EXPLODE_SPLIT_OUTER

Description

The explode_split_outer table function is used to split a string into multiple substrings according to the specified delimiter, and expand each substring into a separate row. It should be used together with LATERAL VIEW to flatten nested data structures into a standard flat table format. The main difference between explode_split_outer and explode_split is how they handle null values.

Syntax

EXPLODE_SPLIT_OUTER(<str>, <delimiter>)

Parameters

• <str> String type, the string to be split.
• <delimiter> String type, the delimiter.

Return Value

• Returns a column composed of the split substrings, with column type String.

Usage Notes

1. If <str> is NULL, 1 row with NULL is returned.
2. If <str> is an empty string ("") or cannot be split, 1 row is returned.
3. If <delimiter> is NULL, 1 row with NULL is returned.
4. If <delimiter> is an empty string (""), <str> will be split by bytes(SPLIT_BY_STRING).

Examples

0. Prepare data
   create table example(
       k1 int
   ) properties(
       "replication_num" = "1"
   );
   
   insert into example values(1);

1. Regular parameters
   select  * from example lateral view explode_split_outer("ab,cd,ef", ",") t2 as c;

   +------+------+
   | k1   | c    |
   +------+------+
   |    1 | ab   |
   |    1 | cd   |
   |    1 | ef   |
   +------+------+

2. Empty string and unsplittable cases
   select  * from example lateral view explode_split_outer("", ",") t2 as c;

   +------+------+
   | k1   | c    |
   +------+------+
   |    1 |      |
   +------+------+

   select  * from example lateral view explode_split_outer("abc", ",") t2 as c;

   +------+------+
   | k1   | c    |
   +------+------+
   |    1 | abc  |
   +------+------+

3. NULL parameter
   select  * from example lateral view explode_split_outer(NULL, ',') t2 as c;

   +------+------+
   | k1   | c    |
   +------+------+
   |    1 | NULL |
   +------+------+

4. Empty delimiter
   select  * from example lateral view explode_split_outer('abc', '') t2 as c;

   +------+------+
   | k1   | c    |
   +------+------+
   |    1 | a    |
   |    1 | b    |
   |    1 | c    |
   +------+------+

5. Delimiter is NULL
   select  * from example lateral view explode_split_outer('abc', null) t2 as c;

   +------+------+
   | k1   | c    |
   +------+------+
   |    1 | NULL |
   +------+------+