Update a row (Java)

Updates a single row in a table.

If the row does not already exist and the update includes at least one non-null or non-empty value, creates a new row.

For general information about working with tables and rows, see About tables with the Data API (Java).

Ready to write code? See the examples for this method to get started. If you are new to the Data API, check out the quickstart.

Result

Updates the specified row.

If no row matches the specified primary key and the update includes at least one non-null or non-empty value, then a new row is created with the values specified $set values and primary key values. Any omitted or $unset columns are set to null in the new row.

Does not return anything.

A rare edge case, related to underlying Apache Cassandra® functionality, can cause a row to disappear altogether when all of its columns are set to null.

This happens if the row was previously created from an update operation that had no pre-existing row to modify.

Parameters

Use the updateOne method, which belongs to the com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table class.

Method signature 
void updateOne(
  Filter filter,
  TableUpdateOperation update
)
void updateOne(
  Filter filter,
  TableUpdateOperation update,
  TableUpdateOneOptions options
)
Name Type Summary

filter

Filter

Describes the full primary key of the row to update.

For this method, the filter can only use the $eq operator and columns in the primary key.

update

TableUpdateOperation

Defines the update using Data API operators.

For a list of available operators and more examples, see Update operators for tables (Java).

You cannot update primary key values. If you need to modify a row’s primary key, delete the row and then insert a new row with the desired primary key values.

options

TableUpdateOneOptions

General API options for this operation, including the timeout.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to update a row in a table.

Update multiple columns

You can combine multiple operators and properties in a single call. For the full list of operators, see Update operators for tables (Java).

If the row does not already exist and the update includes at least one non-null or non-empty value, creates a new row.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Arrays;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation()
            .set("rating", 4.5)
            .set("genres", Arrays.asList("Fiction", "Drama"))
            .unset("borrower");

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Update a map column

The Java client supports updates of a row with a map column that includes non-string keys. (You don’t need to use an array of key-value pairs to represent the map column.)

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Map;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    // This map has non-string keys,
    // but the insertion can still be represented as a map
    // instead of an array of key-value pairs
    Map<Integer, String> mapColumn1 = Map.of(1, "value1", 2, "value2");

    // This map does not have non-string keys
    Map<String, String> mapColumn2 = Map.of("key1", "value1", "key2", "value2");

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation()
            .set("map_column_int_str", mapColumn1)
            .set("map_column_str_str", mapColumn2);

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Append to a list or set column

Use $push to append a single element to a list or set. Use $push with $each to append multiple elements.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Map;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation(
            Map.of(
                "$push",
                Map.of(
                    // Appends a single element to the "genres" list
                    "genres",
                    "SciFi",
                    // Appends two elements to the "topics" list
                    "topics",
                    Map.of("$each", Arrays.asList("robots", "AI")))));

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Append to a map column

Use $push to append a single key-value pair to a map. Use $push with $each to append multiple key-value pairs.

If the appended key-value pair has a non-string key, you must represent the key-value pair as an array. Otherwise, you can either use an array or a normal map.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Map;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation(
            Map.of(
                "$push",
                Map.of(
                    // This update includes non-string keys,
                    // so the update is a key-value pair represented as an array
                    "map_column_int_str",
                    Arrays.asList(1, "value1"),
                    // This update does not include non-string keys,
                    // so the update can be a key-value pair represented as an array or a map
                    "map_column_str_str",
                    Map.of("key1", "value1"),
                    // When using $each, use an array of key-value pairs for non-string keys
                    "map_column_int_str_2",
                    Map.of(
                        "$each",
                        Arrays.asList(Arrays.asList(1, "value1"), Arrays.asList(2, "value2"))),
                    // When using $each, use an array of key-value pairs or maps for string keys
                    "map_column_str_str_2",
                    Map.of(
                        "$each",
                        Arrays.asList(
                            Map.of("key1", "value1"), Arrays.asList("key2", "value2"))))));

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Remove matches from a list or set column

Use $pullAll to remove the specified elements from a list or set.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Map;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation(
            Map.of("$pullAll", Map.of("genres", Arrays.asList("SciFi", "Romance"))));

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Remove matches from map column

Use $pullAll to remove entries that match the specified keys from a map column.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Map;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation(
            Map.of("$pullAll", Map.of("metadata", Arrays.asList("language", "edition"))));

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Unset columns

To unset a column, you can use the $unset operator, or you can use the $set operator and an empty value. Either operation will delete the value in the specified column.

Unsetting a column produces a tombstone. Excessive tombstones can impact query performance.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter =
        Filters.and(
            Filters.eq("title", "Hidden Shadows of the Past"),
            Filters.eq("author", "John Anthony"));

    TableUpdateOperation update = new TableUpdateOperation().unset("genres");

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Update a user-defined type column

If a column is a user-defined type, you must update the whole value. You can’t update a partial value. In the example below, president and vice_president both use the same user-defined type, which consists of an email and user_name field.

If the value type of a map, list, or set column is a user-defined type, you can only update the whole value, not a partial value, for each entry. The $push, $each, and $pullAll operators work on map, list, and set columns that have a user-defined type as their value type. For examples, see Update a map column, Append to a list or set column, Append to a map column, Remove matches from a list or set column, and Remove matches from map column.

import com.datastax.astra.client.DataAPIClients;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filter;
import com.datastax.astra.client.core.query.Filters;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.Table;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.commands.TableUpdateOperation;
import com.datastax.astra.client.tables.definition.rows.Row;
import java.util.Map;

public class Example {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Get an existing table
    Table<Row> table =
        DataAPIClients.clientHCD("USERNAME", "PASSWORD")
            .getDatabase("API_ENDPOINT", "KEYSPACE_NAME")
            .getTable("TABLE_NAME");

    // Update a row
    Filter filter = Filters.eq("title", "Chemistry Club");

    TableUpdateOperation update =
        new TableUpdateOperation()
            .set("president", Map.of("user_name", "lisa_m", "email", "lisa@example.com"))
            .set("vice_president", Map.of("user_name", "tanya_o", "email", "tanya@example.com"));

    table.updateOne(filter, update);
  }
}

Client reference

For more information, see the client reference.

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