1. SQL Language Reference
  2. Functions
  3. JSON_TRANSFORM

JSON_TRANSFORM

Syntax


Description of json_transform.eps follows
Description of the illustration json_transform.eps

(operation::=, JSON_TRANSFORM_returning_clause::=, JSON_passing_clause::= )

JSON_TRANSFORM_returning_clause::=

Description of json_transform_returning_clause.eps follows
Description of the illustration json_transform_returning_clause.eps

JSON_passing_clause::=

For details on JSON_passing_clause see JSON_EXISTS Condition.

operation ::=

Description of operation.eps follows
Description of the illustration operation.eps

(append_op::=, case_op::=,copy_op::=,insert_op::=,intersect_op::=,keep_op::=,merge_op::=,minus_op::=,nested_path_op::=,prepend_op::=,remove_op::=,rename_op::=,replace_op::=,set_op,sort_op,union_op,)

append_op ::=


Description of append_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration append_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

case_op::=


Description of case_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration case_op.eps

copy_op::=


Description of copy_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration copy_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

insert_op ::=


Description of insert_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration insert_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

intersect_op::=


Description of intersect_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration intersect_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

keep_op ::=


Description of keep_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration keep_op.eps

merge_op::=


Description of merge_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration merge_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

minus_op::=


Description of minus_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration minus_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

nested_path_op::=

Description of nested_path_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration nested_path_op.eps

prepend_op::=


Description of prepend_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration prepend_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

remove_op ::=


Description of remove_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration remove_op.eps

rename_op ::=


Description of rename_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration rename_op.eps

replace_op ::=


Description of replace_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration replace_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

set_op ::=


Description of set_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration set_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

sort_op::=

Description of sort_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration sort_op.eps

union_op::=


Description of union_op.eps follows
Description of the illustration union_op.eps

rhs_expr::=

rhs_expr ::=


Description of rhs_expr.eps follows
Description of the illustration rhs_expr.eps

Purpose

JSON_TRANSFORM modifies JSON documents. You specify operations to perform and SQL/JSON path expressions that target the places to modify. The operations are applied to the input data in the order specified: each operation acts on the data that results from applying all of the preceding operations.

JSON_TRANSFORM either succeeds completely or not at all. If any of the specified operations raises an error, then none of the operations take effect. JSON_TRANSFORM returns the original data changed according to the operations specified.

You can use the JSON_TRANSFORM within the UPDATE statement to modify documents in a JSON column.

You can use it in a SELECT list, to modify the selected documents. The modified documents can be returned or processed further.

JSON_TRANSFORM can accept as input, and return as output, any SQL data type that supports JSON data: JSON, VARCHAR2, CLOB, or BLOB. Note that data type JSON is available only if database initialization parameter compatible is 20 or greater.

The default return (output) data type is the same as the input data type.

See Also:

Oracle SQL Function JSON_TRANSFORM of the JSON Developer's Guide for a full discussion with examples.

JSON_TRANSFORM Operations

  • Use APPEND to append the values that are specified by the RHS to the array that is targeted by the LHS path expression.

    APPEND has the effect of INSERT for an array position of last+1.

    An error is raised if the LHS path expression targets an existing field whose value is not an array.

    If the RHS targets an array then the LHS array is updated by appending the elements of the RHS array to it, in order.

  • Use CASE to set conditions to perform a sequence of JSON_TRANSFORM operations.

    This is a control operation that conditionally applies other operations, which in turn can modify data.

    The syntax is keyword CASE followed by one or more WHEN clauses, followed optionally by an ELSE clause, followed by END.

    A WHEN clause is keyword WHEN followed by a path expression, followed by a THEN clause.

    The path expression contains a filter condition, which checks for the existence of some data.

    A THEN or an ELSE clause is keyword THEN or ELSE, respectively, followed by parentheses (()) containing zero or more JSON_TRANSFORM operations.

    The operations of a THEN clause are performed if the condition of its WHEN clause is satisfied. The operations of the optional ELSE clause are performed if the condition of no WHEN clause is satisfied.

    The syntax of the JSON_TRANSFORM CASE operation is thus essentially the same as an Oracle SQL searched CASE expression, except that it is the predicate that is tested and the resulting effect of each THEN/ELSE branch.

    For SQL, the predicate tested is a SQL comparison. For JSON_TRANSFORM, the predicate is a path expression that checks for the existence of some data. (The check is essentially done using JSON_EXISTS.)

    For SQL, each THEN/ELSE branch holds a SQL expression to evaluate, and its value is returned as the result of the CASE expression. For json_transform, each THEN/ELSE branch holds a (parenthesized) sequence of JSON_TRANSFORM operations, which are performed in order.

    The conditional path expressions of the WHEN clauses are tested in order, until one succeeds (those that follow are not tested). The THEN operations for the successful WHEN test are then performed, in order.

  • Use COPY to replace the elements of the array that is targeted by the LHS path expression with the values that are specified by the RHS. An error is raised if the LHS path expression does not target an array. The operation can accept a sequence of multiple values matched by the RHS path expression.

  • INSERT Insert the value of the specified SQL expression at the location that's targeted by the specified path expression that follows the equal sign (=), which must be either the field of an object or an array position (otherwise, an error is raised). By default, an error is raised if a targeted object field already exists.

    INSERT for an object field has the effect of SET with clause CREATE ON MISSING (default for SET), except that the default behavior for ON EXISTING is ERROR, not REPLACE.)

    You can specify an array position past the current end of an array. In that case, the array is lengthened to accommodate insertion of the value at the indicated position, and the intervening positions are filled with JSON null values.

    For example, if the input JSON data is {"a":["b"]} then INSERT '$.a[3]'=42 returns {"a":["b", null, null 42]} as the modified data. The elements at array positions 1 and 2 are null.

  • Use INTERSECT to remove all elements of the array that is targeted by the LHS path expression that are not equal to any value specified by the RHS. Remove any duplicate elements. Note that this is a set operation. The order of all array elements is undefined after the operation.

  • Use MERGE to add specified fields (name and value) matched by the RHS path expression to the object that is targeted by the LHS path expression. Ignore any fields specified by the RHS that are already in the targeted LHS object. If the same field is specified more than once by the RHS then use only the last one in the sequence of matches.

  • Use MINUS to remove all elements of the array that is targeted by the LHS path expression that are equal to a value specified by the RHS. Remove any duplicate elements. Note that this is a set operation. The order of all array elements is undefined after the operation.

  • KEEP removes all parts of the input data that are not targeted by at least one of the specified path expressions. A topmost object or array is not removed, it is emptied and becomes an empty object ({}) or array ([]).

  • Use NESTED PATH to define a scope (a particular part of your data) in which to apply a sequence of operations.

  • Use PREPEND to prepend the values that are specified by the RHS to the array that is targeted by the LHS path expression. The operation can accept a sequence of multiple values matched by the RHS path expression.

    An error is raised if the LHS path expression targets an existing field whose value is not an array.

    When prepending a single value, PREPEND has the effect of INSERT for an array position of 0.

    If the RHS targets an array then the LHS array is updated by prepending the elements of the RHS array to it, in order.

  • REMOVE Remove the input data that's targeted by the specified path expression. An error is raised if you try to remove all of the data, for example you cannot use REMOVE '$'. By default, no error is raised if the targeted data does not exist (IGNORE ON MISSING).

  • RENAME renames the field that is targeted by the specified path expression to the value of the SQL expression that follows the equal sign (=). By default, no error is raised if the targeted field does not exist (IGNORE ON MISSING).

  • REPLACE replaces the data that's targeted by the specified path expression with the value of the specified SQL expression that follows the equal sign (=). By default, no error is raised if the targeted data does not exist (IGNORE ON MISSING).

    REPLACE has the effect of SET with clause IGNORE ON MISSING.

  • SET Set what the LHS specifies to the value specified by what follows the equal sign (=). The LHS can be either a SQL/JSON variable or a path expression that targets data. If the RHS is a SQL expression then its value is assigned to the LHS variable. When the LHS specifies a path expression, the default behavior is to replace existing targeted data with the new value, or insert the new value at the targeted location if the path expression matches nothing. (See operator INSERT about inserting an array element past the end of the array.)

  • When the LHS specifies a SQL/JSON variable, the variable is dynamically assigned to whatever is specified by the RHS. (The variable is created if it does not yet exist.) The variable continues to have that value until it is set to a different value by a subsequent SET operation (in the same JSON_TRANSFORM invocation).

    If the RHS is a path expression then its targeted data is assigned to the variable.

    Setting a variable is a control operation; it can affect how subsequent operations modify data, but it does not, itself, directly modify data.

    When the LHS specifies a path expression, the default behavior is like that of SQL UPSERT: replace existing targeted data with the new value, or insert the new value at the targeted location if the path expression matches nothing. (See operator INSERT about inserting an array element past the end of the array.)

  • SORT sorts the elements of the array targeted by the specified path. The result includes all elements of the array (none are dropped); the only possible change is that they are reordered.

  • Use UNION to add the values specified by the RHS to the array that is targeted by the LHS path expression. Remove any duplicate elements. The operation can accept a sequence of multiple values matched by the RHS path expression. Note that this is a set operation. The order of all array elements is undefined after the operation.

JSON_TRANSFORM_returning_clause

After you specify the operations you can use JSON_TRANSFORM_returning_clause to specify the return data type.

JSON_passing_clause

You can use JSON_passing_clause to specify SQL bindings of bind variables to SQL/JSON variables similar to the JSON_EXISTS condition and the SQL/JSON query functions.

Examples

Example 1 : Update a JSON Column with a Timestamp

UPDATE t SET jcol = JSON_TRANSFORM(jcol, SET '$.lastUpdated' = SYSTIMESTAMP)

Example 2 : Remove a Social Security Number before Shipping JSON to a Client

SELECT JSON_TRANSFORM (jcol, REMOVE '$.ssn') FROM t WHERE …

JSON_TRANSFORM_returning_clause

If the input data is JSON, then the output data type is also JSON. For all other input types, the default output data type is VARCHAR2(4000).