The #[sqlfunc] macro

The #[sqlfunc] attribute macro generates boilerplate for SQL scalar functions. It creates a unit struct, a trait implementation (EagerUnaryFunc, EagerBinaryFunc, or EagerVariadicFunc), and a Display impl from a plain Rust function.

The macro lives in src/expr-derive-impl/src/sqlfunc.rs. The generated trait implementations live in src/expr/src/scalar/func/{unary,binary,variadic}.rs.

Quick start

Annotate a function with #[sqlfunc]:

#[sqlfunc]
fn negate_int32(a: i32) -> i32 {
    -a
}

This generates:

• A struct NegateInt32 (camel-cased from the function name).
• An EagerUnaryFunc implementation that calls the function.
• A Display implementation that prints "negate_int32".
• The original function, unchanged.

Arity detection

The macro determines function arity from parameter count and types, after excluding &self receivers and trailing &RowArena parameters:

Exception: If any parameter uses Variadic<T> or OptionalArg<T>, the function is always treated as variadic, regardless of parameter count.

Modifiers

Pass modifiers as key-value pairs in the attribute:

#[sqlfunc(sqlname = "+", is_monotone = (true, true), is_infix_op = true)]
fn add_int16<'a>(a: Datum<'a>, b: Datum<'a>) -> Result<Datum<'a>, EvalError> {
    // ...
}

sqlname

The SQL-visible name of the function.

• Type: string literal or macro expression
• Default: the Rust function name (via stringify!)
• Applies to: all arities

propagates_nulls

Whether a NULL input produces a NULL output, skipping the function body entirely. When true, the evaluation layer short-circuits on NULL inputs and returns NULL without calling the function. This also affects output_type: if propagates_nulls is true and any input column is nullable, the output column is marked nullable.

• Type: boolean expression
• Default: inferred from input type — !Input::nullable(). If the input type accepts Option or Datum (which can represent NULL), it is nullable, so propagates_nulls defaults to false. If the input type is a non-nullable type like &str or i32, nulls are propagated (the function never sees them).
• Applies to: binary, variadic
• Not available for: unary (inferred only, cannot be overridden)

introduces_nulls

Whether the function can produce NULL from non-NULL inputs. The optimizer uses this to reason about column nullability.

• Type: boolean expression
• Default: inferred from output type — Output::nullable(). A function returning Option<T> or Datum introduces nulls. A function returning String or i32 does not.
• Applies to: all arities
• Note: required when using output_type_expr (because the output type is not statically known).

could_error

Whether the function can produce an error at runtime. The optimizer uses this to avoid certain rewrites that might change error behavior.

• Type: boolean expression
• Default: inferred from output type — Output::fallible(). A function returning Result<T, EvalError> is fallible. A function returning T directly is not.
• Applies to: all arities

is_monotone

Whether the function is monotone (non-strict; either non-decreasing or non-increasing). Monotone functions map ranges to ranges: given a range of possible inputs, the range of possible outputs can be determined by mapping the endpoints.

• Type: boolean expression for unary and variadic; (bool, bool) tuple for binary (one per argument)
• Default: false for unary and variadic; (false, false) for binary
• Applies to: all arities

preserves_uniqueness

Whether the function is injective: if f(x) = f(y) then x = y.

• Type: boolean expression
• Default: false
• Applies to: unary only

inverse

The inverse function, if it exists.

• Type: expression evaluating to Option<crate::UnaryFunc>
• Default: None
• Applies to: unary only

negate

The logical negation of a comparison function. For example, < negates to >=.

• Type: expression evaluating to Option<crate::BinaryFunc>
• Default: None
• Applies to: binary only

is_infix_op

Whether the function is an infix operator (e.g., +, =, AND). Affects how the function is displayed in EXPLAIN output.

• Type: boolean expression
• Default: false
• Applies to: binary, variadic

is_associative

Whether the function is associative: f(a, f(b, c)) = f(f(a, b), c).

• Type: boolean expression
• Default: false
• Applies to: variadic only

output_type

An explicit type path for computing the output column type. When set, the macro generates output_type and introduces_nulls based on this type instead of inferring from the return type.

• Type: type path (e.g., i16, String)
• Default: inferred from return type via Self::Output::as_column_type()
• Applies to: all arities
• Cannot be combined with: output_type_expr

output_type_expr

An expression that computes the output column type at runtime. Use this for functions whose output type depends on input types or struct fields (e.g., ArrayCreate where the element type is stored on the struct).

• Type: expression evaluating to SqlColumnType
• Default: none
• Applies to: all arities
• Requires: introduces_nulls (must be specified explicitly)
• Cannot be combined with: output_type

test

Generate a snapshot test for the macro expansion.

• Type: bool
• Default: false
• Applies to: all arities

Snapshot files are stored in src/expr-derive-impl/src/snapshots/. Update them with cargo insta accept after running cargo test -p mz-expr-derive-impl.

Variadic functions

Struct name

For variadic functions, the struct name can be specified as the first positional argument. This is required when a &self receiver is present (the struct is defined externally):

#[sqlfunc(ArrayFill, sqlname = "array_fill")]
fn array_fill_variadic<'a>(&self, fill: Datum<'a>, dims: Datum<'a>, temp_storage: &'a RowArena) -> Result<Datum<'a>, EvalError> {
    // ...
}

Without a &self receiver, the struct name defaults to the camel-cased function name. It can still be overridden with the first positional argument:

#[sqlfunc(Replace, sqlname = "replace")]
fn replace(text: &str, from: &str, to: &str) -> Result<String, EvalError> {
    // ...
}

&self receiver

When a &self receiver is present, the macro assumes the struct is defined externally and generates:

• A method impl StructName { fn ... } containing the function body.
• An EagerVariadicFunc trait implementation that delegates to the method.
• A Display implementation.

Without &self, the macro generates the struct itself (with standard derives) in addition to the trait and display implementations.

Variadic<T> and OptionalArg<T>

These wrapper types affect both arity detection and null handling.

Variadic<T> consumes all remaining arguments from the iterator. It wraps a Vec<T> and is used for functions with a truly variable number of arguments:

#[sqlfunc(is_associative = true)]
fn concat(strs: Variadic<Option<&str>>) -> Result<String, EvalError> {
    // strs is a Vec<Option<&str>>, one entry per SQL argument
}

OptionalArg<T> consumes one argument if present, or produces None if the iterator is exhausted. It wraps an Option<T> and is used for functions with optional trailing arguments:

#[sqlfunc(sqlname = "lpad")]
fn pad_leading(string: &str, raw_len: i32, pad: OptionalArg<&str>) -> Result<String, EvalError> {
    let pad = pad.unwrap_or(" ");
    // ...
}

Both are defined in src/repr/src/scalar.rs.

&RowArena

A trailing &RowArena parameter gives the function access to temporary storage for allocating return values that borrow from the arena. It is excluded from arity detection and from the generated Input type. The arena is always passed to binary and variadic call implementations (the trait requires it); for functions that don't use it, the parameter is simply unused.

Unary functions do not support &RowArena.

Input type

For variadic functions, the generated Input type depends on parameter count:

• Single parameter: the bare type (e.g., Variadic<Option<&'a str>>).
• Multiple parameters: a tuple (e.g., (&'a str, &'a str, &'a str)).

Null handling

The interplay between propagates_nulls, introduces_nulls, and input/output types determines the nullability of the output column.

The output_type method on each generated struct computes the output SqlColumnType as:

output.nullable = output.nullable || (propagates_nulls && any_input_nullable)

Where:

• output.nullable comes from introduces_nulls (or is inferred from the output type).
• propagates_nulls indicates whether NULL passes through.
• any_input_nullable is true if any input column is nullable.

The evaluation layer (LazyUnaryFunc, LazyBinaryFunc, LazyVariadicFunc) handles the actual null short-circuiting at runtime through the InputDatumType::try_from_result/try_from_iter methods. If the input type does not accept NULL (is non-nullable), the evaluation layer returns NULL directly without calling the function.

Examples

Unary: type cast with inverse

#[sqlfunc(
    sqlname = "uint2_to_real",
    preserves_uniqueness = true,
    inverse = to_unary!(super::CastFloat32ToUint16),
    is_monotone = true
)]
fn cast_uint16_to_float32(a: u16) -> f32 {
    f32::from(a)
}

Binary: arithmetic operator

#[sqlfunc(
    is_monotone = (true, true),
    output_type = i16,
    is_infix_op = true,
    sqlname = "+",
    propagates_nulls = true,
)]
fn add_int16<'a>(a: Datum<'a>, b: Datum<'a>) -> Result<Datum<'a>, EvalError> {
    a.unwrap_int16()
        .checked_add(b.unwrap_int16())
        .ok_or(EvalError::NumericFieldOverflow)
        .map(Datum::from)
}

Variadic: fixed parameters

#[sqlfunc(sqlname = "datediff")]
fn date_diff_date(unit_str: &str, a: Date, b: Date) -> Result<i64, EvalError> {
    // Three fixed parameters → variadic with tuple input (&str, Date, Date)
}

Variadic: dynamic argument count

#[sqlfunc(is_associative = true)]
fn concat(strs: Variadic<Option<&str>>) -> Result<String, EvalError> {
    // Variadic<T> detected → variadic dispatch regardless of parameter count
}

Variadic: with &self and dynamic output type

#[sqlfunc(
    ArrayCreate,
    sqlname = "array_create",
    output_type_expr = "SqlScalarType::Array(Box::new(self.elem_type.clone())).nullable(false)",
    introduces_nulls = false
)]
fn array_create<'a>(&self, datums: Variadic<Datum<'a>>, temp_storage: &'a RowArena) -> Array<'a> {
    // &self: struct defined externally with an elem_type field
    // output_type_expr: output type depends on runtime struct fields
}