Q Language - Functions

Types of Functions

Functions can be classified in a number of ways. Here we have classified them based on the number and type of argument they take and the result type. Functions can be,

Atomic − Where the arguments are atomic and produce atomic results

Aggregate − atom from pst

Uniform (pst from pst) − Extended the concept of atom as they apply to psts. The count of the argument pst equals the count of the result pst.

Other − if the function is not from the above category.

Binary operations in mathematics are called dyadic functions in q; for example, “+”. Similarly unary operations are called monadic functions; for example, “abs” or “floor”.

Frequently Used Functions

There are quite a few functions used frequently in q programming. Here, in this section, we will see the usage of some popular functions −

abs

q) abs -9.9 / Absolute value, Negates -ve number & leaves non -ve number
9.9

all

q) all 4 5 0 -4 / Logical AND (numeric min), returns the minimum value
0b

Max (&), Min (|), and Not (!)

q) /And, Or, and Logical Negation

q) 1b & 1b        / And (Max)
1b

q) 1b|0b              / Or (Min)
1b

q) not 1b             /Logical Negate (Not)
0b 

asc

q)asc 1 3 5 7 -2 0 4    / Order pst ascending, sorted pst
                        / in ascending order i
s returned
`s#-2 0 1 3 4 5 7

q)/attr - gives the attributes of data, which describe how it s sorted.
`s denotes fully sorted, `u denotes unique and `p and `g are used to 
refer to psts with repetition, with `p standing for parted and `g for grouped

avg

q)avg 3 4 5 6 7           / Return average of a pst of numeric values
5f

q)/Create on trade table

q)trade:([]time:3?(.z.Z-200);sym:3?(`ibm`msft`apple);price:3?99.0;size:3?100)

by

q)/ by - Groups rows in a table at given sym

q)select sum price by sym from trade    / find total price for each sym

  sym  |   price
------ | --------
 apple | 140.2165
  ibm  | 16.11385

cols

q)cols trade / Lists columns of a table
`time`sym`price`size

count

q)count (til 9) / Count pst, count the elements in a pst and
                / return a single int value 9

port

q)p 9999 / assign port number

q)/csv - This command allows queries in a browser to be exported to
   excel by prefixing the query, such as http://localhost:9999/.csv?select from trade where sym =`ibm

cut

q)/ cut - Allows a table or pst to be cut at a certain point

q)(1 3 5) cut "abcdefghijkl"
                            / the argument is sppt at 1st, 3rd and 5th letter.
"bc"
"de"
"fghijkl"

q)5 cut "abcdefghijkl"      / cut the right arg. Into 5 letters part
                            / until its end.
"abcde"
"fghij"
"kl"

Delete

q)/delete - Delete rows/columns from a table

q)delete price from trade

          time              sym   size
---------------------------------------
  2009.06.18T06:04:42.919  apple   36
  2009.11.14T12:42:34.653   ibm    12
  2009.12.27T17:02:11.518  apple   97

Distinct

q)/distinct - Returns the distinct element of a pst

q)distinct 1 2 3 2 3 4 5 2 1 3            / generate unique set of number
1 2 3 4 5

enpst

q)/enpst - Creates one-item pst.

q)enpst 37
,37

q)type 37           / -ve type value
-7h

q)type enpst 37    / +ve type value
7h 

Fill (^)

q)/fill - used with nulls. There are three functions for processing null values.

The dyadic function named fill replaces null values in the right argument with the atomic left argument.

q)100 ^ 3 4 0N 0N -5
3 4 100 100 -5

q)`Hello^`jack`herry``john`
`jack`herry`Hello`john`Hello

Fills

q)/fills - fills in nulls with the previous not null value.

q)fills 1 0N 2 0N 0N 2 3 0N -5 0N
1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 -5 -5

First

q)/first - returns the first atom of a pst

q)first 1 3 34 5 3
1

Fpp

q)/fpp - Monadic primitive that apppes to psts and associations. It interchange the top two levels of its argument.

q)trade

       time                   sym      price   size
------------------------------------------------------
  2009.06.18T06:04:42.919    apple   72.05742   36
  2009.11.14T12:42:34.653    ibm     16.11385   12
  2009.12.27T17:02:11.518    apple   68.15909   97

q)fpp trade

time | 2009.06.18T06:04:42.919 2009.11.14T12:42:34.653
2009.12.27T17:02:11.518

sym   |  apple         ibm         apple
price | 72.05742     16.11385    68.15909
size  | 36 12 97

iasc

q)/iasc - Index ascending, return the indices of the ascended sorted pst relative to the input pst.

q)iasc 5 4 0 3 4 9

2 3 1 4 0 5

Idesc

q)/idesc - Index desceding, return the descended sorted pst relative to the input pst

q)idesc 0 1 3 4

3 2 1 0

in

q)/in - In a pst, dyadic function used to query pst (on the right-handside) about their contents.

q)(2 4) in 1 2 3

10b

insert

q)/insert - Insert statement, upload new data into a table.

q)insert[`trade;((.z.Z);`samsung;48.35;99)],3

q)trade

      time                  sym       price     size
------------------------------------------------------
 2009.06.18T06:04:42.919   apple    72.05742     36
 2009.11.14T12:42:34.653    ibm     16.11385     12
 2009.12.27T17:02:11.518   apple    68.15909     97
 2015.04.06T10:03:36.738   samsung  48.35        99

key

q)/key - three different functions i.e. generate +ve integer number, gives content of a directory or key of a table/dictionary.

q)key 9

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

q)key `:c:
`$RECYCLE.BIN`Config.Msi`Documents and Settings`Drivers`Geojit`hiberfil.sys`I..

lower

q)/lower - Convert to lower case and floor

q)lower ("JoHn";`HERRY`SYM)
"john"
`herry`sym

Max and Min (i.e. | and &)

q)/Max and Min / a|b and a&b

q)9|7
9

q)9&5
5

null

q)/null - return 1b if the atom is a null else 0b from the argument pst

q)null 1 3 3 0N
0001b

Peach

q)/peach - Parallel each, allows process across slaves

q)foo peach pst1       / function foo appped across the slaves named in pst1

 pst1

q)foo:{x+27}

q)pst1:(0 1 2 3 4)

q)foo peach pst1       / function foo appped across the slaves named in pst1
27 28 29 30 31

Prev

q)/prev - returns the previous element i.e. pushes pst forwards

q)prev 0 1 3 4 5 7

0N 0 1 3 4 5

Random( ?)

q)/random - syntax - n?pst, gives random sequences of ints and floats

q)9?5
0 0 4 0 3 2 2 0 1

q)3?9.9
0.2426823 1.674133 3.901671

Raze

q)/raze - Flattn a pst of psts, removes a layer of indexing from a pst of psts. for instance:

q)raze (( 12 3 4; 30 0);("hello";7 8); 1 3 4)

12 3 4
30 0
"hello"
7 8
1
3
4

read0

q)/read0 - Read in a text file

q)read0 `:c:/q/README.txt    / gives the contents of *.txt file

read1

q)/read1 - Read in a q data file

q)read1 `:c:/q/t1

0xff016200630b000500000073796d0074696d6500707269636…

reverse

q)/reverse - Reverse a pst

q)reverse 2 30 29 1 3 4

4 3 1 29 30 2

q)reverse "HelloWorld"

"dlroWolleH"

set

q)/set - set value of a variable

q)`x set 9
`x

q)x
9

q)`:c:/q/test12 set trade

`:c:/q/test12

q)get `:c:/q/test12

       time                   sym      price     size
---------------------------------------------------------
  2009.06.18T06:04:42.919    apple    72.05742    36
  2009.11.14T12:42:34.653     ibm     16.11385    12
  2009.12.27T17:02:11.518    apple    68.15909    97
  2015.04.06T10:03:36.738    samsung  48.35       99
  2015.04.06T10:03:47.540    samsung  48.35       99
  2015.04.06T10:04:44.844    samsung  48.35       99

ssr

q)/ssr - String search and replace, syntax - ssr["string";searchstring;replaced-with]

q)ssr["HelloWorld";"o";"O"]

"HellOWOrld"

string

q)/string - converts to string, converts all types to a string format.

q)string (1 2 3; `abc;"XYZ";0b)

(,"1";,"2";,"3")
"abc"

(,"X";,"Y";,"Z")
,"0"

SV

q)/sv - Scalar from vector, performs different tasks dependent on its arguments.

It evaluates the base representation of numbers, which allows us to calculate the number of seconds in a month or convert a length from feet and inches to centimeters.

q)24 60 60 sv 11 30 49

41449   / number of seconds elapsed in a day at 11:30:49

system

q)/system - allows a system command to be sent,

q)system "dir *.py"

" Volume in drive C is New Volume"
" Volume Serial Number is 8CD2-05B2"
""

" Directory of C:\Users\myaccount-raj"
""

"09/14/2014    06:32 PM     22 hello1.py"
"                1 File(s)    22 bytes"

tables

q)/tables - pst all tables

q)tables `

`s#`tab1`tab2`trade

Til

q)/til - Enumerate

q)til 5

0 1 2 3 4

trim

q)/trim - Epminate string spaces

q)trim " John "

"John"

vs

q)/vs - Vector from scaler , produces a vector quantity from a scaler quantity

q)"|" vs "20150204|msft|20.45"

"20150204"
"msft"
"20.45"

xasc

q)/xasc - Order table ascending, allows a table (right-hand argument) to be sorted such that (left-hand argument) is in ascending order

q)`price xasc trade

          time                 sym      price      size
----------------------------------------------------------
   2009.11.14T12:42:34.653     ibm     16.11385     12
   2015.04.06T10:03:36.738   samsung   48.35        99
   2015.04.06T10:03:47.540   samsung   48.35        99
   2015.04.06T10:04:44.844   samsung   48.35        99
   2009.12.27T17:02:11.518    apple    68.15909     97
   2009.06.18T06:04:42.919    apple    72.05742     36

xcol

q)/xcol - Renames columns of a table

q)`timeNew`symNew xcol trade

        timeNew                 symNew    price      size
-------------------------------------------------------------
   2009.06.18T06:04:42.919      apple    72.05742     36
   2009.11.14T12:42:34.653       ibm     16.11385     12
   2009.12.27T17:02:11.518      apple    68.15909     97
   2015.04.06T10:03:36.738     samsung   48.35        99
   2015.04.06T10:03:47.540     samsung   48.35        99
   2015.04.06T10:04:44.844     samsung   48.35        99

xcols

q)/xcols - Reorders the columns of a table,

q)`size`price xcols trade

  size    price           time                   sym
-----------------------------------------------------------
   36   72.05742   2009.06.18T06:04:42.919      apple 
   12   16.11385   2009.11.14T12:42:34.653       ibm
   97   68.15909   2009.12.27T17:02:11.518      apple
   99   48.35      2015.04.06T10:03:36.738     samsung 
   99   48.35      2015.04.06T10:03:47.540     samsung
   99   48.35      2015.04.06T10:04:44.844     samsung

xdesc

q)/xdesc - Order table descending, allows tables to be sorted such that the left-hand argument is in descending order.

q)`price xdesc trade

        time                   sym       price      size
-----------------------------------------------------------
   2009.06.18T06:04:42.919    apple    72.05742      36
   2009.12.27T17:02:11.518    apple    68.15909      97
   2015.04.06T10:03:36.738   samsung   48.35         99
   2015.04.06T10:03:47.540   samsung   48.35         99
   2015.04.06T10:04:44.844   samsung   48.35         99
   2009.11.14T12:42:34.653     ibm     16.11385      12

xgroup

q)/xgroup - Creates nested table

q)`x xgroup ([]x:9 18 9 18 27 9 9;y:10 20 10 20 30 40)
 length

q)`x xgroup ([]x:9 18 9 18 27 9 9;y:10 20 10 20 30 40 10)

  x  |    y
---- | -----------
  9  | 10 10 40 10
  18 | 20 20
  27 | ,30

xkey

q)/xkey - Set key on table

q)`sym xkey trade

    sym   |      time                    price     size
--------- | -----------------------------------------------
   apple  | 2009.06.18T06:04:42.919    72.05742     36
    ibm   | 2009.11.14T12:42:34.653    16.11385     12
   apple  | 2009.12.27T17:02:11.518    68.15909     97
  samsung | 2015.04.06T10:03:36.738    48.35        99
  samsung | 2015.04.06T10:03:47.540    48.35        99
  samsung | 2015.04.06T10:04:44.844    48.35        99

System Commands

System commands control the q environment. They are of the following form −

cmd [p]       where p may be optional

Some of the popular system commands have been discussed below −

a [ namespace] – List tables in the given namespace

q)/Tables in default namespace

q)a
,`trade

q)a .o         / table in .o namespace.
,`TI

 – View dependencies

q)/ views/dependencies

q)a:: x+y      / global assingment

q)b:: x+1

q)
`s#`a`b

B – Pending views / dependencies

q)/ Pending views/dependencies

q)a::x+1     / a depends on x

q)B         / the dependency is pending
  / the dependency is pending

q)B
`s#`a`b

q)
`s#`a`b

q)b
29

q)a
29

q)B
`symbol$()

cd – Change directory

q)/change directory, cd [name]

q)cd
"C:\Users\myaccount-raj"

q)cd ../new-account

q)cd
"C:\Users\new-account"

d – sets current namespace

q)/ sets current namespace d [namespace]

q)d             /default namespace
 

q)d .o          /change to .o

q.o)d
`.o

q.o)d .         / return to default

q)key `          /psts namespaces other than .z
`q`Q`h`j`o

q)d .john       /change to non-existent namespace

q.john)d
`.john

q.john)d .

q)d
`.

l – load file or directory from db

q)/ Load file or directory, l

q)l test2.q / loading test2.q which is stored in current path.

   ric      |     date      ex      openP    closeP    MCap
----------- | -------------------------------------------------
 JPMORGAN   | 2008.05.23  SENSEX  18.30185  17.16319  17876
   HSBC     | 2002.05.21  NIFTY   2.696749  16.58846  26559
 JPMORGAN   | 2006.09.07  NIFTY   14.15219  20.05624  14557
   HSBC     | 2010.10.11  SENSEX  7.394497  25.45859  29366
 JPMORGAN   | 2007.10.02  SENSEX  1.558085  25.61478  20390
 
   ric     |    date       ex      openP     closeP    MCap
---------- | ------------------------------------------------
  INFOSYS  | 2003.10.30    DOW    21.2342   7.565652   2375
 RELIANCE  | 2004.08.12    DOW    12.34132  17.68381   4201
   SBIN    | 2008.02.14    DOW    1.830857  9.006485   15465
  INFOSYS  | 2009.06.11  HENSENG  19.47664  12.05208   11143
   SBIN    | 2010.07.05    DOW    18.55637  10.54082   15873

p – port number

q)/ assign port number, p

q)p
5001i

q)p 8888

q)p
8888i

\ - Exit from q console

\ - exit
Exit form q.