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DECRBY

Introduction​

In Dragonfly, as well as in Redis and Valkey, the DECRBY command is used to decrement the integer value of a key by a specified amount. This command is particularly useful for counters, resource quotas, or rate-limiting scenarios where you want to decrease a value atomically with minimal overhead.

Syntax​

DECRBY key decrement
  • Time complexity: O(1)
  • ACL categories: @write, @string, @fast

Parameter Explanations​

  • key: The key associated with the integer value that will be decremented.
  • decrement: The decrement amount, which is a signed integer. The value will be subtracted from the current value of the key.

Return Values​

The command returns the integer result after the decrement operation is performed on the value of the key.

Code Examples​

Basic Example​

Decrement the value stored at a key by a specified amount:

dragonfly> SET mycounter 10
OK
dragonfly> DECRBY mycounter 3
(integer) 7

Using Non-Existent Keys​

If the key does not exist, DECRBY assumes the initial value to be 0:

dragonfly> DECRBY non_existent 5
(integer) -5

Decrementing by a Negative Value (Effectively Incrementing)​

You can provide a negative decrement to increase the value:

dragonfly> SET score 50
OK
dragonfly> DECRBY score -10
(integer) 60  # Effectively increments by 10

Handling Large Decrement Values​

You can use large decrement values, but the key's value must always remain within the 64-bit signed integer limit:

dragonfly> SET largekey 1000000000000
OK
dragonfly> DECRBY largekey 999999999999
(integer) 1

Best Practices​

  • Ensure the value of the key is always an integer or can be interpreted as an integer, otherwise a failure will occur.
  • Avoid using excessive large decrements that push the value beyond the bounds of a signed 64-bit integer, since this will generate an overflow error.
  • For scenarios such as rate-limiting or quotas, always check the resulting value after decrementing to ensure it has not gone below the allowed threshold.

Common Mistakes​

  • Using DECRBY on keys that don't contain numeric values, such as strings, will result in an error.
  • Assuming that the command creates a new key with the specified value, when the behavior for non-existent keys is to start with 0 instead.

FAQs​

What happens if the key is not an integer or the value is non-numeric?​

The DECRBY command will return an error if the key holds a value that is not an integer or cannot be interpreted as such.

Can I decrement the value of a key by 0?​

Yes, decrementing by 0 will simply return the current value of the key without making any changes.

What happens if I try to decrement a value outside the range of a 64-bit signed integer?​

If you attempt to decrement a value beyond the supported range for 64-bit signed integers, you'll receive an overflow error.