MongoDB $asin Operator

Posted in mongoDB Tutorial

Updated on Oct 30, 2024

By Mari Selvan

👁️ 16 - Views

⏳ 4 mins

💬 1 Comment

Photo Credit to CodeToFun

🙋 Introduction

In MongoDB's aggregation framework, the $asin operator serves as a crucial tool for computing the arcsine (inverse sine) of a given number. This operator is particularly useful in scenarios where you need to analyze angles or perform trigonometric calculations on numerical data.

Let's delve into the details of how the $asin operator functions within MongoDB's aggregation pipelines.

💡 Syntax

The syntax for the $asin method is straightforward:

syntax.js

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{ $asin: <expression> }

$asin: This operator signifies that the subsequent operation will compute the arcsine.
<expression>: This represents the numerical expression for which the arcsine will be calculated. It could be a field reference, a mathematical expression, or a value.

📝 Example

⌨️ Input

Consider a collection named angles containing documents with fields angle representing angle values in radians. Here are sample documents from the angles collection:

Input

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[
  { "_id": ObjectId("609c26812e9274a86871bc6a"), "angle": 0.5 },
  { "_id": ObjectId("609c26812e9274a86871bc6b"), "angle": 0.8 },
  { "_id": ObjectId("609c26812e9274a86871bc6c"), "angle": 1.2 }
]

🔄 Aggregation

Suppose we want to compute the arcsine of each angle in the collection. Here's how you can achieve this using the $asin operator:

example.js

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db.angles.aggregate([
  {
    $project: {
      arcsineAngle: { $asin: "$angle" }
    }
  }
])

🧩 Explanation

$project: This stage reshapes documents, including, excluding, or computing new fields.
$asin: Computes the arcsine of the angle values stored in the angle field.

When discussing how the above aggregation works:

For the document with angle: 0.5, the arcsine of 0.5 is computed, resulting in approximately 0.5236 radians.
For the document with angle: 0.8, the arcsine of 0.8 is computed, resulting in approximately 0.9273 radians.
For the document with angle: 1.2, the arcsine of 1.2 cannot be computed since the value is outside the valid range of [-1, 1] for arcsine. It will result in an error or a null value, depending on the MongoDB version and configuration.

💻 Output

Now, let's take a look at the output generated by the aggregation pipeline:

Output

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{ "_id": ObjectId("609c26812e9274a86871bc6a"), "arcsineAngle": 0.5235987755982989 }
{ "_id": ObjectId("609c26812e9274a86871bc6b"), "arcsineAngle": 0.9272952180016122 }
{ "_id": ObjectId("609c26812e9274a86871bc6c"), "arcsineAngle": null }

📚 Use Cases

Angle Conversion:

The $asin operator is useful for converting angle values to their respective arcsine values, facilitating angle conversions and calculations.
Trigonometric Analysis:

When performing trigonometric analyses or solving geometric problems, computing arcsine values is often necessary.
Data Visualization:

Arcsine values can be used in various data visualization tasks, such as plotting angles on graphs or representing angular data in charts.

🎉 Conclusion

The $asin operator in MongoDB's aggregation framework provides a powerful mechanism for computing arcsine values within aggregation pipelines. Whether you're analyzing angles, performing trigonometric calculations, or visualizing angular data, mastering the usage of $asin empowers you to efficiently manipulate numerical data and derive meaningful insights from your datasets.

With its intuitive syntax and versatile applications, the $asin operator proves to be a valuable asset for handling numerical data effectively within MongoDB. Incorporate it into your aggregation pipelines to unlock new dimensions of data analysis and gain deeper insights into your datasets.