Elusion ๐ฆ DataFrame Library for Everybody!

Elusion is a high-performance DataFrame library, for in-memory data formats (CSV, JSON, PARQUET, DELTA). Built on top of DataFusion SQL query engine, for managing and querying data using a DataFrame-like interface. Designed for developers who need a powerful abstraction over data transformations, Elusion simplifies complex operations such as filtering, joining, aggregating, and more with an intuitive, chainable API.
SQL API is fully supported out of the gate, for writing Raw SQL Queries on in-memory data formats (.csv, .json, .parquet, DELTA).
Motivation
DataFusion SQL engine has great potential in Data Engineering / Data Analytics world, but I believe that design choices for SQL and DataFrame API do not resemble popular DataFrame solutions out there, and I am here to narrow this gap, by rewriting, from scratch, all functions, readers, writers... and creating easily chainable constructs for anybody to use and understand.
Key Features
๐ High-Performance DataFrame Operations
- Load and process data from CSV files with ease.
- Perform SQL-like transformations such as
SELECT,WHERE,GROUP BY, andJOIN.
๐ Aggregations and Analytics
- Built-in support for functions like
SUM,AVG,MIN,MAX,COUNT, and more. - Advanced statistical functions like
CORR,STDDEV,VAR_POP,ApproxPercentileand more.
๐ Flexible Joins
- Join tables with various join types (
INNER,LEFT,RIGHT,FULL, etc.). - Intuitive syntax for specifying join conditions and aliases.
๐ช Window Functions
- Add analytical window functions like
RANK,DENSE_RANK,ROW_NUMBER, and custom partition-based calculations.
๐งน Clean SQL Query Construction
- Construct readable and reusable SQL queries.
- Support for Common Table Expressions (CTEs), subqueries, and set operations (
UNION,INTERSECT,EXCEPT).
๐ ๏ธ Easy-to-Use API
-
Chainable and intuitive API for building queries.
-
Readable debug output of generated SQL for verification.
-
Data Preview: Preview your data easily by displaying a subset of rows in the terminal.
-
Composable Queries: Chain transformations seamlessly to build reusable and testable workflows.
Installation
To add Elusion to your Rust project, include the following lines in your Cargo.toml under [dependencies]:
= "0.4.0"
= { = "1.42.0", = ["rt-multi-thread"] }
Rust version needed
>= 1.81
Usage examples:
MAIN function
async
MAIN function with small example
use *; // Import everything needed
async
Schema establishing
SCHEMA IS AUTOMATICALLY INFERED from v0.2.5
LOADing Files into CustomDAtaFrame
File extensions are automatically recognized
All you have to do is to provide path to your file
Currently supported data files: CSV, PARQUET, JSON, DELTA
let sales_data = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\sales_data.csv";
let parq_path = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\prod_data.parquet";
let json_path = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\db_data.json";
let delta_path = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\agg_sales"; //you just specify folder name withiut extension
Creating CustomDataFrame
2 arguments needed: Path, Table Alias
let df_sales = new.await;
let df_customers = new.await;
RULE of thumb:
ALL Column names and Dataframe alias names, will be LOWERCASE(), TRIM(), REPLACE(" ", "_"), regardles of how you write it, or how they are writen in CSV file.
Aggregation column Aliases will be LOWERCASE() regardles of how you write it.
ALIAS column names in SELECT() function (AS is case insensitive)
let customers_alias = df_customers
.select;
JOIN
currently implemented join types
"INNER"
"LEFT"
"RIGHT"
"FULL"
"LEFT SEMI"
"RIGHT SEMI"
"LEFT ANTI"
"RIGHT ANTI"
"LEFT MARK"
JOIN example with 2 dataframes
// join with 2 dataframes
let join_df = df_sales
.join
.select
.limit;
join_df.display.await?;
JOIN with 3 dataframes, AGGREGATION, GROUP BY, HAVING, SELECT, ORDER BY
let three_joins = df_sales
.join
.join
.aggregation
.group_by
.having
.select
.order_by
.limit;
three_joins.display.await?;
SELECT without Aggregation
let result_sales = sales_order_data
.select
.filter
.order_by
.limit;
result_sales.display.await?;
SELECT with Mulitiple Aggregations
let result_df = sales_order_data
.aggregation
.group_by
.having
.select // SELECT is used with Final columns after aggregation
.order_by
.limit;
result_df.display.await?;
FILTER
let result_sales = sales_order_data
.select
.filter
.order_by
.limit;
result_sales.display.await?;
Raw SQL Querying
FULL SQL SUPPORT is available
let sales_data = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\SalesData2022.csv";
let customers_data = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\Customers.csv";
let products_data = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\Products.csv";
let df_sales = new.await;
let df_customers = new.await;
let df_products = new.await;
// Query on 1 DataFrame
let sql_one = "
SELECT
CAST(BirthDate AS DATE) as date_of_birth,
CONCAT(firstname, ' ',lastname) as full_name
FROM CUSTOMERS
LIMIT 10;
";
let result_one = df_customers.raw_sql.await?;
result_one.display.await?;
// Query on 2 DataFrames
let sql_two = "
WITH agg_sales AS (
SELECT
CustomerKey,
SUM(OrderQuantity) AS total_order_quantity,
COUNT(OrderLineItem) AS total_orders
FROM sales
GROUP BY CustomerKey
),
customer_details AS (
SELECT
*
FROM customers
)
SELECT
cd.*,
asales.total_order_quantity,
asales.total_orders
FROM agg_sales asales
INNER JOIN customer_details cd ON asales.CustomerKey = cd.CustomerKey
ORDER BY asales.total_order_quantity DESC
LIMIT 100;
";
let result_two = df_sales.raw_sql.await?;
result_two.display.await?;
// Query on 3 DataFrames (same approach is used on any number of DataFrames)
let sql_three = "
SELECT c.CustomerKey, c.FirstName, c.LastName, p.ProductName,
SUM(s.OrderQuantity) AS TotalQuantity
FROM
sales s
INNER JOIN
customers c
ON
s.CustomerKey = c.CustomerKey
INNER JOIN
products p
ON
s.ProductKey = p.ProductKey
GROUP BY c.CustomerKey, c.FirstName, c.LastName, p.ProductName
ORDER BY
TotalQuantity DESC
LIMIT 100;
";
// we need to provide dataframe names in raw_sql that are included in query, as well as new alias ex:"sales_summary" for further use of dataframe if needed
let result_three = df_sales.raw_sql.await?;
result_three.display.await?;
JSON files
Currently supported files can include: Arrays, Objects. Best usage if you can make it flat ("key":"value")
for JSON, all field types are infered to VARCHAR/TEXT/STRING
// example json structure
let json_path = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\test.json";
let json_df = new.await;
// example json structure
let json_path = "C:\\Borivoj\\RUST\\Elusion\\test2.json";
let json_df = new.await;
Then you can do business as usual, either with DataFrame API or SQL API
let json_sql = "
SELECT * FROM test LIMIT 10
";
// "labels" is set as new alias for result_json dataframe
let result_json = json_df.raw_sql.await?;
result_json.display.await?;
WRITERS
Writing to Parquet File
We have 2 writing modes: Overwrite and Append
// overwrite existing file
result_df
.write_to_parquet
.await
.expect;
//append to exisiting file
result_df
.write_to_parquet
.await
.expect;
Writing to CSV File
CSV Writing options are mandatory
has_headers: TRUE is dynamically set for Overwrite mode, and FALSE for Append mode.
let custom_csv_options = CsvWriteOptions ;
We have 2 writing modes: Overwrite and Append
// overwrite existing file
result_df
.write_to_csv
.await
.expect;
//append to exisiting file
result_df
.write_to_csv
.await
.expect;
Writing to DELTA table / lake
We can write to delta in 2 modes Overwrite and Append
Partitioning column is optional
DISCLAIMER: if you decide to use column for partitioning, make sure that you don't need that column as you wont be able to read it back to dataframe
DISCLAIMER 2: once you decide to use partitioning column for writing your delta table, if you want to APPEND to it, Append also need to have same column for partitioning
// Overwrite
result_df
.write_to_delta_table
.await
.expect;
// Append
result_df
.write_to_delta_table
.await
.expect;
Current Clause functions (some still under development)
load
select
group_by
order_by
limit
filter
having
join
window
aggregation
from_subquery
union
intersect
except
display
Current Aggregation functions (soon to be more)
Sum
Avg
Min
Max
StdDev
Count
CountDistinct
Corr
Grouping
VarPop
StdDevPop
ArrayAgg
ApproxPercentile
FirstValue
NthValue
License
Elusion is distributed under the MIT License. However, since it builds upon DataFusion, which is distributed under the Apache License 2.0, some parts of this project are subject to the terms of the Apache License 2.0. For full details, see the LICENSE.txt file.
Acknowledgments
This library leverages the power of Rust's type system and libraries like DataFusion , Arrow for efficient query processing. Special thanks to the open-source community for making this project possible.
๐ง Disclaimer: Under Development ๐ง
This crate is currently under active development and testing. It is not considered stable or ready for production use.
We are actively working to improve the features, performance, and reliability of this library. Breaking changes might occur between versions as we continue to refine the API and functionality.
If you want to contribute or experiment with the crate, feel free to do so, but please be aware of the current limitations and evolving nature of the project.
Thank you for your understanding and support!
Where you can find me:
LindkedIn - LinkedIn YouTube channel - YouTube Udemy Instructor - Udemy