Prerequisites Bool Int Float Decimal Timestamp String Blob List Struct Null values and dynamic types Down-converting to JSON

Working with Amazon Ion data types in Amazon QLDB

Important

End of support notice: Existing customers will be able to use Amazon QLDB until end of support on 07/31/2025. For more details, see Migrate an Amazon QLDB Ledger to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.

Amazon QLDB stores its data in the Amazon Ion format. To work with data in QLDB, you must use an Ion library as a dependency for a supported programming language.

In this section, learn how to convert data from native types to their Ion equivalents, and the other way around. This reference guide shows code examples that use the QLDB driver to process Ion data in a QLDB ledger. It includes code examples for Java, .NET (C#), Go, Node.js (TypeScript), and Python.

Prerequisites

The following code examples assume that you have a QLDB driver instance that is connected to an active ledger with a table named ExampleTable. The table contains a single existing document that has the following eight fields:

ExampleBool
ExampleInt
ExampleFloat
ExampleDecimal
ExampleTimestamp
ExampleString
ExampleBlob
ExampleList

Note

For the purposes of this reference, assume that the type stored in each field matches its name. In practice, QLDB doesn't enforce schema or data type definitions for document fields.

Bool

The following code examples show how to process the Ion boolean type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

boolean exampleBoolean = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java boolean to Ion
    boolean aBoolean = true;
    IonValue ionBool = ionSystem.newBool(aBoolean);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBool = ?", ionBool);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBool from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java boolean
        // Cast IonValue to IonBool first
        aBoolean = ((IonBool)ionValue).booleanValue();
    }

    // exampleBoolean is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aBoolean;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transforming a C# bool to Ion.
bool nativeBool  = true;
IIonValue ionBool = valueFactory.NewBool(nativeBool);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBool = ?", ionBool);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBool from ExampleTable");
});

bool? retrievedBool = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# bool.
    retrievedBool = ionValue.BoolValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleBool, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aBool := true

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBool = ?", aBool)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBool FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult bool
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleBool is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonBoolean(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<boolean> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBool = ?", true);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBool FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Transforming Ion to a TypeScript Boolean
            const boolValue: boolean = ionValue.booleanValue();
            return boolValue;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_bool(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python bool
    a_bool = True

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBool = ?", a_bool)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleBool FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python bool is a child class of Python bool
        a_bool = ion_value

    # example_bool is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_bool


example_bool = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_bool(txn))

Int

The following code examples show how to process the Ion integer type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

int exampleInt = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java int to Ion
    int aInt = 256;
    IonValue ionInt = ionSystem.newInt(aInt);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleInt = ?", ionInt);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleInt from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java int
        // Cast IonValue to IonInt first
        aInt = ((IonInt)ionValue).intValue();
    }

    // exampleInt is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aInt;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transforming a C# int to Ion.
int nativeInt  = 256;
IIonValue ionInt = valueFactory.NewInt(nativeInt);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleInt = ?", ionInt);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleInt from ExampleTable");
});

int? retrievedInt = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# int.
    retrievedInt = ionValue.IntValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleInt, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aInt := 256

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleInt = ?", aInt)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleInt FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult int
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleInt is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonInt(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<number> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleInt = ?", 256);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleInt FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Transforming Ion to a TypeScript Number
            const intValue: number = ionValue.numberValue();
            return intValue;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_int(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python int
    a_int = 256

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleInt = ?", a_int)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleInt FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python int is a child class of Python int
        a_int = ion_value

    # example_int is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_int


example_int = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_int(txn))

Float

The following code examples show how to process the Ion float type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

float exampleFloat = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java float to Ion
    float aFloat = 256;
    IonValue ionFloat = ionSystem.newFloat(aFloat);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleFloat = ?", ionFloat);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleFloat from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java float
        // Cast IonValue to IonFloat first
        aFloat = ((IonFloat)ionValue).floatValue();
    }

    // exampleFloat is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aFloat;
});

.NET

Using C# float


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transforming a C# float to Ion.
float nativeFloat = 256;
IIonValue ionFloat = valueFactory.NewFloat(nativeFloat);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleFloat = ?", ionFloat);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleFloat from ExampleTable");
});

float? retrievedFloat = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# float. We cast ionValue.DoubleValue to a float
    // but be cautious, this is a down-cast and can lose precision.
    retrievedFloat = (float)ionValue.DoubleValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Using C# double


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transforming a C# double to Ion.
double nativeDouble = 256;
IIonValue ionFloat = valueFactory.NewFloat(nativeDouble);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleFloat = ?", ionFloat);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleFloat from ExampleTable");
});

double? retrievedDouble = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# double.
    retrievedDouble = ionValue.DoubleValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleFloat, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aFloat := float32(256)

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleFloat = ?", aFloat)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleFloat FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		// float64 would work as well
		var decodedResult float32
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleFloat is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonFloat(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<number> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleFloat = ?", 25.6);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleFloat FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Transforming Ion to a TypeScript Number
            const floatValue: number = ionValue.numberValue();
            return floatValue;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_float(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python float
    a_float = float(256)

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleFloat = ?", a_float)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleFloat FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python float is a child class of Python float
        a_float = ion_value

    # example_float is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_float


example_float = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_float(txn))

Decimal

The following code examples show how to process the Ion decimal type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

double exampleDouble = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java double to Ion
    double aDouble = 256;
    IonValue ionDecimal = ionSystem.newDecimal(aDouble);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleDecimal = ?", ionDecimal);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleDecimal from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java double
        // Cast IonValue to IonDecimal first
        aDouble = ((IonDecimal)ionValue).doubleValue();
    }

    // exampleDouble is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aDouble;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transforming a C# decimal to Ion.
decimal nativeDecimal = 256.8723m;
IIonValue ionDecimal = valueFactory.NewDecimal(nativeDecimal);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleDecimal = ?", ionDecimal);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleDecimal from ExampleTable");
});

decimal? retrievedDecimal = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# decimal.
    retrievedDecimal = ionValue.DecimalValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleDecimal, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aDecimal, err := ion.ParseDecimal("256")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleDecimal = ?", aDecimal)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleDecimal FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult ion.Decimal
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleDecimal is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonDecimal(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<Decimal> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            // Creating a Decimal value. Decimal is an Ion Type with high precision
            let ionDecimal: Decimal = dom.load("2.5d-6").decimalValue();
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleDecimal = ?", ionDecimal);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleDecimal FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Get the Ion Decimal
            ionDecimal = ionValue.decimalValue();
            return ionDecimal;
        })
    );
}

Note

You can also use ionValue.numberValue() to transform an Ion decimal to a JavaScript number. Using ionValue.numberValue() has better performance, but it's less precise.

Python


def update_and_query_ion_decimal(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python decimal
    a_decimal = Decimal(256)

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleDecimal = ?", a_decimal)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleDecimal FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python decimal is a child class of Python decimal
        a_decimal = ion_value

    # example_decimal is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_decimal


example_decimal = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_decimal(txn))

Timestamp

The following code examples show how to process the Ion timestamp type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

Date exampleDate = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java Date to Ion
    Date aDate = new Date();
    IonValue ionTimestamp = ionSystem.newUtcTimestamp(aDate);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleTimestamp = ?", ionTimestamp);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleTimestamp from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java Date
        // Cast IonValue to IonTimestamp first
        aDate = ((IonTimestamp)ionValue).dateValue();
    }

    // exampleDate is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aDate;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
using Amazon.IonDotnet;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Convert C# native DateTime to Ion.
DateTime nativeDateTime = DateTime.Now;

// First convert it to a timestamp object from Ion.
Timestamp timestamp = new Timestamp(nativeDateTime);
// Then convert to Ion timestamp.
IIonValue ionTimestamp = valueFactory.NewTimestamp(timestamp);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleTimestamp = ?", ionTimestamp);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleTimestamp from ExampleTable");
});

DateTime? retrievedDateTime = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# DateTime.
    retrievedDateTime = ionValue.TimestampValue.DateTimeValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleTimestamp, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aTimestamp := time.Date(2006, time.May, 20, 12, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleTimestamp = ?", aTimestamp)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleTimestamp FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult ion.Timestamp
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleTimestamp is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult.GetDateTime(), nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonTimestamp(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<Date> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            let exampleDateTime: Date = new Date(Date.now());
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleTimestamp = ?", exampleDateTime);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleTimestamp FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Transforming Ion to a TypeScript Date
            exampleDateTime = ionValue.timestampValue().getDate();
            return exampleDateTime;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_timestamp(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python timestamp
    a_datetime = datetime.now()

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleTimestamp = ?", a_datetime)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleTimestamp FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python timestamp is a child class of Python datetime
        a_timestamp = ion_value

    # example_timestamp is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_timestamp


example_timestamp = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_timestamp(txn))

String

The following code examples show how to process the Ion string type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

String exampleString = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java String to Ion
    String aString = "Hello world!";
    IonValue ionString = ionSystem.newString(aString);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleString = ?", ionString);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleString from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java String
        // Cast IonValue to IonString first
        aString = ((IonString)ionValue).stringValue();
    }

    // exampleString is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aString;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Convert C# string to Ion.
String nativeString = "Hello world!";
IIonValue ionString = valueFactory.NewString(nativeString);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleString = ?", ionString);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleString from ExampleTable");
});

String retrievedString = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# string.
    retrievedString = ionValue.StringValue;
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleString, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aString := "Hello World!"

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleString = ?", aString)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleString FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult string
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleString is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonString(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<string> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleString = ?", "Hello World!");

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleString FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Transforming Ion to a TypeScript String
            const stringValue: string = ionValue.stringValue();
            return stringValue;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_string(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python string
    a_string = "Hello world!"

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleString = ?", a_string)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleString FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python string is a child class of Python string
        a_string = ion_value

    # example_string is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_string


example_string = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_string(txn))

Blob

The following code examples show how to process the Ion blob type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

byte[] exampleBytes = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java byte array to Ion
    // Transform any arbitrary data to a byte array to store in QLDB
    String aString = "Hello world!";
    byte[] aByteArray = aString.getBytes();
    IonValue ionBlob = ionSystem.newBlob(aByteArray);

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBlob = ?", ionBlob);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBlob from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Transforming Ion to a Java byte array
        // Cast IonValue to IonBlob first
        aByteArray = ((IonBlob)ionValue).getBytes();
    }

    // exampleBytes is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aByteArray;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
using System.Text;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transform any arbitrary data to a byte array to store in QLDB.
string nativeString = "Hello world!";
byte[] nativeByteArray = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(nativeString);
// Transforming a C# byte array to Ion.
IIonValue ionBlob = valueFactory.NewBlob(nativeByteArray);

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBlob = ?", ionBlob);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBlob from ExampleTable");
});

byte[] retrievedByteArray = null;

// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable.
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Transforming Ion to a C# byte array.
    retrievedByteArray = ionValue.Bytes().ToArray();
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleBlob, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aBlob := []byte("Hello World!")

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBlob = ?", aBlob)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBlob FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult []byte
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleBlob is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonBlob(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<Uint8Array> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            const enc = new TextEncoder();
            let blobValue: Uint8Array = enc.encode("Hello World!");
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBlob = ?", blobValue);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleBlob FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Transforming Ion to TypeScript Uint8Array
            blobValue = ionValue.uInt8ArrayValue();
            return blobValue;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_blob(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python byte array
    a_string = "Hello world!"
    a_byte_array = str.encode(a_string)

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleBlob = ?", a_byte_array)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleBlob FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python blob is a child class of Python byte array
        a_blob = ion_value

    # example_blob is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_blob


example_blob = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_blob(txn))

List

The following code examples show how to process the Ion list type.

Java


// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

List<Integer> exampleList = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a Java List to Ion
    List<Integer> aList = new ArrayList<>();
    // Add 5 Integers to the List for the sake of example
    for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        aList.add(i);
    }
    // Create an empty Ion List
    IonList ionList = ionSystem.newEmptyList();
    // Add the 5 Integers to the Ion List
    for (Integer i : aList) {
        // Convert each Integer to Ion ints first to add it to the Ion List
        ionList.add(ionSystem.newInt(i));
    }

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleList = ?", (IonValue) ionList);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleList from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Iterate through the Ion List to map it to a Java List
        List<Integer> intList = new ArrayList<>();
        for (IonValue ionInt : (IonList)ionValue) {
            // Convert the 5 Ion ints to Java Integers
            intList.add(((IonInt)ionInt).intValue());
        }
        aList = intList;
    }

    // exampleList is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return aList;
});

.NET


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
using System.Collections.Generic;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Transforming a C# list to Ion.
IIonValue ionList = valueFactory.NewEmptyList();
foreach (int i in new List<int> {0, 1, 2, 3, 4})
{
    // Convert to Ion int and add to Ion list.
    ionList.Add(valueFactory.NewInt(i));
}

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleList = ?", ionList);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleList from ExampleTable");
});


List<int> retrievedList = new List<int>();
await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    // Iterate through the Ion List to map it to a C# list.
    foreach (IIonValue ionInt in ionValue)
    {
        retrievedList.Add(ionInt.IntValue);
    }
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Go


exampleList, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aList := []int{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleList = ?", aList)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleList FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult []int
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleList is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonList(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<number[]> {
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            let listOfNumbers: number[] = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
            // Updating QLDB
            await txn.execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleList = ?", listOfNumbers);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleList FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // Get Ion List
            const ionList: dom.Value[] = ionValue.elements();
            // Iterate through the Ion List to map it to a JavaScript Array
            let intList: number[] = [];
            ionList.forEach(item => {
                // Transforming Ion to a TypeScript Number
                const intValue: number = item.numberValue();
                intList.push(intValue);
            });
            listOfNumbers = intList;
            return listOfNumbers;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_list(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python list
    a_list = list()
    for i in range(0, 5):
        a_list.append(i)

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleList = ?", a_list)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleList FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python blob is a child class of Python list
        a_list = ion_value

    # example_list is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_list


example_list = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_list(txn))

Struct

In QLDB, struct data types are particularly unique from other Ion types. Top-level documents that you insert into a table must be of the struct type. A document field can also store a nested struct.

For simplicity, the following examples define a document that has the ExampleString and ExampleInt fields only.

Java


class ExampleStruct {
    public String exampleString;
    public int exampleInt;

    public ExampleStruct(String exampleString, int exampleInt) {
        this.exampleString = exampleString;
        this.exampleInt = exampleInt;
    }
}

// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

ExampleStruct examplePojo = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a POJO to Ion
    ExampleStruct aPojo = new ExampleStruct("Hello world!", 256);
    // Create an empty Ion struct
    IonStruct ionStruct = ionSystem.newEmptyStruct();
    // Map the fields of the POJO to Ion values and put them in the Ion struct
    ionStruct.add("ExampleString", ionSystem.newString(aPojo.exampleString));
    ionStruct.add("ExampleInt", ionSystem.newInt(aPojo.exampleInt));

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("INSERT INTO ExampleTable ?", ionStruct);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT * from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Map the fields of the Ion struct to Java values and construct a new POJO
        ionStruct = (IonStruct)ionValue;
        IonString exampleString = (IonString)ionStruct.get("ExampleString");
        IonInt exampleInt = (IonInt)ionStruct.get("ExampleInt");
        aPojo = new ExampleStruct(exampleString.stringValue(), exampleInt.intValue());
    }

    // examplePojo is now the document fetched from QLDB
    return aPojo;
});

Alternatively, you can use the Jackson library to map data types to and from Ion. The library supports the other Ion data types, but this example focuses on the struct type.


class ExampleStruct {
    public String exampleString;
    public int exampleInt;

    @JsonCreator
    public ExampleStruct(@JsonProperty("ExampleString") String exampleString,
                         @JsonProperty("ExampleInt") int exampleInt) {
        this.exampleString = exampleString;
        this.exampleInt = exampleInt;
    }

    @JsonProperty("ExampleString")
    public String getExampleString() {
        return this.exampleString;
    }

    @JsonProperty("ExampleInt")
    public int getExampleInt() {
        return this.exampleInt;
    }
}

// Instantiate an IonSystem from the Ion library
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();
// Instantiate an IonObjectMapper from the Jackson library
IonObjectMapper ionMapper = new IonValueMapper(ionSystem);

ExampleStruct examplePojo = driver.execute((txn) -> {
    // Transforming a POJO to Ion
    ExampleStruct aPojo = new ExampleStruct("Hello world!", 256);
    IonValue ionStruct;
    try  {
        // Use the mapper to convert Java objects into Ion
        ionStruct = ionMapper.writeValueAsIonValue(aPojo);
    } catch (IOException e) {
        // Wrap the exception and throw it for the sake of simplicity in this example
        throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }

    // Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute("INSERT INTO ExampleTable ?", ionStruct);

    // Fetching from QLDB
    Result result = txn.execute("SELECT * from ExampleTable");
    // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for (IonValue ionValue : result)
    {
        // Use the mapper to convert Ion to Java objects
        try {
            aPojo = ionMapper.readValue(ionValue, ExampleStruct.class);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            // Wrap the exception and throw it for the sake of simplicity in this example
            throw new RuntimeException(e);
        }
    }

    // examplePojo is now the document fetched from QLDB
    return aPojo;
});

.NET

Use the Amazon.QLDB.Driver.Serialization library to map native C# data types to and from Ion. The library supports the other Ion data types, but this example focuses on the struct type.


using Amazon.QLDB.Driver.Generic;
using Amazon.QLDB.Driver.Serialization;
...

IAsyncQldbDriver driver = AsyncQldbDriver.Builder()
    .WithLedger("vehicle-registration")
    // Add Serialization library
    .WithSerializer(new ObjectSerializer())
    .Build();

// Creating a C# POCO.
ExampleStruct exampleStruct = new ExampleStruct
{
    ExampleString = "Hello world!",
    ExampleInt = 256
};

IAsyncResult<ExampleStruct> selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute(txn.Query<Document>("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleStruct = ?", exampleStruct));

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute(txn.Query<ExampleStruct>("SELECT VALUE ExampleStruct from ExampleTable"));
});

await foreach (ExampleStruct row in selectResult)
{
    Console.WriteLine(row.ExampleString);
    Console.WriteLine(row.ExampleInt);
}

Note

To convert to synchronous code, remove the await and async keywords, and change the IAsyncResult type to IResult.

Alternatively, you can use the Amazon.IonDotnet.Builders library to process Ion data types.


using IAsyncResult = Amazon.QLDB.Driver.IAsyncResult;
...

IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// Creating Ion struct.
IIonValue ionStruct = valueFactory.NewEmptyStruct();
ionStruct.SetField("ExampleString", valueFactory.NewString("Hello world!"));
ionStruct.SetField("ExampleInt", valueFactory.NewInt(256));

IAsyncResult selectResult = await driver.Execute(async txn =>
{
    // Insertion into QLDB.
    await txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleStruct = ?", ionStruct);

    // Fetching from QLDB.
    return await txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleStruct from ExampleTable");
});

string retrievedString = null;
int? retrievedInt = null;

await foreach (IIonValue ionValue in selectResult)
{
    retrievedString = ionValue.GetField("ExampleString").StringValue;
    retrievedInt = ionValue.GetField("ExampleInt").IntValue;
}

Go


exampleStruct, err := driver.Execute(context.Background(), func(txn qldbdriver.Transaction) (interface{}, error) {
	aStruct := map[string]interface{} {
		"ExampleString": "Hello World!",
		"ExampleInt": 256,
	}

	// Insertion into QLDB
	_, err = txn.Execute("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleStruct = ?", aStruct)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Fetching from QLDB
	result, err := txn.Execute("SELECT VALUE ExampleStruct FROM ExampleTable")
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	// Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
	if result.Next(txn) {
		var decodedResult map[string]interface{}
		err := ion.Unmarshal(result.GetCurrentData(), &decodedResult)
		if err != nil {
			return nil, err
		}

		// exampleStruct is now the value fetched from QLDB
		return decodedResult, nil
	}
	return nil, result.Err()
})

Node.js


async function queryIonStruct(driver: QldbDriver): Promise<any> {
    let exampleStruct: any = {stringValue: "Hello World!", intValue: 256};
    return (driver.executeLambda(async (txn: TransactionExecutor) => {
            // Inserting into QLDB
            await txn.execute("INSERT INTO ExampleTable ?", exampleStruct);

            // Fetching from QLDB
            const resultList: dom.Value[] = (await txn.execute("SELECT * FROM ExampleTable")).getResultList();

            // Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
            const ionValue: dom.Value = resultList[0];
            // We can get all the keys of Ion struct and their associated values
            const ionFieldNames: string[] = ionValue.fieldNames();

            // Getting key and value of Ion struct to TypeScript String and Number
            const nativeStringVal: string = ionValue.get(ionFieldNames[0]).stringValue();
            const nativeIntVal: number = ionValue.get(ionFieldNames[1]).numberValue();
            // Alternatively, we can access to Ion struct fields, using their literal field names:
            //   const nativeStringVal = ionValue.get("stringValue").stringValue();
            //   const nativeIntVal = ionValue.get("intValue").numberValue();

            exampleStruct = {[ionFieldNames[0]]: nativeStringVal, [ionFieldNames[1]]: nativeIntVal};
            return exampleStruct;
        })
    );
}

Python


def update_and_query_ion_struct(txn):
    # QLDB can take in a Python struct
    a_struct = {"ExampleString": "Hello world!", "ExampleInt": 256}

    # Insertion into QLDB
    txn.execute_statement("UPDATE ExampleTable SET ExampleStruct = ?", a_struct)

    # Fetching from QLDB
    cursor = txn.execute_statement("SELECT VALUE ExampleStruct FROM ExampleTable")

    # Assume there is only one document in ExampleTable
    for ion_value in cursor:
        # Ion Python struct is a child class of Python struct
        a_struct = ion_value

    # example_struct is now the value fetched from QLDB
    return a_struct


example_struct = driver.execute_lambda(lambda txn: update_and_query_ion_struct(txn))

Null values and dynamic types

QLDB supports open content and doesn't enforce schema or data type definitions for document fields. You can also store Ion null values in a QLDB document. All of the prior examples assume that each returned data type is known and is not null. The following examples show how to work with Ion when the data type isn't known or is possibly null.

Java


// Empty variables
String exampleString = null;
Integer exampleInt = null;

// Assume ionValue is some queried data from QLDB
IonValue ionValue = null;

// Check the value type and assign it to the variable if it is not null
if (ionValue.getType() == IonType.STRING) {
    if (ionValue.isNullValue()) {
        exampleString = null;
    } else {
        exampleString = ((IonString)ionValue).stringValue();
    }
} else if (ionValue.getType() == IonType.INT) {
    if (ionValue.isNullValue()) {
        exampleInt = null;
    } else {
        exampleInt = ((IonInt)ionValue).intValue();
    }
};

// Creating null values
IonSystem ionSystem = IonSystemBuilder.standard().build();

// A null value still has an Ion type
IonString ionString;
if (exampleString == null) {
    // Specifically a null string
    ionString = ionSystem.newNullString();
} else {
    ionString = ionSystem.newString(exampleString);
}

IonInt ionInt;
if (exampleInt == null) {
    // Specifically a null int
    ionInt = ionSystem.newNullInt();
} else {
    ionInt = ionSystem.newInt(exampleInt);
}

// Special case regarding null!
// There is a generic null type which has Ion type 'Null'.
// The above null values still have the types 'String' and 'Int'
IonValue specialNull = ionSystem.newNull();
if (specialNull.getType() == IonType.NULL) {
    // This is true!
}
if (specialNull.isNullValue()) {
    // This is also true!
}
if (specialNull.getType() == IonType.STRING || specialNull.getType() == IonType.INT) {
    // This is false!
}

.NET


// Empty variables.
string exampleString = null;
int? exampleInt = null;

// Assume ionValue is some queried data from QLDB.
IIonValue ionValue;

if (ionValue.Type() == IonType.String)
{
    exampleString = ionValue.StringValue;
}
else if (ionValue.Type() == IonType.Int)
{
    if (ionValue.IsNull)
    {
        exampleInt = null;
    }
    else
    {
        exampleInt = ionValue.IntValue;
    }
};

// Creating null values.
IValueFactory valueFactory = new ValueFactory();

// A null value still has an Ion type.
IIonValue ionString = valueFactory.NewString(exampleString);

IIonValue ionInt;
if (exampleInt == null)
{
    // Specifically a null int.
    ionInt = valueFactory.NewNullInt();
}
else
{
    ionInt = valueFactory.NewInt(exampleInt.Value);
}

// Special case regarding null!
// There is a generic null type which has Ion type 'Null'.
IIonValue specialNull = valueFactory.NewNull();
if (specialNull.Type() == IonType.Null) {
    // This is true!
}
if (specialNull.IsNull) {
    // This is also true!
}

Go

Marshalling limitations

In Go, nil values don't retain their type when you marshal and then unmarshal them. A nil value marshals to Ion null, but Ion null unmarshals to a zero value rather than nil.


ionNull, err := ion.MarshalText(nil) // ionNull is set to ion null
if err != nil {
    return
}

var result int
err = ion.Unmarshal(ionNull, &result) // result unmarshals to 0
if err != nil {
    return
}

Node.js


// Empty variables
let exampleString: string;
let exampleInt: number;

// Assume ionValue is some queried data from QLDB
// Check the value type and assign it to the variable if it is not null
if (ionValue.getType() === IonTypes.STRING) {
    if (ionValue.isNull()) {
        exampleString = null;
    } else {
        exampleString = ionValue.stringValue();
    }
} else if (ionValue.getType() === IonTypes.INT) {
    if (ionValue.isNull()) {
        exampleInt = null;
    } else {
        exampleInt = ionValue.numberValue();
    }
}

// Creating null values
if (exampleString === null) {
    ionString = dom.load('null.string');
} else {
    ionString = dom.load.of(exampleString);
}

if (exampleInt === null) {
    ionInt = dom.load('null.int');
} else {
    ionInt = dom.load.of(exampleInt);
}

// Special case regarding null!
// There is a generic null type which has Ion type 'Null'.
// The above null values still have the types 'String' and 'Int'
specialNull: dom.Value = dom.load("null.null");
if (specialNull.getType() === IonType.NULL) {
    // This is true!
}
if (specialNull.getType() === IonType.STRING || specialNull.getType() === IonType.INT) {
    // This is false!
}

Python


# Empty variables
example_string = None
example_int = None

# Assume ion_value is some queried data from QLDB
# Check the value type and assign it to the variable if it is not null
if ion_value.ion_type == IonType.STRING:
    if isinstance(ion_value, IonPyNull):
        example_string = None
    else:
        example_string = ion_value
elif ion_value.ion_type == IonType.INT:
    if isinstance(ion_value, IonPyNull):
        example_int = None
    else:
        example_int = ion_value

# Creating Ion null values
if example_string is None:
    # Specifically a null string
    ion_string = loads("null.string")
else:
    # QLDB can take in Python string
    ion_string = example_string
if example_int is None:
    # Specifically a null int
    ion_int = loads("null.int")
else:
    # QLDB can take in Python int
    ion_int = example_int


# Special case regarding null!
# There is a generic null type which has Ion type 'Null'.
# The above null values still have the types 'String' and 'Int'
special_null = loads("null.null")
if special_null.ion_type == IonType.NULL:
    # This is true!
if special_null.ion_type == IonType.STRING or special_null.ion_type == IonType.INT:
    # This is false!

Down-converting to JSON

If your application requires JSON compatibility, you can down-convert Amazon Ion data to JSON. However, converting Ion to JSON is lossy in certain cases where your data uses the rich Ion types that don't exist in JSON.

For details about Ion to JSON conversion rules, see Down-converting to JSON in the Amazon Ion Cookbook.

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Document Conventions

Step 8: Clean up

Working with data and history