Spark array contains multiple values. contains(other) [source] # Contains the other element.
Spark array contains multiple values ArrayType (ArrayType extends DataType class) is used to define an array data type column on DataFrame that holds the same type of elements, In this article, I will explain how to create a DataFrame ArrayType column using pyspark. I need to unpack the array values into rows so I can list the distinct values. In this example, the function returns TRUE because the value_expr argument is 'hello' and the array contains a VARIANT value that stores the string 'hello': Filter spark DataFrame on string contains Asked 9 years, 9 months ago Modified 6 years, 2 months ago Viewed 200k times array_contains The Spark functions object provides helper methods for working with ArrayType columns. Spark provides several functions to check if a value exists in a list, primarily isin and array_contains, along with SQL expressions and custom approaches. reduce the number of rows in a DataFrame). Then let’s use array_contains to append a likes_red column that returns true if the person likes Parameters cols Column or str Column names or Column objects that have the same data type. a, None)) But it does not work and throws an error: AnalysisException: "cannot resolve 'array_contains (a, NULL)' due to data type mismatch: Null typed values cannot be used as arguments;;\n'Filter array_contains (a#166, null)\n+- LogicalRDD [a#166], false\n How should I filter in the correct way? Many thanks! Apr 6, 2025 · Learn the syntax of the array\\_contains function of the SQL language in Databricks SQL and Databricks Runtime. Jul 23, 2025 · To split multiple array column data into rows Pyspark provides a function called explode (). filter(array_contains(test_df. . How to Create an Array Type Column in Spark I want to filter a List, and I only want to keep a string if the string contains . series(), in operator, pyspark. array_join(col, delimiter, null_replacement=None) [source] # Array function: Returns a string column by concatenating the elements of the input array column using the delimiter. g: Suppose I want to filter a column contains beef, Beef: I can do: beefDF=df. Oct 10, 2023 · apache-spark-sql: Matching multiple values using ARRAY_CONTAINS in Spark SQLThanks for taking the time to learn more. In this video I'll go through your ques Learn how to efficiently use the array contains function in Databricks to streamline your data analysis and manipulation. For more array functions, you can refer my another article. Oct 12, 2023 · This tutorial explains how to use a case-insensitive "contains" in PySpark, including an example. Returns Column A new Column of array type, where each value is an array containing the corresponding values from the input columns. Spark developers previously needed to use UDFs to perform complicated array functions. This can be particularly useful when dealing with nested or repeated data structures. Jul 29, 2024 · The ARRAY_CONTAINS function is useful for filtering, especially when working with arrays that have more complex structures. Aug 19, 2025 · PySpark SQL contains () function is used to match a column value contains in a literal string (matches on part of the string), this is mostly used to filter rows on DataFrame. Mar 17, 2023 · Collection functions in Spark are functions that operate on a collection of data elements, such as an array or a sequence. They come in handy when we want to perform operations and transformations on array columns. So get out there, and start using array_contains () to match values within your arrays! Learn how to effectively query multiple values in an array with Spark SQL, including examples and common mistakes. Jul 30, 2009 · Functions ! != % & * + - / < << <= <=> <> = == > >= >> >>> ^ abs acos acosh add_months aes_decrypt aes_encrypt aggregate and any any_value approx_count_distinct approx_percentile array array_agg array_append array_compact array_contains array_distinct array_except array_insert array_intersect array_join array_max array_min array_position array_prepend array_remove array_repeat array_size array Nov 10, 2021 · I need to filter based on presence of "substrings" in a column containing strings in a Spark Dataframe. The new Spark functions make it easy to process array columns with native Spark. Introduction to array_contains function The array_contains function in PySpark is a powerful tool that allows you to check if a specified value exists within an array column. PySpark provides various functions to manipulate and extract information from array columns. 5. Here’s an overview of how to work with arrays in PySpark: Creating Arrays: You can create an array column using the array() function or by directly specifying an array literal. I have tried: Feb 7, 2023 · Hive comes with a set of collection functions to work with Map and Array data types. functions import explode df_exploded = df Mar 21, 2024 · Along with above things, we can use array_contains () and element_at () to search records from array field. It allows for distributed data processing, which is essential when dealing with large datasets. Working with arrays in PySpark allows you to handle collections of values within a Dataframe column. Sep 26, 2020 · I am new to pyspark and I want to explode array values in such a way that each value gets assigned to a new column. ArrayType class and applying some SQL functions on the array columns with examples. Dec 14, 2023 · Complex types in Spark — Arrays, Maps & Structs In Apache Spark, there are some complex data types that allows storage of multiple values in a single column in a data frame. Apr 26, 2024 · These Spark SQL array functions are grouped as collection functions “collection_funcs” in Spark SQL along with several map functions. DataFrame and I want to keep (so filter) all rows where the URL saved in the location column contains a pre-determined string, e. jpeg or . The array_contains method returns true if the column contains a specified element. Let’s create an array with people and their favorite colors. Sep 27, 2016 · 2 Another easy way to filter out null values from multiple columns in spark dataframe. 2 Input: Oct 27, 2024 · array_contains()GitHub Link: https://github. Apr 17, 2025 · Diving Straight into Filtering Rows by a List of Values in a PySpark DataFrame Filtering rows in a PySpark DataFrame based on whether a column’s values match a list of specified values is a powerful technique for data engineers using Apache Spark. con Mar 21, 2024 · Exploding Arrays: The explode(col) function explodes an array column to create multiple rows, one for each element in the array. Dec 23, 2022 · I have a table where the array column (cities) contains multiple arrays and some have multiple duplicate values. I'd like to use this list in order to write a where clause for my DataFrame and select only a subset on tuples. My question is related to: ARRAY_CONTAINS muliple values in hive, however I'm trying to achieve the above in a Python 2 Jupyter notebook. You can use array_contains () function either to derive a new boolean column or filter the DataFrame. Jun 20, 2016 · I'm working on a Spark Application (using Scala) and I have a List which contains multiple values. array_contains(col, value) [source] # Collection function: This function returns a boolean indicating whether the array contains the given value, returning null if the array is null, true if the array contains the given value, and false otherwise. com/enuganti/data-engineer/tree/main/PySpark/Array/5_array_contains#pyspark #pysparkinterviewquestions #learnpysp New Spark 3 Array Functions (exists, forall, transform, aggregate, zip_with) Spark 3 has new array functions that make working with ArrayType columns much easier. Mar 9, 2017 · Matching multiple values using ARRAY_CONTAINS in Spark SQL Asked 8 years, 8 months ago Modified 2 years, 4 months ago Viewed 16k times Oct 12, 2023 · This tutorial explains how to filter for rows in a PySpark DataFrame that contain one of multiple values, including an example. PySpark provides a handy contains() method to filter DataFrame rows based on substring or value existence. I tried using explode but I couldn't get the desired output. For non-string columns, the values are converted to strings before Feb 7, 2022 · I'm going to do a query with pyspark to filter row who contains at least one word in array. Column ¶ Collection function: returns null if the array is null, true if the array contains the given value, and false otherwise. where {val} is equal to some array of one or more elements. Mar 9, 2021 · 0 I need to find a count of occurrences of specific elements present in array, we can use array_contains function but I am looking for another solution that can work below spark 2. It returns a Boolean column indicating the presence of the element in the array. You can use these array manipulation functions to manipulate the array types. These functions allow you to manipulate and transform the data in various Explicit casting isn’t required for values of other data types. Aug 21, 2025 · In this article, I will explain how to use the array_contains() function with different examples, including single values, multiple values, NULL checks, filtering, and joins. The pyspark. DataFrame#filter method and Jul 30, 2009 · Functions ! != % & * + - / < << <= <=> <> = == > >= >> >>> ^ abs acos acosh add_months aes_decrypt aes_encrypt aggregate and any any_value approx_count_distinct approx_percentile array array_agg array_append array_compact array_contains array_distinct array_except array_insert array_intersect array_join array_max array_min array_position array_prepend array_remove array_repeat array_size array Searching for matching values in dataset columns is a frequent need when wrangling and analyzing data. SQL Array Functions in Spark Following are some of the most used array functions available in Spark SQL. Nov 12, 2021 · test_df. com'. With array_contains, you can easily determine whether a specific element is present in an array column, providing a Nov 5, 2021 · I can use array_contains to check whether an array contains a value. This article will Note From Apache Spark 3. Jun 3, 2021 · I am trying to use a filter, a case-when statement and an array_contains expression to filter and flag columns in my dataset and am trying to do so in a more efficient way than I currently am. Apr 27, 2025 · This document covers techniques for working with array columns and other collection data types in PySpark. These functions are used to find the size of the array, map types, get all map keys, values, sort array, and finding if an element exists in an array. contains # Column. We focus on common operations for manipulating, transforming, and converting arrays in DataFr Jul 10, 2023 · In the realm of big data processing, PySpark has emerged as a powerful tool for data scientists. Mar 26, 2024 · What are Array Type Columns in Spark DataFrame? Array-type columns in Spark DataFrame allow you to store arrays of values within a single column. column. It can be used in CASE WHEN clauses and to filter records in the WHERE Jan 27, 2017 · I have a large pyspark. Nov 5, 2025 · In Spark & PySpark, contains () function is used to match a column value contains in a literal string (matches on part of the string), this is mostly used to filter rows on DataFrame. Example: from pyspark. Aug 9, 2020 · Just wondering if there are any efficient ways to filter columns contains a list of value, e. Understanding their syntax and parameters is key to applying them effectively. Column. For example, the dataframe is: Filtering PySpark Arrays and DataFrame Array Columns This post explains how to filter values from a PySpark array column. In this article, we will check how to work with Spark SQL Array Functions its Syntax and Examples. Below is my output t Jan 11, 2017 · I have two DataFrames with two columns df1 with schema (key1:Long, Value) df2 with schema (key2:Array[Long], Value) I need to join these DataFrames on the key columns (find matching values between Aug 19, 2025 · Similar to PySpark contains (), both startswith() and endswith() functions yield boolean results, indicating whether the specified prefix or suffix is present in the strings or columns being evaluated. Aug 19, 2025 · In this PySpark article, you will learn how to apply a filter on DataFrame columns of string, arrays, and struct types by using single and multiple conditions and also using isin() with PySpark (Python Spark) examples. array_contains # pyspark. Examples The following queries use the ARRAY_CONTAINS function in a SELECT list. 'google. types. In this blog post, we'll explore how to filter a DataFrame column that contains multiple values in PySpark. Using explode, we will get a new row for each element in the array. jpg,. array_join # pyspark. Dec 11, 2024 · You can check if a column contains/exists a particular value (string/int), list of multiple values in pandas DataFrame by using pd. contains): Underlying Implementation in Spark Under the hood, the contains() function in PySpark leverages the StringContains expression. This is useful when you need to filter rows based on several array values or additional column criteria. This function is particularly useful when dealing with complex data structures and nested arrays. When an array is passed to this function, it creates a new default column, and it contains all array elements as its rows, and the null values present in the array will be ignored. sql. Apr 9, 2024 · Spark array_contains() is an SQL Array function that is used to check if an element value is present in an array type (ArrayType) column on DataFrame. Apr 6, 2025 · Learn the syntax of the array\\_contains function of the SQL language in Databricks SQL and Databricks Runtime. contains(other) [source] # Contains the other element. ingredients. e. Jun 14, 2021 · Similar to relational databases such as Snowflake, Teradata, Spark SQL support many useful array functions. pyspark. Jan 9, 2017 · (some query on filtered_stack) How would I rewrite this in Python code to filter rows based on more than one value? i. This operation is essential for selecting records with specific identifiers, categories, or attributes, such as filtering employees in certain Jan 31, 2023 · In Apache Spark, you can use the where() function to filter rows in a DataFrame based on multiple conditions. Examples Example 1: Basic usage of array function with column names. Currently I am doing the following (filtering using . array_contains(col: ColumnOrName, value: Any) → pyspark. contains() method in Spark: new StringContains(left, right) Where left is the DataFrame column and right is the search substring. The array_contains () function is used to determine if an array column in a DataFrame contains a specific value. Returns a boolean Column based on a string match. Please pay attention there is AND between columns. 0, all functions support Spark Connect. This checks if a column value contains a substring using the StringUtils. You can chain multiple conditions together using the & (and) or | (or) operators. Null values within the array can be replaced with a specified string through the null_replacement argument. Apr 17, 2025 · You can combine array_contains () with other conditions, including multiple array checks, to create complex filters. png: This tutorial will explain with examples how to use array_position, array_contains and array_remove array functions in Pyspark. functions. g. One common operation in data processing is filtering data based on certain conditions. contains() function works in conjunction with the filter() operation and provides an effective way to select rows based on substring presence within a string column. Apr 17, 2025 · array_contains (column, value): Checks if an array column contains a specific value. For example, you might have a column that contains an array of strings representing tags associated with each record. Let‘s dive deep into how to apply contains() for efficient data exploration! What Exactly Does the PySpark contains() Function Do? The contains() function […] Oct 13, 2025 · PySpark pyspark. dataframe. Nov 3, 2023 · array_contains () provides a scalable and optimized foundation for building complex array matching logic with DataFrames and Spark SQL. Filtering values from an ArrayType column and filtering DataFrame rows are completely different operations of course. It also explains how to filter DataFrames with array columns (i. join (other, on, how): Joins two DataFrames, where on is the array match condition and how is the join type ("inner" by default). filter(df.