Supported Data Types

This page provides details on the data types used within KDB.AI tables, including name, range/example, brief description, and usage.

In KDB.AI, tables are fundamental structures for storing and organizing data. A schema is a list of column definitions that defines the structure of a table. Each column holds data of a specific type, such as integers, symbols, or dates.

Here’s a list of supported data types (scalarClosed Scalar type is a fundamental data type in programming and data management, providing the building blocks for more complex data structures and operations. A scalar type represents a single value. It is the most basic type of data, such as an integer, float, character, or boolean. Scalar types are used when you need to store individual values that are not collections or sequences. Examples: Integer: 42 Float: 3.14 Character: a Boolean: true or false and listClosed List type is a fundamental data type in programming and data management, providing the building blocks for more complex data structures and operations. A list type represents a collection of values, all of which are of the same type. Lists can store multiple values in an ordered sequence. List types are used when you need to store multiple values of the same type together, allowing for operations on the entire collection. Examples: List of integers: [1, 2, 3, 4] List of floats: [1.1, 2.2, 3.3] List of characters: ['a', 'b', 'c'] List of booleans: [true, false, true]) in KDB.AI tables:

Datatype

q Type (scalar/list)

JSON Type (scalar/list)

Python (scalar/list)

Example/Range

Description

Usage

boolean

b / B

boolean / booleans

bool / bools

true, false

Represents true or false values

Used for binary conditions and flags

byte

x / X

byte / bytes

uint8 / uint8s

0 to 255

8-bit unsigned integer

Used for raw binary data

char

c / C

char / chars

char / bytes

'a', 'b', 'c'

Single character

Used for single character data

date

d / D

date / dates

datetime64[D] / datetime64[D]s

2024.10.30

Calendar date

Used for date-specific data

float

f / F

float / floats

float64 / float64s

3.14, 2.718

Double-precision floating-point number

Used for high-precision numerical data

guid

g / G

guid / guids

guid / guids

123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000

Globally unique identifier

Used for unique identification

int

i / I

int / ints

int32 / int32s

-2147483648 to 2147483647

32-bit signed integer

Used for general integer data

long

j / J

long / longs

int64 / int64s

-9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807

64-bit signed integer

Used for large integer data

minute

u / U

minute / minutes

timedelta64[m] / timedelta64[m]s

12:34

Time duration in minutes

Used for time intervals

month

m / M

month / months

datetime64[M] / datetime64[M]s

2024.10

Year and month

Used for monthly data

real

e / E

real / reals

float32 / float32s

3.14, 2.718

Single-precision floating-point number

Used for numerical data with less precision

second

v / V

second / seconds

timedelta64[s] / timedelta64[s]s

12:34:56

Time duration in seconds

Used for time intervals

short

h / H

short / shorts

int16 / int16s

-32768 to 32767

16-bit signed integer

Used for smaller integer data

symbol

s / S

symbol / symbols

str

AAPL, GOOG

Interned string

Used for categorical data

time

t / T

time / times

timedelta64[ms] / timedelta64[ms]s

12:34:56.789

Time of day with millisecond precision

Used for time-specific data

timestamp

p / P

timestamp / timestamps

datetime64[ns] / datetime64[ns]s

2024.10.30T12:34:56.789

Date and time with nanosecond precision

Used for precise date-time data

timespan

n / N

timespan / timespans

timedelta64[ns]

1234567890ns

Time duration with nanosecond precision

Used for high-precision time intervals

Database types and JSON formats

For data ingestion, use the corresponding JSON formats for database types as below:

Database type ID

Database type name

JSON data format

Description

Example

-1h

boolean

Boolean

A Boolean literal of true or false

true

-2h

guid

String

A 36 character UUIDv4 formatted String

"77579e36-71e7-d395-5551-5a4221e86e2b"

-4h

byte

String

A 2 character hex string

ff

-5h

short

Number

A 16 bit number

32767

-6h

int

Number

A 32 bit number

2147483647

-7h

long

Number

A 64 bit number

4611686018427387904

-8h

real

Number

A 32 bit floating point number

3.14159265

-9h

float

Number

A 64 bit floating point number

3.14159265

-10h

char

String

A string of a single character

"a"

-11h

symbol

String

A string representing a symbol

"BTC"

-12h

timestamp

String

A ISO date-time without an offset in format 'yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss' with optional 0-9 decimals for nanoseconds

"2023-01-01T00:00:00.000000000"

-13h

month

String

A string representing a month in format MM-dd

"2023-10"

-14h

date

String

A string representing an ISO Date without an offset in format yyyy-MM-dd

"2023-10-01"

-15h

datetime

String

A ISO date-time without an offset in format 'yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss' with optional 0-3 decimals for milliseconds

"2023-01-01T00:00:00.000"

-16h

timespan

String

A duration of time with units in nanoseconds 'd'D'HH:mm:ss' with optional 0-9 decimals for nanoseconds

"0D00:00:00.000000005"

-17h

minute

String

A duration of time in HH:mm

"22:59"

-18h

second

String

A duration of time in HH:mm:ss

"22:59:13"

-19h

time

String

A duration fo time in HH:mm:ss with optional 0-9 decimals for nanosecond precision

"22:59:13.000000000"

1h

booleans

Array<Boolean>

Array of boolean values

[true, false]

2h

guids

Array<String>

Array of guid values

["09c4f826-b3f2-e699-c7ff-5195d89a0925", "c0b9ec94-87b6-b0e9-3427-312d62aaec9c"]

4h

bytes

Array<String>

Array of byte values

["ff", "0e"]

5h

shorts

Array<Number>

Array of short values

[32767, -32767]

6h

ints

Array<Number>

Array of int values

[2147483647, -2147483647]

7h

longs

Array<Number>

Array of long values

[4611686018427387904, -4611686018427387904]

8h

reals

Array<Number>

Array of real values

[1.1, 1.2]

9h

floats

Array<Number>

Array of float values

[1.1, 1.2]

10h

string

String

A string of text

"abcdef"

11h

symbols

Array<String>

Array of symbol values

["BTC","MSFT"]

12h

timestamps

Array<String>

Array of timestamp values

["2023-01-01T00:00:00.000000000", "2023-01-02T00:00:00.000000000"]

13h

months

Array<String>

Array of month values

["2023-10", "2023-11"]

14h

dates

Array<String>

Array of date values

["2023-10-01", "2023-10-02"]

15h

datetimes

Array<String>

Array of datetime values

["2023-01-01T00:00:00.000", "2023-01-02T00:00:00.000"]

16h

timespans

Array<String>

Array of timespan values

["0D00:00:00.000000005", "0D00:00:00.000000006"]

17h

minutes

Array<String>

Array of minute values

["22:59", "23:00"]

18h

seconds

Array<String>

Array of second values

["22:59:13", "22:59:14"]

19h

times

Array<String>

Array of time values

["22:59:13.000000000", "2023-01-01T00:00:00.001"]