OrientDB Function Creation

OrientDB provides a number of functions by default. In the event that these are not sufficient for your needs, you can create custom functions using OrientDB SQL or JavaScript. You can then execute them as SQL, HTTP or Java.

Creating Functions

When you create a new function on your database, OrientDB saves it using the OFunction class. You can query records of this class as you would any other in the database. The class has the following properties:

Property	Description
`name`	Defines the name of the function.
`code`	Defines the code the function executes.
`parameters`	Defines an optional `EMBEDDEDLIST` of strings, containing the parameter names, if any.
`idempotent`	Defines whether the function is idempotent, that is if it changes the database. Read-only functions are idempotent. This is needed to avoid calling non-idempotent functions using the HTTP GET method.

Given that OrientDB uses one record per function, the MVCC mechanism is used to protect it against concurrent record updates.

There are two ways to create a function on the database: Studio and SQL

Using OrientDB Studio

Whether you are new to OrientDB and unfamiliar with the command syntax or you simply prefer graphical- to text-based interfaces, OrientDB ships with a convenient web interface for accessing and manipulating databases. Using Studio, you can create and manage custom Functions.

When you log into a database in Studio, there are a series of links running along the top of the page. The Functions tab takes you to a page where you can create, edit and otherwise manage custom functions in the database.

Example

Imagine a situation where you need to caculate factorials on a regular basis. While you could pull this information into your application, it would save time and network traffic if you could have OrientDB process the math and return the results. OrientDB Functions support recursion, so this is a fairly straightforward process.

To manage this, you would navigate to the Functions tab and create a new function, naming it factorial or whatever name you find most approriate. This function is written in JavaScript and takes one argument, called num. Then, provide the following code:

if (num === 0)
    return 1;
else
    return num * factorial(num - 1);

When this is done, click Save to update the database with the new function. As you can see, OrientDB Functions support recursion. When factorial() is called, it calls itself in calculating the results.

Once you've saved a function, it's accessible to the database. You can also test functions below the text block by providing them with arguments and then clicking the Execute buttom. OrientDB then displays the return value, which here is 3648800.0.

Alternatively, you can test it from the Console:

orientdb> SELECT factorial(10)
3628800

Using OrientDB SQL

In the event that you prefer working from shell environments, OrientDB also provides the CREATE FUNCTION SQL command. For instance, take the above example creating a factorial() function.

orientdb> CREATE FUNCTION factorial "if (num === 0) return 1; 
          else return num * factorial(num - 1)" 
          PARAMETERS [num]
          LANGUAGE javascript

Managing Functions

Using API's like PyOrient or OrientJS in combination with OrientDB SQL commands, you can manage and update Functions using basic scripts to synchronize a repository with the database.

For instance, imagine you have a Git repository that contains a series of JavaScript files as well as a manifest file written in JSON, containing the metadata OrientDB needs to configure functions on the database. Using a simple Python function in a script, you could automatically synchronize all OrientDB Functions with your repository code.

################## Update Functions ###################
def update_orientdb_functions(client, funcs):
    """ Recieves PyOrient client with opened database
    and a dictionary containing metadata for each
    function

    funcs = {
       "func-name": {
          "arguments": ["arg1", "arg2"],
          "code": "/path/to/code.js"}
    }

    Connects to OrientDB Database and creates or updates
    functions with the given code."""

    # Loop over Functions Dict
    for name, data in funcs.items():


        # Read Code from File
        with open(data["code"], "r") as f:
            code = f.read()

        # Create Function when it does not Exist
        query_func = "SELECT FROM OFunction WHERE name = '%s" % name
        if len(client.command(query_func)) == 0:

            # Create Function Command
            osql = "CREATE FUNCTION %s '%s'" % (name, code)

            # Add Arguments 
            if "arguments" in data:
                osql += " PARAMETERS %s" % str(data["arguments"])

            # Run Command
            client.command(osql)

        # Update Function when Exists
        else:

            # Create Update Command
            osql = "UPDATE Ofunction SET code = '%s'" % code

            # Add Arguments
            if "arguments" in data:
                osql += ", parameters = '%s'" % str(data["arguments"])

            # Define Condition    
            osql += " WHERE name = '%s'" % name

            # Run Command
            client.command(oqsl)

Creation