CREATE TYPE

Creates a custom data type in the keyspace that contains one or more fields of related information.

Creates a custom data type in the keyspace that contains one or more fields of related information, such as address (street, city, state, and postal code).

Restriction: UDTs cannot contain counter fields.

Synopsis

CREATE TYPE [ IF NOT EXISTS ] [keyspace_name].type_name
  (field_name cql_datatype [ , field_name cql_datatype ... ]) ;

Table 1. Legend
Syntax conventions	Description
UPPERCASE	Literal keyword.
Lowercase	Not literal.
`Italics`	Variable value. Replace with a user-defined value.
`[]`	Optional. Square brackets ( `[]` ) surround optional command arguments. Do not type the square brackets.
`( )`	Group. Parentheses ( `( )` ) identify a group to choose from. Do not type the parentheses.
`\|`	Or. A vertical bar ( `\|` ) separates alternative elements. Type any one of the elements. Do not type the vertical bar.
`...`	Repeatable. An ellipsis ( `...` ) indicates that you can repeat the syntax element as often as required.
`'Literal string'`	Single quotation ( `'` ) marks must surround literal strings in CQL statements. Use single quotation marks to preserve upper case.
`{ key : value }`	Map collection. Braces ( `{ }` ) enclose map collections or key value pairs. A colon separates the key and the value.
`<datatype1,datatype2>`	Set, list, map, or tuple. Angle brackets ( `< >` ) enclose data types in a set, list, map, or tuple. Separate the data types with a comma.
`cql_statement;`	End CQL statement. A semicolon ( `;` ) terminates all CQL statements.
`[--]`	Separate the command line options from the command arguments with two hyphens ( `--` ). This syntax is useful when arguments might be mistaken for command line options.
`' <schema> ... </schema> '`	Search CQL only: Single quotation marks ( `'` ) surround an entire XML schema declaration.
`@xml_entity='xml_entity_type'`	Search CQL only: Identify the entity and literal value to overwrite the XML element in the schema and solrConfig files.

IF NOT EXISTS: Suppresses the error if the type already exists in the keyspace. UDT scope is keyspace-wide.

type_name: Unique name for the type. CQL types are reserved for a list. See type names.
field_name cql_datatype: Define fields that are in the UDT in a comma-separated list: field_name cql_datatype, field_name, cql_datatype.

Example

This example creates a user-defined type cycling.basic_info that consists of personal data about an individual cyclist.

CREATE TYPE IF NOT EXISTS cycling.basic_info ( 
  birthday timestamp, 
  nationality text, 
  height text,
  weight text
);

After defining the UDT, you can create a table that has columns with the UDT. CQL collection columns and other columns support the use of user-defined types, as shown in Using CQL examples.

This example creates a user-defined type (UDT) cycling.basic_info_withTTL that consists of personal data about an individual cyclist, which includes the next_race column that will be set with a timestamp and time-to-live (TTL).

CREATE TYPE IF NOT EXISTS cycling.basic_info_expire (
  birthday timestamp,
  nationality text,
  height text,
  weight text,
  next_race text
);

To insert an entire row of data into a table using a timestamp and TTL, specify the values with an INSERT command:

INSERT INTO cycling.basic_info_TTL_expire (
  id, lastname, basics
) VALUES (
  e7ae5cf3-d358-4d99-b900-85902fda9bb0,
  'FRAME',
  {
    birthday : '1993-06-18',
    nationality : 'New Zealand',
    weight : '175',
    height : '72',
    next_race : 'Amgen Tour of California'
  }
)
USING TIMESTAMP 100 AND TTL 10000;

To insert a single value with a TTL, use a UPDATE command:

UPDATE cycling.basic_info_TTL_expire 
USING TTL 100 
SET basics.next_race = 'Tour de France' 
WHERE id = e7ae5cf3-d358-4d99-b900-85902fda9bb0;

To check the write time and TTL values of a UDT use the WRITETIME and TTL functions in a SELECT command:

SELECT WRITETIME(basics), TTL(basics)
FROM cycling.basic_info_TTL_expire 
WHERE id = e7ae5cf3-d358-4d99-b900-85902fda9bb0;

Note: A string with a single quote in a UDT text field is returned with two quotes in queries and COPY commands. For example, if you store the string Single ' quote in a UDT text field, the string is returned as Single '' Quote.