X to the left. This operator returns 0 or a byte sequence of b'\x00' if the second operand Y is greater than or equal to the bit length of the first operand X (for example, 64 if X has the type INT64). This operator throws an error if Y is negative.
Right shift X >> Y X: Integer or BYTES
Y: INT64
Shifts the first operand X to the right. This operator does not do sign bit extension with a signed type (i.e., it fills vacant bits on the left with 0). This operator returns 0 or a byte sequence of b'\x00' if the second operand Y is greater than or equal to the bit length of the first operand X (for example, 64 if X has the type INT64). This operator throws an error if Y is negative.

Logical operators

GoogleSQL supports the AND, OR, and NOT logical operators. Logical operators allow only BOOL or NULL input and use three-valued logic to produce a result. The result can be TRUE, FALSE, or NULL:

x y x AND y x OR y
TRUE TRUE TRUE TRUE
TRUE FALSE FALSE TRUE
TRUE NULL NULL TRUE
FALSE TRUE FALSE TRUE
FALSE FALSE FALSE FALSE
FALSE NULL FALSE NULL
NULL TRUE NULL TRUE
NULL FALSE FALSE NULL
NULL NULL NULL NULL
x NOT x
TRUE FALSE
FALSE TRUE
NULL NULL

Examples

The examples in this section reference a table called entry_table:

/*-------*
 | entry |
 +-------+
 | a     |
 | b     |
 | c     |
 | NULL  |
 *-------*/
SELECT 'a' FROM entry_table WHERE entry = 'a'

-- a => 'a' = 'a' => TRUE
-- b => 'b' = 'a' => FALSE
-- NULL => NULL = 'a' => NULL

/*-------*
 | entry |
 +-------+
 | a     |
 *-------*/
SELECT entry FROM entry_table WHERE NOT (entry = 'a')

-- a => NOT('a' = 'a') => NOT(TRUE) => FALSE
-- b => NOT('b' = 'a') => NOT(FALSE) => TRUE
-- NULL => NOT(NULL = 'a') => NOT(NULL) => NULL

/*-------*
 | entry |
 +-------+
 | b     |
 | c     |
 *-------*/
SELECT entry FROM entry_table WHERE entry IS NULL

-- a => 'a' IS NULL => FALSE
-- b => 'b' IS NULL => FALSE
-- NULL => NULL IS NULL => TRUE

/*-------*
 | entry |
 +-------+
 | NULL  |
 *-------*/

Comparison operators

Compares operands and produces the results of the comparison as a BOOL value. These comparison operators are available:

Name Syntax Description
Less Than X < Y Returns TRUE if X is less than Y. This operator supports specifying collation.
Less Than or Equal To X <= Y Returns TRUE if X is less than or equal to Y. This operator supports specifying collation.
Greater Than X > Y Returns TRUE if X is greater than Y. This operator supports specifying collation.
Greater Than or Equal To X >= Y Returns TRUE if X is greater than or equal to Y. This operator supports specifying collation.
Equal X = Y Returns TRUE if X is equal to Y. This operator supports specifying collation.
Not Equal X != Y
X <> Y
Returns TRUE if X is not equal to Y. This operator supports specifying collation.
BETWEEN X [NOT] BETWEEN Y AND Z

Returns TRUE if X is [not] within the range specified. The result of X BETWEEN Y AND Z is equivalent to Y <= X AND X <= Z but X is evaluated only once in the former. This operator supports specifying collation.

LIKE X [NOT] LIKE Y See the `LIKE` operator for details.
IN Multiple See the `IN` operator for details.

The following rules apply to operands in a comparison operator:

  • The operands must be comparable.
  • A comparison operator generally requires both operands to be of the same type.
  • If the operands are of different types, and the values of those types can be converted to a common type without loss of precision, they are generally coerced to that common type for the comparison.
  • A literal operand is generally coerced to the same data type of a non-literal operand that is part of the comparison.
  • Struct operands support only these comparison operators: equal (=), not equal (!= and <>), and IN.

The following rules apply when comparing these data types:

  • Floating point: All comparisons with NaN return FALSE, except for != and <>, which return TRUE.
  • BOOL: FALSE is less than TRUE.
  • STRING: Strings are compared codepoint-by-codepoint, which means that canonically equivalent strings are only guaranteed to compare as equal if they have been normalized first.
  • NULL: Any operation with a NULL input returns NULL.
  • STRUCT: When testing a struct for equality, it's possible that one or more fields are NULL. In such cases:

    • If all non-NULL field values are equal, the comparison returns NULL.
    • If any non-NULL field values are not equal, the comparison returns FALSE.

    The following table demonstrates how STRUCT data types are compared when they have fields that are NULL valued.

    Struct1 Struct2 Struct1 = Struct2
    STRUCT(1, NULL) STRUCT(1, NULL) NULL
    STRUCT(1, NULL) STRUCT(2, NULL) FALSE
    STRUCT(1,2) STRUCT(1, NULL) NULL

IS operators

IS operators return TRUE or FALSE for the condition they are testing. They never return NULL, even for NULL inputs, unlike the IS_INF and IS_NAN functions defined in Mathematical Functions. If NOT is present, the output BOOL value is inverted.

Function Syntax Input Data Type Result Data Type Description
X IS TRUE BOOL BOOL Evaluates to TRUE if X evaluates to TRUE. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.
X IS NOT TRUE BOOL BOOL Evaluates to FALSE if X evaluates to TRUE. Otherwise, evaluates to TRUE.
X IS FALSE BOOL BOOL Evaluates to TRUE if X evaluates to FALSE. Otherwise, evaluates to FALSE.
X IS NOT FALSE BOOL BOOL Evaluates to FALSE if X evaluates to FALSE. Otherwise, evaluates to TRUE.
X IS NULL Any value type BOOL Evaluates to TRUE if X evaluates to NULL. Otherwise evaluates to FALSE.
X IS NOT NULL Any value type BOOL Evaluates to FALSE if X evaluates to NULL. Otherwise evaluates to TRUE.
X IS UNKNOWN BOOL BOOL Evaluates to TRUE if X evaluates to NULL. Otherwise evaluates to FALSE.
X IS NOT UNKNOWN BOOL BOOL Evaluates to FALSE if X evaluates to NULL. Otherwise, evaluates to TRUE.

LIKE operator

expression_1 [NOT] LIKE expression_2

Description

LIKE returns TRUE if the string in the first operand expression_1 matches a pattern specified by the second operand expression_2, otherwise returns FALSE.

NOT LIKE returns TRUE if the string in the first operand expression_1 does not match a pattern specified by the second operand expression_2, otherwise returns FALSE.

Expressions can contain these characters:

  • A percent sign (%) matches any number of characters or bytes.
  • An underscore (_) matches a single character or byte.
  • You can escape \, _, or % using two backslashes. For example, \\%. If you are using raw strings, only a single backslash is required. For example, r'\%'.

This operator supports collation, but caveats apply:

  • Each % character in expression_2 represents an arbitrary string specifier. An arbitrary string specifier can represent any sequence of 0 or more characters.
  • A character in the expression represents itself and is considered a single character specifier unless:

    • The character is a percent sign (%).

    • The character is an underscore (_) and the collator is not und:ci.

  • These additional rules apply to the underscore (_) character:

    • If the collator is not und:ci, an error is produced when an underscore is not escaped in expression_2.

    • If the collator is not und:ci, the underscore is not allowed when the operands have collation specified.

    • Some compatibility composites, such as the fi-ligature () and the telephone sign (), will produce a match if they are compared to an underscore.

    • A single underscore matches the idea of what a character is, based on an approximation known as a grapheme cluster.

  • For a contiguous sequence of single character specifiers, equality depends on the collator and its language tags and tailoring.

    • By default, the und:ci collator does not fully normalize a string. Some canonically equivalent strings are considered unequal for both the = and LIKE operators.

    • The LIKE operator with collation has the same behavior as the = operator when there are no wildcards in the strings.

    • Character sequences with secondary or higher-weighted differences are considered unequal. This includes accent differences and some special cases.

      For example there are three ways to produce German sharp ß:

      • \u1E9E
      • \U00DF
      • ss

      \u1E9E and \U00DF are considered equal but differ in tertiary. They are considered equal with und:ci collation but different from ss, which has secondary differences.

    • Character sequences with tertiary or lower-weighted differences are considered equal. This includes case differences and kana subtype differences, which are considered equal.

  • There are ignorable characters defined in Unicode. Ignorable characters are ignored in the pattern matching.

Return type

BOOL

Examples

The following examples illustrate how you can check to see if the string in the first operand matches a pattern specified by the second operand.

-- Returns TRUE
SELECT 'apple' LIKE 'a%';
-- Returns FALSE
SELECT '%a' LIKE 'apple';
-- Returns FALSE
SELECT 'apple' NOT LIKE 'a%';
-- Returns TRUE
SELECT '%a' NOT LIKE 'apple';
-- Produces an error
SELECT NULL LIKE 'a%';
-- Produces an error
SELECT 'apple' LIKE NULL;

The following example illustrates how to search multiple patterns in an array to find a match with the LIKE operator:

Concatenation operator

The concatenation operator combines multiple values into one.

Function Syntax Input Data Type Result Data Type
STRING || STRING [ || ... ] STRING STRING
BYTES || BYTES [ || ... ] BYTES BYTES
ARRAY<T> || ARRAY<T> [ || ... ] ARRAY<T> ARRAY<T>

Conditional expressions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports conditional expressions. Conditional expressions impose constraints on the evaluation order of their inputs. In essence, they are evaluated left to right, with short-circuiting, and only evaluate the output value that was chosen. In contrast, all inputs to regular functions are evaluated before calling the function. Short-circuiting in conditional expressions can be exploited for error handling or performance tuning.

Expression list

Name Summary
CASE expr Compares the given expression to each successive WHEN clause and produces the first result where the values are equal.
CASE Evaluates the condition of each successive WHEN clause and produces the first result where the condition evaluates to TRUE.
IF If an expression evaluates to TRUE, produces a specified result, otherwise produces the evaluation for an else result.
IFNULL If an expression evaluates to NULL, produces a specified result, otherwise produces the expression.
NULLIF Produces NULL if the first expression that matches another evaluates to TRUE, otherwise returns the first expression.

CASE expr

CASE expr
  WHEN expr_to_match THEN result
  [ ... ]
  [ ELSE else_result ]
  END

Description

Compares expr to expr_to_match of each successive WHEN clause and returns the first result where this comparison evaluates to TRUE. The remaining WHEN clauses and else_result aren't evaluated.

If the expr = expr_to_match comparison evaluates to FALSE or NULL for all WHEN clauses, returns the evaluation of else_result if present; if else_result isn't present, then returns NULL.

Consistent with equality comparisons elsewhere, if both expr and expr_to_match are NULL, then expr = expr_to_match evaluates to NULL, which returns else_result. If a CASE statement needs to distinguish a NULL value, then the alternate CASE syntax should be used.

expr and expr_to_match can be any type. They must be implicitly coercible to a common supertype; equality comparisons are done on coerced values. There may be multiple result types. result and else_result expressions must be coercible to a common supertype.

This expression supports specifying collation.

Return Data Type

Supertype of result[, ...] and else_result.

Example

SELECT
  CASE MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[0]
    WHEN b'data_plan_01gb' THEN 'Small data plan'
    WHEN b'data_plan_05gb' THEN 'Large data plan'
    ELSE 'Unknown data plan
    END
    AS result
FROM test_table LIMIT 2

/*-----------------*
 | result          |
 +-----------------+
 | Small data plan |
 | Large data plan |
 *-----------------*/

CASE

CASE
  WHEN condition THEN result
  [ ... ]
  [ ELSE else_result ]
  END

Description

Evaluates the condition of each successive WHEN clause and returns the first result where the condition evaluates to TRUE; any remaining WHEN clauses and else_result aren't evaluated.

If all conditions evaluate to FALSE or NULL, returns evaluation of else_result if present; if else_result isn't present, then returns NULL.

For additional rules on how values are evaluated, see the three-valued logic table in Logical operators.

condition must be a boolean expression. There may be multiple result types. result and else_result expressions must be implicitly coercible to a common supertype.

This expression supports specifying collation.

Return Data Type

Supertype of result[, ...] and else_result.

Example

SELECT
  CASE
    WHEN MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[0] != b'data_plan_01gb' THEN 'Small data plan'
    WHEN MAP_KEYS(cell_plan)[0] != b'data_plan_05gb' THEN 'Large data plan'
    ELSE 'Unknown data plan'
    END
    AS result
FROM test_table LIMIT 2

/*-----------------*
 | result          |
 +-----------------+
 | Large data plan |
 | Small data plan |
 *-----------------*/

IF

IF(expr, true_result, else_result)

Description

If expr evaluates to TRUE, returns true_result, else returns the evaluation for else_result. else_result isn't evaluated if expr evaluates to TRUE. true_result isn't evaluated if expr evaluates to FALSE or NULL.

expr must be a boolean expression. true_result and else_result must be coercible to a common supertype.

Return Data Type

Supertype of true_result and else_result.

Examples

SELECT
  10 AS A,
  20 AS B,
  IF(10 < 20, 'true', 'false') AS result

/*------------------*
 | A  | B  | result |
 +------------------+
 | 10 | 20 | true   |
 *------------------*/
SELECT
  30 AS A,
  20 AS B,
  IF(30 < 20, 'true', 'false') AS result

/*------------------*
 | A  | B  | result |
 +------------------+
 | 30 | 20 | false  |
 *------------------*/

IFNULL

IFNULL(expr, null_result)

Description

If expr evaluates to NULL, returns null_result. Otherwise, returns expr. If expr doesn't evaluate to NULL, null_result isn't evaluated.

expr and null_result can be any type and must be implicitly coercible to a common supertype. Synonym for COALESCE(expr, null_result).

Return Data Type

Supertype of expr or null_result.

Examples

SELECT IFNULL(NULL, 0) as result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 0      |
 *--------*/
SELECT IFNULL(10, 0) as result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 10     |
 *--------*/

NULLIF

NULLIF(expr, expr_to_match)

Description

Returns NULL if expr = expr_to_match evaluates to TRUE, otherwise returns expr.

expr and expr_to_match must be implicitly coercible to a common supertype, and must be comparable.

This expression supports specifying collation.

Return Data Type

Supertype of expr and expr_to_match.

Example

SELECT NULLIF(0, 0) as result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | NULL   |
 *--------*/
SELECT NULLIF(10, 0) as result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 10     |
 *--------*/

FUNCTIONS

Array functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports the following array functions.

Function list

Name Summary
ARRAY_CONCAT Concatenates one or more arrays with the same element type into a single array.
ARRAY_FILTER Takes an array, filters out unwanted elements, and returns the results in a new array.
ARRAY_FIRST Gets the first element in an array.
ARRAY_INCLUDES Checks if there is an element in the array that is equal to a search value.
ARRAY_INCLUDES_ALL Checks if all search values are in an array.
ARRAY_INCLUDES_ANY Checks if any search values are in an array.
ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT Checks if an array contains no repeated elements.
ARRAY_LAST Gets the last element in an array.
ARRAY_LAST_N Gets the suffix of an array, consisting of the last n elements.
ARRAY_LENGTH Gets the number of elements in an array.
ARRAY_OFFSET Searches an array from the beginning or ending and produces the zero-based offset for the first matching element.
ARRAY_OFFSETS Searches an array and gets the zero-based offsets for matching elements.
ARRAY_REVERSE Reverses the order of elements in an array.
ARRAY_SLICE Produces an array containing zero or more consecutive elements from an input array.
ARRAY_TO_STRING Produces a concatenation of the elements in an array as a STRING value.
ARRAY_TRANSFORM Transforms the elements of an array, and returns the results in a new array.
GENERATE_ARRAY Generates an array of values in a range.
GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY Generates an array of dates in a range.
GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY Generates an array of timestamps in a range.
JSON_QUERY_ARRAY Extracts a JSON array and converts it to a SQL ARRAY<JSON-formatted STRING> value.
For more information, see JSON functions.

ARRAY_CONCAT

ARRAY_CONCAT(array_expression[, ...])

Description

Concatenates one or more arrays with the same element type into a single array.

The function returns NULL if any input argument is NULL.

Return type

ARRAY

Examples

SELECT ARRAY_CONCAT([1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]) as count_to_six;

/*--------------------------------------------------*
 | count_to_six                                     |
 +--------------------------------------------------+
 | [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]                               |
 *--------------------------------------------------*/

ARRAY_FILTER

ARRAY_FILTER(array_expression, lambda_expression)

lambda_expression:
  {
    element_alias -> boolean_expression
    | (element_alias, index_alias) -> boolean_expression
  }

Description

Takes an array, filters out unwanted elements, and returns the results in a new array.

  • array_expression: The array to filter.
  • lambda_expression: Each element in array_expression is evaluated against the lambda expression. If the expression evaluates to FALSE or NULL, the element is removed from the resulting array.
  • element_alias: An alias that represents an array element.
  • index_alias: An alias that represents the zero-based offset of the array element.
  • boolean_expression: The predicate used to filter the array elements.

Returns NULL if the array_expression is NULL.

Return type

ARRAY

Example

SELECT
  ARRAY_FILTER([1 ,2, 3], e -> e > 1) AS a1,
  ARRAY_FILTER([0, 2, 3], (e, i) -> e > i) AS a2;

/*-------+-------*
 | a1    | a2    |
 +-------+-------+
 | [2,3] | [2,3] |
 *-------+-------*/

ARRAY_FIRST

ARRAY_FIRST(array_expression)

Description

Takes an array and returns the first element in the array.

Produces an error if the array is empty.

Returns NULL if array_expression is NULL.

Return type

Matches the data type of elements in array_expression.

Example

SELECT ARRAY_FIRST(['a','b','c','d']) as first_element

/*---------------*
 | first_element |
 +---------------+
 | a             |
 *---------------*/

ARRAY_INCLUDES

ARRAY_INCLUDES(array_to_search, search_value)

Description

Takes an array and returns TRUE if there is an element in the array that is equal to the search_value.

  • array_to_search: The array to search.
  • search_value: The element to search for in the array.

Returns NULL if array_to_search or search_value is NULL.

Return type

BOOL

Example

In the following example, the query first checks to see if 0 exists in an array. Then the query checks to see if 1 exists in an array.

SELECT
  ARRAY_INCLUDES([1, 2, 3], 0) AS a1,
  ARRAY_INCLUDES([1, 2, 3], 1) AS a2;

/*-------+------*
 | a1    | a2   |
 +-------+------+
 | false | true |
 *-------+------*/

ARRAY_INCLUDES_ALL

ARRAY_INCLUDES_ALL(array_to_search, search_values)

Description

Takes an array to search and an array of search values. Returns TRUE if all search values are in the array to search, otherwise returns FALSE.

  • array_to_search: The array to search.
  • search_values: The array that contains the elements to search for.

Returns NULL if array_to_search or search_values is NULL.

Return type

BOOL

Example

In the following example, the query first checks to see if 3, 4, and 5 exists in an array. Then the query checks to see if 4, 5, and 6 exists in an array.

SELECT
  ARRAY_INCLUDES_ALL([1,2,3,4,5], [3,4,5]) AS a1,
  ARRAY_INCLUDES_ALL([1,2,3,4,5], [4,5,6]) AS a2;

/*------+-------*
 | a1   | a2    |
 +------+-------+
 | true | false |
 *------+-------*/

ARRAY_INCLUDES_ANY

ARRAY_INCLUDES_ANY(array_to_search, search_values)

Description

Takes an array to search and an array of search values. Returns TRUE if any search values are in the array to search, otherwise returns FALSE.

  • array_to_search: The array to search.
  • search_values: The array that contains the elements to search for.

Returns NULL if array_to_search or search_values is NULL.

Return type

BOOL

Example

In the following example, the query first checks to see if 3, 4, or 5 exists in an array. Then the query checks to see if 4, 5, or 6 exists in an array.

SELECT
  ARRAY_INCLUDES_ANY([1,2,3], [3,4,5]) AS a1,
  ARRAY_INCLUDES_ANY([1,2,3], [4,5,6]) AS a2;

/*------+-------*
 | a1   | a2    |
 +------+-------+
 | true | false |
 *------+-------*/

ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT

ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT(value)

Description

Returns TRUE if the array contains no repeated elements, using the same equality comparison logic as SELECT DISTINCT.

Return type

BOOL

Examples

SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT([1, 2, 3]) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | true        |
 *-------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT([1, 1, 1]) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | false       |
 *-------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT([1, 2, NULL]) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | true        |
 *-------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT([1, 1, NULL]) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | false       |
 *-------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT([1, NULL, NULL]) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | false       |
 *-------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT([]) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | true        |
 *-------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_IS_DISTINCT(NULL) AS is_distinct

/*-------------*
 | is_distinct |
 +-------------+
 | NULL        |
 *-------------*/

ARRAY_LAST

ARRAY_LAST(array_expression)

Description

Takes an array and returns the last element in the array.

Produces an error if the array is empty.

Returns NULL if array_expression is NULL.

Return type

Matches the data type of elements in array_expression.

Example

SELECT ARRAY_LAST(['a','b','c','d']) as last_element

/*---------------*
 | last_element  |
 +---------------+
 | d             |
 *---------------*/

ARRAY_LAST_N

ARRAY_LAST_N(input_array, n)

Description

Returns a suffix of input_array consisting of the last n elements.

Caveats:

  • If input_array is NULL, returns NULL.
  • If n is NULL, returns NULL.
  • If n is 0, returns an empty array.
  • If n is longer than input_array, returns input_array.
  • If n is negative, produces an error.

Return type

ARRAY

Example

SELECT
  ARRAY_LAST_N([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], 0) AS a,
  ARRAY_LAST_N([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], 3) AS b,
  ARRAY_LAST_N([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], 7) AS c

/*----------------------------------*
 | a  | b         | c               |
 +----------------------------------+
 | [] | [3, 4, 5] | [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] |
 *----------------------------------*/
-- Error: out of bounds
SELECT ARRAY_LAST_N([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], -1)

ARRAY_LENGTH

ARRAY_LENGTH(array_expression)

Description

Returns the size of the array. Returns 0 for an empty array. Returns NULL if the array_expression is NULL.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT
  ARRAY_LENGTH(["coffee", NULL, "milk" ]) AS size_a,
  ARRAY_LENGTH(["cake", "pie"]) AS size_b;

/*--------+--------*
 | size_a | size_b |
 +--------+--------+
 | 3      | 2      |
 *--------+--------*/

ARRAY_OFFSET

ARRAY_OFFSET(input_array, element_to_find[, first_or_last])

element_to_find:
  { element_expression | element_lambda_expression }

lambda_expression:
  element_alias -> boolean_expression

Description

Searches an array from the beginning or ending and gets the zero-based offset for the first matching element. If no element is found, returns NULL.

Arguments:

  • input_array: The array to search.
  • element_expression: The element to find in the array. Must be a comparable data type.
  • element_lambda_expression: Each element in input_array is evaluated against the lambda expression. If the expression evaluates to TRUE, the element is included in the search results.
  • element_alias: An alias that represents the element to find.
  • boolean_expression: The predicate used to filter the array elements.
  • first_or_last: Search from the beginning (FIRST) or ending (LAST) of the array. By default the function searches from the beginning.

Return type

INT64

Examples

The following queries get the offset for the first 4 in an array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], 4) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 1      |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], 4, 'FIRST') AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 1      |
 *--------*/

The following queries get the offset for the last 4 in an array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], 4, 'LAST') AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 3      |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], e -> e = 4, 'LAST') AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 3      |
 *--------*/

The following query gets the offset for the last element in an array that is greater than 2 and less than 5.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], e -> e > 2 AND e < 5, 'LAST') AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | 3      |
 *--------*/

The following query produces NULL because 5 is not in the array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], 5) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | NULL   |
 *--------*/

The following query produces NULL because there are no elements greater than 7 in the array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSET([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], e -> e > 7) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | NULL   |
 *--------*/

ARRAY_OFFSETS

ARRAY_OFFSETS(input_array, element_to_find)

element_to_find:
  { element_expression | element_lambda_expression }

lambda_expression:
  element_alias -> boolean_expression

Description

Searches an array and gets the zero-based offsets for matching elements. If no matching element is found, returns an empty array.

Arguments:

  • input_array: The array to search.
  • element_expression: The element to find in the array. Must be a comparable data type.
  • element_lambda_expression: Each element in input_array is evaluated against the lambda expression. If the expression evaluates to TRUE, the element is included in the search results.
  • element_alias: An alias that represents the element to find.
  • boolean_expression: The predicate used to filter the array elements.

Return type

ARRAY<INT64>

Examples

The following query gets all offsets for 4 in an array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSETS([1, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4], 4) AS result

/*--------------+
 | result       |
 +--------------+
 | [1, 2, 3, 5] |
 +--------------*/

The following query gets the offsets for elements in an array that are greater than 2 and less than 5.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSETS([1, 4, 7, 3, 6, 4], e -> e > 2 AND e < 5) AS result

/*-----------+
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | [1, 3, 5] |
 +-----------*/

The following query produces an empty array because 5 is not in the array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSETS([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], 5) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | []     |
 *--------*/

The following query produces an empty array because there are no elements greater than 7 in the array.

SELECT ARRAY_OFFSETS([1, 4, 4, 4, 6], e -> e > 7) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | []     |
 *--------*/

ARRAY_REVERSE

ARRAY_REVERSE(value)

Description

Returns the input ARRAY with elements in reverse order.

Return type

ARRAY

Examples

SELECT ARRAY_REVERSE([1, 2, 3]) AS reverse_arr

/*-------------*
 | reverse_arr |
 +-------------+
 | [3, 2, 1]   |
 *-------------*/

ARRAY_SLICE

ARRAY_SLICE(array_to_slice, start_offset, end_offset)

Description

Returns an array containing zero or more consecutive elements from the input array.

  • array_to_slice: The array that contains the elements you want to slice.
  • start_offset: The inclusive starting offset.
  • end_offset: The inclusive ending offset.

An offset can be positive or negative. A positive offset starts from the beginning of the input array and is 0-based. A negative offset starts from the end of the input array. Out-of-bounds offsets are supported. Here are some examples:

Input offset Final offset in array Notes
0 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] The final offset is 0.
3 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] The final offset is 3.
5 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] Because the input offset is out of bounds, the final offset is 3 (array length - 1).
-1 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] Because a negative offset is used, the offset starts at the end of the array. The final offset is 3 (array length - 1).
-2 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] Because a negative offset is used, the offset starts at the end of the array. The final offset is 2 (array length - 2).
-4 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] Because a negative offset is used, the offset starts at the end of the array. The final offset is 0 (array length - 4).
-5 ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] Because the offset is negative and out of bounds, the final offset is 0 (array length - array length).

Additional details:

  • The input array can contain NULL elements. NULL elements are included in the resulting array.
  • Returns NULL if array_to_slice, start_offset, or end_offset is NULL.
  • Returns an empty array if array_to_slice is empty.
  • Returns an empty array if the position of the start_offset in the array is after the position of the end_offset.

Return type

ARRAY

Examples

SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 1, 3) AS result

/*-----------*
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | [b, c, d] |
 *-----------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], -1, 3) AS result

/*-----------*
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | []        |
 *-----------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 1, -3) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | [b, c] |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], -1, -3) AS result

/*-----------*
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | []        |
 *-----------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], -3, -1) AS result

/*-----------*
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | [c, d, e] |
 *-----------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 3, 3) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | [d]    |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], -3, -3) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | [c]    |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 1, 30) AS result

/*--------------*
 | result       |
 +--------------+
 | [b, c, d, e] |
 *--------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 1, -30) AS result

/*-----------*
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | []        |
 *-----------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], -30, 30) AS result

/*-----------------*
 | result          |
 +-----------------+
 | [a, b, c, d, e] |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], -30, -5) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | [a]    |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 5, 30) AS result

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | []     |
 *--------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e'], 1, NULL) AS result

/*-----------*
 | result    |
 +-----------+
 | NULL      |
 *-----------*/
SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(['a', 'b', NULL, 'd', 'e'], 1, 3) AS result

/*--------------*
 | result       |
 +--------------+
 | [b, NULL, d] |
 *--------------*/

ARRAY_TO_STRING

ARRAY_TO_STRING(array_expression, delimiter[, null_text])

Description

Returns a concatenation of the elements in array_expression as a STRING. The value for array_expression can either be an array of STRING or BYTES data types.

If the null_text parameter is used, the function replaces any NULL values in the array with the value of null_text.

If the null_text parameter is not used, the function omits the NULL value and its preceding delimiter.

Return type

STRING

Examples

SELECT ARRAY_TO_STRING(['coffee', 'tea', 'milk', NULL], '--', 'MISSING') AS text

/*--------------------------------*
 | text                           |
 +--------------------------------+
 | coffee--tea--milk--MISSING     |
 *--------------------------------*/

SELECT ARRAY_TO_STRING(['cake', 'pie', NULL], '--', 'MISSING') AS text

/*--------------------------------*
 | text                           |
 +--------------------------------+
 | cake--pie--MISSING             |
 *--------------------------------*/

ARRAY_TRANSFORM

ARRAY_TRANSFORM(array_expression, lambda_expression)

lambda_expression:
  {
    element_alias -> transform_expression
    | (element_alias, index_alias) -> transform_expression
  }

Description

Takes an array, transforms the elements, and returns the results in a new array. The output array always has the same length as the input array.

  • array_expression: The array to transform.
  • lambda_expression: Each element in array_expression is evaluated against the lambda expression. The evaluation results are returned in a new array.
  • element_alias: An alias that represents an array element.
  • index_alias: An alias that represents the zero-based offset of the array element.
  • transform_expression: The expression used to transform the array elements.

Returns NULL if the array_expression is NULL.

Return type

ARRAY

Example

SELECT
  ARRAY_TRANSFORM([1, 2, 3], e -> e + 1) AS a1,
  ARRAY_TRANSFORM([1, 2, 3], (e, i) -> e + i) AS a2;

/*---------+---------*
 | a1      | a2      |
 +---------+---------+
 | [2,3,4] | [1,3,5] |
 *---------+---------*/

GENERATE_ARRAY

GENERATE_ARRAY(start_expression, end_expression[, step_expression])

Description

Returns an array of values. The start_expression and end_expression parameters determine the inclusive start and end of the array.

The GENERATE_ARRAY function accepts the following data types as inputs:

  • INT64
  • FLOAT64

The step_expression parameter determines the increment used to generate array values. The default value for this parameter is 1.

This function returns an error if step_expression is set to 0, or if any input is NaN.

If any argument is NULL, the function will return a NULL array.

Return Data Type

ARRAY

Examples

The following returns an array of integers, with a default step of 1.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(1, 5) AS example_array;

/*-----------------*
 | example_array   |
 +-----------------+
 | [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] |
 *-----------------*/

The following returns an array using a user-specified step size.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(0, 10, 3) AS example_array;

/*---------------*
 | example_array |
 +---------------+
 | [0, 3, 6, 9]  |
 *---------------*/

The following returns an array using a negative value, -3 for its step size.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(10, 0, -3) AS example_array;

/*---------------*
 | example_array |
 +---------------+
 | [10, 7, 4, 1] |
 *---------------*/

The following returns an array using the same value for the start_expression and end_expression.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(4, 4, 10) AS example_array;

/*---------------*
 | example_array |
 +---------------+
 | [4]           |
 *---------------*/

The following returns an empty array, because the start_expression is greater than the end_expression, and the step_expression value is positive.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(10, 0, 3) AS example_array;

/*---------------*
 | example_array |
 +---------------+
 | []            |
 *---------------*/

The following returns a NULL array because end_expression is NULL.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(5, NULL, 1) AS example_array;

/*---------------*
 | example_array |
 +---------------+
 | NULL          |
 *---------------*/

The following returns multiple arrays.

SELECT GENERATE_ARRAY(start, 5) AS example_array
FROM UNNEST([3, 4, 5]) AS start;

/*---------------*
 | example_array |
 +---------------+
 | [3, 4, 5]     |
 | [4, 5]        |
 | [5]           |
 +---------------*/

GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY

GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY(start_date, end_date[, INTERVAL INT64_expr date_part])

Description

Returns an array of dates. The start_date and end_date parameters determine the inclusive start and end of the array.

The GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY function accepts the following data types as inputs:

  • start_date must be a DATE.
  • end_date must be a DATE.
  • INT64_expr must be an INT64.
  • date_part must be either DAY, WEEK, MONTH, QUARTER, or YEAR.

The INT64_expr parameter determines the increment used to generate dates. The default value for this parameter is 1 day.

This function returns an error if INT64_expr is set to 0.

Return Data Type

ARRAY containing 0 or more DATE values.

Examples

The following returns an array of dates, with a default step of 1.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2016-10-05', '2016-10-08') AS example;

/*--------------------------------------------------*
 | example                                          |
 +--------------------------------------------------+
 | [2016-10-05, 2016-10-06, 2016-10-07, 2016-10-08] |
 *--------------------------------------------------*/

The following returns an array using a user-specified step size.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY(
 '2016-10-05', '2016-10-09', INTERVAL 2 DAY) AS example;

/*--------------------------------------*
 | example                              |
 +--------------------------------------+
 | [2016-10-05, 2016-10-07, 2016-10-09] |
 *--------------------------------------*/

The following returns an array using a negative value, -3 for its step size.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2016-10-05',
  '2016-10-01', INTERVAL -3 DAY) AS example;

/*--------------------------*
 | example                  |
 +--------------------------+
 | [2016-10-05, 2016-10-02] |
 *--------------------------*/

The following returns an array using the same value for the start_dateand end_date.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2016-10-05',
  '2016-10-05', INTERVAL 8 DAY) AS example;

/*--------------*
 | example      |
 +--------------+
 | [2016-10-05] |
 *--------------*/

The following returns an empty array, because the start_date is greater than the end_date, and the step value is positive.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2016-10-05',
  '2016-10-01', INTERVAL 1 DAY) AS example;

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | []      |
 *---------*/

The following returns a NULL array, because one of its inputs is NULL.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2016-10-05', NULL) AS example;

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | NULL    |
 *---------*/

The following returns an array of dates, using MONTH as the date_part interval:

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2016-01-01',
  '2016-12-31', INTERVAL 2 MONTH) AS example;

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
 | example                                                                  |
 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | [2016-01-01, 2016-03-01, 2016-05-01, 2016-07-01, 2016-09-01, 2016-11-01] |
 *--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

The following uses non-constant dates to generate an array.

SELECT GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY(date_start, date_end, INTERVAL 1 WEEK) AS date_range
FROM (
  SELECT DATE '2016-01-01' AS date_start, DATE '2016-01-31' AS date_end
  UNION ALL SELECT DATE "2016-04-01", DATE "2016-04-30"
  UNION ALL SELECT DATE "2016-07-01", DATE "2016-07-31"
  UNION ALL SELECT DATE "2016-10-01", DATE "2016-10-31"
) AS items;

/*--------------------------------------------------------------*
 | date_range                                                   |
 +--------------------------------------------------------------+
 | [2016-01-01, 2016-01-08, 2016-01-15, 2016-01-22, 2016-01-29] |
 | [2016-04-01, 2016-04-08, 2016-04-15, 2016-04-22, 2016-04-29] |
 | [2016-07-01, 2016-07-08, 2016-07-15, 2016-07-22, 2016-07-29] |
 | [2016-10-01, 2016-10-08, 2016-10-15, 2016-10-22, 2016-10-29] |
 *--------------------------------------------------------------*/

GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY

GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY(start_timestamp, end_timestamp,
                         INTERVAL step_expression date_part)

Description

Returns an ARRAY of TIMESTAMPS separated by a given interval. The start_timestamp and end_timestamp parameters determine the inclusive lower and upper bounds of the ARRAY.

The GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY function accepts the following data types as inputs:

  • start_timestamp: TIMESTAMP
  • end_timestamp: TIMESTAMP
  • step_expression: INT64
  • Allowed date_part values are: MICROSECOND, MILLISECOND, SECOND, MINUTE, HOUR, or DAY.

The step_expression parameter determines the increment used to generate timestamps.

Return Data Type

An ARRAY containing 0 or more TIMESTAMP values.

Examples

The following example returns an ARRAY of TIMESTAMPs at intervals of 1 day.

SELECT GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY('2016-10-05 00:00:00', '2016-10-07 00:00:00',
                                INTERVAL 1 DAY) AS timestamp_array;

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
 | timestamp_array                                                          |
 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | [2016-10-05 00:00:00+00, 2016-10-06 00:00:00+00, 2016-10-07 00:00:00+00] |
 *--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

The following example returns an ARRAY of TIMESTAMPs at intervals of 1 second.

SELECT GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY('2016-10-05 00:00:00', '2016-10-05 00:00:02',
                                INTERVAL 1 SECOND) AS timestamp_array;

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
 | timestamp_array                                                          |
 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | [2016-10-05 00:00:00+00, 2016-10-05 00:00:01+00, 2016-10-05 00:00:02+00] |
 *--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

The following example returns an ARRAY of TIMESTAMPS with a negative interval.

SELECT GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY('2016-10-06 00:00:00', '2016-10-01 00:00:00',
                                INTERVAL -2 DAY) AS timestamp_array;

/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*
 | timestamp_array                                                          |
 +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | [2016-10-06 00:00:00+00, 2016-10-04 00:00:00+00, 2016-10-02 00:00:00+00] |
 *--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/

The following example returns an ARRAY with a single element, because start_timestamp and end_timestamp have the same value.

SELECT GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY('2016-10-05 00:00:00', '2016-10-05 00:00:00',
                                INTERVAL 1 HOUR) AS timestamp_array;

/*--------------------------*
 | timestamp_array          |
 +--------------------------+
 | [2016-10-05 00:00:00+00] |
 *--------------------------*/

The following example returns an empty ARRAY, because start_timestamp is later than end_timestamp.

SELECT GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY('2016-10-06 00:00:00', '2016-10-05 00:00:00',
                                INTERVAL 1 HOUR) AS timestamp_array;

/*-----------------*
 | timestamp_array |
 +-----------------+
 | []              |
 *-----------------*/

The following example returns a null ARRAY, because one of the inputs is NULL.

SELECT GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY('2016-10-05 00:00:00', NULL, INTERVAL 1 HOUR)
  AS timestamp_array;

/*-----------------*
 | timestamp_array |
 +-----------------+
 | NULL            |
 *-----------------*/

Supplemental materials

OFFSET and ORDINAL

For information about using OFFSET and ORDINAL with arrays, see Array subscript operator and Accessing array elements.

Conversion functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports conversion functions. These data type conversions are explicit, but some conversions can happen implicitly. You can learn more about implicit and explicit conversion here.

Function list

Name Summary
ARRAY_TO_STRING Produces a concatenation of the elements in an array as a STRING value.
For more information, see Array functions.
BIT_CAST_TO_INT64 Cast bits to an INT64 value.
For more information, see Bit functions.
CAST Convert the results of an expression to the given type.
CHR Converts a Unicode code point to a character.
For more information, see String functions.
CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES Converts an array of extended ASCII code points to a BYTES value.
For more information, see String aggregate functions.
CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING Converts an array of extended ASCII code points to a STRING value.
For more information, see String aggregate functions.
DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE Interprets an INT64 expression as the number of days since 1970-01-01.
For more information, see Date functions.
FROM_BASE32 Converts a base32-encoded STRING value into a BYTES value.
For more information, see String functions.
FROM_BASE64 Converts a base64-encoded STRING value into a BYTES value.
For more information, see String functions.
FROM_HEX Converts a hexadecimal-encoded STRING value into a BYTES value.
For more information, see String functions.
PARSE_DATE Converts a STRING value to a DATE value.
For more information, see Date functions.
PARSE_TIMESTAMP Converts a STRING value to a TIMESTAMP value.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
SAFE_CAST Similar to the CAST function, but returns NULL when a runtime error is produced.
SAFE_CONVERT_BYTES_TO_STRING Converts a BYTES value to a STRING value and replace any invalid UTF-8 characters with the Unicode replacement character, U+FFFD.
For more information, see String functions.
STRING (Timestamp) Converts a TIMESTAMP value to a STRING value.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
TIMESTAMP_MICROS Converts the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to a TIMESTAMP.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
TIMESTAMP_MILLIS Converts the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to a TIMESTAMP.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
TIMESTAMP_SECONDS Converts the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to a TIMESTAMP.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
TO_BASE32 Converts a BYTES value to a base32-encoded STRING value.
For more information, see String functions.
TO_BASE64 Converts a BYTES value to a base64-encoded STRING value.
For more information, see String functions.
TO_CODE_POINTS Converts a STRING or BYTES value into an array of extended ASCII code points.
For more information, see String functions.
TO_HEX Converts a BYTES value to a hexadecimal STRING value.
For more information, see String functions.
TO_INT64 Converts the big-endian bytes of a 64-bit signed integer into an INT64 value.
For more information, see String functions.
TO_JSON_STRING Converts a SQL value to a JSON-formatted STRING value.
For more information, see JSON functions.
TO_VECTOR32 Converts the big-endian bytes of one or more 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers into an ARRAY<FLOAT32> value.
For more information, see String functions.
TO_VECTOR64 Converts the big-endian bytes of one or more 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers into an ARRAY<FLOAT64> value.
For more information, see String functions.
UNIX_DATE Converts a DATE value to the number of days since 1970-01-01.
For more information, see Date functions.
UNIX_MICROS Converts a TIMESTAMP value to the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
UNIX_MILLIS Converts a TIMESTAMP value to the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
UNIX_SECONDS Converts a TIMESTAMP value to the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.

CAST

CAST(expression AS typename)

Description

Cast syntax is used in a query to indicate that the result type of an expression should be converted to some other type.

When using CAST, a query can fail if GoogleSQL is unable to perform the cast. If you want to protect your queries from these types of errors, you can use SAFE_CAST.

Casts between supported types that do not successfully map from the original value to the target domain produce runtime errors. For example, casting BYTES to STRING where the byte sequence is not valid UTF-8 results in a runtime error.

Examples

The following query results in "true" if x is 1, "false" for any other non-NULL value, and NULL if x is NULL.

CAST(x=1 AS STRING)

CAST AS ARRAY

CAST(expression AS ARRAY<element_type>)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to ARRAY. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • ARRAY

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
ARRAY ARRAY Must be the exact same array type.

CAST AS BOOL

CAST(expression AS BOOL)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to BOOL. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • INT64
  • BOOL
  • STRING

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
INT64 BOOL Returns FALSE if x is 0, TRUE otherwise.
STRING BOOL Returns TRUE if x is "true" and FALSE if x is "false"
All other values of x are invalid and throw an error instead of casting to a boolean.
A string is case-insensitive when converting to a boolean.

CAST AS BYTES

CAST(expression AS BYTES)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to BYTES. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • BYTES
  • STRING

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
STRING BYTES Strings are cast to bytes using UTF-8 encoding. For example, the string "©", when cast to bytes, would become a 2-byte sequence with the hex values C2 and A9.

CAST AS DATE

CAST(expression AS DATE)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to DATE. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • STRING
  • TIMESTAMP

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
STRING DATE When casting from string to date, the string must conform to the supported date literal format, and is independent of time zone. If the string expression is invalid or represents a date that is outside of the supported min/max range, then an error is produced.
TIMESTAMP DATE Casting from a timestamp to date effectively truncates the timestamp as of the default time zone.

CAST AS FLOAT64

CAST(expression AS FLOAT64)
CAST(expression AS FLOAT32)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to floating point types. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • INT64
  • FLOAT32
  • FLOAT64
  • STRING

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
INT64 FLOAT64 Returns a close but potentially not exact floating point value.
STRING FLOAT64 Returns x as a floating point value, interpreting it as having the same form as a valid floating point literal. Also supports casts from "[+,-]inf" to [,-]Infinity, "[+,-]infinity" to [,-]Infinity, and "[+,-]nan" to NaN. Conversions are case-insensitive.

CAST AS INT64

CAST(expression AS INT64)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to integer types. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • INT64
  • FLOAT32
  • FLOAT64
  • ENUM
  • BOOL
  • STRING

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
FLOAT64 INT64 Returns the closest integer value.
Halfway cases such as 1.5 or -0.5 round away from zero.
BOOL INT64 Returns 1 if x is TRUE, 0 otherwise.
STRING INT64 A hex string can be cast to an integer. For example, 0x123 to 291 or -0x123 to -291.

Examples

If you are working with hex strings (0x123), you can cast those strings as integers:

SELECT '0x123' as hex_value, CAST('0x123' as INT64) as hex_to_int;

/*-----------+------------*
 | hex_value | hex_to_int |
 +-----------+------------+
 | 0x123     | 291        |
 *-----------+------------*/
SELECT '-0x123' as hex_value, CAST('-0x123' as INT64) as hex_to_int;

/*-----------+------------*
 | hex_value | hex_to_int |
 +-----------+------------+
 | -0x123    | -291       |
 *-----------+------------*/

CAST AS STRING

CAST(expression AS STRING)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to STRING. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • INT64
  • FLOAT32
  • FLOAT64
  • ENUM
  • BOOL
  • BYTES
  • DATE
  • TIMESTAMP
  • STRING

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
FLOAT64 STRING Returns an approximate string representation. A returned NaN or 0 will not be signed.
BOOL STRING Returns "true" if x is TRUE, "false" otherwise.
BYTES STRING Returns x interpreted as a UTF-8 string.
For example, the bytes literal b'\xc2\xa9', when cast to a string, is interpreted as UTF-8 and becomes the unicode character "©".
An error occurs if x is not valid UTF-8.
ENUM STRING Returns the canonical enum value name of x.
If an enum value has multiple names (aliases), the canonical name/alias for that value is used.
DATE STRING Casting from a date type to a string is independent of time zone and is of the form YYYY-MM-DD.
TIMESTAMP STRING When casting from timestamp types to string, the timestamp is interpreted using the default time zone, UTC. The number of subsecond digits produced depends on the number of trailing zeroes in the subsecond part: the CAST function will truncate zero, three, or six digits.

Examples

SELECT CAST(CURRENT_DATE() AS STRING) AS current_date

/*---------------*
 | current_date  |
 +---------------+
 | 2021-03-09    |
 *---------------*/

CAST AS TIMESTAMP

CAST(expression AS TIMESTAMP)

Description

GoogleSQL supports casting to TIMESTAMP. The expression parameter can represent an expression for these data types:

  • STRING
  • TIMESTAMP

Conversion rules

From To Rule(s) when casting x
STRING TIMESTAMP When casting from string to a timestamp, string_expression must conform to the supported timestamp literal formats, or else a runtime error occurs. The string_expression may itself contain a time zone.

If there is a time zone in the string_expression, that time zone is used for conversion, otherwise the default time zone, UTC, is used. If the string has fewer than six digits, then it is implicitly widened.

An error is produced if the string_expression is invalid, has more than six subsecond digits (i.e., precision greater than microseconds), or represents a time outside of the supported timestamp range.
DATE TIMESTAMP Casting from a date to a timestamp interprets date_expression as of midnight (start of the day) in the default time zone, UTC.

Examples

The following example casts a string-formatted timestamp as a timestamp:

SELECT CAST("2020-06-02 17:00:53.110+00:00" AS TIMESTAMP) AS as_timestamp

-- Results depend upon where this query was executed.
/*-----------------------------*
 | as_timestamp                |
 +-----------------------------+
 | 2020-06-03 00:00:53.110 UTC |
 *-----------------------------*/

SAFE_CAST

SAFE_CAST(expression AS typename)

Description

When using CAST, a query can fail if GoogleSQL is unable to perform the cast. For example, the following query generates an error:

SELECT CAST("apple" AS INT64) AS not_a_number;

If you want to protect your queries from these types of errors, you can use SAFE_CAST. SAFE_CAST replaces runtime errors with NULLs. However, during static analysis, impossible casts between two non-castable types still produce an error because the query is invalid.

SELECT SAFE_CAST("apple" AS INT64) AS not_a_number;

/*--------------*
 | not_a_number |
 +--------------+
 | NULL         |
 *--------------*/

If you are casting from bytes to strings, you can also use the function, SAFE_CONVERT_BYTES_TO_STRING. Any invalid UTF-8 characters are replaced with the unicode replacement character, U+FFFD.

Date functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports the following date functions.

Function list

Name Summary
CURRENT_DATE Returns the current date as a DATE value.
DATE Constructs a DATE value.
DATE_ADD Adds a specified time interval to a DATE value.
DATE_DIFF Gets the number of unit boundaries between two DATE values at a particular time granularity.
DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE Interprets an INT64 expression as the number of days since 1970-01-01.
DATE_SUB Subtracts a specified time interval from a DATE value.
DATE_TRUNC Truncates a DATE, DATETIME, or TIMESTAMP value at a particular granularity.
EXTRACT Extracts part of a date from a DATE value.
FORMAT_DATE Formats a DATE value according to a specified format string.
GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY Generates an array of dates in a range.
For more information, see Array functions.
LAST_DAY Gets the last day in a specified time period that contains a DATE value.
PARSE_DATE Converts a STRING value to a DATE value.
UNIX_DATE Converts a DATE value to the number of days since 1970-01-01.

CURRENT_DATE

CURRENT_DATE()
CURRENT_DATE(time_zone_expression)
CURRENT_DATE

Description

Returns the current date as a DATE object. Parentheses are optional when called with no arguments.

This function supports the following arguments:

  • time_zone_expression: A STRING expression that represents a time zone. If no time zone is specified, the default time zone, UTC, is used. If this expression is used and it evaluates to NULL, this function returns NULL.

The current date is recorded at the start of the query statement which contains this function, not when this specific function is evaluated.

Return Data Type

DATE

Examples

The following query produces the current date in the default time zone:

SELECT CURRENT_DATE() AS the_date;

/*--------------*
 | the_date     |
 +--------------+
 | 2016-12-25   |
 *--------------*/

The following queries produce the current date in a specified time zone:

SELECT CURRENT_DATE('America/Los_Angeles') AS the_date;

/*--------------*
 | the_date     |
 +--------------+
 | 2016-12-25   |
 *--------------*/
SELECT CURRENT_DATE('-08') AS the_date;

/*--------------*
 | the_date     |
 +--------------+
 | 2016-12-25   |
 *--------------*/

The following query produces the current date in the default time zone. Parentheses are not needed if the function has no arguments.

SELECT CURRENT_DATE AS the_date;

/*--------------*
 | the_date     |
 +--------------+
 | 2016-12-25   |
 *--------------*/

DATE

DATE(year, month, day)
DATE(timestamp_expression)
DATE(timestamp_expression, time_zone_expression)

Description

Constructs or extracts a date.

This function supports the following arguments:

  • year: The INT64 value for year.
  • month: The INT64 value for month.
  • day: The INT64 value for day.
  • timestamp_expression: A TIMESTAMP expression that contains the date.
  • time_zone_expression: A STRING expression that represents a time zone. If no time zone is specified with timestamp_expression, the default time zone, UTC, is used.

Return Data Type

DATE

Example

SELECT
  DATE(2016, 12, 25) AS date_ymd,
  DATE(TIMESTAMP '2016-12-25 05:30:00+07', 'America/Los_Angeles') AS date_tstz;

/*------------+------------*
 | date_ymd   | date_tstz  |
 +------------+------------+
 | 2016-12-25 | 2016-12-24 |
 *------------+------------*/

DATE_ADD

DATE_ADD(date_expression, INTERVAL int64_expression date_part)

Description

Adds a specified time interval to a DATE.

DATE_ADD supports the following date_part values:

  • DAY
  • WEEK. Equivalent to 7 DAYs.
  • MONTH
  • QUARTER
  • YEAR

Special handling is required for MONTH, QUARTER, and YEAR parts when the date is at (or near) the last day of the month. If the resulting month has fewer days than the original date's day, then the resulting date is the last date of that month.

Return Data Type

DATE

Example

SELECT DATE_ADD(DATE '2008-12-25', INTERVAL 5 DAY) AS five_days_later;

/*--------------------*
 | five_days_later    |
 +--------------------+
 | 2008-12-30         |
 *--------------------*/

DATE_DIFF

DATE_DIFF(end_date, start_date, granularity)

Description

Gets the number of unit boundaries between two DATE values (end_date - start_date) at a particular time granularity.

Definitions

  • start_date: The starting DATE value.
  • end_date: The ending DATE value.
  • granularity: The date part that represents the granularity. This can be:

    • DAY
    • WEEK This date part begins on Sunday.
    • WEEK(<WEEKDAY>): This date part begins on WEEKDAY. Valid values for WEEKDAY are SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY.
    • ISOWEEK: Uses ISO 8601 week boundaries. ISO weeks begin on Monday.
    • MONTH
    • QUARTER
    • YEAR
    • ISOYEAR: Uses the ISO 8601 week-numbering year boundary. The ISO year boundary is the Monday of the first week whose Thursday belongs to the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.

Details

If end_date is earlier than start_date, the output is negative.

Return Data Type

INT64

Example

SELECT DATE_DIFF(DATE '2010-07-07', DATE '2008-12-25', DAY) AS days_diff;

/*-----------*
 | days_diff |
 +-----------+
 | 559       |
 *-----------*/
SELECT
  DATE_DIFF(DATE '2017-10-15', DATE '2017-10-14', DAY) AS days_diff,
  DATE_DIFF(DATE '2017-10-15', DATE '2017-10-14', WEEK) AS weeks_diff;

/*-----------+------------*
 | days_diff | weeks_diff |
 +-----------+------------+
 | 1         | 1          |
 *-----------+------------*/

The example above shows the result of DATE_DIFF for two days in succession. DATE_DIFF with the date part WEEK returns 1 because DATE_DIFF counts the number of date part boundaries in this range of dates. Each WEEK begins on Sunday, so there is one date part boundary between Saturday, 2017-10-14 and Sunday, 2017-10-15.

The following example shows the result of DATE_DIFF for two dates in different years. DATE_DIFF with the date part YEAR returns 3 because it counts the number of Gregorian calendar year boundaries between the two dates. DATE_DIFF with the date part ISOYEAR returns 2 because the second date belongs to the ISO year 2015. The first Thursday of the 2015 calendar year was 2015-01-01, so the ISO year 2015 begins on the preceding Monday, 2014-12-29.

SELECT
  DATE_DIFF('2017-12-30', '2014-12-30', YEAR) AS year_diff,
  DATE_DIFF('2017-12-30', '2014-12-30', ISOYEAR) AS isoyear_diff;

/*-----------+--------------*
 | year_diff | isoyear_diff |
 +-----------+--------------+
 | 3         | 2            |
 *-----------+--------------*/

The following example shows the result of DATE_DIFF for two days in succession. The first date falls on a Monday and the second date falls on a Sunday. DATE_DIFF with the date part WEEK returns 0 because this date part uses weeks that begin on Sunday. DATE_DIFF with the date part WEEK(MONDAY) returns 1. DATE_DIFF with the date part ISOWEEK also returns 1 because ISO weeks begin on Monday.

SELECT
  DATE_DIFF('2017-12-18', '2017-12-17', WEEK) AS week_diff,
  DATE_DIFF('2017-12-18', '2017-12-17', WEEK(MONDAY)) AS week_weekday_diff,
  DATE_DIFF('2017-12-18', '2017-12-17', ISOWEEK) AS isoweek_diff;

/*-----------+-------------------+--------------*
 | week_diff | week_weekday_diff | isoweek_diff |
 +-----------+-------------------+--------------+
 | 0         | 1                 | 1            |
 *-----------+-------------------+--------------*/

DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE

DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE(int64_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of days since 1970-01-01.

Return Data Type

DATE

Example

SELECT DATE_FROM_UNIX_DATE(14238) AS date_from_epoch;

/*-----------------*
 | date_from_epoch |
 +-----------------+
 | 2008-12-25      |
 *-----------------+*/

DATE_SUB

DATE_SUB(date_expression, INTERVAL int64_expression date_part)

Description

Subtracts a specified time interval from a DATE.

DATE_SUB supports the following date_part values:

  • DAY
  • WEEK. Equivalent to 7 DAYs.
  • MONTH
  • QUARTER
  • YEAR

Special handling is required for MONTH, QUARTER, and YEAR parts when the date is at (or near) the last day of the month. If the resulting month has fewer days than the original date's day, then the resulting date is the last date of that month.

Return Data Type

DATE

Example

SELECT DATE_SUB(DATE '2008-12-25', INTERVAL 5 DAY) AS five_days_ago;

/*---------------*
 | five_days_ago |
 +---------------+
 | 2008-12-20    |
 *---------------*/

DATE_TRUNC

DATE_TRUNC(date_value, date_granularity)
DATE_TRUNC(datetime_value, datetime_granularity)
DATE_TRUNC(timestamp_value, timestamp_granularity[, time_zone])

Description

Truncates a DATE, DATETIME, or TIMESTAMP value at a particular granularity.

Definitions

  • date_value: A DATE value to truncate.
  • date_granularity: The truncation granularity for a DATE value. Date granularities can be used.
  • datetime_value: A DATETIME value to truncate.
  • datetime_granularity: The truncation granularity for a DATETIME value. Date granularities and time granularities can be used.
  • timestamp_value: A TIMESTAMP value to truncate.
  • timestamp_granularity: The truncation granularity for a TIMESTAMP value. Date granularities and time granularities can be used.
  • time_zone: A time zone to use with the TIMESTAMP value. Time zone parts can be used. Use this argument if you want to use a time zone other than the default time zone, UTC, as part of the truncate operation.

Date granularity definitions

  • DAY: The day in the Gregorian calendar year that contains the value to truncate.

  • WEEK: The first day in the week that contains the value to truncate. Weeks begin on Sundays. WEEK is equivalent to WEEK(SUNDAY).

  • WEEK(WEEKDAY): The first day in the week that contains the value to truncate. Weeks begin on WEEKDAY. WEEKDAY must be one of the following: SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, or SATURDAY.

  • ISOWEEK: The first day in the ISO 8601 week that contains the value to truncate. The ISO week begins on Monday. The first ISO week of each ISO year contains the first Thursday of the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.

  • MONTH: The first day in the month that contains the value to truncate.

  • QUARTER: The first day in the quarter that contains the value to truncate.

  • YEAR: The first day in the year that contains the value to truncate.

  • ISOYEAR: The first day in the ISO 8601 week-numbering year that contains the value to truncate. The ISO year is the Monday of the first week where Thursday belongs to the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.

Time granularity definitions

  • MICROSECOND: If used, nothing is truncated from the value.

  • MILLISECOND: The nearest lesser than or equal millisecond.

  • SECOND: The nearest lesser than or equal second.

  • MINUTE: The nearest lesser than or equal minute.

  • HOUR: The nearest lesser than or equal hour.

Time zone part definitions

  • MINUTE
  • HOUR
  • DAY
  • WEEK
  • WEEK(<WEEKDAY>)
  • ISOWEEK
  • MONTH
  • QUARTER
  • YEAR
  • ISOYEAR

Details

The resulting value is always rounded to the beginning of granularity.

Return Data Type

The same data type as the first argument passed into this function.

Examples

SELECT DATE_TRUNC(DATE '2008-12-25', MONTH) AS month;

/*------------*
 | month      |
 +------------+
 | 2008-12-01 |
 *------------*/

In the following example, the original date falls on a Sunday. Because the date_part is WEEK(MONDAY), DATE_TRUNC returns the DATE for the preceding Monday.

SELECT date AS original, DATE_TRUNC(date, WEEK(MONDAY)) AS truncated
FROM (SELECT DATE('2017-11-05') AS date);

/*------------+------------*
 | original   | truncated  |
 +------------+------------+
 | 2017-11-05 | 2017-10-30 |
 *------------+------------*/

In the following example, the original date_expression is in the Gregorian calendar year 2015. However, DATE_TRUNC with the ISOYEAR date part truncates the date_expression to the beginning of the ISO year, not the Gregorian calendar year. The first Thursday of the 2015 calendar year was 2015-01-01, so the ISO year 2015 begins on the preceding Monday, 2014-12-29. Therefore the ISO year boundary preceding the date_expression 2015-06-15 is 2014-12-29.

SELECT
  DATE_TRUNC('2015-06-15', ISOYEAR) AS isoyear_boundary,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM DATE '2015-06-15') AS isoyear_number;

/*------------------+----------------*
 | isoyear_boundary | isoyear_number |
 +------------------+----------------+
 | 2014-12-29       | 2015           |
 *------------------+----------------*/

EXTRACT

EXTRACT(part FROM date_expression)

Description

Returns the value corresponding to the specified date part. The part must be one of:

  • DAYOFWEEK: Returns values in the range [1,7] with Sunday as the first day of the week.
  • DAY
  • DAYOFYEAR
  • WEEK: Returns the week number of the date in the range [0, 53]. Weeks begin with Sunday, and dates prior to the first Sunday of the year are in week 0.
  • WEEK(<WEEKDAY>): Returns the week number of the date in the range [0, 53]. Weeks begin on WEEKDAY. Dates prior to the first WEEKDAY of the year are in week 0. Valid values for WEEKDAY are SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY.
  • ISOWEEK: Returns the ISO 8601 week number of the date_expression. ISOWEEKs begin on Monday. Return values are in the range [1, 53]. The first ISOWEEK of each ISO year begins on the Monday before the first Thursday of the Gregorian calendar year.
  • MONTH
  • QUARTER: Returns values in the range [1,4].
  • YEAR
  • ISOYEAR: Returns the ISO 8601 week-numbering year, which is the Gregorian calendar year containing the Thursday of the week to which date_expression belongs.

Return Data Type

INT64

Examples

In the following example, EXTRACT returns a value corresponding to the DAY date part.

SELECT EXTRACT(DAY FROM DATE '2013-12-25') AS the_day;

/*---------*
 | the_day |
 +---------+
 | 25      |
 *---------*/

In the following example, EXTRACT returns values corresponding to different date parts from a column of dates near the end of the year.

SELECT
  date,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM date) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM date) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM date) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM date) AS week
FROM UNNEST(GENERATE_DATE_ARRAY('2015-12-23', '2016-01-09')) AS date
ORDER BY date;

/*------------+---------+---------+------+------*
 | date       | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +------------+---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2015-12-23 | 2015    | 52      | 2015 | 51   |
 | 2015-12-24 | 2015    | 52      | 2015 | 51   |
 | 2015-12-25 | 2015    | 52      | 2015 | 51   |
 | 2015-12-26 | 2015    | 52      | 2015 | 51   |
 | 2015-12-27 | 2015    | 52      | 2015 | 52   |
 | 2015-12-28 | 2015    | 53      | 2015 | 52   |
 | 2015-12-29 | 2015    | 53      | 2015 | 52   |
 | 2015-12-30 | 2015    | 53      | 2015 | 52   |
 | 2015-12-31 | 2015    | 53      | 2015 | 52   |
 | 2016-01-01 | 2015    | 53      | 2016 | 0    |
 | 2016-01-02 | 2015    | 53      | 2016 | 0    |
 | 2016-01-03 | 2015    | 53      | 2016 | 1    |
 | 2016-01-04 | 2016    | 1       | 2016 | 1    |
 | 2016-01-05 | 2016    | 1       | 2016 | 1    |
 | 2016-01-06 | 2016    | 1       | 2016 | 1    |
 | 2016-01-07 | 2016    | 1       | 2016 | 1    |
 | 2016-01-08 | 2016    | 1       | 2016 | 1    |
 | 2016-01-09 | 2016    | 1       | 2016 | 1    |
 *------------+---------+---------+------+------*/

In the following example, date_expression falls on a Sunday. EXTRACT calculates the first column using weeks that begin on Sunday, and it calculates the second column using weeks that begin on Monday.

FORMAT_DATE

FORMAT_DATE(format_string, date_expr)

Description

Formats a DATE value according to a specified format string.

Definitions

  • format_string: A STRING value that contains the format elements to use with date_expr.
  • date_expr: A DATE value that represents the date to format.

Return Data Type

STRING

Examples

SELECT FORMAT_DATE('%x', DATE '2008-12-25') AS US_format;

/*------------*
 | US_format  |
 +------------+
 | 12/25/08   |
 *------------*/
SELECT FORMAT_DATE('%b-%d-%Y', DATE '2008-12-25') AS formatted;

/*-------------*
 | formatted   |
 +-------------+
 | Dec-25-2008 |
 *-------------*/
SELECT FORMAT_DATE('%b %Y', DATE '2008-12-25') AS formatted;

/*-------------*
 | formatted   |
 +-------------+
 | Dec 2008    |
 *-------------*/

LAST_DAY

LAST_DAY(date_expression[, date_part])

Description

Returns the last day from a date expression. This is commonly used to return the last day of the month.

You can optionally specify the date part for which the last day is returned. If this parameter is not used, the default value is MONTH. LAST_DAY supports the following values for date_part:

  • YEAR
  • QUARTER
  • MONTH
  • WEEK. Equivalent to 7 DAYs.
  • WEEK(<WEEKDAY>). <WEEKDAY> represents the starting day of the week. Valid values are SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY.
  • ISOWEEK. Uses ISO 8601 week boundaries. ISO weeks begin on Monday.
  • ISOYEAR. Uses the ISO 8601 week-numbering year boundary. The ISO year boundary is the Monday of the first week whose Thursday belongs to the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.

Return Data Type

DATE

Example

These both return the last day of the month:

SELECT LAST_DAY(DATE '2008-11-25', MONTH) AS last_day

/*------------*
 | last_day   |
 +------------+
 | 2008-11-30 |
 *------------*/
SELECT LAST_DAY(DATE '2008-11-25') AS last_day

/*------------*
 | last_day   |
 +------------+
 | 2008-11-30 |
 *------------*/

This returns the last day of the year:

SELECT LAST_DAY(DATE '2008-11-25', YEAR) AS last_day

/*------------*
 | last_day   |
 +------------+
 | 2008-12-31 |
 *------------*/

This returns the last day of the week for a week that starts on a Sunday:

SELECT LAST_DAY(DATE '2008-11-10', WEEK(SUNDAY)) AS last_day

/*------------*
 | last_day   |
 +------------+
 | 2008-11-15 |
 *------------*/

This returns the last day of the week for a week that starts on a Monday:

SELECT LAST_DAY(DATE '2008-11-10', WEEK(MONDAY)) AS last_day

/*------------*
 | last_day   |
 +------------+
 | 2008-11-16 |
 *------------*/

PARSE_DATE

PARSE_DATE(format_string, date_string)

Description

Converts a STRING value to a DATE value.

Definitions

  • format_string: A STRING value that contains the format elements to use with date_string.
  • date_string: A STRING value that represents the date to parse.

Details

Each element in date_string must have a corresponding element in format_string. The location of each element in format_string must match the location of each element in date_string.

-- This works because elements on both sides match.
SELECT PARSE_DATE('%A %b %e %Y', 'Thursday Dec 25 2008');

-- This produces an error because the year element is in different locations.
SELECT PARSE_DATE('%Y %A %b %e', 'Thursday Dec 25 2008');

-- This produces an error because one of the year elements is missing.
SELECT PARSE_DATE('%A %b %e', 'Thursday Dec 25 2008');

-- This works because %F can find all matching elements in date_string.
SELECT PARSE_DATE('%F', '2000-12-30');

When using PARSE_DATE, keep the following in mind:

  • Unspecified fields. Any unspecified field is initialized from 1970-01-01.
  • Case insensitivity. Names, such as Monday, February, and so on, are case insensitive.
  • Whitespace. One or more consecutive white spaces in the format string matches zero or more consecutive white spaces in the date string. In addition, leading and trailing white spaces in the date string are always allowed -- even if they are not in the format string.
  • Format precedence. When two (or more) format elements have overlapping information (for example both %F and %Y affect the year), the last one generally overrides any earlier ones.

Return Data Type

DATE

Examples

This example converts a MM/DD/YY formatted string to a DATE object:

SELECT PARSE_DATE('%x', '12/25/08') AS parsed;

/*------------*
 | parsed     |
 +------------+
 | 2008-12-25 |
 *------------*/

This example converts a YYYYMMDD formatted string to a DATE object:

SELECT PARSE_DATE('%Y%m%d', '20081225') AS parsed;

/*------------*
 | parsed     |
 +------------+
 | 2008-12-25 |
 *------------*/

UNIX_DATE

UNIX_DATE(date_expression)

Description

Returns the number of days since 1970-01-01.

Return Data Type

INT64

Example

SELECT UNIX_DATE(DATE '2008-12-25') AS days_from_epoch;

/*-----------------*
 | days_from_epoch |
 +-----------------+
 | 14238           |
 *-----------------*/

JSON functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports the following functions, which can retrieve and transform JSON data.

Categories

The JSON functions are grouped into the following categories based on their behavior:

Category Functions Description
Standard extractors JSON_QUERY
JSON_VALUE
JSON_QUERY_ARRAY
Functions that extract JSON data.
Legacy extractors JSON_EXTRACT
JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR
Functions that extract JSON data.
While these functions are supported by GoogleSQL, we recommend using the standard extractor functions.
Other converters TO_JSON_STRING
Other conversion functions from or to JSON.

Function list

Name Summary
JSON_EXTRACT (Deprecated) Extracts a JSON value and converts it to a SQL JSON-formatted STRING value.
JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR (Deprecated) Extracts a JSON scalar value and converts it to a SQL STRING value.
JSON_QUERY Extracts a JSON value and converts it to a SQL JSON-formatted STRING value.
JSON_QUERY_ARRAY Extracts a JSON array and converts it to a SQL ARRAY<JSON-formatted STRING> value.
JSON_VALUE Extracts a JSON scalar value and converts it to a SQL STRING value.
TO_JSON_STRING Converts a SQL value to a JSON-formatted STRING value.

JSON_EXTRACT

JSON_EXTRACT(json_string_expr, json_path)

Description

Extracts a JSON value and converts it to a SQL JSON-formatted STRING value. This function uses single quotes and brackets to escape invalid JSONPath characters in JSON keys. For example: ['a.b'].

Arguments:

  • json_string_expr: A JSON-formatted string. For example:

    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}'
    

    Extracts a SQL NULL when a JSON-formatted string null is encountered. For example:

    SELECT JSON_EXTRACT("null", "$") -- Returns a SQL NULL
    
  • json_path: The JSONPath. This identifies the data that you want to obtain from the input.

Return type

A JSON-formatted STRING

Examples

In the following examples, JSON data is extracted and returned as JSON-formatted strings.

SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
  '$') AS json_text_string;

/*-----------------------------------------------------------*
 | json_text_string                                          |
 +-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | {"class":{"students":[{"name":"Jane"}]}}                  |
 *-----------------------------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": []}}',
  '$') AS json_text_string;

/*-----------------------------------------------------------*
 | json_text_string                                          |
 +-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | {"class":{"students":[]}}                                 |
 *-----------------------------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
  '$') AS json_text_string;

/*-----------------------------------------------------------*
 | json_text_string                                          |
 +-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | {"class":{"students":[{"name":"John"},{"name":"Jamie"}]}} |
 *-----------------------------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
  '$.class.students[0]') AS first_student;

/*-----------------*
 | first_student   |
 +-----------------+
 | {"name":"Jane"} |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": []}}',
  '$.class.students[0]') AS first_student;

/*-----------------*
 | first_student   |
 +-----------------+
 | NULL            |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
  '$.class.students[0]') AS first_student;

/*-----------------*
 | first_student   |
 +-----------------+
 | {"name":"John"} |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
  '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": []}}',
  '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": null}]}}',
  '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
  '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | "Jamie"        |
 *----------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
  "$.class['students']") AS student_names;

/*------------------------------------*
 | student_names                      |
 +------------------------------------+
 | [{"name":"Jane"}]                  |
 *------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": []}}',
  "$.class['students']") AS student_names;

/*------------------------------------*
 | student_names                      |
 +------------------------------------+
 | []                                 |
 *------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT(
  '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
  "$.class['students']") AS student_names;

/*------------------------------------*
 | student_names                      |
 +------------------------------------+
 | [{"name":"John"},{"name":"Jamie"}] |
 *------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT('{"a": null}', "$.a"); -- Returns a SQL NULL
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT('{"a": null}', "$.b"); -- Returns a SQL NULL

JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR

JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR(json_string_expr[, json_path])

Description

Extracts a JSON scalar value and converts it to a SQL STRING value. In addition, this function:

  • Removes the outermost quotes and unescapes the return values.
  • Returns a SQL NULL if a non-scalar value is selected.
  • Uses single quotes and brackets to escape invalid JSONPath characters in JSON keys. For example: ['a.b'].

Arguments:

  • json_string_expr: A JSON-formatted string. For example:

    '{"name": "Jane", "age": "6"}'
    
  • json_path: The JSONPath. This identifies the data that you want to obtain from the input. If this optional parameter is not provided, then the JSONPath $ symbol is applied, which means that all of the data is analyzed.

    If json_path returns a JSON null or a non-scalar value (in other words, if json_path refers to an object or an array), then a SQL NULL is returned.

Return type

STRING

Examples

The following example compares how results are returned for the JSON_EXTRACT and JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR functions.

SELECT JSON_EXTRACT('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6" }', '$.name') AS json_name,
  JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6" }', '$.name') AS scalar_name,
  JSON_EXTRACT('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6" }', '$.age') AS json_age,
  JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6" }', '$.age') AS scalar_age;

/*-----------+-------------+----------+------------*
 | json_name | scalar_name | json_age | scalar_age |
 +-----------+-------------+----------+------------+
 | "Jakob"   | Jakob       | "6"      | 6          |
 *-----------+-------------+----------+------------*/
SELECT JSON_EXTRACT('{"fruits": ["apple", "banana"]}', '$.fruits') AS json_extract,
  JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR('{"fruits": ["apple", "banana"]}', '$.fruits') AS json_extract_scalar;

/*--------------------+---------------------*
 | json_extract       | json_extract_scalar |
 +--------------------+---------------------+
 | ["apple","banana"] | NULL                |
 *--------------------+---------------------*/

In cases where a JSON key uses invalid JSONPath characters, you can escape those characters using single quotes and brackets, [' ']. For example:

SELECT JSON_EXTRACT_SCALAR('{"a.b": {"c": "world"}}', "$['a.b'].c") AS hello;

/*-------*
 | hello |
 +-------+
 | world |
 *-------*/

JSON_QUERY

JSON_QUERY(json_string_expr, json_path)

Description

Extracts a JSON value and converts it to a SQL JSON-formatted STRING value. This function uses double quotes to escape invalid JSONPath characters in JSON keys. For example: "a.b".

Arguments:

  • json_string_expr: A JSON-formatted string. For example:

    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}'
    

    Extracts a SQL NULL when a JSON-formatted string null is encountered. For example:

    SELECT JSON_QUERY("null", "$") -- Returns a SQL NULL
    
  • json_path: The JSONPath. This identifies the data that you want to obtain from the input.

Return type

A JSON-formatted STRING

Examples

In the following examples, JSON data is extracted and returned as JSON-formatted strings.

SELECT
  JSON_QUERY('{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}', '$') AS json_text_string;

/*-----------------------------------------------------------*
 | json_text_string                                          |
 +-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | {"class":{"students":[{"name":"Jane"}]}}                  |
 *-----------------------------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_QUERY('{"class": {"students": []}}', '$') AS json_text_string;

/*-----------------------------------------------------------*
 | json_text_string                                          |
 +-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | {"class":{"students":[]}}                                 |
 *-----------------------------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"},{"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
    '$') AS json_text_string;

/*-----------------------------------------------------------*
 | json_text_string                                          |
 +-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | {"class":{"students":[{"name":"John"},{"name":"Jamie"}]}} |
 *-----------------------------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
    '$.class.students[0]') AS first_student;

/*-----------------*
 | first_student   |
 +-----------------+
 | {"name":"Jane"} |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY('{"class": {"students": []}}', '$.class.students[0]') AS first_student;

/*-----------------*
 | first_student   |
 +-----------------+
 | NULL            |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
    '$.class.students[0]') AS first_student;

/*-----------------*
 | first_student   |
 +-----------------+
 | {"name":"John"} |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
    '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": []}}',
    '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": null}]}}',
    '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | NULL           |
 *----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
    '$.class.students[1].name') AS second_student;

/*----------------*
 | second_student |
 +----------------+
 | "Jamie"        |
 *----------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "Jane"}]}}',
    '$.class."students"') AS student_names;

/*------------------------------------*
 | student_names                      |
 +------------------------------------+
 | [{"name":"Jane"}]                  |
 *------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": []}}',
    '$.class."students"') AS student_names;

/*------------------------------------*
 | student_names                      |
 +------------------------------------+
 | []                                 |
 *------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  JSON_QUERY(
    '{"class": {"students": [{"name": "John"}, {"name": "Jamie"}]}}',
    '$.class."students"') AS student_names;

/*------------------------------------*
 | student_names                      |
 +------------------------------------+
 | [{"name":"John"},{"name":"Jamie"}] |
 *------------------------------------*/
SELECT JSON_QUERY('{"a": null}', "$.a"); -- Returns a SQL NULL
SELECT JSON_QUERY('{"a": null}', "$.b"); -- Returns a SQL NULL

JSON_QUERY_ARRAY

JSON_QUERY_ARRAY(json_string_expr[, json_path])

Description

Extracts a JSON array and converts it to a SQL ARRAY<JSON-formatted STRING> value. In addition, this function uses double quotes to escape invalid JSONPath characters in JSON keys. For example: "a.b".

Arguments:

  • json_string_expr: A JSON-formatted string. For example:

    '["a", "b", {"key": "c"}]'
    
  • json_path: The JSONPath. This identifies the data that you want to obtain from the input. If this optional parameter is not provided, then the JSONPath $ symbol is applied, which means that all of the data is analyzed.

Return type

ARRAY<JSON-formatted STRING>

Examples

This extracts the items in a JSON-formatted string to a string array:

SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('[1, 2, 3]') AS string_array;

/*--------------*
 | string_array |
 +--------------+
 | [1, 2, 3]    |
 *--------------*/

This extracts string values in a JSON-formatted string to an array:

-- Doesn't strip the double quotes
SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('["apples", "oranges", "grapes"]', '$') AS string_array;

/*---------------------------------*
 | string_array                    |
 +---------------------------------+
 | ["apples", "oranges", "grapes"] |
 *---------------------------------*/

This extracts only the items in the fruit property to an array:

SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY(
  '{"fruit": [{"apples": 5, "oranges": 10}, {"apples": 2, "oranges": 4}], "vegetables": [{"lettuce": 7, "kale": 8}]}',
  '$.fruit'
) AS string_array;

/*-------------------------------------------------------*
 | string_array                                          |
 +-------------------------------------------------------+
 | [{"apples":5,"oranges":10}, {"apples":2,"oranges":4}] |
 *-------------------------------------------------------*/

These are equivalent:

SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('{"fruits": ["apples", "oranges", "grapes"]}', '$.fruits') AS string_array;

SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('{"fruits": ["apples", "oranges", "grapes"]}', '$."fruits"') AS string_array;

-- The queries above produce the following result:
/*---------------------------------*
 | string_array                    |
 +---------------------------------+
 | ["apples", "oranges", "grapes"] |
 *---------------------------------*/

In cases where a JSON key uses invalid JSONPath characters, you can escape those characters using double quotes: " ". For example:

SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('{"a.b": {"c": ["world"]}}', '$."a.b".c') AS hello;

/*-----------*
 | hello     |
 +-----------+
 | ["world"] |
 *-----------*/

The following examples show how invalid requests and empty arrays are handled:

-- An error is returned if you provide an invalid JSONPath.
SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('["foo", "bar", "baz"]', 'INVALID_JSONPath') AS result;

-- If the JSONPath does not refer to an array, then NULL is returned.
SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('{"a": "foo"}', '$.a') AS result;

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | NULL   |
 *--------*/

-- If a key that does not exist is specified, then the result is NULL.
SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('{"a": "foo"}', '$.b') AS result;

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | NULL   |
 *--------*/

-- Empty arrays in JSON-formatted strings are supported.
SELECT JSON_QUERY_ARRAY('{"a": "foo", "b": []}', '$.b') AS result;

/*--------*
 | result |
 +--------+
 | []     |
 *--------*/

JSON_VALUE

JSON_VALUE(json_string_expr[, json_path])

Description

Extracts a JSON scalar value and converts it to a SQL STRING value. In addition, this function:

  • Removes the outermost quotes and unescapes the values.
  • Returns a SQL NULL if a non-scalar value is selected.
  • Uses double quotes to escape invalid JSONPath characters in JSON keys. For example: "a.b".

Arguments:

  • json_string_expr: A JSON-formatted string. For example:

    '{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6"}'
    
  • json_path: The JSONPath. This identifies the data that you want to obtain from the input. If this optional parameter is not provided, then the JSONPath $ symbol is applied, which means that all of the data is analyzed.

    If json_path returns a JSON null or a non-scalar value (in other words, if json_path refers to an object or an array), then a SQL NULL is returned.

Return type

STRING

Examples

The following example compares how results are returned for the JSON_QUERY and JSON_VALUE functions.

SELECT JSON_QUERY('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6"}', '$.name') AS json_name,
  JSON_VALUE('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6"}', '$.name') AS scalar_name,
  JSON_QUERY('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6"}', '$.age') AS json_age,
  JSON_VALUE('{"name": "Jakob", "age": "6"}', '$.age') AS scalar_age;

/*-----------+-------------+----------+------------*
 | json_name | scalar_name | json_age | scalar_age |
 +-----------+-------------+----------+------------+
 | "Jakob"   | Jakob       | "6"      | 6          |
 *-----------+-------------+----------+------------*/
SELECT JSON_QUERY('{"fruits": ["apple", "banana"]}', '$.fruits') AS json_query,
  JSON_VALUE('{"fruits": ["apple", "banana"]}', '$.fruits') AS json_value;

/*--------------------+------------*
 | json_query         | json_value |
 +--------------------+------------+
 | ["apple","banana"] | NULL       |
 *--------------------+------------*/

In cases where a JSON key uses invalid JSONPath characters, you can escape those characters using double quotes. For example:

SELECT JSON_VALUE('{"a.b": {"c": "world"}}', '$."a.b".c') AS hello;

/*-------*
 | hello |
 +-------+
 | world |
 *-------*/

TO_JSON_STRING

TO_JSON_STRING(value[, pretty_print])

Description

Converts a SQL value to a JSON-formatted STRING value.

Arguments:

  • value: A SQL value. You can review the GoogleSQL data types that this function supports and their JSON encodings here.
  • pretty_print: Optional boolean parameter. If pretty_print is true, the `returned value is formatted for easy readability.

Return type

A JSON-formatted STRING

Examples

The following query converts a STRUCT value to a JSON-formatted string:

SELECT TO_JSON_STRING(STRUCT(1 AS id, [10,20] AS coordinates)) AS json_data

/*--------------------------------*
 | json_data                      |
 +--------------------------------+
 | {"id":1,"coordinates":[10,20]} |
 *--------------------------------*/

The following query converts a STRUCT value to a JSON-formatted string that is easy to read:

SELECT TO_JSON_STRING(STRUCT(1 AS id, [10,20] AS coordinates), true) AS json_data

/*--------------------*
 | json_data          |
 +--------------------+
 | {                  |
 |   "id": 1,         |
 |   "coordinates": [ |
 |     10,            |
 |     20             |
 |   ]                |
 | }                  |
 *--------------------*/

Supplemental materials

JSON encodings

You can encode a SQL value as a JSON value with the following functions:

  • TO_JSON_STRING

The following SQL to JSON encodings are supported:

From SQL To JSON Examples
NULL

null

SQL input: NULL
JSON output: null
BOOL boolean SQL input: TRUE
JSON output: true

SQL input: FALSE
JSON output: false
INT64

number or string

Encoded as a number when the value is in the range of [-253, 253], which is the range of integers that can be represented losslessly as IEEE 754 double-precision floating point numbers. A value outside of this range is encoded as a string.

SQL input: 9007199254740992
JSON output: 9007199254740992

SQL input: 9007199254740993
JSON output: "9007199254740993"
FLOAT32
FLOAT64

number or string

+/-inf and NaN are encoded as Infinity, -Infinity, and NaN. Otherwise, this value is encoded as a number.

SQL input: 1.0
JSON output: 1

SQL input: 9007199254740993
JSON output: 9007199254740993

SQL input: "+inf"
JSON output: "Infinity"

SQL input: "-inf"
JSON output: "-Infinity"

SQL input: "NaN"
JSON output: "NaN"
STRING

string

Encoded as a string, escaped according to the JSON standard. Specifically, ", \, and the control characters from U+0000 to U+001F are escaped.

SQL input: "abc"
JSON output: "abc"

SQL input: "\"abc\""
JSON output: "\"abc\""
BYTES

string

Uses RFC 4648 Base64 data encoding.

SQL input: b"Google"
JSON output: "R29vZ2xl"
ENUM

string

Invalid enum values are encoded as their number, such as 0 or 42.

SQL input: Color.Red
JSON output: "Red"
DATE string SQL input: DATE '2017-03-06'
JSON output: "2017-03-06"
TIMESTAMP

string

Encoded as ISO 8601 date and time, where T separates the date and time and Z (Zulu/UTC) represents the time zone.

SQL input: TIMESTAMP '2017-03-06 12:34:56.789012'
JSON output: "2017-03-06T12:34:56.789012Z"
ARRAY

array

Can contain zero or more elements.

SQL input: ["red", "blue", "green"]
JSON output: ["red","blue","green"]

SQL input:[1, 2, 3]
JSON output:[1,2,3]
STRUCT

object

The object can contain zero or more key-value pairs. Each value is formatted according to its type.

For TO_JSON_STRING, a field and any duplicates of this field are included in the output string.

Anonymous fields are represented with "".

Invalid UTF-8 field names might result in unparseable JSON. String values are escaped according to the JSON standard. Specifically, ", \, and the control characters from U+0000 to U+001F are escaped.

SQL input: STRUCT(12 AS purchases, TRUE AS inStock)
JSON output: {"inStock": true,"purchases":12}

JSONPath format

With the JSONPath format, you can identify the values you want to obtain from a JSON-formatted string.

If a key in a JSON functions contains a JSON format operator, refer to each JSON function for how to escape them.

A JSON function returns NULL if the JSONPath format does not match a value in a JSON-formatted string. If the selected value for a scalar function is not scalar, such as an object or an array, the function returns NULL. If the JSONPath format is invalid, an error is produced.

Operators for JSONPath

The JSONPath format supports these operators:

Operator Description Examples
$ Root object or element. The JSONPath format must start with this operator, which refers to the outermost level of the JSON-formatted string.

JSON-formatted string:
'{"class" : {"students" : [{"name" : "Jane"}]}}'

JSON path:
"$"

JSON result:
{"class":{"students":[{"name":"Jane"}]}}

. Child operator. You can identify child values using dot-notation.

JSON-formatted string:
'{"class" : {"students" : [{"name" : "Jane"}]}}'

JSON path:
"$.class.students"

JSON result:
[{"name":"Jane"}]

[] Subscript operator. If the object is a JSON array, you can use brackets to specify the array index.

JSON-formatted string:
'{"class" : {"students" : [{"name" : "Jane"}]}}'

JSON path:
"$.class.students[0]"

JSON result:
{"name":"Jane"}

[][]
[][][]...
Child subscript operator. If the object is a JSON array within an array, you can use as many additional brackets as you need to specify the child array index.

JSON-formatted string:
'{"a": [["b", "c"], "d"], "e":"f"}'

JSON path:
"$.a[0][1]"

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Map functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports the following map functions.

Function list

Name Summary
MAP_CONTAINS_KEY Checks if a key is in a map.
MAP_EMPTY Checks if a map is empty.
MAP_KEYS Gets an array of lexicographically sorted keys from a map.
MAP_VALUES Gets an array of lexicographically key-sorted values from a map.

MAP_CONTAINS_KEY

MAP_CONTAINS_KEY(input_map, key_to_find)

Description

Checks if a key is in a map. Returns TRUE if the key is found. Otherwise, returns FALSE.

Definitions

  • input_map: A MAP<K,V> value that represents the map to search. If this value is NULL, the function returns NULL.
  • key_to_find: The key to find in the map.

Return type

BOOL

Examples

The following query checks if a column called cell_plan in a table called test_table has a key called data_plan_05gb:

SELECT MAP_CONTAINS_KEY(cell_plan, b'data_plan_05gb') AS results
FROM test_table

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | TRUE    |
 | TRUE    |
 | FALSE   |
 | FALSE   |
 | FALSE   |
 *---------*/

MAP_EMPTY

MAP_EMPTY(input_map)

Description

Checks if a map is empty. Returns TRUE if the map is empty, otherwise FALSE.

Definitions

  • input_map: A MAP<K,V> value that represents the map to search. If this value is NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return type

BOOL

Example

The following query checks if a column called cell_plan in a table called test_table is empty:

SELECT MAP_EMPTY(cell_plan) AS results
FROM test_table

/*----------*
 | results  |
 +----------+
 | FALSE    |
 | FALSE    |
 | TRUE     |
 | TRUE     |
 | FALSE    |
 | FALSE    |
 *----------*/

MAP_KEYS

MAP_KEYS(input_map)

Description

Gets an array of lexicographically sorted keys from a map.

Definitions

  • input_map: A MAP<K,V> value that represents the map to query. If this value is NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return type

ARRAY<K>

Examples

The following query gets an lexicographically sorted list of keys from a table called test_table:

SELECT MAP_KEYS(cell_plan) AS results
FROM test_table

/*----------------------------------------*
 | results                                |
 +----------------------------------------+
 | [ "data_plan_01gb", "data_plan_05gb" ] |
 | [ "data_plan_05gb" ]                   |
 | []                                     |
 | [ "data_plan_10gb" ]                   |
 | [ "data_plan_10gb" ]                   |
 *----------------------------------------*/

MAP_VALUES

MAP_VALUES(input_map)

Description

Gets an array of lexicographically key-sorted values from a map.

Definitions

  • input_map: A MAP<K,V> value that represents the map to query. If this value is NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return type

ARRAY<V>

Examples

The following query gets the key-sorted values from a table called test_table:

SELECT MAP_VALUES(cell_plan) AS results
FROM test_table

/*---------------------*
 | results             |
 +---------------------+
 | [ "true", "false" ] |
 | [ "false" ]         |
 | []                  |
 | [ "false" ]         |
 | [ "false" ]         |
 *---------------------*/

Mathematical functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports mathematical functions. All mathematical functions have the following behaviors:

  • They return NULL if any of the input parameters is NULL.
  • They return NaN if any of the arguments is NaN.

Categories

Category Functions
Trigonometric ACOS   ACOSH   ASIN   ASINH   ATAN   ATAN2   ATANH   COS   COSH   COT   COTH   CSC   CSCH   SEC   SECH   SIN   SINH   TAN   TANH  
Exponential and
logarithmic
EXP   LN   LOG   LOG10  
Rounding and
truncation
CEIL   CEILING   FLOOR   ROUND   TRUNC  
Power and
root
POW   POWER   SQRT  
Sign ABS   SIGN  
Distance COSINE_DISTANCE   EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE  
Comparison GREATEST   LEAST  
Random number generator RAND  
Arithmetic and error handling DIV   IEEE_DIVIDE   IS_INF   IS_NAN   MOD   SAFE_ADD   SAFE_DIVIDE   SAFE_MULTIPLY   SAFE_NEGATE   SAFE_SUBTRACT  

Function list

Name Summary
ABS Computes the absolute value of X.
ACOS Computes the inverse cosine of X.
ACOSH Computes the inverse hyperbolic cosine of X.
ASIN Computes the inverse sine of X.
ASINH Computes the inverse hyperbolic sine of X.
ATAN Computes the inverse tangent of X.
ATAN2 Computes the inverse tangent of X/Y, using the signs of X and Y to determine the quadrant.
ATANH Computes the inverse hyperbolic tangent of X.
AVG Gets the average of non-NULL values.
For more information, see Aggregate functions.
AVG (Differential Privacy) DIFFERENTIAL_PRIVACY-supported AVG.

Gets the differentially-private average of non-NULL, non-NaN values in a query with a DIFFERENTIAL_PRIVACY clause.

For more information, see Differential privacy functions.
CEIL Gets the smallest integral value that is not less than X.
CEILING Synonym of CEIL.
COS Computes the cosine of X.
COSH Computes the hyperbolic cosine of X.
COSINE_DISTANCE Computes the cosine distance between two vectors.
COT Computes the cotangent of X.
COTH Computes the hyperbolic cotangent of X.
CSC Computes the cosecant of X.
CSCH Computes the hyperbolic cosecant of X.
DIV Divides integer X by integer Y.
EXP Computes e to the power of X.
EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE Computes the Euclidean distance between two vectors.
FLOOR Gets the largest integral value that is not greater than X.
GREATEST Gets the greatest value among X1,...,XN.
IEEE_DIVIDE Divides X by Y, but does not generate errors for division by zero or overflow.
IS_INF Checks if X is positive or negative infinity.
IS_NAN Checks if X is a NaN value.
LEAST Gets the least value among X1,...,XN.
LN Computes the natural logarithm of X.
LOG Computes the natural logarithm of X or the logarithm of X to base Y.
LOG10 Computes the natural logarithm of X to base 10.
MOD Gets the remainder of the division of X by Y.
POW Produces the value of X raised to the power of Y.
POWER Synonym of POW.
RAND Generates a pseudo-random value of type FLOAT64 in the range of [0, 1).
ROUND Rounds X to the nearest integer or rounds X to N decimal places after the decimal point.
SAFE_ADD Equivalent to the addition operator (X + Y), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.
SAFE_DIVIDE Equivalent to the division operator (X / Y), but returns NULL if an error occurs.
SAFE_MULTIPLY Equivalent to the multiplication operator (X * Y), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.
SAFE_NEGATE Equivalent to the unary minus operator (-X), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.
SAFE_SUBTRACT Equivalent to the subtraction operator (X - Y), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.
SEC Computes the secant of X.
SECH Computes the hyperbolic secant of X.
SIGN Produces -1 , 0, or +1 for negative, zero, and positive arguments respectively.
SIN Computes the sine of X.
SINH Computes the hyperbolic sine of X.
SQRT Computes the square root of X.
SUM Gets the sum of non-NULL values.
For more information, see Aggregate functions.
SUM (Differential Privacy) DIFFERENTIAL_PRIVACY-supported SUM.

Gets the differentially-private sum of non-NULL, non-NaN values in a query with a DIFFERENTIAL_PRIVACY clause.

For more information, see Differential privacy functions.
TAN Computes the tangent of X.
TANH Computes the hyperbolic tangent of X.
TRUNC Rounds a number like ROUND(X) or ROUND(X, N), but always rounds towards zero and never overflows.

ABS

ABS(X)

Description

Computes absolute value. Returns an error if the argument is an integer and the output value cannot be represented as the same type; this happens only for the largest negative input value, which has no positive representation.

X ABS(X)
25 25
-25 25
+inf +inf
-inf +inf

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64

ACOS

ACOS(X)

Description

Computes the principal value of the inverse cosine of X. The return value is in the range [0,π]. Generates an error if X is a value outside of the range [-1, 1].

X ACOS(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
X < -1 Error
X > 1 Error

ACOSH

ACOSH(X)

Description

Computes the inverse hyperbolic cosine of X. Generates an error if X is a value less than 1.

X ACOSH(X)
+inf +inf
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
X < 1 Error

ASIN

ASIN(X)

Description

Computes the principal value of the inverse sine of X. The return value is in the range [-π/2,π/2]. Generates an error if X is outside of the range [-1, 1].

X ASIN(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
X < -1 Error
X > 1 Error

ASINH

ASINH(X)

Description

Computes the inverse hyperbolic sine of X. Does not fail.

X ASINH(X)
+inf +inf
-inf -inf
NaN NaN

ATAN

ATAN(X)

Description

Computes the principal value of the inverse tangent of X. The return value is in the range [-π/2,π/2]. Does not fail.

X ATAN(X)
+inf π/2
-inf -π/2
NaN NaN

ATAN2

ATAN2(X, Y)

Description

Calculates the principal value of the inverse tangent of X/Y using the signs of the two arguments to determine the quadrant. The return value is in the range [-π,π].

X Y ATAN2(X, Y)
NaN Any value NaN
Any value NaN NaN
0.0 0.0 0.0
Positive Finite value -inf π
Negative Finite value -inf
Finite value +inf 0.0
+inf Finite value π/2
-inf Finite value -π/2
+inf -inf ¾π
-inf -inf -¾π
+inf +inf π/4
-inf +inf -π/4

ATANH

ATANH(X)

Description

Computes the inverse hyperbolic tangent of X. Generates an error if X is outside of the range (-1, 1).

X ATANH(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
X < -1 Error
X > 1 Error

CEIL

CEIL(X)

Description

Returns the smallest integral value that is not less than X.

X CEIL(X)
2.0 2.0
2.3 3.0
2.8 3.0
2.5 3.0
-2.3 -2.0
-2.8 -2.0
-2.5 -2.0
0 0
+inf +inf
-inf -inf
NaN NaN

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

CEILING

CEILING(X)

Description

Synonym of CEIL(X)

COS

COS(X)

Description

Computes the cosine of X where X is specified in radians. Never fails.

X COS(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN

COSH

COSH(X)

Description

Computes the hyperbolic cosine of X where X is specified in radians. Generates an error if overflow occurs.

X COSH(X)
+inf +inf
-inf +inf
NaN NaN

COSINE_DISTANCE

COSINE_DISTANCE(vector1, vector2)

Description

Computes the cosine distance between two vectors.

Definitions

  • vector1: A vector that is represented by an ARRAY<T> value or a sparse vector that is represented by an ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>> value.
  • vector2: A vector that is represented by an ARRAY<T> value or a sparse vector that is represented by an ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>> value.

Details

  • ARRAY<T> can be used to represent a vector. Each zero-based index in this array represents a dimension. The value for each element in this array represents a magnitude.

    T can represent the following and must be the same for both vectors:

    • FLOAT32
    • FLOAT64

    In the following example vector, there are four dimensions. The magnitude is 10.0 for dimension 0, 55.0 for dimension 1, 40.0 for dimension 2, and 34.0 for dimension 3:

    [10.0, 55.0, 40.0, 34.0]
    
  • ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>> can be used to represent a sparse vector. With a sparse vector, you only need to include dimension-magnitude pairs for non-zero magnitudes. If a magnitude isn't present in the sparse vector, the magnitude is implicitly understood to be zero.

    For example, if you have a vector with 10,000 dimensions, but only 10 dimensions have non-zero magnitudes, then the vector is a sparse vector. As a result, it's more efficient to describe a sparse vector by only mentioning its non-zero magnitudes.

    In ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>>, STRUCT<dimension,magnitude> represents a dimension-magnitude pair for each non-zero magnitude in a sparse vector. These parts need to be included for each dimension-magnitude pair:

    • dimension: A STRING or INT64 value that represents a dimension in a vector.

    • magnitude: A FLOAT64 value that represents a non-zero magnitude for a specific dimension in a vector.

    You don't need to include empty dimension-magnitude pairs in a sparse vector. For example, the following sparse vector and non-sparse vector are equivalent:

    -- sparse vector ARRAY<STRUCT<INT64, FLOAT64>>
    [(1, 10.0), (2: 30.0), (5, 40.0)]
    
    -- vector ARRAY<FLOAT64>
    [0.0, 10.0, 30.0, 0.0, 0.0, 40.0]
    

    In a sparse vector, dimension-magnitude pairs don't need to be in any particular order. The following sparse vectors are equivalent:

    [('a', 10.0), ('b': 30.0), ('d': 40.0)]
    
    [('d': 40.0), ('a', 10.0), ('b': 30.0)]
    
  • Both non-sparse vectors in this function must share the same dimensions, and if they don't, an error is produced.

  • A vector can't be a zero vector. A vector is a zero vector if it has no dimensions or all dimensions have a magnitude of 0, such as [] or [0.0, 0.0]. If a zero vector is encountered, an error is produced.

  • An error is produced if a magnitude in a vector is NULL.

  • If a vector is NULL, NULL is returned.

Return type

FLOAT64

Examples

In the following example, non-sparsevectors are used to compute the cosine distance:

SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]) AS results;

/*----------*
 | results  |
 +----------+
 | 0.016130 |
 *----------*/

In the following example, sparse vectors are used to compute the cosine distance:

SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE(
 [(1, 1.0), (2, 2.0)],
 [(2, 4.0), (1, 3.0)]) AS results;

 /*----------*
  | results  |
  +----------+
  | 0.016130 |
  *----------*/

The ordering of numeric values in a vector doesn't impact the results produced by this function. For example these queries produce the same results even though the numeric values in each vector is in a different order:

SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]) AS results;
SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([2.0, 1.0], [4.0, 3.0]) AS results;
SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([(1, 1.0), (2, 2.0)], [(1, 3.0), (2, 4.0)]) AS results;
 /*----------*
  | results  |
  +----------+
  | 0.016130 |
  *----------*/

In the following example, the function can't compute cosine distance against the first vector, which is a zero vector:

-- ERROR
SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([0.0, 0.0], [3.0, 4.0]) AS results;
-- ERROR
SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([(1, 0.0), (2, 0.0)], [(1, 3.0), (2, 4.0)]) AS results;

Both non-sparse vectors must have the same dimensions. If not, an error is produced. In the following example, the first vector has two dimensions and the second vector has three:

-- ERROR
SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE([9.0, 7.0], [8.0, 4.0, 5.0]) AS results;

If you use sparse vectors and you repeat a dimension, an error is produced:

-- ERROR
SELECT COSINE_DISTANCE(
  [(1, 9.0), (2, 7.0), (2, 8.0)], [(1, 8.0), (2, 4.0), (3, 5.0)]) AS results;

COT

COT(X)

Description

Computes the cotangent for the angle of X, where X is specified in radians. X can be any data type that coerces to FLOAT64. Supports the SAFE. prefix.

X COT(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
0 Error
NULL NULL

Return Data Type

FLOAT64

Example

SELECT COT(1) AS a, SAFE.COT(0) AS b;

/*---------------------+------*
 | a                   | b    |
 +---------------------+------+
 | 0.64209261593433065 | NULL |
 *---------------------+------*/

COTH

COTH(X)

Description

Computes the hyperbolic cotangent for the angle of X, where X is specified in radians. X can be any data type that coerces to FLOAT64. Supports the SAFE. prefix.

X COTH(X)
+inf 1
-inf -1
NaN NaN
0 Error
NULL NULL

Return Data Type

FLOAT64

Example

SELECT COTH(1) AS a, SAFE.COTH(0) AS b;

/*----------------+------*
 | a              | b    |
 +----------------+------+
 | 1.313035285499 | NULL |
 *----------------+------*/

CSC

CSC(X)

Description

Computes the cosecant of the input angle, which is in radians. X can be any data type that coerces to FLOAT64. Supports the SAFE. prefix.

X CSC(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
0 Error
NULL NULL

Return Data Type

FLOAT64

Example

SELECT CSC(100) AS a, CSC(-1) AS b, SAFE.CSC(0) AS c;

/*----------------+-----------------+------*
 | a              | b               | c    |
 +----------------+-----------------+------+
 | -1.97485753142 | -1.188395105778 | NULL |
 *----------------+-----------------+------*/

CSCH

CSCH(X)

Description

Computes the hyperbolic cosecant of the input angle, which is in radians. X can be any data type that coerces to FLOAT64. Supports the SAFE. prefix.

X CSCH(X)
+inf 0
-inf 0
NaN NaN
0 Error
NULL NULL

Return Data Type

FLOAT64

Example

SELECT CSCH(0.5) AS a, CSCH(-2) AS b, SAFE.CSCH(0) AS c;

/*----------------+----------------+------*
 | a              | b              | c    |
 +----------------+----------------+------+
 | 1.919034751334 | -0.27572056477 | NULL |
 *----------------+----------------+------*/

DIV

DIV(X, Y)

Description

Returns the result of integer division of X by Y. Division by zero returns an error. Division by -1 may overflow.

X Y DIV(X, Y)
20 4 5
12 -7 -1
20 3 6
0 20 0
20 0 Error

Return Data Type

The return data type is determined by the argument types with the following table.

INPUTINT64
INT64INT64

EXP

EXP(X)

Description

Computes e to the power of X, also called the natural exponential function. If the result underflows, this function returns a zero. Generates an error if the result overflows.

X EXP(X)
0.0 1.0
+inf +inf
-inf 0.0

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE

EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE(vector1, vector2)

Description

Computes the Euclidean distance between two vectors.

Definitions

  • vector1: A vector that is represented by an ARRAY<T> value or a sparse vector that is represented by an ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>> value.
  • vector2: A vector that is represented by an ARRAY<T> value or a sparse vector that is represented by an ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>> value.

Details

  • ARRAY<T> can be used to represent a vector. Each zero-based index in this array represents a dimension. The value for each element in this array represents a magnitude.

    T can represent the following and must be the same for both vectors:

    • FLOAT32
    • FLOAT64

    In the following example vector, there are four dimensions. The magnitude is 10.0 for dimension 0, 55.0 for dimension 1, 40.0 for dimension 2, and 34.0 for dimension 3:

    [10.0, 55.0, 40.0, 34.0]
    
  • ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>> can be used to represent a sparse vector. With a sparse vector, you only need to include dimension-magnitude pairs for non-zero magnitudes. If a magnitude isn't present in the sparse vector, the magnitude is implicitly understood to be zero.

    For example, if you have a vector with 10,000 dimensions, but only 10 dimensions have non-zero magnitudes, then the vector is a sparse vector. As a result, it's more efficient to describe a sparse vector by only mentioning its non-zero magnitudes.

    In ARRAY<STRUCT<dimension,magnitude>>, STRUCT<dimension,magnitude> represents a dimension-magnitude pair for each non-zero magnitude in a sparse vector. These parts need to be included for each dimension-magnitude pair:

    • dimension: A STRING or INT64 value that represents a dimension in a vector.

    • magnitude: A FLOAT64 value that represents a non-zero magnitude for a specific dimension in a vector.

    You don't need to include empty dimension-magnitude pairs in a sparse vector. For example, the following sparse vector and non-sparse vector are equivalent:

    -- sparse vector ARRAY<STRUCT<INT64, FLOAT64>>
    [(1, 10.0), (2: 30.0), (5, 40.0)]
    
    -- vector ARRAY<FLOAT64>
    [0.0, 10.0, 30.0, 0.0, 0.0, 40.0]
    

    In a sparse vector, dimension-magnitude pairs don't need to be in any particular order. The following sparse vectors are equivalent:

    [('a', 10.0), ('b': 30.0), ('d': 40.0)]
    
    [('d': 40.0), ('a', 10.0), ('b': 30.0)]
    
  • Both non-sparse vectors in this function must share the same dimensions, and if they don't, an error is produced.

  • A vector can be a zero vector. A vector is a zero vector if it has no dimensions or all dimensions have a magnitude of 0, such as [] or [0.0, 0.0].

  • An error is produced if a magnitude in a vector is NULL.

  • If a vector is NULL, NULL is returned.

Return type

FLOAT64

Examples

In the following example, non-sparse vectors are used to compute the Euclidean distance:

SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE([1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]) AS results;

/*----------*
 | results  |
 +----------+
 | 2.828    |
 *----------*/

In the following example, sparse vectors are used to compute the Euclidean distance:

SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE(
 [(1, 1.0), (2, 2.0)],
 [(2, 4.0), (1, 3.0)]) AS results;

 /*----------*
  | results  |
  +----------+
  | 2.828    |
  *----------*/

The ordering of magnitudes in a vector doesn't impact the results produced by this function. For example these queries produce the same results even though the magnitudes in each vector is in a different order:

SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE([1.0, 2.0], [3.0, 4.0]);
SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE([2.0, 1.0], [4.0, 3.0]);
SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE([(1, 1.0), (2, 2.0)], [(1, 3.0), (2, 4.0)]) AS results;
 /*----------*
  | results  |
  +----------+
  | 2.828    |
  *----------*/

Both non-sparse vectors must have the same dimensions. If not, an error is produced. In the following example, the first vector has two dimensions and the second vector has three:

-- ERROR
SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE([9.0, 7.0], [8.0, 4.0, 5.0]) AS results;

If you use sparse vectors and you repeat a dimension, an error is produced:

-- ERROR
SELECT EUCLIDEAN_DISTANCE(
  [(1, 9.0), (2, 7.0), (2, 8.0)], [(1, 8.0), (2, 4.0), (3, 5.0)]) AS results;

FLOOR

FLOOR(X)

Description

Returns the largest integral value that is not greater than X.

X FLOOR(X)
2.0 2.0
2.3 2.0
2.8 2.0
2.5 2.0
-2.3 -3.0
-2.8 -3.0
-2.5 -3.0
0 0
+inf +inf
-inf -inf
NaN NaN

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

GREATEST

GREATEST(X1,...,XN)

Description

Returns the greatest value among X1,...,XN. If any argument is NULL, returns NULL. Otherwise, in the case of floating-point arguments, if any argument is NaN, returns NaN. In all other cases, returns the value among X1,...,XN that has the greatest value according to the ordering used by the ORDER BY clause. The arguments X1, ..., XN must be coercible to a common supertype, and the supertype must support ordering.

X1,...,XN GREATEST(X1,...,XN)
3,5,1 5

This function supports specifying collation.

Return Data Types

Data type of the input values.

IEEE_DIVIDE

IEEE_DIVIDE(X, Y)

Description

Divides X by Y; this function never fails. Returns FLOAT64 unless both X and Y are FLOAT32, in which case it returns FLOAT32. Unlike the division operator (/), this function does not generate errors for division by zero or overflow.

X Y IEEE_DIVIDE(X, Y)
20.0 4.0 5.0
0.0 25.0 0.0
25.0 0.0 +inf
-25.0 0.0 -inf
0.0 0.0 NaN
0.0 NaN NaN
NaN 0.0 NaN
+inf +inf NaN
-inf -inf NaN

IS_INF

IS_INF(X)

Description

Returns TRUE if the value is positive or negative infinity.

X IS_INF(X)
+inf TRUE
-inf TRUE
25 FALSE

IS_NAN

IS_NAN(X)

Description

Returns TRUE if the value is a NaN value.

X IS_NAN(X)
NaN TRUE
25 FALSE

LEAST

LEAST(X1,...,XN)

Description

Returns the least value among X1,...,XN. If any argument is NULL, returns NULL. Otherwise, in the case of floating-point arguments, if any argument is NaN, returns NaN. In all other cases, returns the value among X1,...,XN that has the least value according to the ordering used by the ORDER BY clause. The arguments X1, ..., XN must be coercible to a common supertype, and the supertype must support ordering.

X1,...,XN LEAST(X1,...,XN)
3,5,1 1

This function supports specifying collation.

Return Data Types

Data type of the input values.

LN

LN(X)

Description

Computes the natural logarithm of X. Generates an error if X is less than or equal to zero.

X LN(X)
1.0 0.0
+inf +inf
X <= 0 Error

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

LOG

LOG(X [, Y])

Description

If only X is present, LOG is a synonym of LN. If Y is also present, LOG computes the logarithm of X to base Y.

X Y LOG(X, Y)
100.0 10.0 2.0
-inf Any value NaN
Any value +inf NaN
+inf 0.0 < Y < 1.0 -inf
+inf Y > 1.0 +inf
X <= 0 Any value Error
Any value Y <= 0 Error
Any value 1.0 Error

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

LOG10

LOG10(X)

Description

Similar to LOG, but computes logarithm to base 10.

X LOG10(X)
100.0 2.0
-inf NaN
+inf +inf
X <= 0 Error

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

MOD

MOD(X, Y)

Description

Modulo function: returns the remainder of the division of X by Y. Returned value has the same sign as X. An error is generated if Y is 0.

X Y MOD(X, Y)
25 12 1
25 0 Error

Return Data Type

The return data type is determined by the argument types with the following table.

INPUTINT64
INT64INT64

POW

POW(X, Y)

Description

Returns the value of X raised to the power of Y. If the result underflows and is not representable, then the function returns a value of zero.

X Y POW(X, Y)
2.0 3.0 8.0
1.0 Any value including NaN 1.0
Any value including NaN 0 1.0
-1.0 +inf 1.0
-1.0 -inf 1.0
ABS(X) < 1 -inf +inf
ABS(X) > 1 -inf 0.0
ABS(X) < 1 +inf 0.0
ABS(X) > 1 +inf +inf
-inf Y < 0 0.0
-inf Y > 0 -inf if Y is an odd integer, +inf otherwise
+inf Y < 0 0
+inf Y > 0 +inf
Finite value < 0 Non-integer Error
0 Finite value < 0 Error

Return Data Type

The return data type is determined by the argument types with the following table.

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

POWER

POWER(X, Y)

Description

Synonym of POW(X, Y).

RAND

RAND()

Description

Generates a pseudo-random value of type FLOAT64 in the range of [0, 1), inclusive of 0 and exclusive of 1.

ROUND

ROUND(X [, N [, rounding_mode]])

Description

If only X is present, rounds X to the nearest integer. If N is present, rounds X to N decimal places after the decimal point. If N is negative, rounds off digits to the left of the decimal point. Rounds halfway cases away from zero. Generates an error if overflow occurs.

If X is a NUMERIC or BIGNUMERIC type, then you can explicitly set rounding_mode to one of the following:

If you set the rounding_mode and X is not a NUMERIC or BIGNUMERIC type, then the function generates an error.

Expression Return Value
ROUND(2.0) 2.0
ROUND(2.3) 2.0
ROUND(2.8) 3.0
ROUND(2.5) 3.0
ROUND(-2.3) -2.0
ROUND(-2.8) -3.0
ROUND(-2.5) -3.0
ROUND(0) 0
ROUND(+inf) +inf
ROUND(-inf) -inf
ROUND(NaN) NaN
ROUND(123.7, -1) 120.0
ROUND(1.235, 2) 1.24
ROUND(NUMERIC "2.25", 1, "ROUND_HALF_EVEN") 2.2
ROUND(NUMERIC "2.35", 1, "ROUND_HALF_EVEN") 2.4
ROUND(NUMERIC "2.251", 1, "ROUND_HALF_EVEN") 2.3
ROUND(NUMERIC "-2.5", 0, "ROUND_HALF_EVEN") -2
ROUND(NUMERIC "2.5", 0, "ROUND_HALF_AWAY_FROM_ZERO") 3
ROUND(NUMERIC "-2.5", 0, "ROUND_HALF_AWAY_FROM_ZERO") -3

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

SAFE_ADD

SAFE_ADD(X, Y)

Description

Equivalent to the addition operator (+), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.

X Y SAFE_ADD(X, Y)
5 4 9

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

SAFE_DIVIDE

SAFE_DIVIDE(X, Y)

Description

Equivalent to the division operator (X / Y), but returns NULL if an error occurs, such as a division by zero error.

X Y SAFE_DIVIDE(X, Y)
20 4 5
0 20 0
20 0 NULL

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

SAFE_MULTIPLY

SAFE_MULTIPLY(X, Y)

Description

Equivalent to the multiplication operator (*), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.

X Y SAFE_MULTIPLY(X, Y)
20 4 80

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

SAFE_NEGATE

SAFE_NEGATE(X)

Description

Equivalent to the unary minus operator (-), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.

X SAFE_NEGATE(X)
+1 -1
-1 +1
0 0

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64

SAFE_SUBTRACT

SAFE_SUBTRACT(X, Y)

Description

Returns the result of Y subtracted from X. Equivalent to the subtraction operator (-), but returns NULL if overflow occurs.

X Y SAFE_SUBTRACT(X, Y)
5 4 1

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
INT64INT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT32FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64
FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

SEC

SEC(X)

Description

Computes the secant for the angle of X, where X is specified in radians. X can be any data type that coerces to FLOAT64.

X SEC(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN
NULL NULL

Return Data Type

FLOAT64

Example

SELECT SEC(100) AS a, SEC(-1) AS b;

/*----------------+---------------*
 | a              | b             |
 +----------------+---------------+
 | 1.159663822905 | 1.85081571768 |
 *----------------+---------------*/

SECH

SECH(X)

Description

Computes the hyperbolic secant for the angle of X, where X is specified in radians. X can be any data type that coerces to FLOAT64. Never produces an error.

X SECH(X)
+inf 0
-inf 0
NaN NaN
NULL NULL

Return Data Type

FLOAT64

Example

SELECT SECH(0.5) AS a, SECH(-2) AS b, SECH(100) AS c;

/*----------------+----------------+---------------------*
 | a              | b              | c                   |
 +----------------+----------------+---------------------+
 | 0.88681888397  | 0.265802228834 | 7.4401519520417E-44 |
 *----------------+----------------+---------------------*/

SIGN

SIGN(X)

Description

Returns -1, 0, or +1 for negative, zero and positive arguments respectively. For floating point arguments, this function does not distinguish between positive and negative zero.

X SIGN(X)
25 +1
0 0
-25 -1
NaN NaN

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64

SIN

SIN(X)

Description

Computes the sine of X where X is specified in radians. Never fails.

X SIN(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN

SINH

SINH(X)

Description

Computes the hyperbolic sine of X where X is specified in radians. Generates an error if overflow occurs.

X SINH(X)
+inf +inf
-inf -inf
NaN NaN

SQRT

SQRT(X)

Description

Computes the square root of X. Generates an error if X is less than 0.

X SQRT(X)
25.0 5.0
+inf +inf
X < 0 Error

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

TAN

TAN(X)

Description

Computes the tangent of X where X is specified in radians. Generates an error if overflow occurs.

X TAN(X)
+inf NaN
-inf NaN
NaN NaN

TANH

TANH(X)

Description

Computes the hyperbolic tangent of X where X is specified in radians. Does not fail.

X TANH(X)
+inf 1.0
-inf -1.0
NaN NaN

TRUNC

TRUNC(X [, N])

Description

If only X is present, TRUNC rounds X to the nearest integer whose absolute value is not greater than the absolute value of X. If N is also present, TRUNC behaves like ROUND(X, N), but always rounds towards zero and never overflows.

X TRUNC(X)
2.0 2.0
2.3 2.0
2.8 2.0
2.5 2.0
-2.3 -2.0
-2.8 -2.0
-2.5 -2.0
0 0
+inf +inf
-inf -inf
NaN NaN

Return Data Type

INPUTINT64FLOAT32FLOAT64
OUTPUTFLOAT64FLOAT64FLOAT64

String functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports string functions. These string functions work on two different values: STRING and BYTES data types. STRING values must be well-formed UTF-8.

Functions that return position values, such as STRPOS, encode those positions as INT64. The value 1 refers to the first character (or byte), 2 refers to the second, and so on. The value 0 indicates an invalid position. When working on STRING types, the returned positions refer to character positions.

All string comparisons are done byte-by-byte, without regard to Unicode canonical equivalence.

Function list

Name Summary
ARRAY_TO_STRING Produces a concatenation of the elements in an array as a STRING value.
For more information, see Array functions.
ASCII Gets the ASCII code for the first character or byte in a STRING or BYTES value.
BYTE_LENGTH Gets the number of BYTES in a STRING or BYTES value.
CHAR_LENGTH Gets the number of characters in a STRING value.
CHR Converts a Unicode code point to a character.
CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES Converts an array of extended ASCII code points to a BYTES value.
CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING Converts an array of extended ASCII code points to a STRING value.
CONCAT Concatenates one or more STRING or BYTES values into a single result.
ENDS_WITH Checks if a STRING or BYTES value is the suffix of another value.
FORMAT Formats data and produces the results as a STRING value.
FROM_BASE32 Converts a base32-encoded STRING value into a BYTES value.
FROM_BASE64 Converts a base64-encoded STRING value into a BYTES value.
FROM_HEX Converts a hexadecimal-encoded STRING value into a BYTES value.
INITCAP Formats a STRING as proper case, which means that the first character in each word is uppercase and all other characters are lowercase.
INSTR Finds the position of a subvalue inside another value, optionally starting the search at a given offset or occurrence.
LEFT Gets the specified leftmost portion from a STRING or BYTES value.
LENGTH Gets the length of a STRING or BYTES value.
LOWER Formats alphabetic characters in a STRING value as lowercase.

Formats ASCII characters in a BYTES value as lowercase.
LPAD Prepends a STRING or BYTES value with a pattern.
LTRIM Identical to the TRIM function, but only removes leading characters.
NORMALIZE Case-sensitively normalizes the characters in a STRING value.
NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD Case-insensitively normalizes the characters in a STRING value.
OCTET_LENGTH Alias for BYTE_LENGTH.
REGEXP_CONTAINS Checks if a value is a partial match for a regular expression.
REGEXP_EXTRACT Produces a substring that matches a regular expression.
REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL Produces an array of all substrings that match a regular expression.
REGEXP_INSTR Finds the position of a regular expression match in a value, optionally starting the search at a given offset or occurrence.
REGEXP_REPLACE Produces a STRING value where all substrings that match a regular expression are replaced with a specified value.
REPEAT Produces a STRING or BYTES value that consists of an original value, repeated.
REPLACE Replaces all occurrences of a pattern with another pattern in a STRING or BYTES value.
REVERSE Reverses a STRING or BYTES value.
RIGHT Gets the specified rightmost portion from a STRING or BYTES value.
RPAD Appends a STRING or BYTES value with a pattern.
RTRIM Identical to the TRIM function, but only removes trailing characters.
SAFE_CONVERT_BYTES_TO_STRING Converts a BYTES value to a STRING value and replace any invalid UTF-8 characters with the Unicode replacement character, U+FFFD.
SOUNDEX Gets the Soundex codes for words in a STRING value.
SPLIT Splits a STRING or BYTES value, using a delimiter.
STARTS_WITH Checks if a STRING or BYTES value is a prefix of another value.
STRING (Timestamp) Converts a TIMESTAMP value to a STRING value.
For more information, see Timestamp functions.
STRPOS Finds the position of the first occurrence of a subvalue inside another value.
SUBSTR Gets a portion of a STRING or BYTES value.
SUBSTRING Alias for SUBSTR
TO_BASE32 Converts a BYTES value to a base32-encoded STRING value.
TO_BASE64 Converts a BYTES value to a base64-encoded STRING value.
TO_CODE_POINTS Converts a STRING or BYTES value into an array of extended ASCII code points.
TO_HEX Converts a BYTES value to a hexadecimal STRING value.
TO_INT64 Converts the big-endian bytes of a 64-bit signed integer into an INT64 value.
TO_VECTOR32 Converts the big-endian bytes of one or more 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers into an ARRAY<FLOAT32> value.
TO_VECTOR64 Converts the big-endian bytes of one or more 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers into an ARRAY<FLOAT64> value.
TRANSLATE Within a value, replaces each source character with the corresponding target character.
TRIM Removes the specified leading and trailing Unicode code points or bytes from a STRING or BYTES value.
UNICODE Gets the Unicode code point for the first character in a value.
UPPER Formats alphabetic characters in a STRING value as uppercase.

Formats ASCII characters in a BYTES value as uppercase.

ASCII

ASCII(value)

Description

Returns the ASCII code for the first character or byte in value. Returns 0 if value is empty or the ASCII code is 0 for the first character or byte.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT ASCII('abcd') as A, ASCII('a') as B, ASCII('') as C, ASCII(NULL) as D;

/*-------+-------+-------+-------*
 | A     | B     | C     | D     |
 +-------+-------+-------+-------+
 | 97    | 97    | 0     | NULL  |
 *-------+-------+-------+-------*/

BYTE_LENGTH

BYTE_LENGTH(value)

Description

Gets the number of BYTES in a STRING or BYTES value, regardless of whether the value is a STRING or BYTES type.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT BYTE_LENGTH('абвгд') AS string_example;

/*----------------*
 | string_example |
 +----------------+
 | 10             |
 *----------------*/
SELECT BYTE_LENGTH(b'абвгд') AS bytes_example;

/*----------------*
 | bytes_example  |
 +----------------+
 | 10             |
 *----------------*/

CHAR_LENGTH

CHAR_LENGTH(value)

Description

Gets the number of characters in a STRING value.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT CHAR_LENGTH('абвгд') AS char_length;

/*-------------*
 | char_length |
 +-------------+
 | 5           |
 *------------ */

CHR

CHR(value)

Description

Takes a Unicode code point and returns the character that matches the code point. Each valid code point should fall within the range of [0, 0xD7FF] and [0xE000, 0x10FFFF]. Returns an empty string if the code point is 0. If an invalid Unicode code point is specified, an error is returned.

To work with an array of Unicode code points, see CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING

Return type

STRING

Examples

SELECT CHR(65) AS A, CHR(255) AS B, CHR(513) AS C, CHR(1024)  AS D;

/*-------+-------+-------+-------*
 | A     | B     | C     | D     |
 +-------+-------+-------+-------+
 | A     | ÿ     | ȁ     | Ѐ     |
 *-------+-------+-------+-------*/
SELECT CHR(97) AS A, CHR(0xF9B5) AS B, CHR(0) AS C, CHR(NULL) AS D;

/*-------+-------+-------+-------*
 | A     | B     | C     | D     |
 +-------+-------+-------+-------+
 | a     | 例    |       | NULL  |
 *-------+-------+-------+-------*/

CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES

CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES(ascii_code_points)

Description

Takes an array of extended ASCII code points as ARRAY<INT64> and returns BYTES.

To convert from BYTES to an array of code points, see TO_CODE_POINTS.

Return type

BYTES

Examples

The following is a basic example using CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES.

SELECT CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES([65, 98, 67, 100]) AS bytes;

-- Note that the result of CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
-- In BYTES format, b'AbCd' is the result.
/*----------*
 | bytes    |
 +----------+
 | QWJDZA== |
 *----------*/

The following example uses a rotate-by-13 places (ROT13) algorithm to encode a string.

CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING

CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING(unicode_code_points)

Description

Takes an array of Unicode code points as ARRAY<INT64> and returns a STRING.

To convert from a string to an array of code points, see TO_CODE_POINTS.

Return type

STRING

Examples

The following are basic examples using CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING.

SELECT CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING([65, 255, 513, 1024]) AS string;

/*--------*
 | string |
 +--------+
 | AÿȁЀ   |
 *--------*/
SELECT CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING([97, 0, 0xF9B5]) AS string;

/*--------*
 | string |
 +--------+
 | a例    |
 *--------*/
SELECT CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING([65, 255, NULL, 1024]) AS string;

/*--------*
 | string |
 +--------+
 | NULL   |
 *--------*/

The following example computes the frequency of letters in a set of words.

CONCAT

CONCAT(value1[, ...])

Description

Concatenates one or more values into a single result. All values must be BYTES or data types that can be cast to STRING.

The function returns NULL if any input argument is NULL.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT CONCAT('T.P.', ' ', 'Bar') as author;

/*---------------------*
 | author              |
 +---------------------+
 | T.P. Bar            |
 *---------------------*/
SELECT CONCAT('Summer', ' ', 1923) as release_date;

/*---------------------*
 | release_date        |
 +---------------------+
 | Summer 1923         |
 *---------------------*/

With Employees AS
  (SELECT
    'John' AS first_name,
    'Doe' AS last_name
  UNION ALL
  SELECT
    'Jane' AS first_name,
    'Smith' AS last_name
  UNION ALL
  SELECT
    'Joe' AS first_name,
    'Jackson' AS last_name)

SELECT
  CONCAT(first_name, ' ', last_name)
  AS full_name
FROM Employees;

/*---------------------*
 | full_name           |
 +---------------------+
 | John Doe            |
 | Jane Smith          |
 | Joe Jackson         |
 *---------------------*/

ENDS_WITH

ENDS_WITH(value, suffix)

Description

Takes two STRING or BYTES values. Returns TRUE if suffix is a suffix of value.

This function supports specifying collation.

Return type

BOOL

Examples

SELECT ENDS_WITH('apple', 'e') as example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 |    True |
 *---------*/

FORMAT

FORMAT(format_string_expression, data_type_expression[, ...])

Description

FORMAT formats a data type expression as a string.

  • format_string_expression: Can contain zero or more format specifiers. Each format specifier is introduced by the % symbol, and must map to one or more of the remaining arguments. In general, this is a one-to-one mapping, except when the * specifier is present. For example, %.*i maps to two arguments—a length argument and a signed integer argument. If the number of arguments related to the format specifiers is not the same as the number of arguments, an error occurs.
  • data_type_expression: The value to format as a string. This can be any GoogleSQL data type.

Return type

STRING

Examples

Description Statement Result
Simple integer FORMAT('%d', 10) 10
Integer with left blank padding FORMAT('|%10d|', 11) |           11|
Integer with left zero padding FORMAT('+%010d+', 12) +0000000012+
Integer with commas FORMAT("%'d", 123456789) 123,456,789
STRING FORMAT('-%s-', 'abcd efg') -abcd efg-
FLOAT64 FORMAT('%f %E', 1.1, 2.2) 1.100000 2.200000E+00
DATE FORMAT('%t', date '2015-09-01') 2015-09-01
TIMESTAMP FORMAT('%t', timestamp '2015-09-01 12:34:56 America/Los_Angeles') 2015‑09‑01 19:34:56+00

The FORMAT() function does not provide fully customizable formatting for all types and values, nor formatting that is sensitive to locale.

If custom formatting is necessary for a type, you must first format it using type-specific format functions, such as FORMAT_DATE() or FORMAT_TIMESTAMP(). For example:

SELECT FORMAT('date: %s!', FORMAT_DATE('%B %d, %Y', date '2015-01-02'));

Returns

date: January 02, 2015!

Supported format specifiers

%[flags][width][.precision]specifier

A format specifier adds formatting when casting a value to a string. It can optionally contain these sub-specifiers:

Additional information about format specifiers:

Format specifiers
Specifier Description Examples Types
d or i Decimal integer 392 INT64
o Octal

Note: If an INT64 value is negative, an error is produced.
610 INT64
x Hexadecimal integer

Note: If an INT64 value is negative, an error is produced.
7fa INT64
X Hexadecimal integer (uppercase)

Note: If an INT64 value is negative, an error is produced.
7FA INT64
f Decimal notation, in [-](integer part).(fractional part) for finite values, and in lowercase for non-finite values 392.650000
inf
nan
FLOAT32
FLOAT64
F Decimal notation, in [-](integer part).(fractional part) for finite values, and in uppercase for non-finite values 392.650000
INF
NAN
FLOAT32
FLOAT64
e Scientific notation (mantissa/exponent), lowercase 3.926500e+02
inf
nan
FLOAT32
FLOAT64
E Scientific notation (mantissa/exponent), uppercase 3.926500E+02
INF
NAN
FLOAT32
FLOAT64
g Either decimal notation or scientific notation, depending on the input value's exponent and the specified precision. Lowercase. See %g and %G behavior for details. 392.65
3.9265e+07
inf
nan
FLOAT32
FLOAT64
G Either decimal notation or scientific notation, depending on the input value's exponent and the specified precision. Uppercase. See %g and %G behavior for details. 392.65
3.9265E+07
INF
NAN
FLOAT32
FLOAT64
s String of characters sample STRING
t Returns a printable string representing the value. Often looks similar to casting the argument to STRING. See %t and %T behavior. sample
2014‑01‑01
Any type
T Produces a string that is a valid GoogleSQL constant with a similar type to the value's type (maybe wider, or maybe string). See %t and %T behavior. 'sample'
b'bytes sample'
1234
2.3
date '2014‑01‑01'
Any type
% '%%' produces a single '%' % n/a

The format specifier can optionally contain the sub-specifiers identified above in the specifier prototype.

These sub-specifiers must comply with the following specifications.

Flags
Flags Description
- Left-justify within the given field width; Right justification is the default (see width sub-specifier)
+ Forces to precede the result with a plus or minus sign (+ or -) even for positive numbers. By default, only negative numbers are preceded with a - sign
<space> If no sign is going to be written, a blank space is inserted before the value
#
  • For `%o`, `%x`, and `%X`, this flag means to precede the value with 0, 0x or 0X respectively for values different than zero.
  • For `%f`, `%F`, `%e`, and `%E`, this flag means to add the decimal point even when there is no fractional part, unless the value is non-finite.
  • For `%g` and `%G`, this flag means to add the decimal point even when there is no fractional part unless the value is non-finite, and never remove the trailing zeros after the decimal point.
0 Left-pads the number with zeroes (0) instead of spaces when padding is specified (see width sub-specifier)
'

Formats integers using the appropriating grouping character. For example:

  • FORMAT("%'d", 12345678) returns 12,345,678
  • FORMAT("%'x", 12345678) returns bc:614e
  • FORMAT("%'o", 55555) returns 15,4403
  • This flag is only relevant for decimal, hex, and octal values.

Flags may be specified in any order. Duplicate flags are not an error. When flags are not relevant for some element type, they are ignored.

Width
Width Description
<number> Minimum number of characters to be printed. If the value to be printed is shorter than this number, the result is padded with blank spaces. The value is not truncated even if the result is larger
* The width is not specified in the format string, but as an additional integer value argument preceding the argument that has to be formatted
Precision
Precision Description
.<number>
  • For integer specifiers `%d`, `%i`, `%o`, `%u`, `%x`, and `%X`: precision specifies the minimum number of digits to be written. If the value to be written is shorter than this number, the result is padded with trailing zeros. The value is not truncated even if the result is longer. A precision of 0 means that no character is written for the value 0.
  • For specifiers `%a`, `%A`, `%e`, `%E`, `%f`, and `%F`: this is the number of digits to be printed after the decimal point. The default value is 6.
  • For specifiers `%g` and `%G`: this is the number of significant digits to be printed, before the removal of the trailing zeros after the decimal point. The default value is 6.
.* The precision is not specified in the format string, but as an additional integer value argument preceding the argument that has to be formatted
%g and %G behavior

The %g and %G format specifiers choose either the decimal notation (like the %f and %F specifiers) or the scientific notation (like the %e and %E specifiers), depending on the input value's exponent and the specified precision.

Let p stand for the specified precision (defaults to 6; 1 if the specified precision is less than 1). The input value is first converted to scientific notation with precision = (p - 1). If the resulting exponent part x is less than -4 or no less than p, the scientific notation with precision = (p - 1) is used; otherwise the decimal notation with precision = (p - 1 - x) is used.

Unless # flag is present, the trailing zeros after the decimal point are removed, and the decimal point is also removed if there is no digit after it.

%t and %T behavior

The %t and %T format specifiers are defined for all types. The width, precision, and flags act as they do for %s: the width is the minimum width and the STRING will be padded to that size, and precision is the maximum width of content to show and the STRING will be truncated to that size, prior to padding to width.

The %t specifier is always meant to be a readable form of the value.

The %T specifier is always a valid SQL literal of a similar type, such as a wider numeric type. The literal will not include casts or a type name, except for the special case of non-finite floating point values.

The STRING is formatted as follows:

Type %t %T
NULL of any type NULL NULL
INT64
123 123
FLOAT32, FLOAT64 123.0 (always with .0)
123e+10
inf
-inf
NaN
123.0 (always with .0)
123e+10
CAST("inf" AS <type>)
CAST("-inf" AS <type>)
CAST("nan" AS <type>)
STRING unquoted string value quoted string literal
BYTES unquoted escaped bytes
e.g., abc\x01\x02
quoted bytes literal
e.g., b"abc\x01\x02"
BOOL boolean value boolean value
ENUM EnumName "EnumName"
DATE 2011-02-03 DATE "2011-02-03"
TIMESTAMP 2011-02-03 04:05:06+00 TIMESTAMP "2011-02-03 04:05:06+00"
ARRAY [value, value, ...]
where values are formatted with %t
[value, value, ...]
where values are formatted with %T
STRUCT (value, value, ...)
where fields are formatted with %t
(value, value, ...)
where fields are formatted with %T

Special cases:
Zero fields: STRUCT()
One field: STRUCT(value)
Error conditions

If a format specifier is invalid, or is not compatible with the related argument type, or the wrong number or arguments are provided, then an error is produced. For example, the following <format_string> expressions are invalid:

FORMAT('%s', 1)
FORMAT('%')
NULL argument handling

A NULL format string results in a NULL output STRING. Any other arguments are ignored in this case.

The function generally produces a NULL value if a NULL argument is present. For example, FORMAT('%i', NULL_expression) produces a NULL STRING as output.

However, there are some exceptions: if the format specifier is %t or %T (both of which produce STRINGs that effectively match CAST and literal value semantics), a NULL value produces 'NULL' (without the quotes) in the result STRING. For example, the function:

FORMAT('00-%t-00', NULL_expression);

Returns

00-NULL-00
Additional semantic rules

FLOAT64 and FLOAT32 values can be +/-inf or NaN. When an argument has one of those values, the result of the format specifiers %f, %F, %e, %E, %g, %G, and %t are inf, -inf, or nan (or the same in uppercase) as appropriate. This is consistent with how GoogleSQL casts these values to STRING. For %T, GoogleSQL returns quoted strings for FLOAT64 values that don't have non-string literal representations.

FROM_BASE32

FROM_BASE32(string_expr)

Description

Converts the base32-encoded input string_expr into BYTES format. To convert BYTES to a base32-encoded STRING, use TO_BASE32.

Return type

BYTES

Example

SELECT FROM_BASE32('MFRGGZDF74======') AS byte_data;

-- Note that the result of FROM_BASE32 is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
/*-----------*
 | byte_data |
 +-----------+
 | YWJjZGX/  |
 *-----------*/

FROM_BASE64

FROM_BASE64(string_expr)

Description

Converts the base64-encoded input string_expr into BYTES format. To convert BYTES to a base64-encoded STRING, use [TO_BASE64][string-link-to-base64].

There are several base64 encodings in common use that vary in exactly which alphabet of 65 ASCII characters are used to encode the 64 digits and padding. See RFC 4648 for details. This function expects the alphabet [A-Za-z0-9+/=].

Return type

BYTES

Example

SELECT FROM_BASE64('/+A=') AS byte_data;

-- Note that the result of FROM_BASE64 is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
/*-----------*
 | byte_data |
 +-----------+
 | /+A=      |
 *-----------*/

To work with an encoding using a different base64 alphabet, you might need to compose FROM_BASE64 with the REPLACE function. For instance, the base64url url-safe and filename-safe encoding commonly used in web programming uses -_= as the last characters rather than +/=. To decode a base64url-encoded string, replace - and _ with + and / respectively.

SELECT FROM_BASE64(REPLACE(REPLACE('_-A=', '-', '+'), '_', '/')) AS binary;

-- Note that the result of FROM_BASE64 is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
/*--------*
 | binary |
 +--------+
 | /+A=   |
 *--------*/

FROM_HEX

FROM_HEX(string)

Description

Converts a hexadecimal-encoded STRING into BYTES format. Returns an error if the input STRING contains characters outside the range (0..9, A..F, a..f). The lettercase of the characters does not matter. If the input STRING has an odd number of characters, the function acts as if the input has an additional leading 0. To convert BYTES to a hexadecimal-encoded STRING, use TO_HEX.

Return type

BYTES

Example

INITCAP

INITCAP(value[, delimiters])

Description

Takes a STRING and returns it with the first character in each word in uppercase and all other characters in lowercase. Non-alphabetic characters remain the same.

delimiters is an optional string argument that is used to override the default set of characters used to separate words. If delimiters is not specified, it defaults to the following characters:
<whitespace> [ ] ( ) { } / | \ < > ! ? @ " ^ # $ & ~ _ , . : ; * % + -

If value or delimiters is NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return type

STRING

Examples

SELECT
  'Hello World-everyone!' AS value,
  INITCAP('Hello World-everyone!') AS initcap_value

/*-------------------------------+-------------------------------*
 | value                         | initcap_value                 |
 +-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
 | Hello World-everyone!         | Hello World-Everyone!         |
 *-------------------------------+-------------------------------*/
SELECT
  'Apples1oranges2pears' as value,
  '12' AS delimiters,
  INITCAP('Apples1oranges2pears' , '12') AS initcap_value

/*----------------------+------------+----------------------*
 | value                | delimiters | initcap_value        |
 +----------------------+------------+----------------------+
 | Apples1oranges2pears | 12         | Apples1Oranges2Pears |
 *----------------------+------------+----------------------*/

INSTR

INSTR(value, subvalue[, position[, occurrence]])

Description

Returns the lowest 1-based position of subvalue in value. value and subvalue must be the same type, either STRING or BYTES.

If position is specified, the search starts at this position in value, otherwise it starts at 1, which is the beginning of value. If position is negative, the function searches backwards from the end of value, with -1 indicating the last character. position is of type INT64 and cannot be 0.

If occurrence is specified, the search returns the position of a specific instance of subvalue in value. If not specified, occurrence defaults to 1 and returns the position of the first occurrence. For occurrence > 1, the function includes overlapping occurrences. occurrence is of type INT64 and must be positive.

This function supports specifying collation.

Returns 0 if:

  • No match is found.
  • If occurrence is greater than the number of matches found.
  • If position is greater than the length of value.

Returns NULL if:

  • Any input argument is NULL.

Returns an error if:

  • position is 0.
  • occurrence is 0 or negative.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'an' AS subvalue, 1 AS position, 1 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'an', 1, 1) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | an           | 1        | 1          | 2     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'an' AS subvalue, 1 AS position, 2 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'an', 1, 2) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | an           | 1        | 2          | 4     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'an' AS subvalue, 1 AS position, 3 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'an', 1, 3) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | an           | 1        | 3          | 0     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'an' AS subvalue, 3 AS position, 1 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'an', 3, 1) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | an           | 3        | 1          | 4     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'an' AS subvalue, -1 AS position, 1 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'an', -1, 1) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | an           | -1       | 1          | 4     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'an' AS subvalue, -3 AS position, 1 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'an', -3, 1) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | an           | -3       | 1          | 4     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'banana' AS value, 'ann' AS subvalue, 1 AS position, 1 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('banana', 'ann', 1, 1) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | banana       | ann          | 1        | 1          | 0     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'helloooo' AS value, 'oo' AS subvalue, 1 AS position, 1 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('helloooo', 'oo', 1, 1) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | helloooo     | oo           | 1        | 1          | 5     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/
SELECT
  'helloooo' AS value, 'oo' AS subvalue, 1 AS position, 2 AS occurrence,
  INSTR('helloooo', 'oo', 1, 2) AS instr;

/*--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*
 | value        | subvalue     | position | occurrence | instr |
 +--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------+
 | helloooo     | oo           | 1        | 2          | 6     |
 *--------------+--------------+----------+------------+-------*/

LEFT

LEFT(value, length)

Description

Returns a STRING or BYTES value that consists of the specified number of leftmost characters or bytes from value. The length is an INT64 that specifies the length of the returned value. If value is of type BYTES, length is the number of leftmost bytes to return. If value is STRING, length is the number of leftmost characters to return.

If length is 0, an empty STRING or BYTES value will be returned. If length is negative, an error will be returned. If length exceeds the number of characters or bytes from value, the original value will be returned.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT LEFT('banana', 3) AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
  +--------+
 | ban     |
 *---------*/
SELECT LEFT(b'\xab\xcd\xef\xaa\xbb', 3) AS results

-- Note that the result of LEFT is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | q83v    |
 *---------*/

LENGTH

LENGTH(value)

Description

Returns the length of the STRING or BYTES value. The returned value is in characters for STRING arguments and in bytes for the BYTES argument.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT
  LENGTH('абвгд') AS string_example,
  LENGTH(CAST('абвгд' AS BYTES)) AS bytes_example;

/*----------------+---------------*
 | string_example | bytes_example |
 +----------------+---------------+
 | 5              | 10            |
 *----------------+---------------*/

LOWER

LOWER(value)

Description

For STRING arguments, returns the original string with all alphabetic characters in lowercase. Mapping between lowercase and uppercase is done according to the Unicode Character Database without taking into account language-specific mappings.

For BYTES arguments, the argument is treated as ASCII text, with all bytes greater than 127 left intact.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT
  LOWER('FOO BAR BAZ') AS example
FROM items;

/*-------------*
 | example     |
 +-------------+
 | foo bar baz |
 *-------------*/

LPAD

LPAD(original_value, return_length[, pattern])

Description

Returns a STRING or BYTES value that consists of original_value prepended with pattern. The return_length is an INT64 that specifies the length of the returned value. If original_value is of type BYTES, return_length is the number of bytes. If original_value is of type STRING, return_length is the number of characters.

The default value of pattern is a blank space.

Both original_value and pattern must be the same data type.

If return_length is less than or equal to the original_value length, this function returns the original_value value, truncated to the value of return_length. For example, LPAD('hello world', 7); returns 'hello w'.

If original_value, return_length, or pattern is NULL, this function returns NULL.

This function returns an error if:

  • return_length is negative
  • pattern is empty

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT FORMAT('%T', LPAD('c', 5)) AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | "    c" |
 *---------*/
SELECT LPAD('b', 5, 'a') AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | aaaab   |
 *---------*/
SELECT LPAD('abc', 10, 'ghd') AS results

/*------------*
 | results    |
 +------------+
 | ghdghdgabc |
 *------------*/
SELECT LPAD('abc', 2, 'd') AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | ab      |
 *---------*/
SELECT FORMAT('%T', LPAD(b'abc', 10, b'ghd')) AS results

/*---------------*
 | results       |
 +---------------+
 | b"ghdghdgabc" |
 *---------------*/

LTRIM

LTRIM(value1[, value2])

Description

Identical to TRIM, but only removes leading characters.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT CONCAT('#', LTRIM('   apple   '), '#') AS example

/*-------------*
 | example     |
 +-------------+
 | #apple #    |
 *-------------*/
SELECT LTRIM('***apple***', '*') AS example

/*-----------*
 | example   |
 +-----------+
 | apple***  |
 *-----------*/
SELECT LTRIM('xxxapplexxx', 'xyz') AS example

/*-----------*
 | example   |
 +-----------+
 | applexxx  |
 *-----------*/

NORMALIZE

NORMALIZE(value[, normalization_mode])

Description

Takes a string value and returns it as a normalized string. If you do not provide a normalization mode, NFC is used.

Normalization is used to ensure that two strings are equivalent. Normalization is often used in situations in which two strings render the same on the screen but have different Unicode code points.

NORMALIZE supports four optional normalization modes:

Value Name Description
NFC Normalization Form Canonical Composition Decomposes and recomposes characters by canonical equivalence.
NFKC Normalization Form Compatibility Composition Decomposes characters by compatibility, then recomposes them by canonical equivalence.
NFD Normalization Form Canonical Decomposition Decomposes characters by canonical equivalence, and multiple combining characters are arranged in a specific order.
NFKD Normalization Form Compatibility Decomposition Decomposes characters by compatibility, and multiple combining characters are arranged in a specific order.

Return type

STRING

Examples

The following example normalizes different language characters:

SELECT
  NORMALIZE('\u00ea') as a,
  NORMALIZE('\u0065\u0302') as b,
  NORMALIZE('\u00ea') = NORMALIZE('\u0065\u0302') as normalized;

/*---+---+------------*
 | a | b | normalized |
 +---+---+------------+
 | ê | ê | TRUE       |
 *---+---+------------*/

The following examples normalize different space characters:

SELECT NORMALIZE('Raha\u2004Mahan', NFKC) AS normalized_name

/*-----------------*
 | normalized_name |
 +-----------------+
 | Raha Mahan      |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT NORMALIZE('Raha\u2005Mahan', NFKC) AS normalized_name

/*-----------------*
 | normalized_name |
 +-----------------+
 | Raha Mahan      |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT NORMALIZE('Raha\u2006Mahan', NFKC) AS normalized_name

/*-----------------*
 | normalized_name |
 +-----------------+
 | Raha Mahan      |
 *-----------------*/
SELECT NORMALIZE('Raha Mahan', NFKC) AS normalized_name

/*-----------------*
 | normalized_name |
 +-----------------+
 | Raha Mahan      |
 *-----------------*/

NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD

NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD(value[, normalization_mode])

Description

Takes a string value and returns it as a normalized string. If you do not provide a normalization mode, NFC is used.

Normalization is used to ensure that two strings are equivalent. Normalization is often used in situations in which two strings render the same on the screen but have different Unicode code points.

Case folding is used for the caseless comparison of strings. If you need to compare strings and case should not be considered, use NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD, otherwise use NORMALIZE.

NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD supports four optional normalization modes:

Value Name Description
NFC Normalization Form Canonical Composition Decomposes and recomposes characters by canonical equivalence.
NFKC Normalization Form Compatibility Composition Decomposes characters by compatibility, then recomposes them by canonical equivalence.
NFD Normalization Form Canonical Decomposition Decomposes characters by canonical equivalence, and multiple combining characters are arranged in a specific order.
NFKD Normalization Form Compatibility Decomposition Decomposes characters by compatibility, and multiple combining characters are arranged in a specific order.

Return type

STRING

Examples

SELECT
  NORMALIZE('The red barn') = NORMALIZE('The Red Barn') AS normalized,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('The red barn')
    = NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('The Red Barn') AS normalized_with_case_folding;

/*------------+------------------------------*
 | normalized | normalized_with_case_folding |
 +------------+------------------------------+
 | FALSE      | TRUE                         |
 *------------+------------------------------*/
SELECT
  '\u2168' AS a,
  'IX' AS b,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u2168', NFD)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('IX', NFD) AS nfd,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u2168', NFC)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('IX', NFC) AS nfc,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u2168', NFKD)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('IX', NFKD) AS nkfd,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u2168', NFKC)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('IX', NFKC) AS nkfc;

/*---+----+-------+-------+------+------*
 | a | b  | nfd   | nfc   | nkfd | nkfc |
 +---+----+-------+-------+------+------+
 | Ⅸ | IX | false | false | true | true |
 *---+----+-------+-------+------+------*/
SELECT
  '\u0041\u030A' AS a,
  '\u00C5' AS b,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u0041\u030A', NFD)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u00C5', NFD) AS nfd,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u0041\u030A', NFC)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u00C5', NFC) AS nfc,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u0041\u030A', NFKD)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u00C5', NFKD) AS nkfd,
  NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u0041\u030A', NFKC)=NORMALIZE_AND_CASEFOLD('\u00C5', NFKC) AS nkfc;

/*---+----+-------+-------+------+------*
 | a | b  | nfd   | nfc   | nkfd | nkfc |
 +---+----+-------+-------+------+------+
 | Å | Å  | true  | true  | true | true |
 *---+----+-------+-------+------+------*/

OCTET_LENGTH

OCTET_LENGTH(value)

Alias for BYTE_LENGTH.

REGEXP_CONTAINS

REGEXP_CONTAINS(value, regexp)

Description

Returns TRUE if value is a partial match for the regular expression, regexp.

If the regexp argument is invalid, the function returns an error.

You can search for a full match by using ^ (beginning of text) and $ (end of text). Due to regular expression operator precedence, it is good practice to use parentheses around everything between ^ and $.

Return type

BOOL

Examples

The following queries check to see if an email is valid:

SELECT
  'foo@example.com' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('foo@example.com', r'@[a-zA-Z0-9-]+\.[a-zA-Z0-9-.]+') AS is_valid

/*-----------------+----------*
 | email           | is_valid |
 +-----------------+----------+
 | foo@example.com | TRUE     |
 *-----------------+----------*/
 ```

 ```sql
SELECT
  'www.example.net' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('www.example.net', r'@[a-zA-Z0-9-]+\.[a-zA-Z0-9-.]+') AS is_valid

/*-----------------+----------*
 | email           | is_valid |
 +-----------------+----------+
 | www.example.net | FALSE    |
 *-----------------+----------*/
 ```

The following queries check to see if an email is valid. They
perform a full match, using `^` and `$`. Due to regular expression operator
precedence, it is good practice to use parentheses around everything between `^`
and `$`.

```sql
SELECT
  'a@foo.com' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('a@foo.com', r'^([\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org)$') AS valid_email_address,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('a@foo.com', r'^[\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org$') AS without_parentheses;

/*----------------+---------------------+---------------------*
 | email          | valid_email_address | without_parentheses |
 +----------------+---------------------+---------------------+
 | a@foo.com      | true                | true                |
 *----------------+---------------------+---------------------*/
SELECT
  'a@foo.computer' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('a@foo.computer', r'^([\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org)$') AS valid_email_address,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('a@foo.computer', r'^[\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org$') AS without_parentheses;

/*----------------+---------------------+---------------------*
 | email          | valid_email_address | without_parentheses |
 +----------------+---------------------+---------------------+
 | a@foo.computer | false               | true                |
 *----------------+---------------------+---------------------*/
SELECT
  'b@bar.org' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('b@bar.org', r'^([\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org)$') AS valid_email_address,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('b@bar.org', r'^[\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org$') AS without_parentheses;

/*----------------+---------------------+---------------------*
 | email          | valid_email_address | without_parentheses |
 +----------------+---------------------+---------------------+
 | b@bar.org      | true                | true                |
 *----------------+---------------------+---------------------*/
SELECT
  '!b@bar.org' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('!b@bar.org', r'^([\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org)$') AS valid_email_address,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('!b@bar.org', r'^[\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org$') AS without_parentheses;

/*----------------+---------------------+---------------------*
 | email          | valid_email_address | without_parentheses |
 +----------------+---------------------+---------------------+
 | !b@bar.org     | false               | true                |
 *----------------+---------------------+---------------------*/
SELECT
  'c@buz.net' AS email,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('c@buz.net', r'^([\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org)$') AS valid_email_address,
  REGEXP_CONTAINS('c@buz.net', r'^[\w.+-]+@foo\.com|[\w.+-]+@bar\.org$') AS without_parentheses;

/*----------------+---------------------+---------------------*
 | email          | valid_email_address | without_parentheses |
 +----------------+---------------------+---------------------+
 | c@buz.net      | false               | false               |
 *----------------+---------------------+---------------------*/

REGEXP_EXTRACT

REGEXP_EXTRACT(value, regexp)

Description

Returns the first substring in value that matches the re2 regular expression, regexp. Returns NULL if there is no match.

If the regular expression contains a capturing group ((...)), and there is a match for that capturing group, that match is returned. If there are multiple matches for a capturing group, the first match is returned.

Returns an error if:

  • The regular expression is invalid
  • The regular expression has more than one capturing group

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT REGEXP_EXTRACT('foo@example.com', r'^[a-zA-Z0-9_.+-]+') AS user_name

/*-----------*
 | user_name |
 +-----------+
 | foo       |
 *-----------*/
SELECT REGEXP_EXTRACT('foo@example.com', r'^[a-zA-Z0-9_.+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9-]+\.([a-zA-Z0-9-.]+$)')

/*------------------*
 | top_level_domain |
 +------------------+
 | com              |
 *------------------*/
SELECT
  REGEXP_EXTRACT('ab', '.b') AS result_a,
  REGEXP_EXTRACT('ab', '(.)b') AS result_b,
  REGEXP_EXTRACT('xyztb', '(.)+b') AS result_c,
  REGEXP_EXTRACT('ab', '(z)?b') AS result_d

/*-------------------------------------------*
 | result_a | result_b | result_c | result_d |
 +-------------------------------------------+
 | ab       | a        | t        | NULL     |
 *-------------------------------------------*/

REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL

REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL(value, regexp)

Description

Returns an array of all substrings of value that match the re2 regular expression, regexp. Returns an empty array if there is no match.

If the regular expression contains a capturing group ((...)), and there is a match for that capturing group, that match is added to the results.

The REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL function only returns non-overlapping matches. For example, using this function to extract ana from banana returns only one substring, not two.

Returns an error if:

  • The regular expression is invalid
  • The regular expression has more than one capturing group

Return type

ARRAY<STRING> or ARRAY<BYTES>

Examples

SELECT REGEXP_EXTRACT_ALL('Try `func(x)` or `func(y)`', '`(.+?)`') AS example

/*--------------------*
 | example            |
 +--------------------+
 | [func(x), func(y)] |
 *--------------------*/

REGEXP_INSTR

REGEXP_INSTR(source_value, regexp [, position[, occurrence, [occurrence_position]]])

Description

Returns the lowest 1-based position of a regular expression, regexp, in source_value. source_value and regexp must be the same type, either STRING or BYTES.

If position is specified, the search starts at this position in source_value, otherwise it starts at 1, which is the beginning of source_value. position is of type INT64 and must be positive.

If occurrence is specified, the search returns the position of a specific instance of regexp in source_value. If not specified, occurrence defaults to 1 and returns the position of the first occurrence. For occurrence > 1, the function searches for the next, non-overlapping occurrence. occurrence is of type INT64 and must be positive.

You can optionally use occurrence_position to specify where a position in relation to an occurrence starts. Your choices are:

  • 0: Returns the start position of occurrence.
  • 1: Returns the end position of occurrence + 1. If the end of the occurrence is at the end of source_value, LENGTH(source_value) + 1 is returned.

Returns 0 if:

  • No match is found.
  • If occurrence is greater than the number of matches found.
  • If position is greater than the length of source_value.
  • The regular expression is empty.

Returns NULL if:

  • position is NULL.
  • occurrence is NULL.

Returns an error if:

  • position is 0 or negative.
  • occurrence is 0 or negative.
  • occurrence_position is neither 0 nor 1.
  • The regular expression is invalid.
  • The regular expression has more than one capturing group.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT
  REGEXP_INSTR('ab@cd-ef',  '@[^-]*') AS instr_a,
  REGEXP_INSTR('ab@d-ef',   '@[^-]*') AS instr_b,
  REGEXP_INSTR('abc@cd-ef', '@[^-]*') AS instr_c,
  REGEXP_INSTR('abc-ef',    '@[^-]*') AS instr_d,

/*---------------------------------------*
 | instr_a | instr_b | instr_c | instr_d |
 +---------------------------------------+
 | 3       | 3       | 4       | 0       |
 *---------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 1) AS instr_a,
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 2) AS instr_b,
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 3) AS instr_c,
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 4) AS instr_d,

/*---------------------------------------*
 | instr_a | instr_b | instr_c | instr_d |
 +---------------------------------------+
 | 2       | 2       | 10      | 10      |
 *---------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef c@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 1, 1) AS instr_a,
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef c@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 1, 2) AS instr_b,
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef b@cd-ef c@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 1, 3) AS instr_c

/*-----------------------------*
 | instr_a | instr_b | instr_c |
 +-----------------------------+
 | 2       | 10      | 18      |
 *-----------------------------*/
SELECT
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 1, 1, 0) AS instr_a,
  REGEXP_INSTR('a@cd-ef', '@[^-]*', 1, 1, 1) AS instr_b

/*-------------------*
 | instr_a | instr_b |
 +-------------------+
 | 2       | 5       |
 *-------------------*/

REGEXP_REPLACE

REGEXP_REPLACE(value, regexp, replacement)

Description

Returns a STRING where all substrings of value that match regular expression regexp are replaced with replacement.

You can use backslashed-escaped digits (\1 to \9) within the replacement argument to insert text matching the corresponding parenthesized group in the regexp pattern. Use \0 to refer to the entire matching text.

To add a backslash in your regular expression, you must first escape it. For example, SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('abc', 'b(.)', 'X\\1'); returns aXc. You can also use raw strings to remove one layer of escaping, for example SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('abc', 'b(.)', r'X\1');.

The REGEXP_REPLACE function only replaces non-overlapping matches. For example, replacing ana within banana results in only one replacement, not two.

If the regexp argument is not a valid regular expression, this function returns an error.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT REGEXP_REPLACE('# Heading', r'^# ([a-zA-Z0-9\s]+$)', '<h1>\\1</h1>') AS html

/*--------------------------*
 | html                     |
 +--------------------------+
 | <h1>Heading</h1>         |
 *--------------------------*/

REPEAT

REPEAT(original_value, repetitions)

Description

Returns a STRING or BYTES value that consists of original_value, repeated. The repetitions parameter specifies the number of times to repeat original_value. Returns NULL if either original_value or repetitions are NULL.

This function returns an error if the repetitions value is negative.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT REPEAT('abc', 3) AS results

/*-----------*
 | results   |
 |-----------|
 | abcabcabc |
 *-----------*/
SELECT REPEAT('abc', NULL) AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 |---------|
 | NULL    |
 *---------*/
SELECT REPEAT(NULL, 3) AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 |---------|
 | NULL    |
 *---------*/

REPLACE

REPLACE(original_value, from_pattern, to_pattern)

Description

Replaces all occurrences of from_pattern with to_pattern in original_value. If from_pattern is empty, no replacement is made.

This function supports specifying collation.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

REVERSE

REVERSE(value)

Description

Returns the reverse of the input STRING or BYTES.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT REVERSE('abc') AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | cba     |
 *---------*/
SELECT FORMAT('%T', REVERSE(b'1a3')) AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | b"3a1"  |
 *---------*/
RIGHT(value, length)

Description

Returns a STRING or BYTES value that consists of the specified number of rightmost characters or bytes from value. The length is an INT64 that specifies the length of the returned value. If value is BYTES, length is the number of rightmost bytes to return. If value is STRING, length is the number of rightmost characters to return.

If length is 0, an empty STRING or BYTES value will be returned. If length is negative, an error will be returned. If length exceeds the number of characters or bytes from value, the original value will be returned.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT 'apple' AS example, RIGHT('apple', 3) AS right_example

/*---------+---------------*
 | example | right_example |
 +---------+---------------+
 | apple   | ple           |
 *---------+---------------*/
SELECT b'apple' AS example, RIGHT(b'apple', 3) AS right_example

-- Note that the result of RIGHT is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
/*----------+---------------*
 | example  | right_example |
 +----------+---------------+
 | YXBwbGU= | cGxl          |
 *----------+---------------*/

RPAD

RPAD(original_value, return_length[, pattern])

Description

Returns a STRING or BYTES value that consists of original_value appended with pattern. The return_length parameter is an INT64 that specifies the length of the returned value. If original_value is BYTES, return_length is the number of bytes. If original_value is STRING, return_length is the number of characters.

The default value of pattern is a blank space.

Both original_value and pattern must be the same data type.

If return_length is less than or equal to the original_value length, this function returns the original_value value, truncated to the value of return_length. For example, RPAD('hello world', 7); returns 'hello w'.

If original_value, return_length, or pattern is NULL, this function returns NULL.

This function returns an error if:

  • return_length is negative
  • pattern is empty

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT FORMAT('%T', RPAD('c', 5)) AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | "c    " |
 *---------*/
SELECT RPAD('b', 5, 'a') AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | baaaa   |
 *---------*/
SELECT RPAD('abc', 10, 'ghd') AS results

/*------------*
 | results    |
 +------------+
 | abcghdghdg |
 *------------*/
SELECT RPAD('abc', 2, 'd') AS results

/*---------*
 | results |
 +---------+
 | ab      |
 *---------*/
SELECT FORMAT('%T', RPAD(b'abc', 10, b'ghd')) AS results

/*---------------*
 | results       |
 +---------------+
 | b"abcghdghdg" |
 *---------------*/

RTRIM

RTRIM(value1[, value2])

Description

Identical to TRIM, but only removes trailing characters.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT RTRIM('***apple***', '*') AS example

/*-----------*
 | example   |
 +-----------+
 | ***apple  |
 *-----------*/
SELECT RTRIM('applexxz', 'xyz') AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | apple   |
 *---------*/

SAFE_CONVERT_BYTES_TO_STRING

SAFE_CONVERT_BYTES_TO_STRING(value)

Description

Converts a sequence of BYTES to a STRING. Any invalid UTF-8 characters are replaced with the Unicode replacement character, U+FFFD.

Return type

STRING

Examples

The following statement returns the Unicode replacement character, �.

SELECT SAFE_CONVERT_BYTES_TO_STRING(b'\xc2') as safe_convert;

SOUNDEX

SOUNDEX(value)

Description

Returns a STRING that represents the Soundex code for value.

SOUNDEX produces a phonetic representation of a string. It indexes words by sound, as pronounced in English. It is typically used to help determine whether two strings, such as the family names Levine and Lavine, or the words to and too, have similar English-language pronunciation.

The result of the SOUNDEX consists of a letter followed by 3 digits. Non-latin characters are ignored. If the remaining string is empty after removing non-Latin characters, an empty STRING is returned.

Return type

STRING

Examples

SELECT 'Ashcraft' AS value, SOUNDEX('Ashcraft') AS soundex

/*----------------------+---------*
 | value                | soundex |
 +----------------------+---------+
 | Ashcraft             | A261    |
 *----------------------+---------*/

SPLIT

SPLIT(value[, delimiter])

Description

Splits a STRING or BYTES value, using a delimiter. The delimiter argument must be a literal character or sequence of characters. You can't split with a regular expression.

For STRING, the default delimiter is the comma ,.

For BYTES, you must specify a delimiter.

Splitting on an empty delimiter produces an array of UTF-8 characters for STRING values, and an array of BYTES for BYTES values.

Splitting an empty STRING returns an ARRAY with a single empty STRING.

This function supports specifying collation.

Return type

ARRAY<STRING> or ARRAY<BYTES>

Examples

STARTS_WITH

STARTS_WITH(value, prefix)

Description

Takes two STRING or BYTES values. Returns TRUE if prefix is a prefix of value.

This function supports specifying collation.

Return type

BOOL

Examples

SELECT STARTS_WITH('bar', 'b') AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 |    True |
 *---------*/

STRPOS

STRPOS(value, subvalue)

Description

Takes two STRING or BYTES values. Returns the 1-based position of the first occurrence of subvalue inside value. Returns 0 if subvalue is not found.

This function supports specifying collation.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT STRPOS('foo@example.com', '@') AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 |       4 |
 *---------*/

SUBSTR

SUBSTR(value, position[, length])

Description

Gets a portion (substring) of the supplied STRING or BYTES value.

The position argument is an integer specifying the starting position of the substring.

  • If position is 1, the substring starts from the first character or byte.
  • If position is 0 or less than -LENGTH(value), position is set to 1, and the substring starts from the first character or byte.
  • If position is greater than the length of value, the function produces an empty substring.
  • If position is negative, the function counts from the end of value, with -1 indicating the last character or byte.

The length argument specifies the maximum number of characters or bytes to return.

  • If length is not specified, the function produces a substring that starts at the specified position and ends at the last character or byte of value.
  • If length is 0, the function produces an empty substring.
  • If length is negative, the function produces an error.
  • The returned substring may be shorter than length, for example, when length exceeds the length of value, or when the starting position of the substring plus length is greater than the length of value.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT SUBSTR('apple', 2) AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | pple    |
 *---------*/
SELECT SUBSTR('apple', 2, 2) AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | pp      |
 *---------*/
SELECT SUBSTR('apple', -2) AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | le      |
 *---------*/
SELECT SUBSTR('apple', 1, 123) AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | apple   |
 *---------*/
SELECT SUBSTR('apple', 123) AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 |         |
 *---------*/
SELECT SUBSTR('apple', 123, 5) AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 |         |
 *---------*/

SUBSTRING

SUBSTRING(value, position[, length])

Alias for SUBSTR.

TO_BASE32

TO_BASE32(bytes_expr)

Description

Converts a sequence of BYTES into a base32-encoded STRING. To convert a base32-encoded STRING into BYTES, use FROM_BASE32.

Return type

STRING

Example

SELECT TO_BASE32(b'abcde\xFF') AS base32_string;

/*------------------*
 | base32_string    |
 +------------------+
 | MFRGGZDF74====== |
 *------------------*/

TO_BASE64

TO_BASE64(bytes_expr)

Description

Converts a sequence of BYTES into a base64-encoded STRING. To convert a base64-encoded STRING into BYTES, use FROM_BASE64.

There are several base64 encodings in common use that vary in exactly which alphabet of 65 ASCII characters are used to encode the 64 digits and padding. See RFC 4648 for details. This function adds padding and uses the alphabet [A-Za-z0-9+/=].

Return type

STRING

Example

SELECT TO_BASE64(b'\377\340') AS base64_string;

/*---------------*
 | base64_string |
 +---------------+
 | /+A=          |
 *---------------*/

To work with an encoding using a different base64 alphabet, you might need to compose TO_BASE64 with the REPLACE function. For instance, the base64url url-safe and filename-safe encoding commonly used in web programming uses -_= as the last characters rather than +/=. To encode a base64url-encoded string, replace + and / with - and _ respectively.

SELECT REPLACE(REPLACE(TO_BASE64(b'\377\340'), '+', '-'), '/', '_') as websafe_base64;

/*----------------*
 | websafe_base64 |
 +----------------+
 | _-A=           |
 *----------------*/

TO_CODE_POINTS

TO_CODE_POINTS(value)

Description

Takes a STRING or BYTES value and returns an array of INT64 values that represent code points or extended ASCII character values.

  • If value is a STRING, each element in the returned array represents a code point. Each code point falls within the range of [0, 0xD7FF] and [0xE000, 0x10FFFF].
  • If value is BYTES, each element in the array is an extended ASCII character value in the range of [0, 255].

To convert from an array of code points to a STRING or BYTES, see CODE_POINTS_TO_STRING or CODE_POINTS_TO_BYTES.

Return type

ARRAY<INT64>

Examples

The following examples get the code points for each element in an array of words.

SELECT
  'foo' AS word,
  TO_CODE_POINTS('foo') AS code_points

/*---------+------------------------------------*
 | word    | code_points                        |
 +---------+------------------------------------+
 | foo     | [102, 111, 111]                    |
 *---------+------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  'bar' AS word,
  TO_CODE_POINTS('bar') AS code_points

/*---------+------------------------------------*
 | word    | code_points                        |
 +---------+------------------------------------+
 | bar     | [98, 97, 114]                      |
 *---------+------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  'baz' AS word,
  TO_CODE_POINTS('baz') AS code_points

/*---------+------------------------------------*
 | word    | code_points                        |
 +---------+------------------------------------+
 | baz     | [98, 97, 122]                      |
 *---------+------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  'giraffe' AS word,
  TO_CODE_POINTS('giraffe') AS code_points

/*---------+------------------------------------*
 | word    | code_points                        |
 +---------+------------------------------------+
 | giraffe | [103, 105, 114, 97, 102, 102, 101] |
 *---------+------------------------------------*/
SELECT
  'llama' AS word,
  TO_CODE_POINTS('llama') AS code_points

/*---------+------------------------------------*
 | word    | code_points                        |
 +---------+------------------------------------+
 | llama   | [108, 108, 97, 109, 97]            |
 *---------+------------------------------------*/

The following examples convert integer representations of BYTES to their corresponding ASCII character values.

SELECT
  b'\x66\x6f\x6f' AS bytes_value,
  TO_CODE_POINTS(b'\x66\x6f\x6f') AS bytes_value_as_integer

/*------------------+------------------------*
 | bytes_value      | bytes_value_as_integer |
 +------------------+------------------------+
 | foo              | [102, 111, 111]        |
 *------------------+------------------------*/
SELECT
  b'\x00\x01\x10\xff' AS bytes_value,
  TO_CODE_POINTS(b'\x00\x01\x10\xff') AS bytes_value_as_integer

/*------------------+------------------------*
 | bytes_value      | bytes_value_as_integer |
 +------------------+------------------------+
 | \x00\x01\x10\xff | [0, 1, 16, 255]        |
 *------------------+------------------------*/

The following example demonstrates the difference between a BYTES result and a STRING result. Notice that the character Ā is represented as a two-byte Unicode sequence. As a result, the BYTES version of TO_CODE_POINTS returns an array with two elements, while the STRING version returns an array with a single element.

SELECT TO_CODE_POINTS(b'Ā') AS b_result, TO_CODE_POINTS('Ā') AS s_result;

/*------------+----------*
 | b_result   | s_result |
 +------------+----------+
 | [196, 128] | [256]    |
 *------------+----------*/

TO_HEX

TO_HEX(bytes)

Description

Converts a sequence of BYTES into a hexadecimal STRING. Converts each byte in the STRING as two hexadecimal characters in the range (0..9, a..f). To convert a hexadecimal-encoded STRING to BYTES, use FROM_HEX.

Return type

STRING

Example

SELECT
  b'\x00\x01\x02\x03\xAA\xEE\xEF\xFF' AS byte_string,
  TO_HEX(b'\x00\x01\x02\x03\xAA\xEE\xEF\xFF') AS hex_string

/*----------------------------------+------------------*
 | byte_string                      | hex_string       |
 +----------------------------------+------------------+
 | \x00\x01\x02\x03\xaa\xee\xef\xff | 00010203aaeeefff |
 *----------------------------------+------------------*/

TO_INT64

TO_INT64(bytes_value)

Description

Converts the big-endian bytes of a 64-bit signed integer into an INT64 value.

Definitions

  • bytes_value: The big-endian bytes to convert. The length of bytes_value must be 8. If NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return Data Type

INT64

Example

SELECT TO_INT64(b'\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00d') AS integer_value

/*---------------------*
 | integer_value       |
 +---------------------+
 | 100                 |
 *---------------------*/

TO_VECTOR32

TO_VECTOR32(bytes_value)

Description

Converts the big-endian bytes of one or more 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers into an ARRAY value.

Definitions

  • bytes_value: The bytes to convert, which must be the concatenation of the big-endian bytes of 32-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers. The length of bytes_value must be a multiple of 8. If NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return Data Type

ARRAY<FLOAT32>

Example

SELECT TO_VECTOR32(b'\x3f\xc0\x00\x00\x42\xc8\x00\x00') AS array_val

/*---------------------*
 | array_val           |
 +---------------------+
 | [ 1.5, 100.0 ]      |
 *---------------------*/

TO_VECTOR64

TO_VECTOR64(bytes_value)

Description

Converts the big-endian bytes of one or more 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers into an ARRAY value.

Definitions

  • bytes_value: The bytes to convert, which must be the concatenation of the big-endian bytes of 64-bit IEEE 754 floating point numbers. The length of bytes_value must be a multiple of 8. If NULL, the function returns NULL.

Return Data Type

ARRAY<FLOAT64>

Example

SELECT TO_VECTOR64(b'\x40\x5e\xdc\xcc\xcc\xcc\xcc\xcd\x40\x4c\x63\xd7\x0a\x3d\x70\xa4') AS array_val

/*---------------------*
 | array_val           |
 +---------------------+
 | [ 123.45, 56.78 ]   |
 *---------------------*/

TRANSLATE

TRANSLATE(expression, source_characters, target_characters)

Description

In expression, replaces each character in source_characters with the corresponding character in target_characters. All inputs must be the same type, either STRING or BYTES.

  • Each character in expression is translated at most once.
  • A character in expression that is not present in source_characters is left unchanged in expression.
  • A character in source_characters without a corresponding character in target_characters is omitted from the result.
  • A duplicate character in source_characters results in an error.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT TRANSLATE('This is a cookie', 'sco', 'zku') AS translate

/*------------------*
 | translate        |
 +------------------+
 | Thiz iz a kuukie |
 *------------------*/

TRIM

TRIM(value_to_trim[, set_of_characters_to_remove])

Description

Takes a STRING or BYTES value to trim.

If the value to trim is a STRING, removes from this value all leading and trailing Unicode code points in set_of_characters_to_remove. The set of code points is optional. If it is not specified, all whitespace characters are removed from the beginning and end of the value to trim.

If the value to trim is BYTES, removes from this value all leading and trailing bytes in set_of_characters_to_remove. The set of bytes is required.

Return type

  • STRING if value_to_trim is a STRING value.
  • BYTES if value_to_trim is a BYTES value.

Examples

In the following example, all leading and trailing whitespace characters are removed from item because set_of_characters_to_remove is not specified.

SELECT CONCAT('#', TRIM( '   apple   '), '#') AS example

/*----------*
 | example  |
 +----------+
 | #apple#  |
 *----------*/

In the following example, all leading and trailing * characters are removed from 'apple'.

SELECT TRIM('***apple***', '*') AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | apple   |
 *---------*/

In the following example, all leading and trailing x, y, and z characters are removed from 'xzxapplexxy'.

SELECT TRIM('xzxapplexxy', 'xyz') as example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | apple   |
 *---------*/

In the following example, examine how TRIM interprets characters as Unicode code-points. If your trailing character set contains a combining diacritic mark over a particular letter, TRIM might strip the same diacritic mark from a different letter.

SELECT
  TRIM('abaW̊', 'Y̊') AS a,
  TRIM('W̊aba', 'Y̊') AS b,
  TRIM('abaŪ̊', 'Y̊') AS c,
  TRIM('Ū̊aba', 'Y̊') AS d

/*------+------+------+------*
 | a    | b    | c    | d    |
 +------+------+------+------+
 | abaW | W̊aba | abaŪ | Ūaba |
 *------+------+------+------*/

In the following example, all leading and trailing b'n', b'a', b'\xab' bytes are removed from item.

SELECT b'apple', TRIM(b'apple', b'na\xab') AS example

-- Note that the result of TRIM is of type BYTES, displayed as a base64-encoded string.
/*----------------------+------------------*
 | item                 | example          |
 +----------------------+------------------+
 | YXBwbGU=             | cHBsZQ==         |
 *----------------------+------------------*/

UNICODE

UNICODE(value)

Description

Returns the Unicode code point for the first character in value. Returns 0 if value is empty, or if the resulting Unicode code point is 0.

Return type

INT64

Examples

SELECT UNICODE('âbcd') as A, UNICODE('â') as B, UNICODE('') as C, UNICODE(NULL) as D;

/*-------+-------+-------+-------*
 | A     | B     | C     | D     |
 +-------+-------+-------+-------+
 | 226   | 226   | 0     | NULL  |
 *-------+-------+-------+-------*/

UPPER

UPPER(value)

Description

For STRING arguments, returns the original string with all alphabetic characters in uppercase. Mapping between uppercase and lowercase is done according to the Unicode Character Database without taking into account language-specific mappings.

For BYTES arguments, the argument is treated as ASCII text, with all bytes greater than 127 left intact.

Return type

STRING or BYTES

Examples

SELECT UPPER('foo') AS example

/*---------*
 | example |
 +---------+
 | FOO     |
 *---------*/

Timestamp functions

GoogleSQL for Bigtable supports the following timestamp functions.

IMPORTANT: Before working with these functions, you need to understand the difference between the formats in which timestamps are stored and displayed, and how time zones are used for the conversion between these formats. To learn more, see How time zones work with timestamp functions.

NOTE: These functions return a runtime error if overflow occurs; result values are bounded by the defined DATE range and TIMESTAMP range.

Function list

Name Summary
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP Returns the current date and time as a TIMESTAMP object.
EXTRACT Extracts part of a TIMESTAMP value.
FORMAT_TIMESTAMP Formats a TIMESTAMP value according to the specified format string.
GENERATE_TIMESTAMP_ARRAY Generates an array of timestamps in a range.
For more information, see Array functions.
PARSE_TIMESTAMP Converts a STRING value to a TIMESTAMP value.
STRING (Timestamp) Converts a TIMESTAMP value to a STRING value.
TIMESTAMP Constructs a TIMESTAMP value.
TIMESTAMP_ADD Adds a specified time interval to a TIMESTAMP value.
TIMESTAMP_DIFF Gets the number of unit boundaries between two TIMESTAMP values at a particular time granularity.
TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MICROS Similar to TIMESTAMP_MICROS, except that additionally, a TIMESTAMP value can be passed in.
TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MILLIS Similar to TIMESTAMP_MILLIS, except that additionally, a TIMESTAMP value can be passed in.
TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_SECONDS Similar to TIMESTAMP_SECONDS, except that additionally, a TIMESTAMP value can be passed in.
TIMESTAMP_MICROS Converts the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to a TIMESTAMP.
TIMESTAMP_MILLIS Converts the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to a TIMESTAMP.
TIMESTAMP_SECONDS Converts the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to a TIMESTAMP.
TIMESTAMP_SUB Subtracts a specified time interval from a TIMESTAMP value.
TIMESTAMP_TRUNC Truncates a TIMESTAMP or DATETIME value at a particular granularity.
UNIX_MICROS Converts a TIMESTAMP value to the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
UNIX_MILLIS Converts a TIMESTAMP value to the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
UNIX_SECONDS Converts a TIMESTAMP value to the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.

CURRENT_TIMESTAMP

CURRENT_TIMESTAMP()
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP

Description

Returns the current date and time as a timestamp object. The timestamp is continuous, non-ambiguous, has exactly 60 seconds per minute and does not repeat values over the leap second. Parentheses are optional.

This function handles leap seconds by smearing them across a window of 20 hours around the inserted leap second.

The current date and time is recorded at the start of the query statement which contains this function, not when this specific function is evaluated.

Supported Input Types

Not applicable

Result Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Examples

SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP() AS now;

/*--------------------------------*
 | now                            |
 +--------------------------------+
 | 2020-06-02 23:57:12.120174 UTC |
 *--------------------------------*/

EXTRACT

EXTRACT(part FROM timestamp_expression [AT TIME ZONE time_zone])

Description

Returns a value that corresponds to the specified part from a supplied timestamp_expression. This function supports an optional time_zone parameter. See Time zone definitions for information on how to specify a time zone.

Allowed part values are:

  • MICROSECOND
  • MILLISECOND
  • SECOND
  • MINUTE
  • HOUR
  • DAYOFWEEK: Returns values in the range [1,7] with Sunday as the first day of of the week.
  • DAY
  • DAYOFYEAR
  • WEEK: Returns the week number of the date in the range [0, 53]. Weeks begin with Sunday, and dates prior to the first Sunday of the year are in week 0.
  • WEEK(<WEEKDAY>): Returns the week number of timestamp_expression in the range [0, 53]. Weeks begin on WEEKDAY. datetimes prior to the first WEEKDAY of the year are in week 0. Valid values for WEEKDAY are SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY.
  • ISOWEEK: Returns the ISO 8601 week number of the datetime_expression. ISOWEEKs begin on Monday. Return values are in the range [1, 53]. The first ISOWEEK of each ISO year begins on the Monday before the first Thursday of the Gregorian calendar year.
  • MONTH
  • QUARTER
  • YEAR
  • ISOYEAR: Returns the ISO 8601 week-numbering year, which is the Gregorian calendar year containing the Thursday of the week to which date_expression belongs.
  • DATE

Returned values truncate lower order time periods. For example, when extracting seconds, EXTRACT truncates the millisecond and microsecond values.

Return Data Type

INT64, except in the following cases:

  • If part is DATE, the function returns a DATE object.

Examples

In the following example, EXTRACT returns a value corresponding to the DAY time part.

SELECT
  EXTRACT(
    DAY
    FROM TIMESTAMP('2008-12-25 05:30:00+00') AT TIME ZONE 'UTC')
    AS the_day_utc,
  EXTRACT(
    DAY
    FROM TIMESTAMP('2008-12-25 05:30:00+00') AT TIME ZONE 'America/Los_Angeles')
    AS the_day_california

/*-------------+--------------------*
 | the_day_utc | the_day_california |
 +-------------+--------------------+
 | 25          | 24                 |
 *-------------+--------------------*/

In the following examples, EXTRACT returns values corresponding to different time parts from a column of type TIMESTAMP.

SELECT
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2005-01-03 12:34:56+00")) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2005-01-03 12:34:56+00")) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2005-01-03 12:34:56+00")) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2005-01-03 12:34:56+00")) AS week

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and
-- time zone where this query was executed.
/*---------+---------+------+------*
 | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2005    | 1       | 2005 | 1    |
 *---------+---------+------+------*/
SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2007-12-31 12:00:00+00") AS timestamp_value,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2007-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2007-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2007-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2007-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS week

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone
-- where this query was executed.
/*---------+---------+------+------*
 | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2008    | 1       | 2007 | 52    |
 *---------+---------+------+------*/
SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2009-01-01 12:00:00+00") AS timestamp_value,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-01-01 12:00:00+00")) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-01-01 12:00:00+00")) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-01-01 12:00:00+00")) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-01-01 12:00:00+00")) AS week

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone
-- where this query was executed.
/*---------+---------+------+------*
 | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2009    | 1       | 2009 | 0    |
 *---------+---------+------+------*/
SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2009-12-31 12:00:00+00") AS timestamp_value,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2009-12-31 12:00:00+00")) AS week

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone
-- where this query was executed.
/*---------+---------+------+------*
 | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2009    | 53      | 2009 | 52   |
 *---------+---------+------+------*/
SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2017-01-02 12:00:00+00") AS timestamp_value,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-01-02 12:00:00+00")) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-01-02 12:00:00+00")) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-01-02 12:00:00+00")) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-01-02 12:00:00+00")) AS week

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone
-- where this query was executed.
/*---------+---------+------+------*
 | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2017    | 1       | 2017 | 1    |
 *---------+---------+------+------*/
SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2017-05-26 12:00:00+00") AS timestamp_value,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-05-26 12:00:00+00")) AS isoyear,
  EXTRACT(ISOWEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-05-26 12:00:00+00")) AS isoweek,
  EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-05-26 12:00:00+00")) AS year,
  EXTRACT(WEEK FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-05-26 12:00:00+00")) AS week

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone
-- where this query was executed.
/*---------+---------+------+------*
 | isoyear | isoweek | year | week |
 +---------+---------+------+------+
 | 2017    | 21      | 2017 | 21   |
 *---------+---------+------+------*/

In the following example, timestamp_expression falls on a Monday. EXTRACT calculates the first column using weeks that begin on Sunday, and it calculates the second column using weeks that begin on Monday.

SELECT
  EXTRACT(WEEK(SUNDAY) FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-11-06 00:00:00+00")) AS week_sunday,
  EXTRACT(WEEK(MONDAY) FROM TIMESTAMP("2017-11-06 00:00:00+00")) AS week_monday

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone
-- where this query was executed.
/*-------------+---------------*
 | week_sunday | week_monday   |
 +-------------+---------------+
 | 45          | 44            |
 *-------------+---------------*/

FORMAT_TIMESTAMP

FORMAT_TIMESTAMP(format_string, timestamp_expr[, time_zone])

Description

Formats a TIMESTAMP value according to the specified format string.

Definitions

  • format_string: A STRING value that contains the format elements to use with timestamp_expr.
  • timestamp_expr: A TIMESTAMP value that represents the timestamp to format.
  • time_zone: A STRING value that represents a time zone. For more information about how to use a time zone with a timestamp, see Time zone definitions.

Return Data Type

STRING

Examples

SELECT FORMAT_TIMESTAMP("%c", TIMESTAMP "2050-12-25 15:30:55+00", "UTC")
  AS formatted;

/*--------------------------*
 | formatted                |
 +--------------------------+
 | Sun Dec 25 15:30:55 2050 |
 *--------------------------*/
SELECT FORMAT_TIMESTAMP("%b-%d-%Y", TIMESTAMP "2050-12-25 15:30:55+00")
  AS formatted;

/*-------------*
 | formatted   |
 +-------------+
 | Dec-25-2050 |
 *-------------*/
SELECT FORMAT_TIMESTAMP("%b %Y", TIMESTAMP "2050-12-25 15:30:55+00")
  AS formatted;

/*-------------*
 | formatted   |
 +-------------+
 | Dec 2050    |
 *-------------*/
SELECT FORMAT_TIMESTAMP("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ", TIMESTAMP "2050-12-25 15:30:55", "UTC")
  AS formatted;

/*+---------------------*
 |      formatted       |
 +----------------------+
 | 2050-12-25T15:30:55Z |
 *----------------------*/

PARSE_TIMESTAMP

PARSE_TIMESTAMP(format_string, timestamp_string[, time_zone])

Description

Converts a STRING value to a TIMESTAMP value.

Definitions

  • format_string: A STRING value that contains the format elements to use with timestamp_string.
  • timestamp_string: A STRING value that represents the timestamp to parse.
  • time_zone: A STRING value that represents a time zone. For more information about how to use a time zone with a timestamp, see Time zone definitions.

Details

Each element in timestamp_string must have a corresponding element in format_string. The location of each element in format_string must match the location of each element in timestamp_string.

-- This works because elements on both sides match.
SELECT PARSE_TIMESTAMP("%a %b %e %I:%M:%S %Y", "Thu Dec 25 07:30:00 2008");

-- This produces an error because the year element is in different locations.
SELECT PARSE_TIMESTAMP("%a %b %e %Y %I:%M:%S", "Thu Dec 25 07:30:00 2008");

-- This produces an error because one of the year elements is missing.
SELECT PARSE_TIMESTAMP("%a %b %e %I:%M:%S", "Thu Dec 25 07:30:00 2008");

-- This works because %c can find all matching elements in timestamp_string.
SELECT PARSE_TIMESTAMP("%c", "Thu Dec 25 07:30:00 2008");

The format string fully supports most format elements, except for %P.

When using PARSE_TIMESTAMP, keep the following in mind:

  • Unspecified fields. Any unspecified field is initialized from 1970-01-01 00:00:00.0. This initialization value uses the time zone specified by the function's time zone argument, if present. If not, the initialization value uses the default time zone, UTC. For instance, if the year is unspecified then it defaults to 1970, and so on.
  • Case insensitivity. Names, such as Monday, February, and so on, are case insensitive.
  • Whitespace. One or more consecutive white spaces in the format string matches zero or more consecutive white spaces in the timestamp string. In addition, leading and trailing white spaces in the timestamp string are always allowed, even if they are not in the format string.
  • Format precedence. When two (or more) format elements have overlapping information (for example both %F and %Y affect the year), the last one generally overrides any earlier ones, with some exceptions (see the descriptions of %s, %C, and %y).
  • Format divergence. %p can be used with am, AM, pm, and PM.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT PARSE_TIMESTAMP("%c", "Thu Dec 25 07:30:00 2008") AS parsed;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | parsed                  |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 07:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

STRING

STRING(timestamp_expression[, time_zone])

Description

Converts a timestamp to a string. Supports an optional parameter to specify a time zone. See Time zone definitions for information on how to specify a time zone.

Return Data Type

STRING

Example

SELECT STRING(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00", "UTC") AS string;

/*-------------------------------*
 | string                        |
 +-------------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00+00        |
 *-------------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP

TIMESTAMP(string_expression[, time_zone])
TIMESTAMP(date_expression[, time_zone])

Description

  • string_expression[, time_zone]: Converts a string to a timestamp. string_expression must include a timestamp literal. If string_expression includes a time zone in the timestamp literal, do not include an explicit time_zone argument.
  • date_expression[, time_zone]: Converts a date to a timestamp. The value returned is the earliest timestamp that falls within the given date.

This function supports an optional parameter to specify a time zone. If no time zone is specified, the default time zone, UTC, is used.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Examples

SELECT TIMESTAMP("2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS timestamp_str;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_str           |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/
SELECT TIMESTAMP("2008-12-25 15:30:00", "America/Los_Angeles") AS timestamp_str;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_str           |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 23:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/
SELECT TIMESTAMP("2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC") AS timestamp_str;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_str           |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/
SELECT TIMESTAMP(DATE "2008-12-25") AS timestamp_date;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_date          |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 00:00:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_ADD

TIMESTAMP_ADD(timestamp_expression, INTERVAL int64_expression date_part)

Description

Adds int64_expression units of date_part to the timestamp, independent of any time zone.

TIMESTAMP_ADD supports the following values for date_part:

  • MICROSECOND
  • MILLISECOND
  • SECOND
  • MINUTE
  • HOUR. Equivalent to 60 MINUTE parts.
  • DAY. Equivalent to 24 HOUR parts.

Return Data Types

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS original,
  TIMESTAMP_ADD(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00", INTERVAL 10 MINUTE) AS later;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------+-------------------------*
 | original                | later                   |
 +-------------------------+-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC | 2008-12-25 15:40:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------+-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_DIFF

TIMESTAMP_DIFF(end_timestamp, start_timestamp, granularity)

Description

Gets the number of unit boundaries between two TIMESTAMP values (end_timestamp - start_timestamp) at a particular time granularity.

Definitions

  • start_timestamp: The starting TIMESTAMP value.
  • end_timestamp: The ending TIMESTAMP value.
  • granularity: The timestamp part that represents the granularity. This can be:

    • MICROSECOND
    • MILLISECOND
    • SECOND
    • MINUTE
    • HOUR. Equivalent to 60 MINUTEs.
    • DAY. Equivalent to 24 HOURs.

Details

If end_timestamp is earlier than start_timestamp, the output is negative. Produces an error if the computation overflows, such as if the difference in microseconds between the two TIMESTAMP values overflows.

Return Data Type

INT64

Example

SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2010-07-07 10:20:00+00") AS later_timestamp,
  TIMESTAMP("2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS earlier_timestamp,
  TIMESTAMP_DIFF(TIMESTAMP "2010-07-07 10:20:00+00", TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00", HOUR) AS hours;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------+-------------------------+-------*
 | later_timestamp         | earlier_timestamp       | hours |
 +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------+
 | 2010-07-07 10:20:00 UTC | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC | 13410 |
 *-------------------------+-------------------------+-------*/

In the following example, the first timestamp occurs before the second timestamp, resulting in a negative output.

SELECT TIMESTAMP_DIFF(TIMESTAMP "2018-08-14", TIMESTAMP "2018-10-14", DAY) AS negative_diff;

/*---------------*
 | negative_diff |
 +---------------+
 | -61           |
 *---------------*/

In this example, the result is 0 because only the number of whole specified HOUR intervals are included.

SELECT TIMESTAMP_DIFF("2001-02-01 01:00:00", "2001-02-01 00:00:01", HOUR) AS diff;

/*---------------*
 | diff          |
 +---------------+
 | 0             |
 *---------------*/

TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MICROS

TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MICROS(int64_expression)
TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MICROS(timestamp_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC and returns a timestamp. If a timestamp is passed in, the same timestamp is returned.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MICROS(1230219000000000) AS timestamp_value;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MILLIS

TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MILLIS(int64_expression)
TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MILLIS(timestamp_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC and returns a timestamp. If a timestamp is passed in, the same timestamp is returned.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_MILLIS(1230219000000) AS timestamp_value;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_SECONDS

TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_SECONDS(int64_expression)
TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_SECONDS(timestamp_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC and returns a timestamp. If a timestamp is passed in, the same timestamp is returned.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT TIMESTAMP_FROM_UNIX_SECONDS(1230219000) AS timestamp_value;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_MICROS

TIMESTAMP_MICROS(int64_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC and returns a timestamp.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT TIMESTAMP_MICROS(1230219000000000) AS timestamp_value;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_MILLIS

TIMESTAMP_MILLIS(int64_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC and returns a timestamp.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT TIMESTAMP_MILLIS(1230219000000) AS timestamp_value;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_SECONDS

TIMESTAMP_SECONDS(int64_expression)

Description

Interprets int64_expression as the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC and returns a timestamp.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT TIMESTAMP_SECONDS(1230219000) AS timestamp_value;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         |
 +-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_SUB

TIMESTAMP_SUB(timestamp_expression, INTERVAL int64_expression date_part)

Description

Subtracts int64_expression units of date_part from the timestamp, independent of any time zone.

TIMESTAMP_SUB supports the following values for date_part:

  • MICROSECOND
  • MILLISECOND
  • SECOND
  • MINUTE
  • HOUR. Equivalent to 60 MINUTE parts.
  • DAY. Equivalent to 24 HOUR parts.

Return Data Type

TIMESTAMP

Example

SELECT
  TIMESTAMP("2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS original,
  TIMESTAMP_SUB(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00", INTERVAL 10 MINUTE) AS earlier;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------+-------------------------*
 | original                | earlier                 |
 +-------------------------+-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 15:30:00 UTC | 2008-12-25 15:20:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------+-------------------------*/

TIMESTAMP_TRUNC

TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(timestamp_value, timestamp_granularity[, time_zone])
TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(datetime_value, datetime_granularity)

Description

Truncates a TIMESTAMP or DATETIME value at a particular granularity.

Definitions

  • timestamp_value: A TIMESTAMP value to truncate.
  • timestamp_granularity: The truncation granularity for a TIMESTAMP value. Date granularities and time granularities can be used.
  • time_zone: A time zone to use with the TIMESTAMP value. Time zone parts can be used. Use this argument if you want to use a time zone other than the default time zone, UTC, as part of the truncate operation.

  • datetime_value: A DATETIME value to truncate.

  • datetime_granularity: The truncation granularity for a DATETIME value. Date granularities and time granularities can be used.

Date granularity definitions

  • DAY: The day in the Gregorian calendar year that contains the value to truncate.

  • WEEK: The first day in the week that contains the value to truncate. Weeks begin on Sundays. WEEK is equivalent to WEEK(SUNDAY).

  • WEEK(WEEKDAY): The first day in the week that contains the value to truncate. Weeks begin on WEEKDAY. WEEKDAY must be one of the following: SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY, or SATURDAY.

  • ISOWEEK: The first day in the ISO 8601 week that contains the value to truncate. The ISO week begins on Monday. The first ISO week of each ISO year contains the first Thursday of the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.

  • MONTH: The first day in the month that contains the value to truncate.

  • QUARTER: The first day in the quarter that contains the value to truncate.

  • YEAR: The first day in the year that contains the value to truncate.

  • ISOYEAR: The first day in the ISO 8601 week-numbering year that contains the value to truncate. The ISO year is the Monday of the first week where Thursday belongs to the corresponding Gregorian calendar year.

Time granularity definitions

  • MICROSECOND: If used, nothing is truncated from the value.

  • MILLISECOND: The nearest lesser than or equal millisecond.

  • SECOND: The nearest lesser than or equal second.

  • MINUTE: The nearest lesser than or equal minute.

  • HOUR: The nearest lesser than or equal hour.

Time zone part definitions

  • MINUTE
  • HOUR
  • DAY
  • WEEK
  • WEEK(<WEEKDAY>)
  • ISOWEEK
  • MONTH
  • QUARTER
  • YEAR
  • ISOYEAR

Details

The resulting value is always rounded to the beginning of granularity.

Return Data Type

The same data type as the first argument passed into this function.

Examples

SELECT
  TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00", DAY, "UTC") AS utc,
  TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00", DAY, "America/Los_Angeles") AS la;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------+-------------------------*
 | utc                     | la                      |
 +-------------------------+-------------------------+
 | 2008-12-25 00:00:00 UTC | 2008-12-25 08:00:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------+-------------------------*/

In the following example, timestamp_expression has a time zone offset of +12. The first column shows the timestamp_expression in UTC time. The second column shows the output of TIMESTAMP_TRUNC using weeks that start on Monday. Because the timestamp_expression falls on a Sunday in UTC, TIMESTAMP_TRUNC truncates it to the preceding Monday. The third column shows the same function with the optional Time zone definition argument 'Pacific/Auckland'. Here, the function truncates the timestamp_expression using New Zealand Daylight Time, where it falls on a Monday.

SELECT
  timestamp_value AS timestamp_value,
  TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(timestamp_value, WEEK(MONDAY), "UTC") AS utc_truncated,
  TIMESTAMP_TRUNC(timestamp_value, WEEK(MONDAY), "Pacific/Auckland") AS nzdt_truncated
FROM (SELECT TIMESTAMP("2017-11-06 00:00:00+12") AS timestamp_value);

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------*
 | timestamp_value         | utc_truncated           | nzdt_truncated          |
 +-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
 | 2017-11-05 12:00:00 UTC | 2017-10-30 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-11-05 11:00:00 UTC |
 *-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------*/

In the following example, the original timestamp_expression is in the Gregorian calendar year 2015. However, TIMESTAMP_TRUNC with the ISOYEAR date part truncates the timestamp_expression to the beginning of the ISO year, not the Gregorian calendar year. The first Thursday of the 2015 calendar year was 2015-01-01, so the ISO year 2015 begins on the preceding Monday, 2014-12-29. Therefore the ISO year boundary preceding the timestamp_expression 2015-06-15 00:00:00+00 is 2014-12-29.

SELECT
  TIMESTAMP_TRUNC("2015-06-15 00:00:00+00", ISOYEAR) AS isoyear_boundary,
  EXTRACT(ISOYEAR FROM TIMESTAMP "2015-06-15 00:00:00+00") AS isoyear_number;

-- Display of results may differ, depending upon the environment and time zone where this query was executed.
/*-------------------------+----------------*
 | isoyear_boundary        | isoyear_number |
 +-------------------------+----------------+
 | 2014-12-29 00:00:00 UTC | 2015           |
 *-------------------------+----------------*/

UNIX_MICROS

UNIX_MICROS(timestamp_expression)

Description

Returns the number of microseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.

Return Data Type

INT64

Examples

SELECT UNIX_MICROS(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS micros;

/*------------------*
 | micros           |
 +------------------+
 | 1230219000000000 |
 *------------------*/

UNIX_MILLIS

UNIX_MILLIS(timestamp_expression)

Description

Returns the number of milliseconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC. Truncates higher levels of precision by rounding down to the beginning of the millisecond.

Return Data Type

INT64

Examples

SELECT UNIX_MILLIS(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS millis;

/*---------------*
 | millis        |
 +---------------+
 | 1230219000000 |
 *---------------*/
SELECT UNIX_MILLIS(TIMESTAMP "1970-01-01 00:00:00.0018+00") AS millis;

/*---------------*
 | millis        |
 +---------------+
 | 1             |
 *---------------*/

UNIX_SECONDS

UNIX_SECONDS(timestamp_expression)

Description

Returns the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC. Truncates higher levels of precision by rounding down to the beginning of the second.

Return Data Type

INT64

Examples

SELECT UNIX_SECONDS(TIMESTAMP "2008-12-25 15:30:00+00") AS seconds;

/*------------*
 | seconds    |
 +------------+
 | 1230219000 |
 *------------*/
SELECT UNIX_SECONDS(TIMESTAMP "1970-01-01 00:00:01.8+00") AS seconds;

/*------------*
 | seconds    |
 +------------+
 | 1          |
 *------------*/

Supplemental materials

How time zones work with timestamp functions

A timestamp represents an absolute point in time, independent of any time zone. However, when a timestamp value is displayed, it is usually converted to a human-readable format consisting of a civil date and time (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS) and a time zone. This is not the internal representation of the TIMESTAMP; it is only a human-understandable way to describe the point in time that the timestamp represents.

Some timestamp functions have a time zone argument. A time zone is needed to convert between civil time (YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS) and the absolute time represented by a timestamp. A function like PARSE_TIMESTAMP takes an input string that represents a civil time and returns a timestamp that represents an absolute time. A time zone is needed for this conversion. A function like EXTRACT takes an input timestamp (absolute time) and converts it to civil time in order to extract a part of that civil time. This conversion requires a time zone. If no time zone is specified, the default time zone, UTC, is used.

Certain date and timestamp functions allow you to override the default time zone and specify a different one. You can specify a time zone by either supplying the time zone name (for example, America/Los_Angeles) or time zone offset from UTC (for example, -08).

To learn more about how time zones work with the TIMESTAMP type, see Time zones.