HDBC-2.2.4: Haskell Database ConnectivitySource codeContentsIndex
Database.HDBC.SqlValue
Contents
SQL value marshalling
Synopsis
data SqlValue
= SqlString String
| SqlByteString ByteString
| SqlWord32 Word32
| SqlWord64 Word64
| SqlInt32 Int32
| SqlInt64 Int64
| SqlInteger Integer
| SqlChar Char
| SqlBool Bool
| SqlDouble Double
| SqlRational Rational
| SqlLocalDate Day
| SqlLocalTimeOfDay TimeOfDay
| SqlZonedLocalTimeOfDay TimeOfDay TimeZone
| SqlLocalTime LocalTime
| SqlZonedTime ZonedTime
| SqlUTCTime UTCTime
| SqlDiffTime NominalDiffTime
| SqlPOSIXTime POSIXTime
| SqlEpochTime Integer
| SqlTimeDiff Integer
| SqlNull
safeFromSql :: Convertible SqlValue a => SqlValue -> ConvertResult a
toSql :: Convertible a SqlValue => a -> SqlValue
fromSql :: Convertible SqlValue a => SqlValue -> a
nToSql :: Integral a => a -> SqlValue
iToSql :: Int -> SqlValue
posixToSql :: POSIXTime -> SqlValue
SQL value marshalling
data SqlValue Source

SqlValue is he main type for expressing Haskell values to SQL databases.

INTRODUCTION TO SQLVALUE

This type is used to marshall Haskell data to and from database APIs. HDBC driver interfaces will do their best to use the most accurate and efficient way to send a particular value to the database server.

Values read back from the server are constructed with the most appropriate SqlValue constructor. fromSql or safeFromSql can then be used to convert them into whatever type is needed locally in Haskell.

Most people will use toSql and fromSql instead of manipulating SqlValues directly.

EASY CONVERSIONS BETWEEN HASKELL TYPES

Conversions are powerful; for instance, you can call fromSql on a SqlInt32 and get a String or a Double out of it. This class attempts to Do The Right Thing whenever possible, and will raise an error when asked to do something incorrect. In particular, when converting to any type except a Maybe, SqlNull as the input will cause an error to be raised.

Conversions are implemented in terms of the Data.Convertible module, part of the convertible package. You can refer to its documentation, and import that module, if you wish to parse the Left result from safeFromSql yourself, or write your own conversion instances.

Here are some notes about conversion:

  • Fractions of a second are not preserved on time values
  • There is no safeToSql because toSql never fails.

See also toSql, safeFromSql, fromSql, nToSql, iToSql, posixToSql.

ERROR CONDITIONS

There may sometimes be an error during conversion. For instance, if you have a SqlString and are attempting to convert it to an Integer, but it doesn't parse as an Integer, you will get an error. This will be indicated as an exception if using fromSql, or a Left result if using safeFromSql.

SPECIAL NOTE ON POSIXTIME

Note that a NominalDiffTime or POSIXTime is converted to SqlDiffTime by toSql. HDBC cannot differentiate between NominalDiffTime and POSIXTime since they are the same underlying type. You must construct SqlPOSIXTime manually or via posixToSql, or use SqlUTCTime.

DETAILS ON SQL TYPES

HDBC database backends are expected to marshal date and time data back and forth using the appropriate representation for the underlying database engine. Databases such as PostgreSQL with builtin date and time types should see automatic conversion between these Haskell types to database types. Other databases will be presented with an integer or a string. Care should be taken to use the same type on the Haskell side as you use on the database side. For instance, if your database type lacks timezone information, you ought not to use ZonedTime, but instead LocalTime or UTCTime. Database type systems are not always as rich as Haskell. For instance, for data stored in a TIMESTAMP WITHOUT TIME ZONE column, HDBC may not be able to tell if it is intended as UTCTime or LocalTime data, and will happily convert it to both, upon your request. It is your responsibility to ensure that you treat timezone issues with due care.

This behavior also exists for other types. For instance, many databases do not have a Rational type, so they will just use the show function and store a Rational as a string.

The conversion between Haskell types and database types is complex, and generic code in HDBC or its backends cannot possibly accomodate every possible situation. In some cases, you may be best served by converting your Haskell type to a String, and passing that to the database.

UNICODE AND BYTESTRINGS

Beginning with HDBC v2.0, interactions with a database are presumed to occur in UTF-8.

To accomplish this, whenever a ByteString must be converted to or from a String, the ByteString is assumed to be in UTF-8 encoding, and will be decoded or encoded as appropriate. Database drivers will generally present text or string data they have received from the database as a SqlValue holding a ByteString, which fromSql will automatically convert to a String, and thus automatically decode UTF-8, when you need it. In the other direction, database drivers will generally convert a SqlString to a ByteString in UTF-8 encoding before passing it to the database engine.

If you are handling some sort of binary data that is not in UTF-8, you can of course work with the ByteString directly, which will bypass any conversion.

Due to lack of support by database engines, lazy ByteStrings are not passed to database drivers. When you use toSql on a lazy ByteString, it will be converted to a strict ByteString for storage. Similarly, fromSql will convert a strict ByteString to a lazy ByteString if you demand it.

EQUALITY OF SQLVALUE

Two SqlValues are considered to be equal if one of these hold. The first comparison that can be made is controlling; if none of these comparisons can be made, then they are not equal:

  • Both are NULL
  • Both represent the same type and the encapsulated values are considered equal by applying (==) to them
  • The values of each, when converted to a string, are equal.

STRING VERSIONS OF TIMES

Default string representations are given as comments below where such are non-obvious. These are used for fromSql when a String is desired. They are also defaults for representing data to SQL backends, though individual backends may override them when a different format is demanded by the underlying database. Date and time formats use ISO8601 date format, with HH:MM:SS added for time, and -HHMM added for timezone offsets.

DEPRECATED CONSTRUCTORS

SqlEpochTime and SqlTimeDiff are no longer created automatically by any toSql or fromSql functions or database backends. They may still be manually constructed, but are expected to be removed in a future version. Although these two constructures will be removed, support for marshalling to and from the old System.Time data will be maintained as long as System.Time is, simply using the newer data types for conversion.

Constructors
SqlString String
SqlByteString ByteString
SqlWord32 Word32
SqlWord64 Word64
SqlInt32 Int32
SqlInt64 Int64
SqlInteger Integer
SqlChar Char
SqlBool Bool
SqlDouble Double
SqlRational Rational
SqlLocalDate DayLocal YYYY-MM-DD (no timezone)
SqlLocalTimeOfDay TimeOfDayLocal HH:MM:SS (no timezone)
SqlZonedLocalTimeOfDay TimeOfDay TimeZoneLocal HH:MM:SS -HHMM. Converts to and from (TimeOfDay, TimeZone).
SqlLocalTime LocalTimeLocal YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (no timezone)
SqlZonedTime ZonedTimeLocal YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS -HHMM. Considered equal if both convert to the same UTC time.
SqlUTCTime UTCTimeUTC YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
SqlDiffTime NominalDiffTimeCalendar diff between seconds. Rendered as Integer when converted to String, but greater precision may be preserved for other types or to underlying database.
SqlPOSIXTime POSIXTimeTime as seconds since midnight Jan 1 1970 UTC. Integer rendering as for SqlDiffTime.
SqlEpochTime IntegerDEPRECATED Representation of ClockTime or CalendarTime. Use SqlPOSIXTime instead.
SqlTimeDiff IntegerDEPRECATED Representation of TimeDiff. Use SqlDiffTime instead.
SqlNullNULL in SQL or Nothing in Haskell
show/hide Instances
Eq SqlValue
Show SqlValue
Typeable SqlValue
Convertible Bool SqlValue
Convertible Char SqlValue
Convertible Double SqlValue
Convertible Int SqlValue
Convertible Int32 SqlValue
Convertible Int64 SqlValue
Convertible Integer SqlValue
Convertible Rational SqlValue
Convertible Word32 SqlValue
Convertible Word64 SqlValue
Convertible String SqlValue
Convertible ByteString SqlValue
Convertible ByteString SqlValue
Convertible ClockTime SqlValue
Convertible CalendarTime SqlValue
Convertible TimeDiff SqlValue
Convertible LocalTime SqlValue
Convertible ZonedTime SqlValue
Convertible TimeOfDay SqlValue
Convertible UTCTime SqlValue
Convertible NominalDiffTime SqlValue
Convertible Day SqlValue
Convertible DiffTime SqlValue
Convertible SqlValue Bool
Convertible SqlValue Char
Convertible SqlValue Double
Convertible SqlValue Int
Convertible SqlValue Int32
Convertible SqlValue Int64
Convertible SqlValue Integer
Convertible SqlValue Rational
Convertible SqlValue Word32
Convertible SqlValue Word64
Convertible SqlValue String
Convertible SqlValue ByteString
Convertible SqlValue ByteString
Convertible SqlValue ClockTime
Convertible SqlValue CalendarTime
Convertible SqlValue TimeDiff
Convertible SqlValue LocalTime
Convertible SqlValue ZonedTime
Convertible SqlValue TimeOfDay
Convertible SqlValue UTCTime
Convertible SqlValue NominalDiffTime
Convertible SqlValue Day
Convertible SqlValue DiffTime
Convertible SqlValue a => Convertible SqlValue (Maybe a)
Convertible SqlValue (TimeOfDay, TimeZone)
Convertible a SqlValue => Convertible (Maybe a) SqlValue
Convertible (TimeOfDay, TimeZone) SqlValue
safeFromSql :: Convertible SqlValue a => SqlValue -> ConvertResult aSource

Conversions to and from SqlValues and standard Haskell types.

This function converts from an SqlValue to a Haskell value. Many people will use the simpler fromSql instead. This function is simply a restricted-type wrapper around safeConvert.

toSql :: Convertible a SqlValue => a -> SqlValueSource
Convert a value to an SqlValue. This function is simply a restricted-type wrapper around convert. See extended notes on SqlValue.
fromSql :: Convertible SqlValue a => SqlValue -> aSource
Convert from an SqlValue to a Haskell value. Any problem is indicated by calling error. This function is simply a restricted-type wrapper around convert. See extended notes on SqlValue.
nToSql :: Integral a => a -> SqlValueSource
Converts any Integral type to a SqlValue by using toInteger.
iToSql :: Int -> SqlValueSource
Convenience function for using numeric literals in your program.
posixToSql :: POSIXTime -> SqlValueSource
Convenience function for converting POSIXTime to a SqlValue, because toSql cannot do the correct thing in this instance.
Produced by Haddock version 2.7.2