# Functional qSQL

The functional forms of delete, exec, select and update are particularly useful for programmatically-generated queries, such as when column names are dynamically produced.

Performance

The q interpreter parses delete, exec, select, and update into their equivalent functional forms, so there is no performance difference.

The functional forms are

![t;c;b;a]              /update and delete

?[t;i;p]                /simple exec

?[t;c;b;a]              /select or exec
?[t;c;b;a;n]            /select up to n records
?[t;c;b;a;n;(g;cn)]     /select up to n records sorted by g on cn


where:

t
is a table.
c
is a list of Where specifications (constraints).
Every item in c is a triple consisting of a boolean- or int- valued binary function together with its arguments, each an expression containing column names and other variables. The function is applied to the two arguments, producing a boolean vector. The resulting boolean vector selects the rows that yield non-zero results. The selection is performed in the order of the items in c, from left to right.
b

is the Group-by specification (by phrase):

• the general empty list ()
• boolean atom 0b (for no grouping)
• a symbol atom: the name of a table column
• a dictionary of group-by specifications

The domain of dictionary b is a list of symbols that are the key names for the grouping. Its range is a list of column expressions whose results are used to construct the groups. The grouping is ordered by the domain items, from major to minor.

a

is the Aggregate specification:

• the general empty list ()
• a symbol atom: the name of a table column
• a parse tree
• a dictionary of select specifications (aggregations)

The domain of dictionary a is a list of symbols containing the names of the produced columns. Each item of its range is an evaluation list consisting of a function and its argument/s, each of which is a column name or another such result list. For each evaluation list, the function is applied to the specified value/s for each row and the result is returned. The evaluation lists are resolved recursively when operations are nested.

i
is a list of indexes
p
is a parse tree
n
is a non-negative integer or infinity, indicating the maximum number of records to be returned
g

Use my name

All q entities in a, b and c must be referenced by name, meaning they appear as symbols containing the entity names.

Enlist me

Note throughout the use of enlist to create singletons to ensure that appropriate entities are lists.

[q-ist] Functional Query Functions

## ? Select

Syntax: ?[t;c;b;a]

Where t, c, b, and a are as above, returns a table.

q)show t:([]n:xyxzzy;p:0 15 12 20 25 14)
n p
----
x 0
y 15
x 12
z 20
z 25
y 14
q)select m:max p,s:sum p by name:n from t where p>0,n in xy
name| m  s
----| -----
x   | 12 12
y   | 15 29


Following is the equivalent functional form. Note the use of enlist to create singletons, ensuring that appropriate entities are lists.

q)c: ((>;p;0);(in;n;enlist xy))
q)b: (enlist name)!enlist n
q)a: ms!((max;p);(sum;p))
q)?[t;c;b;a]
name| m  s
----| -----
x   | 12 12
y   | 15 29


Degenerate cases

• For no constraints, make c the empty list
• For no grouping make ba boolean 0b
• To produce all columns of t in the result, make a the empty list ()

select from t is equivalent to functional form ?[t;();0b;()].

### Rank 5

Limit result rows

Syntax: ?[t;c;b;a;n]

Returns as for rank 4, but where n is a non-negative integer or infinity, with a count no higher than n.

q)t:([] c1:abca; c2:10 20 30 40)
q)?[t;();0b;();2]
c1 c2
-----
a  10
b  20


### Rank 6

Limit result rows and sort by a column

Syntax: ?[t;c;b;a;n;(g;cn)]

Returns as for rank 5, but where

• g is a unary grading function
• cn is a column name as a symbol atom

sorted by g on column cn.

q)?[t; (); 0b; c1c2!c1c2; 0W; (idesc;c1)]
c1 c2
-----
c  30
b  20
a  10
a  40


## ? Exec

Exec is a variation of Select that returns a list or dictionary rather than a table.

Syntax: ?[t;c;b;a]

Where t and c are as above,

• b is the empty list, or a symbol atom naming a column
• a is
• a symbol atom naming a column, returns as a list the table column named by a
• a dictionary of aggregates, returns as a dictionary the columns specified by a

grouped by values of the table column named by b if it is not an empty list.

The functional form of exec is a simplified form of Select. Since the constraint parameter is the same as in Select, we omit it in the following. In the simplest example of a single result column, the group-by parameter is the empty list and the aggregate parameter is a symbol atom.

q)show t:([]n:xyxzzy;p:0 15 12 20 25 14)
n p
----
x 0
y 15
x 12
z 20
z 25
y 14
q)exec n from t
xyxzzy
q)?[t;();();n]           / same as previous exec
xyxzzy


In the same query with multiple columns, the group-by parameter is the empty list and the aggregate parameter is a dictionary as it would be in a Select. The result is a dictionary rather than a table.

q)exec n,p from t
n| x y  x  z  z  y
p| 0 15 12 20 25 14
q)?[t;();();np!np]    / same as previous exec
n| x y  x  z  z  y
p| 0 15 12 20 25 14


If you wish to group by a single column, specify it as a symbol atom.

q)exec p by n from t
x| 0  12
y| 15 14
z| 20 25
q)?[t;();n;p]           / same as previous exec
x| 0  12
y| 15 14
z| 20 25


More complex examples of Exec reduce to the equivalent Select.

## ? Simple Exec

Syntax: ?[t;i;p]

Where t is not partitioned, another form of Exec.

q)show t:([]a:1 2 3;b:4 5 6;c:7 9 0)
a b c
-----
1 4 7
2 5 9
3 6 0
q)?[t;0 1 2;a]
1 2 3
q)?[t;0 1 2;b]
4 5 6
q)?[t;0 1 2;(last;a)]
3
q)?[t;0 1;(last;a)]
2
q)?[t;0 1 2;(*;(min;a);(avg;c))]
5.333333


## ! Update

Syntax: ![t;c;b;a]

q)show t:([]n:xyxzzy;p:0 15 12 20 25 14)
n p
----
x 0
y 15
x 12
z 20
z 25
y 14
q)select m:max p,s:sum p by name:n from t where p>0,n in xy
name| m  s
----| -----
x   | 12 12
y   | 15 29
q)update p:max p by n from t where p>0
n p
----
x 0
y 15
x 12
z 25
z 25
y 15
q)c: enlist (>;p;0)
q)b: (enlist n)!enlist n
q)a: (enlist p)!enlist (max;p)
q)![t;c;b;a]
n p
----
x 0
y 15
x 12
z 25
z 25
y 15


Tip

The degenerate cases are the same as in Select.

## ! Delete

The functional form of delete is a simplified form of Update.

![t;c;0b;a]


One of c or a must be empty, the other not. c selects which rows will be removed. a is a symbol vector with the names of columns to be removed.

q)t:([]c1:abc;c2:xyz)

q)/following is: delete c2 from t
q)![t;();0b;enlist c2]
c1
--
a
b
c

q)/following is: delete from t where c2 = y
q)![t;enlist (=;c2; enlist y);0b;symbol\$()]
c1 c2
-----
a  x
c  z