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Send string query parameters as untyped string values to Spanner. This allows Spanner to infer the type of the column based on the database schema, instead of forcing Spanner to only accept the parameter if the corresponding column or expression is of a different type than STRING.

This for example allows applications to use a generic string value to set a JSON, TIMESTAMP, DATE, NUMERIC, INT64 or any other value that is encoded as strings in Spanner.

@olavloite olavloite requested a review from a team as a code owner January 9, 2026 10:31
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Summary of Changes

Hello @olavloite, I'm Gemini Code Assist1! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request significantly enhances the Spanner Go driver by modifying how string query parameters are processed. Instead of explicitly typing string parameters as STRING, they are now transmitted as untyped values. This crucial change empowers Spanner to leverage its schema inference capabilities, allowing applications to pass generic string representations for a wider range of data types like JSON, timestamps, or numeric values, thereby increasing flexibility and reducing the need for explicit type casting in client code.

Highlights

  • Untyped String Parameters: String query parameters are now sent to Spanner as untyped values, allowing Spanner to infer the correct data type based on the database schema.
  • Enhanced Type Flexibility: This change enables applications to use generic string values for a wider range of Spanner types, including JSON, TIMESTAMP, DATE, NUMERIC, and INT64, without requiring explicit type casting in client code.
  • Go Driver Implementation: The convertParam function in stmt.go has been updated to specifically handle string, *string, []string, and []*string types, converting them into spanner.GenericColumnValue with an unspecified type code.
  • Test Suite Adjustments: Existing tests in driver_with_mockserver_test.go have been modified to reflect the new untyped string parameter behavior, including changes to expected parameter type counts and type codes.

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Code Review

This pull request introduces a valuable feature by sending string query parameters as untyped values, allowing Spanner to infer the column type. The implementation correctly handles various string types by converting them to spanner.GenericColumnValue, and the accompanying test updates in driver_with_mockserver_test.go effectively validate this new behavior. I have one suggestion in stmt.go to enhance completeness by handling an additional string type variant.

Send string query parameters as untyped string values to Spanner. This allows Spanner
to infer the type of the column based on the database schema, instead of forcing
Spanner to only accept the parameter if the corresponding column or expression is of
a different type than STRING.

This for example allows applications to use a generic string value to set a JSON,
TIMESTAMP, DATE, NUMERIC, INT64 or any other value that is encoded as strings in
Spanner.
@olavloite olavloite force-pushed the send-strings-as-untyped-values branch from a8e1637 to 1bdf93f Compare January 9, 2026 10:52
@olavloite olavloite requested a review from bhatt4982 January 9, 2026 11:02
return v
}
if v == nil {
return spanner.GenericColumnValue{Value: structpb.NewNullValue()}
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nit: we can have global or package-level NullValue and use that reused
var pbNull = structpb.NewNullValue()
spanner.GenericColumnValue{Value: pbNull}

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Yes, let me add that in a follow-up PR.

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LGTM...

@olavloite olavloite merged commit 4de7250 into main Jan 12, 2026
43 checks passed
@olavloite olavloite deleted the send-strings-as-untyped-values branch January 12, 2026 06:35
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2 participants