Alter a user-defined type (UDT) (TypeScript)

Adds and renames fields in a user-defined type (UDT).

This command can’t rename the user-defined type itself or drop fields from the user-defined type. Instead, you must drop the user-defined type and then re-create the user-defined type with the desired name and fields.

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

Adds or renames fields in a user-defined type.

Returns a promise that resolves once the operation completes.

Parameters

Use the alterType method, which belongs to the Db class.

Method signature
async alterType(
  name: string,
  options: {
    operation: AlterTypeOperations,
    keyspace?: string,
    timeout?: number | TimeoutDescriptor,
  }
): void
Name Type Summary

name

string

The name of the user-defined type to alter.

options

AlterTypeOptions

The options for this operation. See Properties of options for more details.

Properties of options
Name Type Summary

operation

AlterTypeOperations

The alter operation to perform.

Can be one of the following:

  • An AddFieldOperation object that defines the name and data type of each field to add to the user-defined type. You can use any supported data type, except for maps, lists, sets, or other user-defined types.

  • A RenameFieldOperation object that describes the fields to rename.

See the examples for usage.

keyspace

string

Optional if you specified a working keyspace when you created the Db object. The keyspace where the user-defined type exists.

Default: The working keyspace set when you created the Db object, if one was provided.

timeout

number | TimeoutDescriptor

Optional. A timeout to impose on the underlying API request.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to alter a user-defined type.

Rename fields

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get a database
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});

// Drop a user-defined type
(async function () {
  await database.alterType("member", {
    operation: {
      rename: {
        fields: {
          name: "first_name",
          is_active: "is_member",
        },
      },
    },
  });
})();

Add fields

import {
  DataAPIClient,
  UsernamePasswordTokenProvider,
} from "@datastax/astra-db-ts";

// Get a database
const client = new DataAPIClient({ environment: "hcd" });
const database = client.db("API_ENDPOINT", {
  token: new UsernamePasswordTokenProvider("USERNAME", "PASSWORD"),
  keyspace: "KEYSPACE_NAME",
});

// Drop a user-defined type
(async function () {
  await database.alterType("member", {
    operation: {
      add: {
        fields: {
          email: "text",
          credits: "int",
        },
      },
    },
  });
})();

Rename and add fields

You cannot use the client to rename and add fields in the same call. Make separate calls, or use HTTP directly.

Client reference

For more information, see the client reference.

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