Available Built-in Functions

Precision Bridge formulas run in a secure sandbox with access to a curated set of Python built-in functions. This article provides a complete reference of every built-in function available in formulas, organized by category.

Note: import statements are not available in formulas. All functions listed here are pre-loaded and ready to use. You do not need to import anything.

Type Constructors

These functions create or convert values to a specific type.

Function	Description	Example
str()	Convert to string	str(42) returns '42'
int()	Convert to integer	int('7') returns 7
float()	Convert to floating-point number	float('3.14') returns 3.14
bool()	Convert to boolean	bool(0) returns False
list()	Convert iterable to list	list(range(3)) returns [0, 1, 2]
tuple()	Convert iterable to tuple	tuple([1, 2]) returns (1, 2)
dict()	Create dictionary from key-value pairs	dict(name='John', age=30) returns {'name': 'John', 'age': 30}
set()	Convert iterable to set (unique values)	set([1, 1, 2, 3]) returns {1, 2, 3}

Examples

str([priority]) + ' - ' + [short_description]

Converts the numeric priority to a string before concatenation.

int([score]) if [score] is not None else 0

Safely converts a score field to an integer, defaulting to 0.

Math Functions

Function	Description	Example
abs()	Absolute value	abs(-5) returns 5
min()	Return the smallest argument	min(3, 1, 4, 1, 5) returns 1
max()	Return the largest argument	max(3, 1, 4, 1, 5) returns 5
pow()	Raise to a power	pow(2, 10) returns 1024
round()	Round to N decimal places	round(3.14159, 2) returns 3.14
sum()	Sum all items in an iterable	sum([10, 20, 30]) returns 60
range()	Generate a sequence of integers	list(range(1, 6)) returns [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Examples

abs([temperature_diff])

Returns the absolute value of a temperature difference.

max([score1], [score2], [score3])

Returns the highest score across three fields.

round(float([price]), 2)

Rounds a price value to two decimal places.

sum([int(x) for x in [scores].split(',')])

Splits a comma-separated scores string, converts each to an integer, and sums them.

Iterable Functions

These functions operate on lists, tuples, sets, and other iterable types.

Function	Description	Example
len()	Return the number of items	len([1, 2, 3]) returns 3
sorted()	Return a new sorted list	sorted([3, 1, 2]) returns [1, 2, 3]
reversed()	Return items in reverse order	list(reversed([1, 2, 3])) returns [3, 2, 1]
enumerate()	Pair each item with its index	list(enumerate(['a', 'b'])) returns [(0, 'a'), (1, 'b')]
zip()	Combine iterables element-wise	list(zip([1, 2], ['a', 'b'])) returns [(1, 'a'), (2, 'b')]
all()	True if all items are truthy	all([True, True, False]) returns False
any()	True if any item is truthy	any([False, True, False]) returns True
filter()	Keep items where the function returns True	list(filter(None, ['', 'a', '', 'b'])) returns ['a', 'b']
map()	Apply a function to each item	list(map(str, [1, 2, 3])) returns ['1', '2', '3']
iter()	Get an iterator from an iterable	iter([1, 2, 3])
next()	Get the next item from an iterator	next([1, 2, 3]) returns 1
slice()	Create a slice object	my_list[slice(0, 3)] returns first 3 items

Examples

sorted([tags].split(','), reverse=True)

Splits tags and sorts them in reverse alphabetical order.

len([description])

Returns the character count of the description field.

any([flag1, flag2, flag3])

Returns True if any of the three flag variables is truthy.

list(zip([keys].split(','), [values].split(',')))

Pairs up corresponding keys and values from two comma-separated strings.

Note: The next() function in Precision Bridge is enhanced to accept both iterators and iterables (like lists). In standard Python, next() only works on iterators. In formulas, next([1, 2, 3]) returns 1 directly without needing iter() first.

Type Checking Functions

Function	Description	Example
type()	Return the type of a value	type(42) returns <class 'int'>
isinstance()	Check if value is an instance of a type	isinstance([value], str) returns True or False
issubclass()	Check if a type is a subclass of another	issubclass(bool, int) returns True
callable()	Check if an object is callable	callable(len) returns True
hasattr()	Check if an object has a named attribute	hasattr(my_obj, 'get') returns True
getattr()	Get an attribute from an object	getattr(my_obj, 'name', 'default')

Examples

isinstance([value], str)

Returns True if the field contains a string value.

'string' if isinstance([field], str) else 'other'

Checks the type and returns a label accordingly.

hasattr(my_variable, 'get')

Returns True if the variable is a dictionary-like object with a .get() method.

Character Functions

Function	Description	Example
chr()	Return the character for a code	chr(65) returns 'A'
ord()	Return the code for a character	ord('A') returns 65

Examples

chr(ord([char]) + 1)

Returns the next character in the ASCII table.

ord([letter]) - ord('A') + 1

Converts a letter to its position in the alphabet (A=1, B=2, etc.).

Date and Time

The following date/time types are available as constructors and provide full method access:

Type	Description	Example
datetime	Date and time combined	datetime(2024, 1, 15, 10, 30, 0)
date	Date only	date(2024, 1, 15)
time	Time only	time(10, 30, 0)
timedelta	A duration or difference	timedelta(days=30)
timezone	A fixed timezone offset, used to anchor a datetime	timezone.utc

Working with the current date and time

Two forms exist for asking the system for "now". Prefer the UTC-anchored form below in any formula that compares against other datetime values, serialises a result, or runs across environments with different host timezones:

datetime.now(timezone.utc)

This returns a timezone-aware datetime in UTC. The result is the same on every machine, regardless of the host's local timezone, so derived values like [submit_date].year == datetime.now(timezone.utc).year - 1 behave consistently in development, staging, and production.

The bare form is also available:

datetime.now()

This returns a naive datetime in the host machine's local timezone. It has no timezone information attached, and comparisons against timezone-aware datetimes will raise a TypeError. Use this form only when you genuinely want host-local wall-clock time and you control the host's timezone.

System Variables: CURRENT_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP and LAST_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP

Every procedure has two built-in system variables for execution-relative time:

Variable	Holds	Updated
CURRENT_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP	Start time of the current procedure run (UTC, timezone-aware).	Set when each execution begins; stable for the rest of the run.
LAST_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP	Start time of the previous successful run (UTC, timezone-aware).	Updated at the end of each successful run. Empty on the very first run.

These are not equivalent to "now". They are tied to execution start times, not the moment the formula is evaluated. Use them when you need behaviour relative to the procedure's own run history:

• Delta / incremental migration filters — [sys_updated_on] > LAST_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP extracts everything modified since the previous run. The platform maintains the variable automatically — no Assign Variables step, no external persistence required.
• Stamping run metadata onto migrated records — CURRENT_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP gives every record from the same run an identical timestamp, useful for audit columns or batch markers.
• Run-window comparisons — [updated_at] > LAST_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP and [updated_at] <= CURRENT_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP exactly bounds the records the current run is responsible for.

For wall-clock reasoning that does not depend on execution history — "today", "this year", "more than 30 days ago" — use datetime.now(timezone.utc) instead.

LAST_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP is empty (None) on the very first run. Either toggle the Override switch on the variable for the first run (pick a starting cutoff from the past-executions combobox or a custom value), or write the filter with a fallback such as LAST_EXECUTION_TIMESTAMP or datetime(2000, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc). The Override switch is also how you re-run from a specific point in time.

See Procedures and Variables — System Variables and Migration Strategy — Incremental Migration for the broader workflow.

Examples

Create a specific date:

date(2024, 6, 15)

Get today's date in UTC:

datetime.now(timezone.utc).date()

Test whether a field is from last year (UTC):

[submit_date].year == datetime.now(timezone.utc).year - 1

Calculate a date 30 days from now (UTC):

datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(days=30)

Calculate the difference between two dates:

(datetime.now(timezone.utc) - datetime(2024, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)).days

Returns the number of days since January 1, 2024.

Format a datetime as a string:

datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %Z')

Produces a string like '2024-06-15 10:30:00 UTC'.

Important Notes

• No imports available. All functions listed above are pre-loaded in the formula environment. You cannot use import to bring in additional modules.
• Security sandbox. The formula environment restricts access to file system operations, network calls, and other potentially unsafe operations. The available functions are carefully curated for safety.
• PB-specific functions. In addition to the Python built-ins listed here, Precision Bridge provides its own library of specialized functions for string manipulation, JSON processing, XML handling, date formatting, and more. See the Functions Reference for the complete list.
• Exception types. Standard Python exception types (e.g., ValueError, TypeError, KeyError) are available in the formula environment. These are primarily useful for understanding error messages rather than explicit exception handling, since formulas are single expressions.

Quick Reference

Here is the complete list of available built-in names at a glance:

Type constructors: str, bool, int, float, list, tuple, dict, set

Math: abs, min, max, pow, round, sum, range

Iterables: len, sorted, reversed, enumerate, zip, all, any, filter, map, iter, next, slice

Type checking: type, isinstance, issubclass, callable, hasattr, getattr

Characters: chr, ord

Date/Time: datetime, date, time, timedelta, timezone

Next Steps

• Start with the basics in Introduction to Formulas
• Learn about data types in Working with Types
• Explore the PB-specific functions in the Functions Reference