IValue: environment friendly illustration of dynamic varieties in C++

Introduction

In conventional SQL methods, a column’s sort is set when the desk is created, and by no means modifications whereas executing a question. If you happen to create a desk with an integer-valued column, the values in that column will all the time be integers (or presumably NULL).

Rockset, nonetheless, is dynamically typed, which signifies that we regularly do not know the kind of a price till we truly execute the question. That is much like different dynamically typed programming languages, the place the identical variable might comprise values of various varieties at completely different time limits:

$ python3
>>> a = 3
>>> sort(a)
<class 'int'>
>>> a="foo"
>>> sort(a)
<class 'str'>

Rockset’s sort system was initially primarily based on JSON, and has since been prolonged to assist different varieties as effectively:

• bytes: taking a cue from Python, we distinguish between sequences of legitimate Unicode characters (string, which is internally represented as UTF-8) and sequences of arbitrary bytes (bytes)
• date- and time-specific varieties (date, time, datetime, timestamp, microsecond_interval, month_interval)

There are different varieties that we use internally (and are by no means uncovered to our customers); additionally, the kind system is extensible, with deliberate assist for decimal (base-10 floating-point), geometry / geography varieties, and others.

Within the following instance, assortment ivtest has paperwork containing one area a, which takes quite a lot of varieties:

$ rock create assortment ivtest
Assortment "ivtest" was created efficiently in workspace "commons".

$ cat /tmp/a.docs
{"a": 2}
{"a": "hey"}
{"a": null}
{"a": {"b": 10}}
{"a": [2, "foo"]}

$ rock add ivtest /tmp/a.docs
{
 "file_name":"a.docs",
 "file_upload_id":"c5ccc261-0096-4a73-8dfe-d6db8b8d130e",
 "uploaded_at":"2019-06-05T18:12:46Z"
}

$ rock sql
> choose typeof(a), a from ivtest order by a;
+-----------+------------+
| ?typeof   | a          |
|-----------+------------|
| null_type | <null>     |
| int       | 2          |
| string    | hey      |
| array     | [2, 'foo'] |
| object    | {'b': 10}  |
+-----------+------------+
Time: 0.014s

This publish exhibits one in all many challenges that we encountered whereas constructing a completely dynamically typed SQL database: how we manipulate values of unknown varieties in our question execution backend (written in C++), whereas approaching the efficiency of utilizing native varieties immediately.

At first, we used protocol buffers much like the definition beneath (simplified to solely present integers, floats, strings, arrays, and objects; the precise oneof that we use has a number of additional fields):

message Worth {
  oneof value_union {
    int64 int_value = 1;
    double float_value = 2;
    string string_value = 3;
    ArrayValue array_value = 4;
    ObjectValue object_value = 5;
  }
}

message ArrayValue {
  repeated Worth values = 1;
}

message ObjectValue {
  repeated KeyValue kvs = 1;
}

message KeyValue {
  string key = 1;
  Worth worth = 2;
}   

However we shortly realized that that is inefficient, each when it comes to pace and when it comes to reminiscence utilization. First, protobuf requires a heap reminiscence allocation for each object; making a Worth that incorporates an array of 10 integers would carry out:

• a reminiscence allocation for the top-level Worth
• an allocation for the array_value member
• an allocation for the record of values (ArrayValue.values, which is a RepeatedPtrField)
• an allocation for every of the ten values within the array

for a complete of 13 reminiscence allocations.

Additionally, the ten values within the array usually are not allotted contiguously in reminiscence, which causes an extra lower in efficiency on account of cache locality.

It was shortly clear that we would have liked one thing higher, which we referred to as IValue. In comparison with the protobuf model, IValue is:

• Extra reminiscence environment friendly: whereas not as environment friendly as utilizing native varieties immediately, IValue have to be small, and should keep away from heap allocations wherever doable. IValue is all the time 16 bytes, and doesn’t allocate heap reminiscence for integers, booleans, floating-point numbers, and brief strings.
• Sooner: arrays of scalar IValues are allotted contiguously in reminiscence, main to higher cache locality. This isn’t as environment friendly as utilizing native varieties immediately, however it’s a vital enchancment over protobuf.

Most of Rockset’s question execution engine operates on IValues (there are some elements which have specialised implementation for particular varieties, and that is an space of energetic enchancment).

We would prefer to share an outline of the IValue design. Observe that IValue is optimized for Rockset’s wants and isn’t meant to be moveable — we use Linux and x86_64-specific methods, and assume a little-endian reminiscence format.

The thought is in itself not novel; the methods that we use date again to not less than 1993, as surveyed in “Representing Kind Info in Dynamically Typed Languages”. We determined to make IValue 128 bits as an alternative of 64, because it permits us to keep away from heap allocations in additional circumstances (together with all 64-bit integers); utilizing the taxonomy outlined within the paper, IValue is a double-wrapper scheme with qualifiers.

Internally, IValue is represented as a 128-bit (16-byte) worth, consisting of:

• a 64-bit area (referred to as information)
• a 48-bit area (referred to as pointer, because it usually, however not all the time, shops a pointer)
• two 8-bit discriminator fields (referred to as tag0 and tag1)

tag1 signifies the kind of the worth. tag0 is normally a subtype, and the which means of the opposite two fields modifications relying on sort. The pointer area is commonly a pointer to another information construction, allotted on the heap, for the circumstances the place heap allocations cannot be averted; as pointers are solely 48 bits on x86_64, we’re in a position to match a pointer and the 2 discriminator fields in the identical uint64_t.

We acknowledge two sorts of IValues:

tag1 has bit 7 clear (tag1 < 0x80) for all rapid values, and set (tag1 >= 0x80) for all non-immediate values. This permits us to differentiate between rapid and non-immediate values in a short time, utilizing one easy bit operation. We will then copy, hash, and examine for equality rapid values by treating them as a pair of uint64_t integers.

Scalar Sorts

The illustration for many scalar varieties is simple: tag0 is normally zero, tag1 identifies the kind, pointer is normally zero, and information incorporates the worth.

SQL NULL is all zeros, which is handy (memset()ing a piece of reminiscence to zero makes it NULL when interpreted as IValue):

Booleans have information = 0 for false and information = 1 for true, tag1 = 0x01

Integers have the worth saved in information (as int64_t) and tag1 = 0x02

And so forth. The layouts for different scalar varieties (floating level, date / time, and many others) are related.

Strings

We deal with character strings and byte strings equally; the worth of tag1 is the one distinction. For the remainder of the part, we’ll solely give attention to character strings.

IValue strings are immutable, preserve the string’s size explicitly, and usually are not null-terminated. In step with our purpose to reduce heap allocations, IValue would not use any exterior reminiscence for brief strings (lower than 16 bytes).

As a substitute, we implement the small string optimization: we retailer the string contents (padded with nulls) within the information, pointer, and tag0 fields; we retailer the string size within the tag1 area: tag1 is 0x1n, the place n is the string’s size.

An empty string has tag1 = 0x10 and all different bytes zero:

And, for instance, the 11-byte string “Hi there world” has tag1 = 0x1b (word the little-endian illustration; the byte 'H' is first):

Strings longer than 15 bytes are saved out-of-line: tag1 is 0x80, pointer factors to the start of the string (allotted on the heap utilizing malloc()), and information incorporates the string size. (There’s additionally the opportunity of referencing a “overseas” string, the place IValue would not personal the reminiscence however factors inside a preallocated buffer, however that’s past the scope of this publish.)

For instance, the 19-byte string “Rockset is superior!”:

Vectors

Vectors (which we name “arrays”, adopting JSON’s terminology) are equally allotted on the heap: they’re much like vectors in most programming languages (together with C++’s std::vector). tag1 is 0x82, pointer factors to the start of the vector (allotted on the heap utilizing malloc()), and information incorporates the vector’s dimension and capability (32 bits every). The vector itself is a contiguously allotted block of capability() IValues (capability() * 16 bytes); when reallocation is required, the vector grows exponentially (with an element that’s lower than 2, for the explanations described in Fb’s fbvector implementation.)

Hash Maps

Maps (which we name “objects”, adopting JSON’s terminology) are additionally allotted on the heap. We characterize objects as open-addressing hash tables with quadratic probing; the scale of the desk is all the time an influence of two, which simplifies probing. We probe with triangular numbers, identical to Google’s sparsehash, which. as Knuth tells us in The Artwork of Pc Programming (quantity 3, chapter 6.4, train 20), mechanically covers all slots.

Every hash desk slot is 32 bytes — two IValues, one for the important thing, one for the worth. As is normally the case with open-addressing hash tables, we want two particular keys — one to characterize empty slots, and one to characterize deleted components (tombstones). We reserve two values of tag1 for that goal (0x06 and 0x05, respectively).

The pointer area factors to the start of the hash desk (a contiguous array of slots, allotted on the heap utilizing malloc().) We retailer the present dimension of the hash desk within the least-significant 32 bits of the information area. The tag0 area incorporates the variety of allotted slots (because it’s all the time an influence of two, we retailer log2(variety of slots) + 1, or zero if the desk is empty).

The capability area (most important 32 bits of information) deserves additional curiosity: it’s the variety of slots out there for storing person information. Initially, it’s the similar as the full variety of slots, however, as in all open-addressing hash tables, erasing a component from the desk marks the slot as “deleted” and renders it unusable till the subsequent rehash. So erasing a component truly decreases the desk’s capability.

Efficiency

IValue provides a considerable efficiency enchancment over the previous protobuf-based implementation:

• creating arrays of strings is between 2x and 7x sooner (relying on the string dimension; due to the small-string optimization, IValue is considerably sooner for small strings)
• creating arrays of integers can also be 7x sooner (as a result of we now not allocate reminiscence for each particular person array aspect)
• iterating over giant arrays of integers is 3x sooner (as a result of the values within the array are actually allotted contiguously)

Future Work

Though Rockset paperwork are allowed to comprise information of a number of varieties in the identical area, the state of affairs proven within the introduction is comparatively uncommon. In observe, many of the information is of the identical sort (or NULL), and, to acknowledge this, we’re extending IValue to assist homogeneous arrays.

All components in a homogeneous array are of the identical sort (or NULL). The construction is much like the common (heterogeneous) arrays (described above), however the pointer area factors on to an array of the native sort (int64_t for an array of integers, double for an array of floating-point values, and many others). Much like methods like Apache Arrow, we additionally preserve an optionally available bitmap that signifies whether or not a selected worth is NULL or not.

The question execution code acknowledges the widespread case the place it produces a column of values of the identical sort, through which case it would generate a homogeneous array. We’ve got environment friendly, vectorized implementations of widespread database operations on homogeneous arrays, permitting us vital efficiency enhancements within the widespread case.

That is nonetheless an space of energetic work, and benchmark outcomes are forthcoming.

Conclusion

We hope that you just loved a quick look beneath the hood of Rockset’s engine. Sooner or later, we’ll share extra particulars about our approaches to constructing a completely dynamically typed SQL database; if you would like to offer us a attempt, join an account; if you would like to assist construct this, we’re hiring!