Azure Tables SDK for Java

Build table storage applications using the Azure Tables SDK for Java. Works with both Azure Table Storage and Cosmos DB Table API.

Installation

xml

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
  <artifactId>azure-data-tables</artifactId>
  <version>12.6.0-beta.1</version>
</dependency>

Client Creation

With Connection String

java

import com.azure.data.tables.TableServiceClient;
import com.azure.data.tables.TableServiceClientBuilder;
import com.azure.data.tables.TableClient;

TableServiceClient serviceClient = new TableServiceClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<your-connection-string>")
    .buildClient();

With Shared Key

java

import com.azure.core.credential.AzureNamedKeyCredential;

AzureNamedKeyCredential credential = new AzureNamedKeyCredential(
    "<account-name>",
    "<account-key>");

TableServiceClient serviceClient = new TableServiceClientBuilder()
    .endpoint("<your-table-account-url>")
    .credential(credential)
    .buildClient();

With SAS Token

java

TableServiceClient serviceClient = new TableServiceClientBuilder()
    .endpoint("<your-table-account-url>")
    .sasToken("<sas-token>")
    .buildClient();

With DefaultAzureCredential (Storage only)

java

import com.azure.identity.DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder;

TableServiceClient serviceClient = new TableServiceClientBuilder()
    .endpoint("<your-table-account-url>")
    .credential(new DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder().build())
    .buildClient();

Key Concepts

TableServiceClient: Manage tables (create, list, delete)
TableClient: Manage entities within a table (CRUD)
Partition Key: Groups entities for efficient queries
Row Key: Unique identifier within a partition
Entity: A row with up to 252 properties (1MB Storage, 2MB Cosmos)

Core Patterns

Create Table

java

// Create table (throws if exists)
TableClient tableClient = serviceClient.createTable("mytable");

// Create if not exists (no exception)
TableClient tableClient = serviceClient.createTableIfNotExists("mytable");

Get Table Client

java

// From service client
TableClient tableClient = serviceClient.getTableClient("mytable");

// Direct construction
TableClient tableClient = new TableClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<connection-string>")
    .tableName("mytable")
    .buildClient();

Create Entity

java

import com.azure.data.tables.models.TableEntity;

TableEntity entity = new TableEntity("partitionKey", "rowKey")
    .addProperty("Name", "Product A")
    .addProperty("Price", 29.99)
    .addProperty("Quantity", 100)
    .addProperty("IsAvailable", true);

tableClient.createEntity(entity);

Get Entity

java

TableEntity entity = tableClient.getEntity("partitionKey", "rowKey");

String name = (String) entity.getProperty("Name");
Double price = (Double) entity.getProperty("Price");
System.out.printf("Product: %s, Price: %.2f%n", name, price);

Update Entity

java

import com.azure.data.tables.models.TableEntityUpdateMode;

// Merge (update only specified properties)
TableEntity updateEntity = new TableEntity("partitionKey", "rowKey")
    .addProperty("Price", 24.99);
tableClient.updateEntity(updateEntity, TableEntityUpdateMode.MERGE);

// Replace (replace entire entity)
TableEntity replaceEntity = new TableEntity("partitionKey", "rowKey")
    .addProperty("Name", "Product A Updated")
    .addProperty("Price", 24.99)
    .addProperty("Quantity", 150);
tableClient.updateEntity(replaceEntity, TableEntityUpdateMode.REPLACE);

Upsert Entity

java

// Insert or update (merge mode)
tableClient.upsertEntity(entity, TableEntityUpdateMode.MERGE);

// Insert or replace
tableClient.upsertEntity(entity, TableEntityUpdateMode.REPLACE);

Delete Entity

java

tableClient.deleteEntity("partitionKey", "rowKey");

List Entities

java

import com.azure.data.tables.models.ListEntitiesOptions;

// List all entities
for (TableEntity entity : tableClient.listEntities()) {
    System.out.printf("%s - %s%n",
        entity.getPartitionKey(),
        entity.getRowKey());
}

// With filtering and selection
ListEntitiesOptions options = new ListEntitiesOptions()
    .setFilter("PartitionKey eq 'sales'")
    .setSelect("Name", "Price");

for (TableEntity entity : tableClient.listEntities(options, null, null)) {
    System.out.printf("%s: %.2f%n",
        entity.getProperty("Name"),
        entity.getProperty("Price"));
}

Query with OData Filter

java

// Filter by partition key
ListEntitiesOptions options = new ListEntitiesOptions()
    .setFilter("PartitionKey eq 'electronics'");

// Filter with multiple conditions
options.setFilter("PartitionKey eq 'electronics' and Price gt 100");

// Filter with comparison operators
options.setFilter("Quantity ge 10 and Quantity le 100");

// Top N results
options.setTop(10);

for (TableEntity entity : tableClient.listEntities(options, null, null)) {
    System.out.println(entity.getRowKey());
}

Batch Operations (Transactions)

java

import com.azure.data.tables.models.TableTransactionAction;
import com.azure.data.tables.models.TableTransactionActionType;
import java.util.Arrays;

// All entities must have same partition key
List<TableTransactionAction> actions = Arrays.asList(
    new TableTransactionAction(
        TableTransactionActionType.CREATE,
        new TableEntity("batch", "row1").addProperty("Name", "Item 1")),
    new TableTransactionAction(
        TableTransactionActionType.CREATE,
        new TableEntity("batch", "row2").addProperty("Name", "Item 2")),
    new TableTransactionAction(
        TableTransactionActionType.UPSERT_MERGE,
        new TableEntity("batch", "row3").addProperty("Name", "Item 3"))
);

tableClient.submitTransaction(actions);

List Tables

java

import com.azure.data.tables.models.TableItem;
import com.azure.data.tables.models.ListTablesOptions;

// List all tables
for (TableItem table : serviceClient.listTables()) {
    System.out.println(table.getName());
}

// Filter tables
ListTablesOptions options = new ListTablesOptions()
    .setFilter("TableName eq 'mytable'");

for (TableItem table : serviceClient.listTables(options, null, null)) {
    System.out.println(table.getName());
}

Delete Table

java

serviceClient.deleteTable("mytable");

Typed Entities

java

public class Product implements TableEntity {
    private String partitionKey;
    private String rowKey;
    private OffsetDateTime timestamp;
    private String eTag;
    private String name;
    private double price;
    
    // Getters and setters for all fields
    @Override
    public String getPartitionKey() { return partitionKey; }
    @Override
    public void setPartitionKey(String partitionKey) { this.partitionKey = partitionKey; }
    @Override
    public String getRowKey() { return rowKey; }
    @Override
    public void setRowKey(String rowKey) { this.rowKey = rowKey; }
    // ... other getters/setters
    
    public String getName() { return name; }
    public void setName(String name) { this.name = name; }
    public double getPrice() { return price; }
    public void setPrice(double price) { this.price = price; }
}

// Usage
Product product = new Product();
product.setPartitionKey("electronics");
product.setRowKey("laptop-001");
product.setName("Laptop");
product.setPrice(999.99);

tableClient.createEntity(product);

Error Handling

java

import com.azure.data.tables.models.TableServiceException;

try {
    tableClient.createEntity(entity);
} catch (TableServiceException e) {
    System.out.println("Status: " + e.getResponse().getStatusCode());
    System.out.println("Error: " + e.getMessage());
    // 409 = Conflict (entity exists)
    // 404 = Not Found
}

Environment Variables

bash

# Storage Account
AZURE_TABLES_CONNECTION_STRING=DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=...
AZURE_TABLES_ENDPOINT=https://<account>.table.core.windows.net

# Cosmos DB Table API
COSMOS_TABLE_ENDPOINT=https://<account>.table.cosmosdb.azure.com

Best Practices

Partition Key Design: Choose keys that distribute load evenly
Batch Operations: Use transactions for atomic multi-entity updates
Query Optimization: Always filter by PartitionKey when possible
Select Projection: Only select needed properties for performance
Entity Size: Keep entities under 1MB (Storage) or 2MB (Cosmos)

Trigger Phrases

"Azure Tables Java"
"table storage SDK"
"Cosmos DB Table API"
"NoSQL key-value storage"
"partition key row key"
"table entity CRUD"

When to Use

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SKILL.md

Azure Tables SDK for Java

Installation

Client Creation

With Connection String

With Shared Key

With SAS Token

With DefaultAzureCredential (Storage only)

Key Concepts

Core Patterns

Create Table

Get Table Client

Create Entity

Get Entity

Update Entity

Upsert Entity

Delete Entity

List Entities

Query with OData Filter

Batch Operations (Transactions)

List Tables

Delete Table

Typed Entities

Error Handling

Environment Variables

Best Practices

Trigger Phrases

When to Use