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BITCOUNT

Introduction​

In Dragonfly, as well as in Redis and Valkey, the BITCOUNT command is used to count the number of set bits (i.e., bits with value 1) in a string. It is particularly useful for efficiently performing bitwise operations and can be used in scenarios like tracking user activity, feature flags, or implementing bloom filters.

Syntax​

BITCOUNT key [start end]
  • Time complexity: O(N)
  • ACL categories: @read, @bitmap, @slow

Parameter Explanations​

  • key: The key of the string where bits are counted.
  • start (optional): The starting byte position to count the bits. Default is 0.
  • end (optional): The ending byte position to count the bits. Default is -1, indicating the end of the string.

Return Values​

The command returns an integer representing the number of bits set to 1 within the specified range.

Code Examples​

Basic Example​

Count all set bits in a string:

# String: example
# Hex:    0x65     0x78     0x61     0x6d     0x70     0x6c     0x65
# Binary: 01100101 01111000 01100001 01101101 01110000 01101100 01100101
dragonfly> SET mykey "example"
OK
dragonfly> BITCOUNT mykey
(integer) 27

Count Bits in a Specific Range​

Count bits from the second to the fourth byte:

# String: example
# Hex:    0x65     0x78     0x61     0x6d     0x70     0x6c     0x65
# Binary: 01100101 01111000 01100001 01101101 01110000 01101100 01100101
dragonfly> SET mykey "example"
OK
dragonfly> BITCOUNT mykey 1 3
(integer) 12

Using BITCOUNT for Feature Flags​

Imagine you have a feature flag system where each bit represents whether a feature is enabled (i.e., 1) or disabled (i.e., 0) for different users:

# Hex:    0x01     0x02     0x04
# Binary: 00000001 00000010 00000100
dragonfly> SET features "\x01\x02\x04"
OK
dragonfly> BITCOUNT features
(integer) 3  # Three features are enabled across different users.

Best Practices​

  • When working with large strings, consider specifying start and end parameters to limit the scope and improve performance.
  • Use BITCOUNT for low-level bitwise operations where you need efficient storage and quick bit checks.

Common Mistakes​

  • Forgetting that start and end parameters are byte offsets, not bit offsets.
  • Assuming BITCOUNT modifies the string; it only reads and counts the bits.

FAQs​

What happens if the key does not exist?​

If the key does not exist, BITCOUNT returns 0.

Can I use negative indexes for the start and end parameters?​

Yes, similar to other Redis commands, negative indexes can be used to count bits from the end of the string.