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Execute Query

execute_query is a tool to parse, analyze and run SQL queries using the reference implementation.

You can run a query by supplying it directly on the command-line:

execute_query "select 1 + 1;"

The tool can be run as a local web server that presents a UI where you can enter a query and execute it interactively. The following command will run a local web server and show a URL that you can open in your browser. You can also provide an optional --port flag (the default port is 8080).

execute_query --web

Note

Note that this tool is intended primarily as a way to explore the language and debug its implementation. It executes queries using the internal reference implementation which is intended primarily for testing. It is not performant or scalable, and there is no query optimizer.

Modes

The default mode executes the query and shows the result. Other modes show the intermediate stages like parse trees and analzyer output. For example, this shows the parse tree, the resolved AST, and the results of executing the query.

execute_query --mode=parse,analyze,execute 'SELECT 1+2, CONCAT("hello", " world");'

The web UI (run with the --web flag) has checkboxes for selecting these modes.

The modes are:

  • execute: Executes the query and shows results in a table. In the command-line mode, you can also see the results in JSON or textproto format using the --output_mode flag.
  • analyze: Shows the resolved AST, as documented in ZetaSQL Resolved AST
  • parse: Shows the parse tree as defined in ast_node.h
  • explain: Shows the evaluator query plan (for execution in the reference implementation)
  • unparse: Shows the result of converting the parse tree back to SQL
  • unanalyze: Shows the result of converting the resolved AST back to SQL

Catalogs

The tool also includes some built-in catalogs that provide some pre-defined tables with sample data that you can use for queries. You can specify the catalog to use with the --catalog flag. In the web UI, the catalog can be selected from a dropdown list.

The following catalogs are supported:

  • none: An empty catalog with no tables.
  • sample: The sample catalog defined in sample_catalog.cc, which is used for most analyzer tests. These tables do not have any data.
  • tpch: A catalog with the standard tables from the TPC-H benchmark, with a 1MB dataset.

For example, the sample catalog defines the tables KeyValue and MultipleColumns, and the tpch catalog defines the tables Orders, LineItem and Customer, among others. You can see the schema of these tables by executing DESCRIBE <table name>.

In parse mode, the catalog isn't used, so any statement can be parsed regardless of the catalog.

For analyze and execute modes, the catalog is used to resolve table schemas.

When executing queries, some catalogs provided have data attached to the tables. Queries against those tables will be executable.

Executable statements

Execution is mostly limited to queries. They can be written in standard syntax using SELECT or in pipe syntax using FROM.

Other executable statements:

  • DESCRIBE <object_name>; shows table schemas or function signatures, looking up names from the selected catalog.
  • SELECT <expression>; can be used to evaluate expressions. In the command-line mode, you can also specify --sql_mode=expression to interpret the input as expressions.

DDL statements that update the catalog:

  • CREATE FUNCTION creates a SQL UDF, or defines signatures for non-SQL UDFs. These functions support analysis but not execution.
  • CREATE TABLE FUNCTION creates ia SQL TVF, or defines a signature for non-SQL a TVF.
  • CREATE TABLE defines a table. It will have zero rows when queried.

SQL functions and TVFs will be executable. Non-SQL functions and TVFs don't have an implementation, so queries using them can be analyzed but can't be executed.

Example queries

There are some runnable example queries in zetasql/examples/tpch and zetasql/examples/pipe_queries.