"SQL" (External Evaluation System)

Listing of Supported Databases »

Details

ExternalEvaluate Usage

  • ExternalEvaluate["SQL",code] executes a string of SQL in a database connection and returns the result as a Wolfram Language expression.
  • ExternalEvaluate["SQL"returntype,code] executes the SQL string and returns the result in the specified returntype. Possible specifications for returntype are "Dataset", "Rows", "NamedRows", "Columns" and "NamedColumns".
  • ExternalEvaluate[DatabaseReference[ref],code] is equivalent to ExternalEvaluate[{"SQL","Target"DatabaseReference[ref]},code].
  • The possible settings for target in ExternalEvaluate[{"SQL","Target"target},…] include:
  • "path"or File["path"]path to an SQLite database
    URL["url"] a connection specified in the form "backend://user:password@host:port/name"
    DatabaseReference[…]an SQL database connection
    SQLConnection[…]an SQL-JDBC database connection

Data Types

Usage Notes

  • String templates (<*…*>) can be used to evaluate and insert Wolfram Language expressions into the SQL code string.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (2)

Specify a reference to the demo database:

Evaluate a query in SQL and return the result:

To use SQL in an external language cell, you need to register a default database:

Type > and select SQL from the drop-down menu to get an SQL code cell:

SELECT * FROM employees LIMIT 10

Scope  (5)

Define a database connection and open a connection:

Evaluate a query that is returning all tables:

Query a certain table using limit:

Rename columns using an AS statement:

Close the session:

By default ExternalEvaluate returns data using Dataset:

"ReturnType" can be used to return data in a different form:

While using "Columns", numerical data is returned as a packed array when possible:

Start a session to a local PostgreSQL database (to evaluate this input, you would need to have an appropriate PostgreSQL database instance running):

When supported, ExternalEvaluate will return Wolfram Language expressions instead of strings:

Parameters are automatically normalized according to the database backend that is currently in use. Expressions like Integer, ByteArray, String, DateObject and TimeObject can be used if the backend supports them:

String templates can be used to insert Wolfram Language expressions into SQL code:

Set two variables:

The expression x^2+y^2 is evaluated in the Wolfram Language, and the result is converted and inserted into the SQL code string:

Manually provide arguments to the template by using an Association:

Use named arguments:

Command Options  (1)

Applications  (2)

DatabaseReference can also represent an in-memory SQLite database:

All operations done during an in-memory session are lost at the end of an ExternalEvaluate call:

Operations that are doing side effects on the database typically return Null:

For some backends, it is possible to insert data and specify a return value:

Possible Issues  (1)

Usually a database returns dates using the server time zone:

Change the query to return a column at a particular time zone:

Or "SessionProlog" can be used to set a default time zone: