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elt function

Applies to: check marked yes Databricks SQL check marked yes Databricks Runtime

Returns the nth expression in an inline provided list of values. Provides a compact way to convert a numeric index into a corresponding string from a predefined list.

It works well for translating stored codes into readable labels. For dynamic labels (e.g., stored in a domain table or non-consecutive), a JOIN or CASE expression is more maintainable.

Syntax​

elt(index, expr1 [, ...])

Arguments​

  • index: An INTEGER expression greater than 0.
  • exprN: Any expression that shares a least common type with all exprN.

Returns​

The result has the type of the least common type of the exprN.

Index must be between 1 and the number of expr. If index is out of bounds, an INVALID_ARRAY_INDEX error is raised.

note

In Databricks Runtime, if spark.sql.ansi.enabled is false, the function returns NULL instead of an error if the index is out of bounds.

Examples​

SQL
> SELECT elt(1, 'scala', 'java');
 scala
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