Data types

Built-in data types for columns.

CQL defines built-in data types for columns. The counter type is unique.

CQL Data Types
CQL Type Constants Description
ascii strings US-ASCII character string
bigint integers 64-bit signed long
blob blobs Arbitrary bytes (no validation), expressed as hexadecimal
boolean booleans true or false
counter integers Distributed counter value (64-bit long)
decimal integers, floats Variable-precision decimal
double integers 64-bit IEEE-754 floating point
float integers, floats 32-bit IEEE-754 floating point
inet strings IP address string in IPv4 or IPv6 format*
int integers 32-bit signed integer
list n/a A collection of one or more ordered elements
map n/a A JSON-style array of literals: { literal : literal, literal : literal ... }
set n/a A collection of one or more elements
text strings UTF-8 encoded string
timestamp integers, strings Date plus time, encoded as 8 bytes since epoch
uuid uuids A UUID in standard UUID format
timeuuid uuids Type 1 UUID only (CQL 3)
varchar strings UTF-8 encoded string
varint integers Arbitrary-precision integer

*Used by python-cql driver and binary protocols.

In addition to the CQL types listed in this table, you can use a string containing the name of a JAVA class (a sub-class of AbstractType loadable by Cassandra) as a CQL type. The class name should either be fully qualified or relative to the org.apache.cassandra.db.marshal package.

Enclose ASCII text, timestamp, and inet values in single quotation marks. Enclose names of a keyspace, table, or column in double quotation marks.