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20 Days of DynamoDB

A DynamoDB tip a day, keeps the ...?

Abhishek Gupta
Amazon Employee
Published Jan 16, 2024
Last Modified Feb 24, 2024
For the next 20 days (don't ask me why I chose that number 😉), I will be publishing a DynamoDB quick tip per day with code snippets. The examples use the DynamoDB packages from AWS SDK for Go V2, but should be applicable to other languages as well.
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Day 20 - Converting between Go and DynamoDB types

Posted: 13/Feb/2024
The DynamoDB attributevalue package in the AWS SDK for Go package can save you a lot of time, thanks to the Marshal and Unmarshal family of utility functions that can be used to convert between Go types (including structs) and AttributeValues.
Here is an example using a Go struct:
Notice how:
  • MarshalMap converts Customer struct into a map[string]types.AttributeValue that's required by PutItem
  • UnmarshalMap converts the map[string]types.AttributeValue returned by GetItem into a Customer struct
Recommended reading:

Day 19 - PartiQL Batch Operations

Posted: 12/Feb/2024
You can use batched operations with PartiQL as well, thanks to BatchExecuteStatement. It allows you to batch reads as well as write requests.
Here is an example (note that you cannot mix both reads and writes in a single batch):
Just like BatchWriteItem, BatchExecuteStatement is limited to 25 statements (operations) per batch.
Recommended reading: BatchExecuteStatement API docs

Day 18 - Using a SQL-compatible query language with DynamoDB

Posted: 6/Feb/2024
DynamoDB supports PartiQL to execute SQL-like select, insert, update, and delete operations.
Here is an example of how you would use PartiQL based queries for a simplified version of a URL shortener application. Notice how it uses a (generic) ExecuteStatement API to execute INSERT, SELECT, UPDATE and DELETE:
Recommended reading:

Day 17 - DynamoDB BatchGetItem operation

Posted: 5/Feb/2024
You can club multiple (up to 100) GetItem requests in a single BatchGetItem operation - this can be done across multiple tables.
Here is an example that fetches includes four GetItem calls across two different tables:
Just like an individual GetItem call, you can include Projection Expressions and return RCUs. Note that BatchGetItem can only retrieve up to 16 MB of data.
Recommended reading: BatchGetItem API doc

Day 16 - Enhancing Write Performance with Batching

Posted: 2/Feb/2024
The DynamoDB BatchWriteItem operation can provide a performance boost by allowing you to squeeze in 25 individual PutItem and DeleteItem requests in a single API call - this can be done across multiple tables.
Here is an example that combines PutItem and DeleteItem operations for two different tables (customer, orders):
Be aware of the following constraints:
  • The total request size cannot exceed 16 MB
  • BatchWriteItem cannot update items
Recommended reading: BatchWriteItem API doc

Day 15 - Using the DynamoDB expression package to build Update expressions

Posted: 31/Jan/2024
The expression package in AWS Go SDK for DynamoDB supports programmatic creation of Update expressions.
Here is an example of how you can build an expression to include execute a SET operation of the UpdateItem API and combine it with a Condition expression (update criteria):
Recommended reading - WithUpdate method in the package API docs

Day 14 - Using the DynamoDB expression package to build Key Condition and Filter expressions

Posted: 30/Jan/2024
You can use expression package in the AWS Go SDK for DynamoDB to programmatically build key condition and filter expressions and use them with Query API.
Here is an example that queries for a specific thread based on the forum name (partition key) and subject (sort key):
Recommended reading - Key and NameBuilder in the package API docs

Day 13 - Using the DynamoDB expression package to build Condition expressions

Posted: 25/Jan/2024
Thanks to the expression package in the AWS Go SDK for DynamoDB, you can programmatically build Condition expressions and use them with write operations. Here is an example with the DeleteItem API:
Recommended reading - WithCondition method in the package API docs

Day 12 - Using the DynamoDB expression package to build Projection expressions

Posted: 24/Jan/2024
The expression package in the AWS Go SDK for DynamoDB provides a fluent builder API with types and functions to create expression strings programmatically along with corresponding expression attribute names and values.
Here is an example of how you would build a Projection Expression and use it with the GetItem API:
Recommended reading: expression package API docs

Day 11 - Using pagination with Query API

Posted: 22/Jan/2024
The Query API returns the result set size to 1 MB. Use ExclusiveStartKey and LastEvaluatedKey elements to paginate over large result sets. You can also reduce page size by limiting the number of items in the result set, with the Limit parameter of the Query operation.
Recommended reading - Query Pagination

Day 10 - Query API with Filter Expression

Posted: 19/Jan/2024
With the DynamoDB Query API, you can use Filter Expressions to discard specific query results based on a criteria. Note that the filter expression is applied after a Query finishes, but before the results are returned. Thus, it has no impact on the RCUs (read capacity unit) consumed by the query.
Here is an example that filters out forum discussion threads that have less than a specific number of views:
Recommended reading: Filter Expressions

Day 9 - Query API

Posted: 18/Jan/2024
The Query API is used to model one-to-many relationships in DynamoDB. You can search for items based on (composite) primary key values using Key Condition Expressions. The value for partition key attribute is mandatory - the query returns all items with that partition key value. Additionally, you can also provide a sort key attribute and use a comparison operator to refine the search results.
Here is an example that queries for a specific thread based on the forum name (partition key) and subject (sort key). It only returns the Message attribute:
With the Query API, you can also:
  • Switch to strongly consistent read (eventual consistent being the default)
  • Use a projection expression to return only some attributes
  • Return the consumed Read Capacity Units (RCU)

Day 8 - Conditional Delete operation

Posted: 17/Jan/2024
All the DynamoDB write APIs, including DeleteItem support criteria-based (conditional) execution. You can use DeleteItem operation with a condition expression - it must evaluate to true in order for the operation to succeed.
Here is an example that verifies the value of inactive_days attribute:
Recommended reading - Conditional deletes documentation

Day 7 - DeleteItem API

Posted: 16/Jan/2024
The DynamoDB API does what it says - delete an item. But it can also:
  • Return the content of the old item (at no additional cost)
  • Return the consumed Write Capacity Units (WCU)
  • Return the item attributes for an operation that failed a condition check (again, no additional cost)
  • Retrieve statistics about item collections, if any, that were affected during the operation
Here is an example:
Recommended reading - DeleteItem API doc

Day 6 - Atomic counters with UpdateItem

Posted: 15/Jan/2024
Need to implement atomic counter using DynamoDB? If you have a use-case that can tolerate over-counting or under-counting (for example, visitor count), use the API.
Here is an example that uses the operator in an update expression to increment attribute:
Note that every invocation of will increment (or decrement) - hence it is not idempotent.
Recommended reading - Atomic Counters

Day 5 - Avoid overwrites when using DynamoDB UpdateItem API

Posted: 12/Jan/2024
The API creates a new item or modifies an existing item's attributes. If you want to avoid overwriting an existing attribute, make sure to use the operation with function.
Here is an example that sets the category of an item only if the item does not already have a category attribute:
Note that the if_not_exists function can only be used in the SET action of an update expression.
Recommended reading - DynamoDB documentation

Day 4 - Conditional UpdateItem

Posted: 11/Jan/2024
Conditional operations are helpful in cases when you want a DynamoDB write operation (, or ) to be executed based on a certain criteria. To do so, use a condition expression - it must evaluate to in order for the operation to succeed.
Here is an example that demonstrates a conditional operation. It uses the function:
Recommended reading: ConditionExpressions

Day 3 - UpdateItem add-on benefits

Posted: 10/Jan/2024
The DynamoDB operation is quite flexible. In addition to using many types of operations, you can:
  • Use multiple update expressions in a single statement
  • Get the item attributes as they appear before or after they are successfully updated
  • Understand which item attributes failed the condition check (no additional cost)
  • Retrieve the consumed Write Capacity Units (WCU)
Here is an example:
Recommended reading: UpdateItem API, Update Expressions

Day 2 - GetItem operation

Posted: 9/Jan/2024
Did you know that the DynamoDB operation also gives you the ability to:
  • Switch to strongly consistent read (eventually consistent being the default)
  • Use a projection expression to return only some of the attributes
  • Return the consumed Read Capacity Units (RCU)
Here is an example:

Day 1 - Conditional PutItem

Posted: 8/Jan/2024
The DynamoDB API overwrites the item in case an item with the same primary key already exists. To avoid (or work around) this behaviour, use with an additional condition.
Here is an example that uses the function:
With the operation, you can also:
  • Return the consumed Write Capacity Units (WCU)
  • Get the item attributes as they appeared before (in case they were updated during the operation)
  • Retrieve statistics about item collections, if any, that were modified during the operation

Any opinions in this post are those of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of AWS.

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