LessThan / Operator Layer

Compare if values in a column are less than a constant or another column's values. Similar to pandas df['A'] < df['B'] or df['A'] < 5, numpy.less(), or R's < operator. Returns a boolean column.

Mathematical form: $y_{i} = {t r u e f a l se if x_{i} < v otherwise$

Common applications:

Safety limits (pressure < max_safe)
Budget constraints (cost < budget)
Deadline checking (time < due_date)
Capacity monitoring (usage < limit)
Performance alerts (speed < minimum)
Error margins (deviation < tolerance)

Note: Comparison follows standard numeric ordering rules.

Table

SelectLeft

column

The primary column for comparison. Forms the left side of the less-than check (e.g., current value, measurement, actual reading).

SelectRight

oneof

Integer

Value

i64

64-bit signed integer upper bound. Range: -2^63 to 2^63-1. Use cases:

Time constraints (delay < 1000ms)
Error limits (failures < 3)
Resource bounds (threads < 100)
Age restrictions (age < 65)

UnsignedInteger

Value

u64

64-bit unsigned integer upper bound. Range: 0 to 2^64-1. Examples:

Memory limits (usage < max_memory)
Queue lengths (waiting < capacity)
Batch boundaries (size < chunk_size)
Counter thresholds (attempts < max_tries)

Float

Value

f64

64-bit floating-point upper bound. Common scenarios:

Error rates (failure_rate < 0.01)
Statistical tests (p_value < 0.05)
Physical limits (temperature < 100.0)
Performance targets (latency < 0.5)

Column

Other

column

The comparison column for less-than check. Common pairs:

usage < capacity (resource monitoring)
actual < budget (cost control)
current < threshold (limit checking)
measured < reference (compliance testing)

PropagateNull

bool

true

Controls null value handling:

true: propagates nulls (null < value returns null)
false: treats nulls as false

Default is true for standard SQL-like null behavior

Name for the new column. If not provided, the system generates a unique name. If AsColumn matches an existing column, the existing column is replaced. The name should follow valid column naming conventions.