---
title: "Versioned Tables"
weight: 4
type: docs
aliases:
  - /dev/table/streaming/versioned_tables.html
  - /dev/table/streaming/temporal_tables.html
---
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# Versioned Tables

Flink SQL operates over dynamic tables that evolve, which may either be append-only or updating. 
Versioned tables represent a special type of updating table that remembers the past values for each key.

## Concept

Dynamic tables define relations over time. 
Often, particularly when working with metadata, a key's old value does not become irrelevant when it changes. 

Flink SQL can define versioned tables over any dynamic table with a `PRIMARY KEY` constraint and time attribute. 

A primary key constraint in Flink means that a column or set of columns of a table or view are unique and non-null.
The primary key semantic on a upserting table means the materialized changes for a particular key (`INSERT`/`UPDATE`/`DELETE`) represent the changes to a single row over time. The time attribute on a upserting table defines when each change occurred.

Taken together, Flink can track the changes to a row over time and maintain the period for which each value was valid for that key.

Suppose a table tracks the prices of different products in a store. 

```sql
(changelog kind)  update_time  product_id product_name price
================= ===========  ========== ============ ===== 
+(INSERT)         00:01:00     p_001      scooter      11.11
+(INSERT)         00:02:00     p_002      basketball   23.11
-(UPDATE_BEFORE)  12:00:00     p_001      scooter      11.11
+(UPDATE_AFTER)   12:00:00     p_001      scooter      12.99
-(UPDATE_BEFORE)  12:00:00     p_002      basketball   23.11 
+(UPDATE_AFTER)   12:00:00     p_002      basketball   19.99
-(DELETE)         18:00:00     p_001      scooter      12.99 
```

Given this set of changes, we track how the price of a scooter changes over time.
It is initially $11.11 at `00:01:00` when added to the catalog.
The price then rises to $12.99 at `12:00:00` before being deleted from the catalog at `18:00:00`.

If we queried the table for various products' prices at different times, we would retrieve different results. At `10:00:00` the table would show one set of prices.

```sql
update_time  product_id product_name price
===========  ========== ============ ===== 
00:01:00     p_001      scooter      11.11
00:02:00     p_002      basketball   23.11
```


While at `13:00:00,` we would find another set of prices.

```sql
update_time  product_id product_name price
===========  ========== ============ ===== 
12:00:00     p_001      scooter      12.99
12:00:00     p_002      basketball   19.99
```

## Versioned Table Sources

Versioned tables are defined implicitly for any tables whose underlying sources or formats directly define changelogs.
Examples include the [upsert Kafka]({{< ref "docs/connectors/table/upsert-kafka" >}}) source as well as database changelog
formats such as [debezium]({{< ref "docs/connectors/table/formats/debezium" >}}) and [canal]({{< ref "docs/connectors/table/formats/canal" >}}).
As discussed above, the only additional requirement is the `CREATE` table statement must contain a `PRIMARY KEY` and an event-time attribute. 

```sql
CREATE TABLE products (
	product_id    STRING,
	product_name  STRING,
	price         DECIMAL(32, 2),
	update_time   TIMESTAMP(3) METADATA FROM 'value.source.timestamp' VIRTUAL,
	PRIMARY KEY (product_id) NOT ENFORCED,
	WATERMARK FOR update_time AS update_time
) WITH (...);
```

## Versioned Table Views

Flink also supports defining versioned views if the underlying query contains a unique key constraint
and event-time attribute. Imagine an append-only table of currency rates. 

```sql
CREATE TABLE currency_rates (
	currency      STRING,
	rate          DECIMAL(32, 10),
	update_time   TIMESTAMP(3),
	WATERMARK FOR update_time AS update_time
) WITH (
	'connector' = 'kafka',
	'topic'	    = 'rates',
	'properties.bootstrap.servers' = 'localhost:9092',
	'format'    = 'json'
);
```

The table `currency_rates` contains a row for each currency &mdash; with respect to USD &mdash; 
and receives a new row each time the rate changes.
The `JSON` format does not support native changelog semantics, so Flink can only read this table as append-only.

```sql
(changelog kind) update_time   currency   rate
================ ============= =========  ====
+(INSERT)        09:00:00      Yen        102
+(INSERT)        09:00:00      Euro       114
+(INSERT)        09:00:00      USD        1
+(INSERT)        11:15:00      Euro       119
+(INSERT)        11:45:00      Pounds     107
+(INSERT)        11:49:00      Pounds     108
```

Flink interprets each row as an `INSERT` to the table, meaning we cannot define a `PRIMARY KEY` over currency.
However, it is clear to us (the query developer) that this table has all the necessary information to define a versioned table. 
Flink can reinterpret this table as a versioned table by defining a [deduplication query]({{< ref "docs/sql/reference/queries/deduplication" >}}#deduplication)
which produces an ordered changelog stream with an inferred primary key (currency) and event time (update_time). 

```sql
-- Define a versioned view
CREATE VIEW versioned_rates AS              
SELECT currency, rate, update_time              -- (1) `update_time` keeps the event time
  FROM (
      SELECT *,
      ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY currency  -- (2) the inferred unique key `currency` can be a primary key
         ORDER BY update_time DESC) AS rownum 
      FROM currency_rates)
WHERE rownum = 1; 

-- the view `versioned_rates` will produce a changelog as the following.
(changelog kind) update_time currency   rate
================ ============= =========  ====
+(INSERT)        09:00:00      Yen        102
+(INSERT)        09:00:00      Euro       114
+(INSERT)        09:00:00      USD        1
+(UPDATE_AFTER)  11:15:00      Euro       119
+(INSERT)        11:45:00      Pounds     107
+(UPDATE_AFTER)  11:49:00      Pounds     108
```

Flink has a special optimization step that will efficiently transform this query into a versioned
table usable in subsequent queries.
In general, the results of a query with the following format produces a versioned table:

```sql
SELECT [column_list]
FROM table_name
QUALIFY ROW_NUMBER() OVER ([PARTITION BY col1[, col2...]] ORDER BY time_attr [asc|desc]) = 1
```

**Parameter Specification:**

- `ROW_NUMBER()`: Assigns an unique, sequential number to each row, starting with one.
- `PARTITION BY col1[, col2...]`: Specifies the partition columns, i.e. the deduplicate key. These columns form the primary key of the subsequent versioned table.
- `ORDER BY time_attr DESC`: Specifies the ordering column, it must be a [time attribute]({{< ref "docs/concepts/sql-table-concepts/time_attributes" >}}).
- `WHERE rownum = 1`: The `rownum = 1` is required for Flink to recognize this query is to generate a versioned table.

{{< top >}}
