materialize: Materialize a vectra node into a reusable in-memory block

In vectra: Columnar Query Engine for Larger-than-RAM Data

Materialize a vectra node into a reusable in-memory block

Description

Consumes a vectra node (pulling all batches) and stores the result as a persistent columnar block in memory. Unlike nodes, blocks can be probed repeatedly via block_lookup() without re-scanning.

Usage

materialize(.data)

Arguments

.data

A vectra_node (consumed; cannot be used after this call).

Value

A vectra_block object (external pointer to C-level ColumnBlock).

Examples

f <- tempfile(fileext = ".vtr")
df <- data.frame(taxonID = 1:3,
                 canonicalName = c("Quercus robur", "Pinus sylvestris",
                                   "Fagus sylvatica"))
write_vtr(df, f)
blk <- materialize(tbl(f) |> select(taxonID, canonicalName))
hits <- block_lookup(blk, "canonicalName",
                     c("Quercus robur", "Pinus sylvestris"))
unlink(f)

vectra documentation built on May 8, 2026, 9:06 a.m.