# Python UDF for Apache Arrow
[](https://crates.io/crates/arrow-udf-python)
[](https://docs.rs/arrow-udf-python)
Notice: Python 3.12 is required to run this library.
If `python3` is not 3.12, please set the environment variable `PYO3_PYTHON=python3.12`.
Add the following lines to your `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[dependencies]
arrow-udf-python = "0.4"
```
Create a `Runtime` and define your Python functions in string form.
Note that the function name must match the one you pass to `add_function`.
```rust
use arrow_udf_python::{CallMode, Runtime};
let mut runtime = Runtime::new().unwrap();
let python_code = r#"
def gcd(a: int, b: int) -> int:
while b:
a, b = b, a % b
return a
"#;
let return_type = arrow_schema::DataType::Int32;
let mode = CallMode::ReturnNullOnNullInput;
runtime.add_function("gcd", return_type, mode, python_code).unwrap();
```
You can then call the python function on a `RecordBatch`:
```rust,ignore
let input: RecordBatch = ...;
let output: RecordBatch = runtime.call("gcd", &input).unwrap();
```
The python code will be run in an embedded CPython 3.12 interpreter, powered by [PyO3](pyo3.rs).
See the [example](examples/python.rs) for more details.
## Struct Type
If the function returns a struct type, you can return a class instance or a dictionary.
```rust
use arrow_schema::{DataType, Field};
use arrow_udf_python::{CallMode, Runtime};
let mut runtime = Runtime::new().unwrap();
let python_code = r#"
class KeyValue:
def __init__(self, key, value):
self.key = key
self.value = value
def key_value(s: str):
key, value = s.split('=')
## return a class instance
return KeyValue(key, value)
## or return a dict
return {"key": key, "value": value}
"#;
let return_type = DataType::Struct(
vec![
Field::new("key", DataType::Utf8, true),
Field::new("value", DataType::Utf8, true),
]
.into(),
);
let mode = CallMode::ReturnNullOnNullInput;
runtime.add_function("key_value", return_type, mode, python_code).unwrap();
```
## Extension Type
This crate also supports the following [Arrow extension types](https://arrow.apache.org/docs/format/Columnar.html#extension-types):
| JSON | String | `arrowudf.json` | any (parsed by `json.loads`) |
| Decimal | String | `arrowudf.decimal` | decimal.Decimal |
| Pickle | Binary | `arrowudf.pickle` | any (parsed by `pickle.loads`) |
### Pickle Type
When a field is pickle type, the data is stored in a binary array in serialized form.
```rust
# use arrow_schema::{Field, DataType};
# use arrow_array::BinaryArray;
let pickle_field = Field::new("pickle", DataType::Binary, true)
.with_metadata([("ARROW:extension:name".into(), "arrowudf.pickle".into())].into());
let pickle_array = BinaryArray::from(vec![&b"xxxxx"[..]]);
```
Pickle type is useful for the state of aggregation functions when the state is complex.