diff --git a/build.xml b/build.xml
index aa558097e2..51f7252145 100644
--- a/build.xml
+++ b/build.xml
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@
     <property name="test.microbench.src" value="${test.dir}/microbench"/>
     <property name="dist.dir" value="${build.dir}/dist"/>
     <property name="tmp.dir" value="${java.io.tmpdir}"/>
+
+    <property name="doc.dir" value="${basedir}/doc"/>
 	
     <property name="source.version" value="1.8"/>
     <property name="target.version" value="1.8"/>
@@ -249,6 +251,17 @@
         </wikitext-to-html>
     </target>
 
+    <target name="gen-doc" depends="maven-ant-tasks-init" description="Generate documentation">
+        <exec executable="make" osfamily="unix" dir="${doc.dir}">
+            <arg value="html"/>
+        </exec>
+        <exec executable="cmd" osfamily="dos" dir="${doc.dir}">
+            <arg value="/c"/>
+            <arg value="make.bat"/>
+            <arg value="html"/>
+        </exec>
+    </target>
+
     <!--
         Generates Java sources for tokenization support from jflex
         grammar files
diff --git a/doc/Makefile b/doc/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d6f0cd7994
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+# Makefile for Sphinx documentation
+#
+
+# You can set these variables from the command line.
+SPHINXOPTS    =
+SPHINXBUILD   = sphinx-build
+PAPER         =
+BUILDDIR      = build
+
+# Internal variables.
+PAPEROPT_a4     = -D latex_paper_size=a4
+PAPEROPT_letter = -D latex_paper_size=letter
+ALLSPHINXOPTS   = -d $(BUILDDIR)/doctrees $(PAPEROPT_$(PAPER)) $(SPHINXOPTS) source
+# the i18n builder cannot share the environment and doctrees with the others
+I18NSPHINXOPTS  = $(PAPEROPT_$(PAPER)) $(SPHINXOPTS) source
+
+.PHONY: help
+help:
+	@echo "Please use \`make <target>' where <target> is one of"
+	@echo "  html       to make standalone HTML files"
+	@echo "  dirhtml    to make HTML files named index.html in directories"
+	@echo "  singlehtml to make a single large HTML file"
+	@echo "  pickle     to make pickle files"
+	@echo "  json       to make JSON files"
+	@echo "  htmlhelp   to make HTML files and a HTML help project"
+	@echo "  qthelp     to make HTML files and a qthelp project"
+	@echo "  applehelp  to make an Apple Help Book"
+	@echo "  devhelp    to make HTML files and a Devhelp project"
+	@echo "  epub       to make an epub"
+	@echo "  epub3      to make an epub3"
+	@echo "  latex      to make LaTeX files, you can set PAPER=a4 or PAPER=letter"
+	@echo "  latexpdf   to make LaTeX files and run them through pdflatex"
+	@echo "  latexpdfja to make LaTeX files and run them through platex/dvipdfmx"
+	@echo "  text       to make text files"
+	@echo "  man        to make manual pages"
+	@echo "  texinfo    to make Texinfo files"
+	@echo "  info       to make Texinfo files and run them through makeinfo"
+	@echo "  gettext    to make PO message catalogs"
+	@echo "  changes    to make an overview of all changed/added/deprecated items"
+	@echo "  xml        to make Docutils-native XML files"
+	@echo "  pseudoxml  to make pseudoxml-XML files for display purposes"
+	@echo "  linkcheck  to check all external links for integrity"
+	@echo "  doctest    to run all doctests embedded in the documentation (if enabled)"
+	@echo "  coverage   to run coverage check of the documentation (if enabled)"
+	@echo "  dummy      to check syntax errors of document sources"
+
+.PHONY: clean
+clean:
+	rm -rf $(BUILDDIR)/*
+
+.PHONY: html
+html:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b html $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/html
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The HTML pages are in $(BUILDDIR)/html."
+
+.PHONY: dirhtml
+dirhtml:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b dirhtml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/dirhtml
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The HTML pages are in $(BUILDDIR)/dirhtml."
+
+.PHONY: singlehtml
+singlehtml:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b singlehtml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/singlehtml
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The HTML page is in $(BUILDDIR)/singlehtml."
+
+.PHONY: pickle
+pickle:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b pickle $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/pickle
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished; now you can process the pickle files."
+
+.PHONY: json
+json:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b json $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/json
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished; now you can process the JSON files."
+
+.PHONY: htmlhelp
+htmlhelp:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b htmlhelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/htmlhelp
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished; now you can run HTML Help Workshop with the" \
+	      ".hhp project file in $(BUILDDIR)/htmlhelp."
+
+.PHONY: qthelp
+qthelp:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b qthelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished; now you can run "qcollectiongenerator" with the" \
+	      ".qhcp project file in $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp, like this:"
+	@echo "# qcollectiongenerator $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp/ApacheCassandraDocumentation.qhcp"
+	@echo "To view the help file:"
+	@echo "# assistant -collectionFile $(BUILDDIR)/qthelp/ApacheCassandraDocumentation.qhc"
+
+.PHONY: applehelp
+applehelp:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b applehelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/applehelp
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The help book is in $(BUILDDIR)/applehelp."
+	@echo "N.B. You won't be able to view it unless you put it in" \
+	      "~/Library/Documentation/Help or install it in your application" \
+	      "bundle."
+
+.PHONY: devhelp
+devhelp:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b devhelp $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/devhelp
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished."
+	@echo "To view the help file:"
+	@echo "# mkdir -p $$HOME/.local/share/devhelp/ApacheCassandraDocumentation"
+	@echo "# ln -s $(BUILDDIR)/devhelp $$HOME/.local/share/devhelp/ApacheCassandraDocumentation"
+	@echo "# devhelp"
+
+.PHONY: epub
+epub:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b epub $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/epub
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The epub file is in $(BUILDDIR)/epub."
+
+.PHONY: epub3
+epub3:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b epub3 $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/epub3
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The epub3 file is in $(BUILDDIR)/epub3."
+
+.PHONY: latex
+latex:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b latex $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/latex
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished; the LaTeX files are in $(BUILDDIR)/latex."
+	@echo "Run \`make' in that directory to run these through (pdf)latex" \
+	      "(use \`make latexpdf' here to do that automatically)."
+
+.PHONY: latexpdf
+latexpdf:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b latex $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/latex
+	@echo "Running LaTeX files through pdflatex..."
+	$(MAKE) -C $(BUILDDIR)/latex all-pdf
+	@echo "pdflatex finished; the PDF files are in $(BUILDDIR)/latex."
+
+.PHONY: latexpdfja
+latexpdfja:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b latex $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/latex
+	@echo "Running LaTeX files through platex and dvipdfmx..."
+	$(MAKE) -C $(BUILDDIR)/latex all-pdf-ja
+	@echo "pdflatex finished; the PDF files are in $(BUILDDIR)/latex."
+
+.PHONY: text
+text:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b text $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/text
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The text files are in $(BUILDDIR)/text."
+
+.PHONY: man
+man:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b man $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/man
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The manual pages are in $(BUILDDIR)/man."
+
+.PHONY: texinfo
+texinfo:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b texinfo $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The Texinfo files are in $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo."
+	@echo "Run \`make' in that directory to run these through makeinfo" \
+	      "(use \`make info' here to do that automatically)."
+
+.PHONY: info
+info:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b texinfo $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo
+	@echo "Running Texinfo files through makeinfo..."
+	make -C $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo info
+	@echo "makeinfo finished; the Info files are in $(BUILDDIR)/texinfo."
+
+.PHONY: gettext
+gettext:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b gettext $(I18NSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/locale
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The message catalogs are in $(BUILDDIR)/locale."
+
+.PHONY: changes
+changes:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b changes $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/changes
+	@echo
+	@echo "The overview file is in $(BUILDDIR)/changes."
+
+.PHONY: linkcheck
+linkcheck:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b linkcheck $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/linkcheck
+	@echo
+	@echo "Link check complete; look for any errors in the above output " \
+	      "or in $(BUILDDIR)/linkcheck/output.txt."
+
+.PHONY: doctest
+doctest:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b doctest $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/doctest
+	@echo "Testing of doctests in the sources finished, look at the " \
+	      "results in $(BUILDDIR)/doctest/output.txt."
+
+.PHONY: coverage
+coverage:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b coverage $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/coverage
+	@echo "Testing of coverage in the sources finished, look at the " \
+	      "results in $(BUILDDIR)/coverage/python.txt."
+
+.PHONY: xml
+xml:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b xml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/xml
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The XML files are in $(BUILDDIR)/xml."
+
+.PHONY: pseudoxml
+pseudoxml:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b pseudoxml $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/pseudoxml
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. The pseudo-XML files are in $(BUILDDIR)/pseudoxml."
+
+.PHONY: dummy
+dummy:
+	$(SPHINXBUILD) -b dummy $(ALLSPHINXOPTS) $(BUILDDIR)/dummy
+	@echo
+	@echo "Build finished. Dummy builder generates no files."
diff --git a/doc/README.md b/doc/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9ba47a1a68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+Apache Cassandra documentation directory
+========================================
+
+This directory contains the documentation maintained in-tree for Apache
+Cassandra. This directory contains the following documents:
+- The source of the official Cassandra documentation, in the `source/`
+  subdirectory. See below for more details on how to edit/build that
+  documentation.
+- The specification(s) for the supported versions of native transport protocol.
+- Additional documentation on the SASI implementation (`SASI.md`). TODO: we
+  should probably move the first half of that documentation to the general
+  documentation, and the implementation explanation parts into the wiki.
+
+
+Official documentation
+----------------------
+
+The source for the official documentation for Apache Cassandra can be found in
+the `source` subdirectory. The documentation uses [sphinx](http://www.sphinx-doc.org/)
+and is thus written in [reStructuredText](http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html).
+
+To build the HTML documentation, you will need to first install sphinx and the
+[sphinx ReadTheDocs theme](the https://pypi.python.org/pypi/sphinx_rtd_theme), which
+on unix you can do with:
+```
+pip install sphinx sphinx_rtd_theme
+```
+
+The documentation can then be built from this directory by calling `make html`
+(or `make.bat html` on windows). Alternatively, the top-level `ant gen-doc`
+target can be used.
diff --git a/doc/make.bat b/doc/make.bat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..93671fc251
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/make.bat
@@ -0,0 +1,281 @@
+@ECHO OFF
+
+REM Command file for Sphinx documentation
+
+if "%SPHINXBUILD%" == "" (
+	set SPHINXBUILD=sphinx-build
+)
+set BUILDDIR=build
+set ALLSPHINXOPTS=-d %BUILDDIR%/doctrees %SPHINXOPTS% .
+set I18NSPHINXOPTS=%SPHINXOPTS% .
+if NOT "%PAPER%" == "" (
+	set ALLSPHINXOPTS=-D latex_paper_size=%PAPER% %ALLSPHINXOPTS%
+	set I18NSPHINXOPTS=-D latex_paper_size=%PAPER% %I18NSPHINXOPTS%
+)
+
+if "%1" == "" goto help
+
+if "%1" == "help" (
+	:help
+	echo.Please use `make ^<target^>` where ^<target^> is one of
+	echo.  html       to make standalone HTML files
+	echo.  dirhtml    to make HTML files named index.html in directories
+	echo.  singlehtml to make a single large HTML file
+	echo.  pickle     to make pickle files
+	echo.  json       to make JSON files
+	echo.  htmlhelp   to make HTML files and a HTML help project
+	echo.  qthelp     to make HTML files and a qthelp project
+	echo.  devhelp    to make HTML files and a Devhelp project
+	echo.  epub       to make an epub
+	echo.  epub3      to make an epub3
+	echo.  latex      to make LaTeX files, you can set PAPER=a4 or PAPER=letter
+	echo.  text       to make text files
+	echo.  man        to make manual pages
+	echo.  texinfo    to make Texinfo files
+	echo.  gettext    to make PO message catalogs
+	echo.  changes    to make an overview over all changed/added/deprecated items
+	echo.  xml        to make Docutils-native XML files
+	echo.  pseudoxml  to make pseudoxml-XML files for display purposes
+	echo.  linkcheck  to check all external links for integrity
+	echo.  doctest    to run all doctests embedded in the documentation if enabled
+	echo.  coverage   to run coverage check of the documentation if enabled
+	echo.  dummy      to check syntax errors of document sources
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "clean" (
+	for /d %%i in (%BUILDDIR%\*) do rmdir /q /s %%i
+	del /q /s %BUILDDIR%\*
+	goto end
+)
+
+
+REM Check if sphinx-build is available and fallback to Python version if any
+%SPHINXBUILD% 1>NUL 2>NUL
+if errorlevel 9009 goto sphinx_python
+goto sphinx_ok
+
+:sphinx_python
+
+set SPHINXBUILD=python -m sphinx.__init__
+%SPHINXBUILD% 2> nul
+if errorlevel 9009 (
+	echo.
+	echo.The 'sphinx-build' command was not found. Make sure you have Sphinx
+	echo.installed, then set the SPHINXBUILD environment variable to point
+	echo.to the full path of the 'sphinx-build' executable. Alternatively you
+	echo.may add the Sphinx directory to PATH.
+	echo.
+	echo.If you don't have Sphinx installed, grab it from
+	echo.http://sphinx-doc.org/
+	exit /b 1
+)
+
+:sphinx_ok
+
+
+if "%1" == "html" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b html %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/html
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/html.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "dirhtml" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b dirhtml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/dirhtml
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/dirhtml.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "singlehtml" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b singlehtml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/singlehtml
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The HTML pages are in %BUILDDIR%/singlehtml.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "pickle" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b pickle %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/pickle
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; now you can process the pickle files.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "json" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b json %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/json
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; now you can process the JSON files.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "htmlhelp" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b htmlhelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/htmlhelp
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; now you can run HTML Help Workshop with the ^
+.hhp project file in %BUILDDIR%/htmlhelp.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "qthelp" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b qthelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/qthelp
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; now you can run "qcollectiongenerator" with the ^
+.qhcp project file in %BUILDDIR%/qthelp, like this:
+	echo.^> qcollectiongenerator %BUILDDIR%\qthelp\Foo.qhcp
+	echo.To view the help file:
+	echo.^> assistant -collectionFile %BUILDDIR%\qthelp\Foo.ghc
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "devhelp" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b devhelp %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/devhelp
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "epub" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b epub %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/epub
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The epub file is in %BUILDDIR%/epub.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "epub3" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b epub3 %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/epub3
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The epub3 file is in %BUILDDIR%/epub3.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "latex" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; the LaTeX files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "latexpdf" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex
+	cd %BUILDDIR%/latex
+	make all-pdf
+	cd %~dp0
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; the PDF files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "latexpdfja" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b latex %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/latex
+	cd %BUILDDIR%/latex
+	make all-pdf-ja
+	cd %~dp0
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished; the PDF files are in %BUILDDIR%/latex.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "text" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b text %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/text
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The text files are in %BUILDDIR%/text.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "man" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b man %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/man
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The manual pages are in %BUILDDIR%/man.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "texinfo" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b texinfo %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/texinfo
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The Texinfo files are in %BUILDDIR%/texinfo.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "gettext" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b gettext %I18NSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/locale
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The message catalogs are in %BUILDDIR%/locale.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "changes" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b changes %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/changes
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.The overview file is in %BUILDDIR%/changes.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "linkcheck" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b linkcheck %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/linkcheck
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Link check complete; look for any errors in the above output ^
+or in %BUILDDIR%/linkcheck/output.txt.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "doctest" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b doctest %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/doctest
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Testing of doctests in the sources finished, look at the ^
+results in %BUILDDIR%/doctest/output.txt.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "coverage" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b coverage %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/coverage
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Testing of coverage in the sources finished, look at the ^
+results in %BUILDDIR%/coverage/python.txt.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "xml" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b xml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/xml
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The XML files are in %BUILDDIR%/xml.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "pseudoxml" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b pseudoxml %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/pseudoxml
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. The pseudo-XML files are in %BUILDDIR%/pseudoxml.
+	goto end
+)
+
+if "%1" == "dummy" (
+	%SPHINXBUILD% -b dummy %ALLSPHINXOPTS% %BUILDDIR%/dummy
+	if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+	echo.
+	echo.Build finished. Dummy builder generates no files.
+	goto end
+)
+
+:end
diff --git a/doc/source/_static/extra.css b/doc/source/_static/extra.css
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ec6aa3f75f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/_static/extra.css
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+div:not(.highlight) > pre {
+    background: #fff;
+    border: 1px solid #e1e4e5;
+    color: #404040;
+    margin: 1px 0 24px 0;
+    overflow-x: auto;
+    padding: 12px 12px;
+    font-size: 12px;
+}
+
+a.reference.internal code.literal {
+    border: none;
+    font-size: 12px;
+    color: #2980B9;
+}
+
+a.reference.internal:visited code.literal {
+    color: #9B59B6;
+}
diff --git a/doc/source/architecture.rst b/doc/source/architecture.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..37a0027f78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/architecture.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+Architecture
+============
+
+Overview
+--------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Dynamo
+------
+
+Gossip
+^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Failure Detection
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Token Ring/Ranges
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Replication
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Tunable Consistency
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Storage Engine
+--------------
+
+CommitLog
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Memtables
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+SSTables
+^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Guarantees
+----------
+
+.. todo:: todo
diff --git a/doc/source/conf.py b/doc/source/conf.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..85c494d5fd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/conf.py
@@ -0,0 +1,430 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+#
+# Apache Cassandra Documentation documentation build configuration file
+#
+# This file is execfile()d with the current directory set to its containing
+# dir.
+import re
+
+# Finds out the version (so we don't have to manually edit that file every
+# time we change the version)
+cassandra_build_file = '../../build.xml'
+with open(cassandra_build_file) as f:
+    m = re.search("name=\"base\.version\" value=\"([^\"]+)\"", f.read())
+    if not m or m.lastindex != 1:
+        raise RuntimeException("Problem finding version in build.xml file, this shouldn't happen.")
+    cassandra_version = m.group(1)
+
+
+
+# -- General configuration ------------------------------------------------
+
+# If your documentation needs a minimal Sphinx version, state it here.
+# needs_sphinx = '1.0'
+
+# Add any Sphinx extension module names here, as strings. They can be
+# extensions coming with Sphinx (named 'sphinx.ext.*') or your custom
+# ones.
+extensions = [
+    'sphinx.ext.todo',
+    'sphinx.ext.mathjax',
+    'sphinx.ext.ifconfig',
+]
+
+# Add any paths that contain templates here, relative to this directory.
+templates_path = ['_templates']
+
+# The suffix(es) of source filenames.
+# You can specify multiple suffix as a list of string:
+source_suffix = ['.rst']
+
+# The encoding of source files.
+#
+# source_encoding = 'utf-8-sig'
+
+# The master toctree document.
+master_doc = 'index'
+
+# General information about the project.
+project = u'Apache Cassandra'
+copyright = u'2016, The Apache Cassandra team'
+author = u'The Apache Cassandra team'
+
+# The version info for the project you're documenting, acts as replacement for
+# |version| and |release|, also used in various other places throughout the
+# built documents.
+version = cassandra_version
+
+# The language for content autogenerated by Sphinx. Refer to documentation
+# for a list of supported languages.
+#
+# This is also used if you do content translation via gettext catalogs.
+# Usually you set "language" from the command line for these cases.
+language = None
+
+# There are two options for replacing |today|: either, you set today to some
+# non-false value, then it is used:
+#
+# today = ''
+#
+# Else, today_fmt is used as the format for a strftime call.
+#
+# today_fmt = '%B %d, %Y'
+
+# List of patterns, relative to source directory, that match files and
+# directories to ignore when looking for source files.
+# This patterns also effect to html_static_path and html_extra_path
+exclude_patterns = []
+
+# The reST default role (used for this markup: `text`) to use for all
+# documents.
+#
+# default_role = None
+
+# If true, '()' will be appended to :func: etc. cross-reference text.
+#
+# add_function_parentheses = True
+
+# If true, the current module name will be prepended to all description
+# unit titles (such as .. function::).
+#
+# add_module_names = True
+
+# If true, sectionauthor and moduleauthor directives will be shown in the
+# output. They are ignored by default.
+#
+# show_authors = False
+
+# The name of the Pygments (syntax highlighting) style to use.
+pygments_style = 'sphinx'
+
+# A list of ignored prefixes for module index sorting.
+# modindex_common_prefix = []
+
+# If true, keep warnings as "system message" paragraphs in the built documents.
+# keep_warnings = False
+
+# If true, `todo` and `todoList` produce output, else they produce nothing.
+todo_include_todos = True
+
+
+# -- Options for HTML output ----------------------------------------------
+
+# The theme to use for HTML and HTML Help pages.  See the documentation for
+# a list of builtin themes.
+#
+html_theme = 'sphinx_rtd_theme'
+
+html_context = { 'extra_css_files': [ '_static/extra.css' ] }
+
+# Theme options are theme-specific and customize the look and feel of a theme
+# further.  For a list of options available for each theme, see the
+# documentation.
+#
+# html_theme_options = {}
+
+# Add any paths that contain custom themes here, relative to this directory.
+#html_theme_path = ['.']
+
+# The name for this set of Sphinx documents.
+# "<project> v<release> documentation" by default.
+#
+html_title = u'Apache Cassandra Documentation v%s' % version
+
+# A shorter title for the navigation bar.  Default is the same as html_title.
+#
+# html_short_title = None
+
+# The name of an image file (relative to this directory) to place at the top
+# of the sidebar.
+#
+# html_logo = None
+
+# The name of an image file (relative to this directory) to use as a favicon of
+# the docs.  This file should be a Windows icon file (.ico) being 16x16 or 32x32
+# pixels large.
+#
+# html_favicon = None
+
+# Add any paths that contain custom static files (such as style sheets) here,
+# relative to this directory. They are copied after the builtin static files,
+# so a file named "default.css" will overwrite the builtin "default.css".
+html_static_path = ['_static']
+
+# Add any extra paths that contain custom files (such as robots.txt or
+# .htaccess) here, relative to this directory. These files are copied
+# directly to the root of the documentation.
+#
+# html_extra_path = []
+
+# If not None, a 'Last updated on:' timestamp is inserted at every page
+# bottom, using the given strftime format.
+# The empty string is equivalent to '%b %d, %Y'.
+#
+# html_last_updated_fmt = None
+
+# If true, SmartyPants will be used to convert quotes and dashes to
+# typographically correct entities.
+#
+# html_use_smartypants = True
+
+# Custom sidebar templates, maps document names to template names.
+#
+# html_sidebars = {}
+
+# Additional templates that should be rendered to pages, maps page names to
+# template names.
+#
+# html_additional_pages = {}
+
+# If false, no module index is generated.
+#
+# html_domain_indices = True
+
+# If false, no index is generated.
+#
+# html_use_index = True
+
+# If true, the index is split into individual pages for each letter.
+#
+# html_split_index = False
+
+# If true, links to the reST sources are added to the pages.
+#
+# html_show_sourcelink = True
+
+# If true, "Created using Sphinx" is shown in the HTML footer. Default is True.
+#
+# html_show_sphinx = True
+
+# If true, "(C) Copyright ..." is shown in the HTML footer. Default is True.
+#
+# html_show_copyright = True
+
+# If true, an OpenSearch description file will be output, and all pages will
+# contain a <link> tag referring to it.  The value of this option must be the
+# base URL from which the finished HTML is served.
+#
+# html_use_opensearch = ''
+
+# This is the file name suffix for HTML files (e.g. ".xhtml").
+# html_file_suffix = None
+
+# Language to be used for generating the HTML full-text search index.
+# Sphinx supports the following languages:
+#   'da', 'de', 'en', 'es', 'fi', 'fr', 'hu', 'it', 'ja'
+#   'nl', 'no', 'pt', 'ro', 'ru', 'sv', 'tr', 'zh'
+#
+# html_search_language = 'en'
+
+# A dictionary with options for the search language support, empty by default.
+# 'ja' uses this config value.
+# 'zh' user can custom change `jieba` dictionary path.
+#
+# html_search_options = {'type': 'default'}
+
+# The name of a javascript file (relative to the configuration directory) that
+# implements a search results scorer. If empty, the default will be used.
+#
+# html_search_scorer = 'scorer.js'
+
+# Output file base name for HTML help builder.
+htmlhelp_basename = 'ApacheCassandraDocumentationdoc'
+
+# -- Options for LaTeX output ---------------------------------------------
+
+latex_elements = {
+     # The paper size ('letterpaper' or 'a4paper').
+     #
+     # 'papersize': 'letterpaper',
+
+     # The font size ('10pt', '11pt' or '12pt').
+     #
+     # 'pointsize': '10pt',
+
+     # Additional stuff for the LaTeX preamble.
+     #
+     # 'preamble': '',
+
+     # Latex figure (float) alignment
+     #
+     # 'figure_align': 'htbp',
+}
+
+# Grouping the document tree into LaTeX files. List of tuples
+# (source start file, target name, title,
+#  author, documentclass [howto, manual, or own class]).
+latex_documents = [
+    (master_doc, 'ApacheCassandra.tex', u'Apache Cassandra Documentation',
+     u'The Apache Cassandra team', 'manual'),
+]
+
+# The name of an image file (relative to this directory) to place at the top of
+# the title page.
+#
+# latex_logo = None
+
+# For "manual" documents, if this is true, then toplevel headings are parts,
+# not chapters.
+#
+# latex_use_parts = False
+
+# If true, show page references after internal links.
+#
+# latex_show_pagerefs = False
+
+# If true, show URL addresses after external links.
+#
+# latex_show_urls = False
+
+# Documents to append as an appendix to all manuals.
+#
+# latex_appendices = []
+
+# If false, no module index is generated.
+#
+# latex_domain_indices = True
+
+
+# -- Options for manual page output ---------------------------------------
+
+# One entry per manual page. List of tuples
+# (source start file, name, description, authors, manual section).
+man_pages = [
+    (master_doc, 'apachecassandra', u'Apache Cassandra Documentation',
+     [author], 1)
+]
+
+# If true, show URL addresses after external links.
+#
+# man_show_urls = False
+
+
+# -- Options for Texinfo output -------------------------------------------
+
+# Grouping the document tree into Texinfo files. List of tuples
+# (source start file, target name, title, author,
+#  dir menu entry, description, category)
+texinfo_documents = [
+    (master_doc, 'ApacheCassandra', u'Apache Cassandra Documentation',
+     author, 'ApacheCassandraDocumentation', 'One line description of project.',
+     'Miscellaneous'),
+]
+
+# Documents to append as an appendix to all manuals.
+#
+# texinfo_appendices = []
+
+# If false, no module index is generated.
+#
+# texinfo_domain_indices = True
+
+# How to display URL addresses: 'footnote', 'no', or 'inline'.
+#
+# texinfo_show_urls = 'footnote'
+
+# If true, do not generate a @detailmenu in the "Top" node's menu.
+#
+# texinfo_no_detailmenu = False
+
+
+# -- Options for Epub output ----------------------------------------------
+
+# Bibliographic Dublin Core info.
+epub_title = project
+epub_author = author
+epub_publisher = author
+epub_copyright = copyright
+
+# The basename for the epub file. It defaults to the project name.
+# epub_basename = project
+
+# The HTML theme for the epub output. Since the default themes are not
+# optimized for small screen space, using the same theme for HTML and epub
+# output is usually not wise. This defaults to 'epub', a theme designed to save
+# visual space.
+#
+# epub_theme = 'epub'
+
+# The language of the text. It defaults to the language option
+# or 'en' if the language is not set.
+#
+# epub_language = ''
+
+# The scheme of the identifier. Typical schemes are ISBN or URL.
+# epub_scheme = ''
+
+# The unique identifier of the text. This can be a ISBN number
+# or the project homepage.
+#
+# epub_identifier = ''
+
+# A unique identification for the text.
+#
+# epub_uid = ''
+
+# A tuple containing the cover image and cover page html template filenames.
+#
+# epub_cover = ()
+
+# A sequence of (type, uri, title) tuples for the guide element of content.opf.
+#
+# epub_guide = ()
+
+# HTML files that should be inserted before the pages created by sphinx.
+# The format is a list of tuples containing the path and title.
+#
+# epub_pre_files = []
+
+# HTML files that should be inserted after the pages created by sphinx.
+# The format is a list of tuples containing the path and title.
+#
+# epub_post_files = []
+
+# A list of files that should not be packed into the epub file.
+epub_exclude_files = ['search.html']
+
+# The depth of the table of contents in toc.ncx.
+#
+# epub_tocdepth = 3
+
+# Allow duplicate toc entries.
+#
+# epub_tocdup = True
+
+# Choose between 'default' and 'includehidden'.
+#
+# epub_tocscope = 'default'
+
+# Fix unsupported image types using the Pillow.
+#
+# epub_fix_images = False
+
+# Scale large images.
+#
+# epub_max_image_width = 0
+
+# How to display URL addresses: 'footnote', 'no', or 'inline'.
+#
+# epub_show_urls = 'inline'
+
+# If false, no index is generated.
+#
+# epub_use_index = True
diff --git a/doc/source/contactus.rst b/doc/source/contactus.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ffd9d60ce5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/contactus.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+Contact us
+==========
+
+You can get in touch with the Cassandra community either via the mailing lists or the freenode IRC channels.
+
+Mailing lists
+-------------
+
+The following mailing lists are available:
+
+- `Users <http://www.mail-archive.com/user@cassandra.apache.org/>`__ – General discussion list for users - `Subscribe
+  <user-subscribe@cassandra.apache.org>`__
+- `Developers <http://www.mail-archive.com/dev@cassandra.apache.org/>`__ – Development related discussion - `Subscribe
+  <dev-subscribe@cassandra.apache.org>`__
+- `Commits <http://www.mail-archive.com/commits@cassandra.apache.org/>`__ – Commit notification source repository -
+  `Subscribe <commits-subscribe@cassandra.apache.org>`__
+- `Client Libraries <http://www.mail-archive.com/client-dev@cassandra.apache.org/>`__ – Discussion related to the
+  development of idiomatic client APIs - `Subscribe <client-dev-subscribe@cassandra.apache.org>`__
+
+Subscribe by sending an email to the email address in the Subscribe links above. Follow the instructions in the welcome
+email to confirm your subscription. Make sure to keep the welcome email as it contains instructions on how to
+unsubscribe.
+
+IRC
+---
+
+To chat with developers or users in real-time, join our channels on `IRC freenode <http://webchat.freenode.net/>`__. The
+following channels are available:
+
+- ``#cassandra`` - for user questions and general discussions.
+- ``#cassandra-dev`` - strictly for questions or discussions related to Cassandra development.
+- ``#cassandra-builds`` - results of automated test builds.
+
diff --git a/doc/source/cql.rst b/doc/source/cql.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8d36258ac1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/cql.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,3916 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+.. highlight:: sql
+
+The Cassandra Query Language (CQL)
+==================================
+
+CQL Syntax
+----------
+
+Preamble
+^^^^^^^^
+
+This document describes the Cassandra Query Language (CQL) [#]_. Note that this document describes the last version of
+the languages. However, the `changes <#changes>`_ section provides the diff between the different versions of CQL.
+
+CQL offers a model close to SQL in the sense that data is put in *tables* containing *rows* of *columns*. For
+that reason, when used in this document, these terms (tables, rows and columns) have the same definition than they have
+in SQL. But please note that as such, they do **not** refer to the concept of rows and columns found in the deprecated
+thrift API (and earlier version 1 and 2 of CQL).
+
+Conventions
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+To aid in specifying the CQL syntax, we will use the following conventions in this document:
+
+- Language rules will be given in an informal `BNF variant
+  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backus%E2%80%93Naur_Form#Variants>`_ notation. In particular, we'll use square brakets
+  (``[ item ]``) for optional items, ``*`` and ``+`` for repeated items (where ``+`` imply at least one).
+- The grammar is provided for documentation purposes and leave some minor details out (only conveniences that can be
+  ignored). For instance, the comma on the last column definition in a ``CREATE TABLE`` statement is optional but
+  supported if present even though the grammar in this document suggests otherwise. Also, not everything accepted by the
+  grammar will be valid CQL.
+- References to keywords or pieces of CQL code in running text will be shown in a ``fixed-width font``.
+
+Identifiers and keywords
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The CQL language uses *identifiers* (or *names*) to identify tables, columns and other objects. An identifier is a token
+matching the regular expression ``[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*``.
+
+A number of such identifiers, like ``SELECT`` or ``WITH``, are *keywords*. They have a fixed meaning for the language
+and most are reserved. The list of those keywords can be found in `Appendix A <#appendixA>`__.
+
+Identifiers and (unquoted) keywords are case insensitive. Thus ``SELECT`` is the same than ``select`` or ``sElEcT``, and
+``myId`` is the same than ``myid`` or ``MYID``. A convention often used (in particular by the samples of this
+documentation) is to use upper case for keywords and lower case for other identifiers.
+
+There is a second kind of identifiers called *quoted identifiers* defined by enclosing an arbitrary sequence of
+characters (non empty) in double-quotes(``"``). Quoted identifiers are never keywords. Thus ``"select"`` is not a
+reserved keyword and can be used to refer to a column (note that using this is particularly advised), while ``select``
+would raise a parsing error. Also, contrarily to unquoted identifiers and keywords, quoted identifiers are case
+sensitive (``"My Quoted Id"`` is *different* from ``"my quoted id"``). A fully lowercase quoted identifier that matches
+``[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*`` is however *equivalent* to the unquoted identifier obtained by removing the double-quote (so
+``"myid"`` is equivalent to ``myid`` and to ``myId`` but different from ``"myId"``).  Inside a quoted identifier, the
+double-quote character can be repeated to escape it, so ``"foo "" bar"`` is a valid identifier.
+
+**Warning**: *quoted identifiers* allows to declare columns with arbitrary names, and those can sometime clash with
+specific names used by the server. For instance, when using conditional update, the server will respond with a
+result-set containing a special result named ``"[applied]"``. If you’ve declared a column with such a name, this could
+potentially confuse some tools and should be avoided. In general, unquoted identifiers should be preferred but if you
+use quoted identifiers, it is strongly advised to avoid any name enclosed by squared brackets (like ``"[applied]"``) and
+any name that looks like a function call (like ``"f(x)"``).
+
+To sum up, we have:
+
+.. productionlist::
+   identifer: `unquoted_identifier` | `quoted_identifier`
+   unquoted_identifier: [a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*
+   quoted_identifier: "\"" [any character where " can appear if doubled]+ "\""
+
+Constants
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+CQL defines the following kind of *constants*: strings, integers,
+floats, booleans, uuids and blobs:
+
+-  A string constant is an arbitrary sequence of characters characters
+   enclosed by single-quote(\ ``'``). One can include a single-quote in
+   a string by repeating it, e.g. ``'It''s raining today'``. Those are
+   not to be confused with quoted identifiers that use double-quotes.
+-  An integer constant is defined by ``'-'?[0-9]+``.
+-  A float constant is defined by
+   ``'-'?[0-9]+('.'[0-9]*)?([eE][+-]?[0-9+])?``. On top of that, ``NaN``
+   and ``Infinity`` are also float constants.
+-  A boolean constant is either ``true`` or ``false`` up to
+   case-insensitivity (i.e. ``True`` is a valid boolean constant).
+-  A
+   `UUID <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier>`__
+   constant is defined by ``hex{8}-hex{4}-hex{4}-hex{4}-hex{12}`` where
+   ``hex`` is an hexadecimal character, e.g. ``[0-9a-fA-F]`` and ``{4}``
+   is the number of such characters.
+-  A blob constant is an hexadecimal number defined by ``0[xX](hex)+``
+   where ``hex`` is an hexadecimal character, e.g. ``[0-9a-fA-F]``.
+
+For how these constants are typed, see the `data types
+section <#types>`__.
+
+Comments
+^^^^^^^^
+
+A comment in CQL is a line beginning by either double dashes (``--``) or
+double slash (``//``).
+
+Multi-line comments are also supported through enclosure within ``/*``
+and ``*/`` (but nesting is not supported).
+
+| bc(sample).
+| — This is a comment
+| // This is a comment too
+| /\* This is
+|  a multi-line comment \*/
+
+Statements
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+CQL consists of statements. As in SQL, these statements can be divided
+in 3 categories:
+
+-  Data definition statements, that allow to set and change the way data
+   is stored.
+-  Data manipulation statements, that allow to change data
+-  Queries, to look up data
+
+All statements end with a semicolon (``;``) but that semicolon can be
+omitted when dealing with a single statement. The supported statements
+are described in the following sections. When describing the grammar of
+said statements, we will reuse the non-terminal symbols defined below:
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= any quoted or unquoted identifier, excluding reserved keywords
+|  ::= ( ‘.’)? 
+
+|  ::= a string constant
+|  ::= an integer constant
+|  ::= a float constant
+|  ::= \| 
+|  ::= a uuid constant
+|  ::= a boolean constant
+|  ::= a blob constant
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+|  ::= ‘?’
+|  \| ‘:’ 
+|  ::= 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+|  \| ‘(’ ( (‘,’ )\*)? ‘)’
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+|  ::= ‘{’ ( ‘:’ ( ‘,’ ‘:’ )\* )? ‘}’
+|  ::= ‘{’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘}’
+|  ::= ‘[’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘]’
+
+ ::=
+
+|  ::= (AND )\*
+|  ::= ‘=’ ( \| \| )
+| p.
+| Please note that not every possible productions of the grammar above
+  will be valid in practice. Most notably, ``<variable>`` and nested
+  ``<collection-literal>`` are currently not allowed inside
+  ``<collection-literal>``.
+
+A ``<variable>`` can be either anonymous (a question mark (``?``)) or
+named (an identifier preceded by ``:``). Both declare a bind variables
+for `prepared statements <#preparedStatement>`__. The only difference
+between an anymous and a named variable is that a named one will be
+easier to refer to (how exactly depends on the client driver used).
+
+The ``<properties>`` production is use by statement that create and
+alter keyspaces and tables. Each ``<property>`` is either a *simple*
+one, in which case it just has a value, or a *map* one, in which case
+it’s value is a map grouping sub-options. The following will refer to
+one or the other as the *kind* (*simple* or *map*) of the property.
+
+A ``<tablename>`` will be used to identify a table. This is an
+identifier representing the table name that can be preceded by a
+keyspace name. The keyspace name, if provided, allow to identify a table
+in another keyspace than the currently active one (the currently active
+keyspace is set through the \ ``USE``\  statement).
+
+For supported ``<function>``, see the section on
+`functions <#functions>`__.
+
+Strings can be either enclosed with single quotes or two dollar
+characters. The second syntax has been introduced to allow strings that
+contain single quotes. Typical candidates for such strings are source
+code fragments for user-defined functions.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+|  ‘some string value’
+
+| $$double-dollar string can contain single ’ quotes$$
+| p.
+
+Prepared Statement
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+CQL supports *prepared statements*. Prepared statement is an
+optimization that allows to parse a query only once but execute it
+multiple times with different concrete values.
+
+In a statement, each time a column value is expected (in the data
+manipulation and query statements), a ``<variable>`` (see above) can be
+used instead. A statement with bind variables must then be *prepared*.
+Once it has been prepared, it can executed by providing concrete values
+for the bind variables. The exact procedure to prepare a statement and
+execute a prepared statement depends on the CQL driver used and is
+beyond the scope of this document.
+
+In addition to providing column values, bind markers may be used to
+provide values for ``LIMIT``, ``TIMESTAMP``, and ``TTL`` clauses. If
+anonymous bind markers are used, the names for the query parameters will
+be ``[limit]``, ``[timestamp]``, and ``[ttl]``, respectively.
+
+Data Definition
+---------------
+
+CREATE KEYSPACE
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE KEYSPACE (IF NOT EXISTS)? WITH 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE KEYSPACE Excelsior
+|  WITH replication = {’class’: ‘SimpleStrategy’, ‘replication\_factor’
+  : 3};
+
+| CREATE KEYSPACE Excalibur
+|  WITH replication = {’class’: ‘NetworkTopologyStrategy’, ‘DC1’ : 1,
+  ‘DC2’ : 3}
+|  AND durable\_writes = false;
+| p.
+| The ``CREATE KEYSPACE`` statement creates a new top-level *keyspace*.
+  A keyspace is a namespace that defines a replication strategy and some
+  options for a set of tables. Valid keyspaces names are identifiers
+  composed exclusively of alphanumerical characters and whose length is
+  lesser or equal to 32. Note that as identifiers, keyspace names are
+  case insensitive: use a quoted identifier for case sensitive keyspace
+  names.
+
+The supported ``<properties>`` for ``CREATE KEYSPACE`` are:
+
++----------------------+------------+-------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| name                 | kind       | mandatory   | default   | description                                                                                           |
++======================+============+=============+===========+=======================================================================================================+
+| ``replication``      | *map*      | yes         |           | The replication strategy and options to use for the keyspace.                                         |
++----------------------+------------+-------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``durable_writes``   | *simple*   | no          | true      | Whether to use the commit log for updates on this keyspace (disable this option at your own risk!).   |
++----------------------+------------+-------------+-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+The ``replication`` ``<property>`` is mandatory. It must at least
+contains the ``'class'`` sub-option which defines the replication
+strategy class to use. The rest of the sub-options depends on that
+replication strategy class. By default, Cassandra support the following
+``'class'``:
+
+-  ``'SimpleStrategy'``: A simple strategy that defines a simple
+   replication factor for the whole cluster. The only sub-options
+   supported is ``'replication_factor'`` to define that replication
+   factor and is mandatory.
+-  ``'NetworkTopologyStrategy'``: A replication strategy that allows to
+   set the replication factor independently for each data-center. The
+   rest of the sub-options are key-value pairs where each time the key
+   is the name of a datacenter and the value the replication factor for
+   that data-center.
+-  ``'OldNetworkTopologyStrategy'``: A legacy replication strategy. You
+   should avoid this strategy for new keyspaces and prefer
+   ``'NetworkTopologyStrategy'``.
+
+Attempting to create an already existing keyspace will return an error
+unless the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` option is used. If it is used, the
+statement will be a no-op if the keyspace already exists.
+
+USE
+^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+bc(syntax). ::= USE
+
+*Sample:*
+
+bc(sample). USE myApp;
+
+The ``USE`` statement takes an existing keyspace name as argument and
+set it as the per-connection current working keyspace. All subsequent
+keyspace-specific actions will be performed in the context of the
+selected keyspace, unless `otherwise specified <#statements>`__, until
+another USE statement is issued or the connection terminates.
+
+ALTER KEYSPACE
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= ALTER KEYSPACE WITH 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| ALTER KEYSPACE Excelsior
+|  WITH replication = {’class’: ‘SimpleStrategy’, ‘replication\_factor’
+  : 4};
+
+The ``ALTER KEYSPACE`` statement alters the properties of an existing
+keyspace. The supported ``<properties>`` are the same as for the
+```CREATE KEYSPACE`` <#createKeyspaceStmt>`__ statement.
+
+DROP KEYSPACE
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+bc(syntax). ::= DROP KEYSPACE ( IF EXISTS )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+bc(sample). DROP KEYSPACE myApp;
+
+A ``DROP KEYSPACE`` statement results in the immediate, irreversible
+removal of an existing keyspace, including all column families in it,
+and all data contained in those column families.
+
+If the keyspace does not exists, the statement will return an error,
+unless ``IF EXISTS`` is used in which case the operation is a no-op.
+
+CREATE TABLE
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE ( TABLE \| COLUMNFAMILY ) ( IF NOT EXISTS )? 
+|  ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+|  ( WITH ( AND )\* )?
+
+|  ::= ( STATIC )? ( PRIMARY KEY )?
+|  \| PRIMARY KEY ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| COMPACT STORAGE
+|  \| CLUSTERING ORDER
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE TABLE monkeySpecies (
+|  species text PRIMARY KEY,
+|  common\_name text,
+|  population varint,
+|  average\_size int
+| ) WITH comment=‘Important biological records’
+|  AND read\_repair\_chance = 1.0;
+
+| CREATE TABLE timeline (
+|  userid uuid,
+|  posted\_month int,
+|  posted\_time uuid,
+|  body text,
+|  posted\_by text,
+|  PRIMARY KEY (userid, posted\_month, posted\_time)
+| ) WITH compaction = { ‘class’ : ‘LeveledCompactionStrategy’ };
+| p.
+| The ``CREATE TABLE`` statement creates a new table. Each such table is
+  a set of *rows* (usually representing related entities) for which it
+  defines a number of properties. A table is defined by a
+  `name <#createTableName>`__, it defines the columns composing rows of
+  the table and have a number of `options <#createTableOptions>`__. Note
+  that the ``CREATE COLUMNFAMILY`` syntax is supported as an alias for
+  ``CREATE TABLE`` (for historical reasons).
+
+Attempting to create an already existing table will return an error
+unless the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` option is used. If it is used, the
+statement will be a no-op if the table already exists.
+
+``<tablename>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Valid table names are the same as valid `keyspace
+names <#createKeyspaceStmt>`__ (up to 32 characters long alphanumerical
+identifiers). If the table name is provided alone, the table is created
+within the current keyspace (see \ ``USE``\ ), but if it is prefixed by
+an existing keyspace name (see ```<tablename>`` <#statements>`__
+grammar), it is created in the specified keyspace (but does **not**
+change the current keyspace).
+
+``<column-definition>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+A ``CREATE TABLE`` statement defines the columns that rows of the table
+can have. A *column* is defined by its name (an identifier) and its type
+(see the `data types <#types>`__ section for more details on allowed
+types and their properties).
+
+Within a table, a row is uniquely identified by its ``PRIMARY KEY`` (or
+more simply the key), and hence all table definitions **must** define a
+PRIMARY KEY (and only one). A ``PRIMARY KEY`` is composed of one or more
+of the columns defined in the table. If the ``PRIMARY KEY`` is only one
+column, this can be specified directly after the column definition.
+Otherwise, it must be specified by following ``PRIMARY KEY`` by the
+comma-separated list of column names composing the key within
+parenthesis. Note that:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE t (
+|  k int PRIMARY KEY,
+|  other text
+| )
+
+is equivalent to
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE t (
+|  k int,
+|  other text,
+|  PRIMARY KEY (k)
+| )
+
+Partition key and clustering columns
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+In CQL, the order in which columns are defined for the ``PRIMARY KEY``
+matters. The first column of the key is called the *partition key*. It
+has the property that all the rows sharing the same partition key (even
+across table in fact) are stored on the same physical node. Also,
+insertion/update/deletion on rows sharing the same partition key for a
+given table are performed *atomically* and in *isolation*. Note that it
+is possible to have a composite partition key, i.e. a partition key
+formed of multiple columns, using an extra set of parentheses to define
+which columns forms the partition key.
+
+The remaining columns of the ``PRIMARY KEY`` definition, if any, are
+called \_\_clustering columns. On a given physical node, rows for a
+given partition key are stored in the order induced by the clustering
+columns, making the retrieval of rows in that clustering order
+particularly efficient (see \ ``SELECT``\ ).
+
+``STATIC`` columns
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Some columns can be declared as ``STATIC`` in a table definition. A
+column that is static will be “shared” by all the rows belonging to the
+same partition (having the same partition key). For instance, in:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE test (
+|  pk int,
+|  t int,
+|  v text,
+|  s text static,
+|  PRIMARY KEY (pk, t)
+| );
+| INSERT INTO test(pk, t, v, s) VALUES (0, 0, ‘val0’, ‘static0’);
+| INSERT INTO test(pk, t, v, s) VALUES (0, 1, ‘val1’, ‘static1’);
+| SELECT \* FROM test WHERE pk=0 AND t=0;
+
+the last query will return ``'static1'`` as value for ``s``, since ``s``
+is static and thus the 2nd insertion modified this “shared” value. Note
+however that static columns are only static within a given partition,
+and if in the example above both rows where from different partitions
+(i.e. if they had different value for ``pk``), then the 2nd insertion
+would not have modified the value of ``s`` for the first row.
+
+A few restrictions applies to when static columns are allowed:
+
+-  tables with the ``COMPACT STORAGE`` option (see below) cannot have
+   them
+-  a table without clustering columns cannot have static columns (in a
+   table without clustering columns, every partition has only one row,
+   and so every column is inherently static).
+-  only non ``PRIMARY KEY`` columns can be static
+
+``<option>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``CREATE TABLE`` statement supports a number of options that
+controls the configuration of a new table. These options can be
+specified after the ``WITH`` keyword.
+
+The first of these option is ``COMPACT STORAGE``. This option is mainly
+targeted towards backward compatibility for definitions created before
+CQL3 (see
+`www.datastax.com/dev/blog/thrift-to-cql3 <http://www.datastax.com/dev/blog/thrift-to-cql3>`__
+for more details). The option also provides a slightly more compact
+layout of data on disk but at the price of diminished flexibility and
+extensibility for the table. Most notably, ``COMPACT STORAGE`` tables
+cannot have collections nor static columns and a ``COMPACT STORAGE``
+table with at least one clustering column supports exactly one (as in
+not 0 nor more than 1) column not part of the ``PRIMARY KEY`` definition
+(which imply in particular that you cannot add nor remove columns after
+creation). For those reasons, ``COMPACT STORAGE`` is not recommended
+outside of the backward compatibility reason evoked above.
+
+Another option is ``CLUSTERING ORDER``. It allows to define the ordering
+of rows on disk. It takes the list of the clustering column names with,
+for each of them, the on-disk order (Ascending or descending). Note that
+this option affects `what ``ORDER BY`` are allowed during
+``SELECT`` <#selectOrderBy>`__.
+
+Table creation supports the following other ``<property>``:
+
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| option                           | kind       | default       | description                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
++==================================+============+===============+=================================================================================================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``comment``                      | *simple*   | none          | A free-form, human-readable comment.                                                                                                                                                                                            |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``read_repair_chance``           | *simple*   | 0.1           | The probability with which to query extra nodes (e.g. more nodes than required by the consistency level) for the purpose of read repairs.                                                                                       |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``dclocal_read_repair_chance``   | *simple*   | 0             | The probability with which to query extra nodes (e.g. more nodes than required by the consistency level) belonging to the same data center than the read coordinator for the purpose of read repairs.                           |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``gc_grace_seconds``             | *simple*   | 864000        | Time to wait before garbage collecting tombstones (deletion markers).                                                                                                                                                           |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``bloom_filter_fp_chance``       | *simple*   | 0.00075       | The target probability of false positive of the sstable bloom filters. Said bloom filters will be sized to provide the provided probability (thus lowering this value impact the size of bloom filters in-memory and on-disk)   |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``default_time_to_live``         | *simple*   | 0             | The default expiration time (“TTL”) in seconds for a table.                                                                                                                                                                     |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``compaction``                   | *map*      | *see below*   | Compaction options, see “below”:#compactionOptions.                                                                                                                                                                             |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``compression``                  | *map*      | *see below*   | Compression options, see “below”:#compressionOptions.                                                                                                                                                                           |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``caching``                      | *map*      | *see below*   | Caching options, see “below”:#cachingOptions.                                                                                                                                                                                   |
++----------------------------------+------------+---------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Compaction options
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``compaction`` property must at least define the ``'class'``
+sub-option, that defines the compaction strategy class to use. The
+default supported class are ``'SizeTieredCompactionStrategy'``,
+``'LeveledCompactionStrategy'``, ``'DateTieredCompactionStrategy'`` and
+``'TimeWindowCompactionStrategy'``. Custom strategy can be provided by
+specifying the full class name as a `string constant <#constants>`__.
+The rest of the sub-options depends on the chosen class. The sub-options
+supported by the default classes are:
+
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| option                               | supported compaction strategy   | default        | description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
++======================================+=================================+================+========================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``enabled``                          | *all*                           | true           | A boolean denoting whether compaction should be enabled or not.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``tombstone_threshold``              | *all*                           | 0.2            | A ratio such that if a sstable has more than this ratio of gcable tombstones over all contained columns, the sstable will be compacted (with no other sstables) for the purpose of purging those tombstones.                                                                                                                           |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``tombstone_compaction_interval``    | *all*                           | 1 day          | The minimum time to wait after an sstable creation time before considering it for “tombstone compaction”, where “tombstone compaction” is the compaction triggered if the sstable has more gcable tombstones than ``tombstone_threshold``.                                                                                             |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``unchecked_tombstone_compaction``   | *all*                           | false          | Setting this to true enables more aggressive tombstone compactions - single sstable tombstone compactions will run without checking how likely it is that they will be successful.                                                                                                                                                     |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``min_sstable_size``                 | SizeTieredCompactionStrategy    | 50MB           | The size tiered strategy groups SSTables to compact in buckets. A bucket groups SSTables that differs from less than 50% in size. However, for small sizes, this would result in a bucketing that is too fine grained. ``min_sstable_size`` defines a size threshold (in bytes) below which all SSTables belong to one unique bucket   |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``min_threshold``                    | SizeTieredCompactionStrategy    | 4              | Minimum number of SSTables needed to start a minor compaction.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``max_threshold``                    | SizeTieredCompactionStrategy    | 32             | Maximum number of SSTables processed by one minor compaction.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``bucket_low``                       | SizeTieredCompactionStrategy    | 0.5            | Size tiered consider sstables to be within the same bucket if their size is within [average\_size \* ``bucket_low``, average\_size \* ``bucket_high`` ] (i.e the default groups sstable whose sizes diverges by at most 50%)                                                                                                           |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``bucket_high``                      | SizeTieredCompactionStrategy    | 1.5            | Size tiered consider sstables to be within the same bucket if their size is within [average\_size \* ``bucket_low``, average\_size \* ``bucket_high`` ] (i.e the default groups sstable whose sizes diverges by at most 50%).                                                                                                          |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``sstable_size_in_mb``               | LeveledCompactionStrategy       | 5MB            | The target size (in MB) for sstables in the leveled strategy. Note that while sstable sizes should stay less or equal to ``sstable_size_in_mb``, it is possible to exceptionally have a larger sstable as during compaction, data for a given partition key are never split into 2 sstables                                            |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timestamp_resolution``             | DateTieredCompactionStrategy    | MICROSECONDS   | The timestamp resolution used when inserting data, could be MILLISECONDS, MICROSECONDS etc (should be understandable by Java TimeUnit) - don’t change this unless you do mutations with USING TIMESTAMP (or equivalent directly in the client)                                                                                         |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``base_time_seconds``                | DateTieredCompactionStrategy    | 60             | The base size of the time windows.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``max_sstable_age_days``             | DateTieredCompactionStrategy    | 365            | SSTables only containing data that is older than this will never be compacted.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timestamp_resolution``             | TimeWindowCompactionStrategy    | MICROSECONDS   | The timestamp resolution used when inserting data, could be MILLISECONDS, MICROSECONDS etc (should be understandable by Java TimeUnit) - don’t change this unless you do mutations with USING TIMESTAMP (or equivalent directly in the client)                                                                                         |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``compaction_window_unit``           | TimeWindowCompactionStrategy    | DAYS           | The Java TimeUnit used for the window size, set in conjunction with ``compaction_window_size``. Must be one of DAYS, HOURS, MINUTES                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``compaction_window_size``           | TimeWindowCompactionStrategy    | 1              | The number of ``compaction_window_unit`` units that make up a time window.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
++--------------------------------------+---------------------------------+----------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Compression options
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+For the ``compression`` property, the following sub-options are
+available:
+
++------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| option                 | default         | description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
++========================+=================+=======================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``class``              | LZ4Compressor   | The compression algorithm to use. Default compressor are: LZ4Compressor, SnappyCompressor and DeflateCompressor. Use ``'enabled' : false`` to disable compression. Custom compressor can be provided by specifying the full class name as a “string constant”:#constants.                                                                                                                                             |
++------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``enabled``            | true            | By default compression is enabled. To disable it, set ``enabled`` to ``false``                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
++------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+|``chunk_length_in_kb``  | 64KB            | On disk SSTables are compressed by block (to allow random reads). This defines the size (in KB) of said block. Bigger values may improve the compression rate, but increases the minimum size of data to be read from disk for a read                                                                                                                                                                                 |
++------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``crc_check_chance``   | 1.0             | When compression is enabled, each compressed block includes a checksum of that block for the purpose of detecting disk bitrot and avoiding the propagation of corruption to other replica. This option defines the probability with which those checksums are checked during read. By default they are always checked. Set to 0 to disable checksum checking and to 0.5 for instance to check them every other read   |
++------------------------+-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Caching options
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+For the ``caching`` property, the following sub-options are available:
+
++--------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| option                   | default   | description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
++==========================+===========+============================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``keys``                 | ALL       | Whether to cache keys (“key cache”) for this table. Valid values are: ``ALL`` and ``NONE``.                                                                                                                                                                                |
++--------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``rows_per_partition``   | NONE      | The amount of rows to cache per partition (“row cache”). If an integer ``n`` is specified, the first ``n`` queried rows of a partition will be cached. Other possible options are ``ALL``, to cache all rows of a queried partition, or ``NONE`` to disable row caching.   |
++--------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Other considerations:
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+-  When `inserting <#insertStmt>`__ / `updating <#updateStmt>`__ a given
+   row, not all columns needs to be defined (except for those part of
+   the key), and missing columns occupy no space on disk. Furthermore,
+   adding new columns (see \ ``ALTER TABLE``\ ) is a constant time
+   operation. There is thus no need to try to anticipate future usage
+   (or to cry when you haven’t) when creating a table.
+
+ALTER TABLE
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= ALTER (TABLE \| COLUMNFAMILY) 
+
+|  ::= ALTER TYPE 
+|  \| ADD 
+|  \| ADD ( ( , )\* )
+|  \| DROP 
+|  \| DROP ( ( , )\* )
+|  \| WITH ( AND )\*
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| ALTER TABLE addamsFamily
+| ALTER lastKnownLocation TYPE uuid;
+
+| ALTER TABLE addamsFamily
+| ADD gravesite varchar;
+
+| ALTER TABLE addamsFamily
+| WITH comment = ‘A most excellent and useful column family’
+|  AND read\_repair\_chance = 0.2;
+| p.
+| The ``ALTER`` statement is used to manipulate table definitions. It
+  allows for adding new columns, dropping existing ones, changing the
+  type of existing columns, or updating the table options. As with table
+  creation, ``ALTER COLUMNFAMILY`` is allowed as an alias for
+  ``ALTER TABLE``.
+
+The ``<tablename>`` is the table name optionally preceded by the
+keyspace name. The ``<instruction>`` defines the alteration to perform:
+
+-  ``ALTER``: Update the type of a given defined column. Note that the
+   type of the `clustering columns <#createTablepartitionClustering>`__
+   can be modified only in very limited cases, as it induces the on-disk
+   ordering of rows. Columns on which a `secondary
+   index <#createIndexStmt>`__ is defined have the same restriction. To
+   change the type of any other column, the column must already exist in
+   type definition and its type should be compatible with the new type.
+   No validation of existing data is performed. The compatibility table
+   is available below.
+-  ``ADD``: Adds a new column to the table. The ``<identifier>`` for the
+   new column must not conflict with an existing column. Moreover,
+   columns cannot be added to tables defined with the
+   ``COMPACT STORAGE`` option.
+-  ``DROP``: Removes a column from the table. Dropped columns will
+   immediately become unavailable in the queries and will not be
+   included in compacted sstables in the future. If a column is readded,
+   queries won’t return values written before the column was last
+   dropped. It is assumed that timestamps represent actual time, so if
+   this is not your case, you should NOT readd previously dropped
+   columns. Columns can’t be dropped from tables defined with the
+   ``COMPACT STORAGE`` option.
+-  ``WITH``: Allows to update the options of the table. The `supported
+   ``<option>`` <#createTableOptions>`__ (and syntax) are the same as
+   for the ``CREATE TABLE`` statement except that ``COMPACT STORAGE`` is
+   not supported. Note that setting any ``compaction`` sub-options has
+   the effect of erasing all previous ``compaction`` options, so you
+   need to re-specify all the sub-options if you want to keep them. The
+   same note applies to the set of ``compression`` sub-options.
+
+CQL type compatibility:
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+CQL data types may be converted only as the following table.
+
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| Data type may be altered to:                                                                                                                 | Data type   |
++==============================================================================================================================================+=============+
+| timestamp                                                                                                                                    | bigint      |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| ascii, bigint, boolean, date, decimal, double, float, inet, int, smallint, text, time, timestamp, timeuuid, tinyint, uuid, varchar, varint   | blob        |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| int                                                                                                                                          | date        |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| ascii, varchar                                                                                                                               | text        |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| bigint                                                                                                                                       | time        |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| bigint                                                                                                                                       | timestamp   |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| timeuuid                                                                                                                                     | uuid        |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| ascii, text                                                                                                                                  | varchar     |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+| bigint, int, timestamp                                                                                                                       | varint      |
++----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+
+
+Clustering columns have stricter requirements, only the below
+conversions are allowed.
+
++--------------------------------+-------------+
+| Data type may be altered to:   | Data type   |
++================================+=============+
+| ascii, text, varchar           | blob        |
++--------------------------------+-------------+
+| ascii, varchar                 | text        |
++--------------------------------+-------------+
+| ascii, text                    | varchar     |
++--------------------------------+-------------+
+
+DROP TABLE
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+bc(syntax). ::= DROP TABLE ( IF EXISTS )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+bc(sample). DROP TABLE worldSeriesAttendees;
+
+The ``DROP TABLE`` statement results in the immediate, irreversible
+removal of a table, including all data contained in it. As for table
+creation, ``DROP COLUMNFAMILY`` is allowed as an alias for
+``DROP TABLE``.
+
+If the table does not exist, the statement will return an error, unless
+``IF EXISTS`` is used in which case the operation is a no-op.
+
+TRUNCATE
+^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+bc(syntax). ::= TRUNCATE ( TABLE \| COLUMNFAMILY )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+bc(sample). TRUNCATE superImportantData;
+
+The ``TRUNCATE`` statement permanently removes all data from a table.
+
+CREATE INDEX
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE ( CUSTOM )? INDEX ( IF NOT EXISTS )? ( )?
+|  ON ‘(’ ‘)’
+|  ( USING ( WITH OPTIONS = )? )?
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| keys( )
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE INDEX userIndex ON NerdMovies (user);
+| CREATE INDEX ON Mutants (abilityId);
+| CREATE INDEX ON users (keys(favs));
+| CREATE CUSTOM INDEX ON users (email) USING ‘path.to.the.IndexClass’;
+| CREATE CUSTOM INDEX ON users (email) USING ‘path.to.the.IndexClass’
+  WITH OPTIONS = {’storage’: ‘/mnt/ssd/indexes/’};
+
+The ``CREATE INDEX`` statement is used to create a new (automatic)
+secondary index for a given (existing) column in a given table. A name
+for the index itself can be specified before the ``ON`` keyword, if
+desired. If data already exists for the column, it will be indexed
+asynchronously. After the index is created, new data for the column is
+indexed automatically at insertion time.
+
+Attempting to create an already existing index will return an error
+unless the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` option is used. If it is used, the
+statement will be a no-op if the index already exists.
+
+Indexes on Map Keys
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+When creating an index on a `map column <#map>`__, you may index either
+the keys or the values. If the column identifier is placed within the
+``keys()`` function, the index will be on the map keys, allowing you to
+use ``CONTAINS KEY`` in ``WHERE`` clauses. Otherwise, the index will be
+on the map values.
+
+DROP INDEX
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+bc(syntax). ::= DROP INDEX ( IF EXISTS )? ( ‘.’ )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| DROP INDEX userIndex;
+
+| DROP INDEX userkeyspace.address\_index;
+| p.
+| The ``DROP INDEX`` statement is used to drop an existing secondary
+  index. The argument of the statement is the index name, which may
+  optionally specify the keyspace of the index.
+
+If the index does not exists, the statement will return an error, unless
+``IF EXISTS`` is used in which case the operation is a no-op.
+
+CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW ( IF NOT EXISTS )? AS
+|  SELECT ( ‘(’ ( ‘,’ ) \* ‘)’ \| ‘\*’ )
+|  FROM 
+|  ( WHERE )?
+|  PRIMARY KEY ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+|  ( WITH ( AND )\* )?
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW monkeySpecies\_by\_population AS
+|  SELECT \*
+|  FROM monkeySpecies
+|  WHERE population IS NOT NULL AND species IS NOT NULL
+|  PRIMARY KEY (population, species)
+|  WITH comment=‘Allow query by population instead of species’;
+| p.
+| The ``CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW`` statement creates a new materialized
+  view. Each such view is a set of *rows* which corresponds to rows
+  which are present in the underlying, or base, table specified in the
+  ``SELECT`` statement. A materialized view cannot be directly updated,
+  but updates to the base table will cause corresponding updates in the
+  view.
+
+Attempting to create an already existing materialized view will return
+an error unless the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` option is used. If it is used, the
+statement will be a no-op if the materialized view already exists.
+
+``WHERE`` Clause
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``<where-clause>`` is similar to the `where clause of a ``SELECT``
+statement <#selectWhere>`__, with a few differences. First, the where
+clause must contain an expression that disallows ``NULL`` values in
+columns in the view’s primary key. If no other restriction is desired,
+this can be accomplished with an ``IS NOT NULL`` expression. Second,
+only columns which are in the base table’s primary key may be restricted
+with expressions other than ``IS NOT NULL``. (Note that this second
+restriction may be lifted in the future.)
+
+ALTER MATERIALIZED VIEW
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax). ::= ALTER MATERIALIZED VIEW 
+|  WITH ( AND )\*
+
+The ``ALTER MATERIALIZED VIEW`` statement allows options to be update;
+these options are the same as \ ``CREATE TABLE``\ ’s options.
+
+DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+bc(syntax). ::= DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW ( IF EXISTS )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+bc(sample). DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW monkeySpecies\_by\_population;
+
+The ``DROP MATERIALIZED VIEW`` statement is used to drop an existing
+materialized view.
+
+If the materialized view does not exists, the statement will return an
+error, unless ``IF EXISTS`` is used in which case the operation is a
+no-op.
+
+CREATE TYPE
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE TYPE ( IF NOT EXISTS )? 
+|  ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+
+ ::= ( ‘.’ )?
+
+ ::=
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE TYPE address (
+|  street\_name text,
+|  street\_number int,
+|  city text,
+|  state text,
+|  zip int
+| )
+
+| CREATE TYPE work\_and\_home\_addresses (
+|  home\_address address,
+|  work\_address address
+| )
+| p.
+| The ``CREATE TYPE`` statement creates a new user-defined type. Each
+  type is a set of named, typed fields. Field types may be any valid
+  type, including collections and other existing user-defined types.
+
+Attempting to create an already existing type will result in an error
+unless the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` option is used. If it is used, the
+statement will be a no-op if the type already exists.
+
+``<typename>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Valid type names are identifiers. The names of existing CQL types and
+`reserved type names <#appendixB>`__ may not be used.
+
+If the type name is provided alone, the type is created with the current
+keyspace (see \ ``USE``\ ). If it is prefixed by an existing keyspace
+name, the type is created within the specified keyspace instead of the
+current keyspace.
+
+ALTER TYPE
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= ALTER TYPE 
+
+|  ::= ALTER TYPE 
+|  \| ADD 
+|  \| RENAME TO ( AND TO )\*
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| ALTER TYPE address ALTER zip TYPE varint
+
+ALTER TYPE address ADD country text
+
+| ALTER TYPE address RENAME zip TO zipcode AND street\_name TO street
+| p.
+| The ``ALTER TYPE`` statement is used to manipulate type definitions.
+  It allows for adding new fields, renaming existing fields, or changing
+  the type of existing fields.
+
+When altering the type of a column, the new type must be compatible with
+the previous type.
+
+DROP TYPE
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DROP TYPE ( IF EXISTS )? 
+| p.
+| The ``DROP TYPE`` statement results in the immediate, irreversible
+  removal of a type. Attempting to drop a type that is still in use by
+  another type or a table will result in an error.
+
+If the type does not exist, an error will be returned unless
+``IF EXISTS`` is used, in which case the operation is a no-op.
+
+CREATE TRIGGER
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE TRIGGER ( IF NOT EXISTS )? ( )?
+|  ON 
+|  USING 
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TRIGGER myTrigger ON myTable USING
+  ‘org.apache.cassandra.triggers.InvertedIndex’;
+
+The actual logic that makes up the trigger can be written in any Java
+(JVM) language and exists outside the database. You place the trigger
+code in a ``lib/triggers`` subdirectory of the Cassandra installation
+directory, it loads during cluster startup, and exists on every node
+that participates in a cluster. The trigger defined on a table fires
+before a requested DML statement occurs, which ensures the atomicity of
+the transaction.
+
+DROP TRIGGER
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DROP TRIGGER ( IF EXISTS )? ( )?
+|  ON 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| DROP TRIGGER myTrigger ON myTable;
+
+``DROP TRIGGER`` statement removes the registration of a trigger created
+using ``CREATE TRIGGER``.
+
+CREATE FUNCTION
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE ( OR REPLACE )?
+|  FUNCTION ( IF NOT EXISTS )?
+|  ( ‘.’ )? 
+|  ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+|  ( CALLED \| RETURNS NULL ) ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS 
+|  LANGUAGE 
+|  AS 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION somefunction
+|  ( somearg int, anotherarg text, complexarg frozen, listarg list )
+|  RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS text
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS $$
+|  // some Java code
+|  $$;
+| CREATE FUNCTION akeyspace.fname IF NOT EXISTS
+|  ( someArg int )
+|  CALLED ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS text
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS $$
+|  // some Java code
+|  $$;
+
+``CREATE FUNCTION`` creates or replaces a user-defined function.
+
+Function Signature
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Signatures are used to distinguish individual functions. The signature
+consists of:
+
+#. The fully qualified function name - i.e *keyspace* plus
+   *function-name*
+#. The concatenated list of all argument types
+
+Note that keyspace names, function names and argument types are subject
+to the default naming conventions and case-sensitivity rules.
+
+``CREATE FUNCTION`` with the optional ``OR REPLACE`` keywords either
+creates a function or replaces an existing one with the same signature.
+A ``CREATE FUNCTION`` without ``OR REPLACE`` fails if a function with
+the same signature already exists.
+
+Behavior on invocation with ``null`` values must be defined for each
+function. There are two options:
+
+#. ``RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT`` declares that the function will always
+   return ``null`` if any of the input arguments is ``null``.
+#. ``CALLED ON NULL INPUT`` declares that the function will always be
+   executed.
+
+If the optional ``IF NOT EXISTS`` keywords are used, the function will
+only be created if another function with the same signature does not
+exist.
+
+``OR REPLACE`` and ``IF NOT EXIST`` cannot be used together.
+
+Functions belong to a keyspace. If no keyspace is specified in
+``<function-name>``, the current keyspace is used (i.e. the keyspace
+specified using the ```USE`` <#useStmt>`__ statement). It is not
+possible to create a user-defined function in one of the system
+keyspaces.
+
+See the section on `user-defined functions <#udfs>`__ for more
+information.
+
+DROP FUNCTION
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DROP FUNCTION ( IF EXISTS )?
+|  ( ‘.’ )? 
+|  ( ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’ )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| DROP FUNCTION myfunction;
+| DROP FUNCTION mykeyspace.afunction;
+| DROP FUNCTION afunction ( int );
+| DROP FUNCTION afunction ( text );
+
+| ``DROP FUNCTION`` statement removes a function created using
+  ``CREATE FUNCTION``.
+| You must specify the argument types
+  (`signature <#functionSignature>`__ ) of the function to drop if there
+  are multiple functions with the same name but a different signature
+  (overloaded functions).
+
+``DROP FUNCTION`` with the optional ``IF EXISTS`` keywords drops a
+function if it exists.
+
+CREATE AGGREGATE
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE ( OR REPLACE )?
+|  AGGREGATE ( IF NOT EXISTS )?
+|  ( ‘.’ )? 
+|  ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+|  SFUNC 
+|  STYPE 
+|  ( FINALFUNC )?
+|  ( INITCOND )?
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE AGGREGATE myaggregate ( val text )
+|  SFUNC myaggregate\_state
+|  STYPE text
+|  FINALFUNC myaggregate\_final
+|  INITCOND ‘foo’;
+
+See the section on `user-defined aggregates <#udas>`__ for a complete
+example.
+
+``CREATE AGGREGATE`` creates or replaces a user-defined aggregate.
+
+``CREATE AGGREGATE`` with the optional ``OR REPLACE`` keywords either
+creates an aggregate or replaces an existing one with the same
+signature. A ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` without ``OR REPLACE`` fails if an
+aggregate with the same signature already exists.
+
+``CREATE AGGREGATE`` with the optional ``IF NOT EXISTS`` keywords either
+creates an aggregate if it does not already exist.
+
+``OR REPLACE`` and ``IF NOT EXIST`` cannot be used together.
+
+Aggregates belong to a keyspace. If no keyspace is specified in
+``<aggregate-name>``, the current keyspace is used (i.e. the keyspace
+specified using the ```USE`` <#useStmt>`__ statement). It is not
+possible to create a user-defined aggregate in one of the system
+keyspaces.
+
+Signatures for user-defined aggregates follow the `same
+rules <#functionSignature>`__ as for user-defined functions.
+
+``STYPE`` defines the type of the state value and must be specified.
+
+The optional ``INITCOND`` defines the initial state value for the
+aggregate. It defaults to ``null``. A non-\ ``null`` ``INITCOND`` must
+be specified for state functions that are declared with
+``RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT``.
+
+``SFUNC`` references an existing function to be used as the state
+modifying function. The type of first argument of the state function
+must match ``STYPE``. The remaining argument types of the state function
+must match the argument types of the aggregate function. State is not
+updated for state functions declared with ``RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT``
+and called with ``null``.
+
+The optional ``FINALFUNC`` is called just before the aggregate result is
+returned. It must take only one argument with type ``STYPE``. The return
+type of the ``FINALFUNC`` may be a different type. A final function
+declared with ``RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT`` means that the aggregate’s
+return value will be ``null``, if the last state is ``null``.
+
+If no ``FINALFUNC`` is defined, the overall return type of the aggregate
+function is ``STYPE``. If a ``FINALFUNC`` is defined, it is the return
+type of that function.
+
+See the section on `user-defined aggregates <#udas>`__ for more
+information.
+
+DROP AGGREGATE
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DROP AGGREGATE ( IF EXISTS )?
+|  ( ‘.’ )? 
+|  ( ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’ )?
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| DROP AGGREGATE myAggregate;
+| DROP AGGREGATE myKeyspace.anAggregate;
+| DROP AGGREGATE someAggregate ( int );
+| DROP AGGREGATE someAggregate ( text );
+
+The ``DROP AGGREGATE`` statement removes an aggregate created using
+``CREATE AGGREGATE``. You must specify the argument types of the
+aggregate to drop if there are multiple aggregates with the same name
+but a different signature (overloaded aggregates).
+
+``DROP AGGREGATE`` with the optional ``IF EXISTS`` keywords drops an
+aggregate if it exists, and does nothing if a function with the
+signature does not exist.
+
+Signatures for user-defined aggregates follow the `same
+rules <#functionSignature>`__ as for user-defined functions.
+
+Data Manipulation
+-----------------
+
+INSERT
+^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= INSERT INTO 
+|  ( ( VALUES )
+|  \| ( JSON ))
+|  ( IF NOT EXISTS )?
+|  ( USING ( AND )\* )?
+
+ ::= ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+
+ ::= ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| 
+
+|  ::= TIMESTAMP 
+|  \| TTL 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| INSERT INTO NerdMovies (movie, director, main\_actor, year)
+|  VALUES (‘Serenity’, ‘Joss Whedon’, ‘Nathan Fillion’, 2005)
+| USING TTL 86400;
+
+| INSERT INTO NerdMovies JSON ‘{`movie <>`__ “Serenity”, `director <>`__
+  “Joss Whedon”, `year <>`__ 2005}’
+| p.
+| The ``INSERT`` statement writes one or more columns for a given row in
+  a table. Note that since a row is identified by its ``PRIMARY KEY``,
+  at least the columns composing it must be specified. The list of
+  columns to insert to must be supplied when using the ``VALUES``
+  syntax. When using the ``JSON`` syntax, they are optional. See the
+  section on ```INSERT JSON`` <#insertJson>`__ for more details.
+
+Note that unlike in SQL, ``INSERT`` does not check the prior existence
+of the row by default: the row is created if none existed before, and
+updated otherwise. Furthermore, there is no mean to know which of
+creation or update happened.
+
+It is however possible to use the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` condition to only
+insert if the row does not exist prior to the insertion. But please note
+that using ``IF NOT EXISTS`` will incur a non negligible performance
+cost (internally, Paxos will be used) so this should be used sparingly.
+
+All updates for an ``INSERT`` are applied atomically and in isolation.
+
+Please refer to the ```UPDATE`` <#updateOptions>`__ section for
+information on the ``<option>`` available and to the
+`collections <#collections>`__ section for use of
+``<collection-literal>``. Also note that ``INSERT`` does not support
+counters, while ``UPDATE`` does.
+
+UPDATE
+^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= UPDATE 
+|  ( USING ( AND )\* )?
+|  SET ( ‘,’ )\*
+|  WHERE 
+|  ( IF ( AND condition )\* )?
+
+|  ::= ‘=’ 
+|  \| ‘=’ (‘+’ \| ‘-’) ( \| \| )
+|  \| ‘=’ ‘+’ 
+|  \| ‘[’ ‘]’ ‘=’ 
+|  \| ‘.’ ‘=’ 
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| IN 
+|  \| ‘[’ ‘]’ 
+|  \| ‘[’ ‘]’ IN 
+|  \| ‘.’ 
+|  \| ‘.’ IN 
+
+|  ::= ‘<’ \| ‘<=’ \| ‘=’ \| ‘!=’ \| ‘>=’ \| ‘>’
+|  ::= ( \| ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’)
+
+ ::= ( AND )\*
+
+|  ::= ‘=’ 
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ ‘=’ 
+|  \| IN ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’
+|  \| IN 
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ IN ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ IN 
+
+|  ::= TIMESTAMP 
+|  \| TTL 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| UPDATE NerdMovies USING TTL 400
+| SET director = ‘Joss Whedon’,
+|  main\_actor = ‘Nathan Fillion’,
+|  year = 2005
+| WHERE movie = ‘Serenity’;
+
+| UPDATE UserActions SET total = total + 2 WHERE user =
+  B70DE1D0-9908-4AE3-BE34-5573E5B09F14 AND action = ‘click’;
+| p.
+| The ``UPDATE`` statement writes one or more columns for a given row in
+  a table. The ``<where-clause>`` is used to select the row to update
+  and must include all columns composing the ``PRIMARY KEY``. Other
+  columns values are specified through ``<assignment>`` after the
+  ``SET`` keyword.
+
+Note that unlike in SQL, ``UPDATE`` does not check the prior existence
+of the row by default (except through the use of ``<condition>``, see
+below): the row is created if none existed before, and updated
+otherwise. Furthermore, there are no means to know whether a creation or
+update occurred.
+
+It is however possible to use the conditions on some columns through
+``IF``, in which case the row will not be updated unless the conditions
+are met. But, please note that using ``IF`` conditions will incur a
+non-negligible performance cost (internally, Paxos will be used) so this
+should be used sparingly.
+
+In an ``UPDATE`` statement, all updates within the same partition key
+are applied atomically and in isolation.
+
+The ``c = c + 3`` form of ``<assignment>`` is used to
+increment/decrement counters. The identifier after the ‘=’ sign **must**
+be the same than the one before the ‘=’ sign (Only increment/decrement
+is supported on counters, not the assignment of a specific value).
+
+The ``id = id + <collection-literal>`` and ``id[value1] = value2`` forms
+of ``<assignment>`` are for collections. Please refer to the `relevant
+section <#collections>`__ for more details.
+
+The ``id.field = <term>`` form of ``<assignemt>`` is for setting the
+value of a single field on a non-frozen user-defined types.
+
+``<options>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``UPDATE`` and ``INSERT`` statements support the following options:
+
+-  ``TIMESTAMP``: sets the timestamp for the operation. If not
+   specified, the coordinator will use the current time (in
+   microseconds) at the start of statement execution as the timestamp.
+   This is usually a suitable default.
+-  ``TTL``: specifies an optional Time To Live (in seconds) for the
+   inserted values. If set, the inserted values are automatically
+   removed from the database after the specified time. Note that the TTL
+   concerns the inserted values, not the columns themselves. This means
+   that any subsequent update of the column will also reset the TTL (to
+   whatever TTL is specified in that update). By default, values never
+   expire. A TTL of 0 is equivalent to no TTL. If the table has a
+   default\_time\_to\_live, a TTL of 0 will remove the TTL for the
+   inserted or updated values.
+
+DELETE
+^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DELETE ( ( ‘,’ )\* )?
+|  FROM 
+|  ( USING TIMESTAMP )?
+|  WHERE 
+|  ( IF ( EXISTS \| ( ( AND )\*) ) )?
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| ‘[’ ‘]’
+|  \| ‘.’ 
+
+ ::= ( AND )\*
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ 
+|  \| IN ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’
+|  \| IN 
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ IN ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ IN 
+
+|  ::= ‘=’ \| ‘<’ \| ‘>’ \| ‘<=’ \| ‘>=’
+|  ::= ( \| ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’)
+
+|  ::= ( \| ‘!=’) 
+|  \| IN 
+|  \| ‘[’ ‘]’ ( \| ‘!=’) 
+|  \| ‘[’ ‘]’ IN 
+|  \| ‘.’ ( \| ‘!=’) 
+|  \| ‘.’ IN 
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| DELETE FROM NerdMovies USING TIMESTAMP 1240003134 WHERE movie =
+  ‘Serenity’;
+
+| DELETE phone FROM Users WHERE userid IN
+  (C73DE1D3-AF08-40F3-B124-3FF3E5109F22,
+  B70DE1D0-9908-4AE3-BE34-5573E5B09F14);
+| p.
+| The ``DELETE`` statement deletes columns and rows. If column names are
+  provided directly after the ``DELETE`` keyword, only those columns are
+  deleted from the row indicated by the ``<where-clause>``. The
+  ``id[value]`` syntax in ``<selection>`` is for non-frozen collections
+  (please refer to the `collection section <#collections>`__ for more
+  details). The ``id.field`` syntax is for the deletion of non-frozen
+  user-defined types. Otherwise, whole rows are removed. The
+  ``<where-clause>`` specifies which rows are to be deleted. Multiple
+  rows may be deleted with one statement by using an ``IN`` clause. A
+  range of rows may be deleted using an inequality operator (such as
+  ``>=``).
+
+``DELETE`` supports the ``TIMESTAMP`` option with the same semantics as
+the ```UPDATE`` <#updateStmt>`__ statement.
+
+In a ``DELETE`` statement, all deletions within the same partition key
+are applied atomically and in isolation.
+
+A ``DELETE`` operation can be conditional through the use of an ``IF``
+clause, similar to ``UPDATE`` and ``INSERT`` statements. However, as
+with ``INSERT`` and ``UPDATE`` statements, this will incur a
+non-negligible performance cost (internally, Paxos will be used) and so
+should be used sparingly.
+
+BATCH
+^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= BEGIN ( UNLOGGED \| COUNTER ) BATCH
+|  ( USING ( AND )\* )?
+|  ( ‘;’ )\*
+|  APPLY BATCH
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+
+|  ::= TIMESTAMP 
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| BEGIN BATCH
+|  INSERT INTO users (userid, password, name) VALUES (‘user2’,
+  ‘ch@ngem3b’, ‘second user’);
+|  UPDATE users SET password = ‘ps22dhds’ WHERE userid = ‘user3’;
+|  INSERT INTO users (userid, password) VALUES (‘user4’, ‘ch@ngem3c’);
+|  DELETE name FROM users WHERE userid = ‘user1’;
+| APPLY BATCH;
+
+The ``BATCH`` statement group multiple modification statements
+(insertions/updates and deletions) into a single statement. It serves
+several purposes:
+
+#. It saves network round-trips between the client and the server (and
+   sometimes between the server coordinator and the replicas) when
+   batching multiple updates.
+#. All updates in a ``BATCH`` belonging to a given partition key are
+   performed in isolation.
+#. By default, all operations in the batch are performed as ``LOGGED``,
+   to ensure all mutations eventually complete (or none will). See the
+   notes on ```UNLOGGED`` <#unloggedBatch>`__ for more details.
+
+Note that:
+
+-  ``BATCH`` statements may only contain ``UPDATE``, ``INSERT`` and
+   ``DELETE`` statements.
+-  Batches are *not* a full analogue for SQL transactions.
+-  If a timestamp is not specified for each operation, then all
+   operations will be applied with the same timestamp. Due to
+   Cassandra’s conflict resolution procedure in the case of `timestamp
+   ties <http://wiki.apache.org/cassandra/FAQ#clocktie>`__, operations
+   may be applied in an order that is different from the order they are
+   listed in the ``BATCH`` statement. To force a particular operation
+   ordering, you must specify per-operation timestamps.
+
+``UNLOGGED``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+By default, Cassandra uses a batch log to ensure all operations in a
+batch eventually complete or none will (note however that operations are
+only isolated within a single partition).
+
+There is a performance penalty for batch atomicity when a batch spans
+multiple partitions. If you do not want to incur this penalty, you can
+tell Cassandra to skip the batchlog with the ``UNLOGGED`` option. If the
+``UNLOGGED`` option is used, a failed batch might leave the patch only
+partly applied.
+
+``COUNTER``
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Use the ``COUNTER`` option for batched counter updates. Unlike other
+updates in Cassandra, counter updates are not idempotent.
+
+``<option>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+``BATCH`` supports both the ``TIMESTAMP`` option, with similar semantic
+to the one described in the ```UPDATE`` <#updateOptions>`__ statement
+(the timestamp applies to all the statement inside the batch). However,
+if used, ``TIMESTAMP`` **must not** be used in the statements within the
+batch.
+
+Queries
+-------
+
+SELECT
+^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= SELECT ( JSON )? 
+|  FROM 
+|  ( WHERE )?
+|  ( ORDER BY )?
+|  ( PER PARTITION LIMIT )?
+|  ( LIMIT )?
+|  ( ALLOW FILTERING )?
+
+|  ::= DISTINCT? 
+|  \| COUNT ‘(’ ( ‘\*’ \| ‘1’ ) ‘)’ (AS )?
+
+|  ::= (AS )? ( ‘,’ (AS )? )\*
+|  \| ‘\*’
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| WRITETIME ‘(’ ‘)’
+|  \| TTL ‘(’ ‘)’
+|  \| CAST ‘(’ AS ‘)’
+|  \| ‘(’ ( (‘,’ )\*)? ‘)’
+
+ ::= ( AND )\*
+
+|  ::= 
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ 
+|  \| IN ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’
+|  \| ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’ IN ‘(’ ( ( ‘,’ )\* )? ‘)’
+|  \| TOKEN ‘(’ ( ‘,’ )\* ‘)’ 
+
+|  ::= ‘=’ \| ‘<’ \| ‘>’ \| ‘<=’ \| ‘>=’ \| CONTAINS \| CONTAINS KEY
+|  ::= ( ‘,’ )\*
+|  ::= ( ASC \| DESC )?
+|  ::= ‘(’ (‘,’ )\* ‘)’
+| p.
+| *Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| SELECT name, occupation FROM users WHERE userid IN (199, 200, 207);
+
+SELECT JSON name, occupation FROM users WHERE userid = 199;
+
+SELECT name AS user\_name, occupation AS user\_occupation FROM users;
+
+| SELECT time, value
+| FROM events
+| WHERE event\_type = ‘myEvent’
+|  AND time > ‘2011-02-03’
+|  AND time <= ‘2012-01-01’
+
+SELECT COUNT (\*) FROM users;
+
+SELECT COUNT (\*) AS user\_count FROM users;
+
+The ``SELECT`` statements reads one or more columns for one or more rows
+in a table. It returns a result-set of rows, where each row contains the
+collection of columns corresponding to the query. If the ``JSON``
+keyword is used, the results for each row will contain only a single
+column named “json”. See the section on
+```SELECT JSON`` <#selectJson>`__ for more details.
+
+``<select-clause>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``<select-clause>`` determines which columns needs to be queried and
+returned in the result-set. It consists of either the comma-separated
+list of or the wildcard character (``*``) to select all the columns
+defined for the table.
+
+A ``<selector>`` is either a column name to retrieve or a ``<function>``
+of one or more ``<term>``\ s. The function allowed are the same as for
+``<term>`` and are described in the `function section <#functions>`__.
+In addition to these generic functions, the ``WRITETIME`` (resp.
+``TTL``) function allows to select the timestamp of when the column was
+inserted (resp. the time to live (in seconds) for the column (or null if
+the column has no expiration set)) and the ```CAST`` <#castFun>`__
+function can be used to convert one data type to another.
+
+Any ``<selector>`` can be aliased using ``AS`` keyword (see examples).
+Please note that ``<where-clause>`` and ``<order-by>`` clause should
+refer to the columns by their original names and not by their aliases.
+
+The ``COUNT`` keyword can be used with parenthesis enclosing ``*``. If
+so, the query will return a single result: the number of rows matching
+the query. Note that ``COUNT(1)`` is supported as an alias.
+
+``<where-clause>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``<where-clause>`` specifies which rows must be queried. It is
+composed of relations on the columns that are part of the
+``PRIMARY KEY`` and/or have a `secondary index <#createIndexStmt>`__
+defined on them.
+
+Not all relations are allowed in a query. For instance, non-equal
+relations (where ``IN`` is considered as an equal relation) on a
+partition key are not supported (but see the use of the ``TOKEN`` method
+below to do non-equal queries on the partition key). Moreover, for a
+given partition key, the clustering columns induce an ordering of rows
+and relations on them is restricted to the relations that allow to
+select a **contiguous** (for the ordering) set of rows. For instance,
+given
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE posts (
+|  userid text,
+|  blog\_title text,
+|  posted\_at timestamp,
+|  entry\_title text,
+|  content text,
+|  category int,
+|  PRIMARY KEY (userid, blog\_title, posted\_at)
+| )
+
+The following query is allowed:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT entry\_title, content FROM posts WHERE userid=‘john doe’ AND
+  blog\_title=‘John’‘s Blog’ AND posted\_at >= ‘2012-01-01’ AND
+  posted\_at < ‘2012-01-31’
+
+But the following one is not, as it does not select a contiguous set of
+rows (and we suppose no secondary indexes are set):
+
+| bc(sample).
+| // Needs a blog\_title to be set to select ranges of posted\_at
+| SELECT entry\_title, content FROM posts WHERE userid=‘john doe’ AND
+  posted\_at >= ‘2012-01-01’ AND posted\_at < ‘2012-01-31’
+
+When specifying relations, the ``TOKEN`` function can be used on the
+``PARTITION KEY`` column to query. In that case, rows will be selected
+based on the token of their ``PARTITION_KEY`` rather than on the value.
+Note that the token of a key depends on the partitioner in use, and that
+in particular the RandomPartitioner won’t yield a meaningful order. Also
+note that ordering partitioners always order token values by bytes (so
+even if the partition key is of type int, ``token(-1) > token(0)`` in
+particular). Example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM posts WHERE token(userid) > token(‘tom’) AND
+  token(userid) < token(‘bob’)
+
+Moreover, the ``IN`` relation is only allowed on the last column of the
+partition key and on the last column of the full primary key.
+
+It is also possible to “group” ``CLUSTERING COLUMNS`` together in a
+relation using the tuple notation. For instance:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM posts WHERE userid=‘john doe’ AND (blog\_title,
+  posted\_at) > (‘John’‘s Blog’, ‘2012-01-01’)
+
+will request all rows that sorts after the one having “John’s Blog” as
+``blog_tile`` and ‘2012-01-01’ for ``posted_at`` in the clustering
+order. In particular, rows having a ``post_at <= '2012-01-01'`` will be
+returned as long as their ``blog_title > 'John''s Blog'``, which
+wouldn’t be the case for:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM posts WHERE userid=‘john doe’ AND blog\_title >
+  ‘John’‘s Blog’ AND posted\_at > ‘2012-01-01’
+
+The tuple notation may also be used for ``IN`` clauses on
+``CLUSTERING COLUMNS``:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM posts WHERE userid=‘john doe’ AND (blog\_title,
+  posted\_at) IN ((‘John’‘s Blog’, ‘2012-01-01), (’Extreme Chess’,
+  ‘2014-06-01’))
+
+The ``CONTAINS`` operator may only be used on collection columns (lists,
+sets, and maps). In the case of maps, ``CONTAINS`` applies to the map
+values. The ``CONTAINS KEY`` operator may only be used on map columns
+and applies to the map keys.
+
+``<order-by>``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``ORDER BY`` option allows to select the order of the returned
+results. It takes as argument a list of column names along with the
+order for the column (``ASC`` for ascendant and ``DESC`` for descendant,
+omitting the order being equivalent to ``ASC``). Currently the possible
+orderings are limited (which depends on the table
+```CLUSTERING ORDER`` <#createTableOptions>`__ ):
+
+-  if the table has been defined without any specific
+   ``CLUSTERING ORDER``, then then allowed orderings are the order
+   induced by the clustering columns and the reverse of that one.
+-  otherwise, the orderings allowed are the order of the
+   ``CLUSTERING ORDER`` option and the reversed one.
+
+``LIMIT`` and ``PER PARTITION LIMIT``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``LIMIT`` option to a ``SELECT`` statement limits the number of rows
+returned by a query, while the ``PER PARTITION LIMIT`` option limits the
+number of rows returned for a given partition by the query. Note that
+both type of limit can used in the same statement.
+
+``ALLOW FILTERING``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+By default, CQL only allows select queries that don’t involve
+“filtering” server side, i.e. queries where we know that all (live)
+record read will be returned (maybe partly) in the result set. The
+reasoning is that those “non filtering” queries have predictable
+performance in the sense that they will execute in a time that is
+proportional to the amount of data **returned** by the query (which can
+be controlled through ``LIMIT``).
+
+The ``ALLOW FILTERING`` option allows to explicitly allow (some) queries
+that require filtering. Please note that a query using
+``ALLOW FILTERING`` may thus have unpredictable performance (for the
+definition above), i.e. even a query that selects a handful of records
+**may** exhibit performance that depends on the total amount of data
+stored in the cluster.
+
+For instance, considering the following table holding user profiles with
+their year of birth (with a secondary index on it) and country of
+residence:
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE TABLE users (
+|  username text PRIMARY KEY,
+|  firstname text,
+|  lastname text,
+|  birth\_year int,
+|  country text
+| )
+
+| CREATE INDEX ON users(birth\_year);
+| p.
+
+Then the following queries are valid:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM users;
+| SELECT firstname, lastname FROM users WHERE birth\_year = 1981;
+
+because in both case, Cassandra guarantees that these queries
+performance will be proportional to the amount of data returned. In
+particular, if no users are born in 1981, then the second query
+performance will not depend of the number of user profile stored in the
+database (not directly at least: due to secondary index implementation
+consideration, this query may still depend on the number of node in the
+cluster, which indirectly depends on the amount of data stored.
+Nevertheless, the number of nodes will always be multiple number of
+magnitude lower than the number of user profile stored). Of course, both
+query may return very large result set in practice, but the amount of
+data returned can always be controlled by adding a ``LIMIT``.
+
+However, the following query will be rejected:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT firstname, lastname FROM users WHERE birth\_year = 1981 AND
+  country = ‘FR’;
+
+because Cassandra cannot guarantee that it won’t have to scan large
+amount of data even if the result to those query is small. Typically, it
+will scan all the index entries for users born in 1981 even if only a
+handful are actually from France. However, if you “know what you are
+doing”, you can force the execution of this query by using
+``ALLOW FILTERING`` and so the following query is valid:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT firstname, lastname FROM users WHERE birth\_year = 1981 AND
+  country = ‘FR’ ALLOW FILTERING;
+
+Database Roles
+--------------
+
+CREATE ROLE
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE ROLE ( IF NOT EXISTS )? ( WITH ( AND )\* )?
+
+|  ::= PASSWORD = 
+|  \| LOGIN = 
+|  \| SUPERUSER = 
+|  \| OPTIONS = 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE ROLE new\_role;
+| CREATE ROLE alice WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_a’ AND LOGIN = true;
+| CREATE ROLE bob WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_b’ AND LOGIN = true AND
+  SUPERUSER = true;
+| CREATE ROLE carlos WITH OPTIONS = { ‘custom\_option1’ :
+  ‘option1\_value’, ‘custom\_option2’ : 99 };
+
+By default roles do not possess ``LOGIN`` privileges or ``SUPERUSER``
+status.
+
+`Permissions <#permissions>`__ on database resources are granted to
+roles; types of resources include keyspaces, tables, functions and roles
+themselves. Roles may be granted to other roles to create hierarchical
+permissions structures; in these hierarchies, permissions and
+``SUPERUSER`` status are inherited, but the ``LOGIN`` privilege is not.
+
+If a role has the ``LOGIN`` privilege, clients may identify as that role
+when connecting. For the duration of that connection, the client will
+acquire any roles and privileges granted to that role.
+
+Only a client with with the ``CREATE`` permission on the database roles
+resource may issue ``CREATE ROLE`` requests (see the `relevant
+section <#permissions>`__ below), unless the client is a ``SUPERUSER``.
+Role management in Cassandra is pluggable and custom implementations may
+support only a subset of the listed options.
+
+Role names should be quoted if they contain non-alphanumeric characters.
+
+Setting credentials for internal authentication
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+| Use the ``WITH PASSWORD`` clause to set a password for internal
+  authentication, enclosing the password in single quotation marks.
+| If internal authentication has not been set up or the role does not
+  have ``LOGIN`` privileges, the ``WITH PASSWORD`` clause is not
+  necessary.
+
+Creating a role conditionally
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Attempting to create an existing role results in an invalid query
+condition unless the ``IF NOT EXISTS`` option is used. If the option is
+used and the role exists, the statement is a no-op.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE ROLE other\_role;
+| CREATE ROLE IF NOT EXISTS other\_role;
+
+ALTER ROLE
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= ALTER ROLE ( WITH ( AND )\* )?
+
+|  ::= PASSWORD = 
+|  \| LOGIN = 
+|  \| SUPERUSER = 
+|  \| OPTIONS = 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| ALTER ROLE bob WITH PASSWORD = ‘PASSWORD\_B’ AND SUPERUSER = false;
+
+Conditions on executing ``ALTER ROLE`` statements:
+
+-  A client must have ``SUPERUSER`` status to alter the ``SUPERUSER``
+   status of another role
+-  A client cannot alter the ``SUPERUSER`` status of any role it
+   currently holds
+-  A client can only modify certain properties of the role with which it
+   identified at login (e.g. ``PASSWORD``)
+-  To modify properties of a role, the client must be granted ``ALTER``
+   `permission <#permissions>`__ on that role
+
+DROP ROLE
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DROP ROLE ( IF EXISTS )? 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| DROP ROLE alice;
+| DROP ROLE IF EXISTS bob;
+
+| ``DROP ROLE`` requires the client to have ``DROP``
+  `permission <#permissions>`__ on the role in question. In addition,
+  client may not ``DROP`` the role with which it identified at login.
+  Finaly, only a client with ``SUPERUSER`` status may ``DROP`` another
+  ``SUPERUSER`` role.
+| Attempting to drop a role which does not exist results in an invalid
+  query condition unless the ``IF EXISTS`` option is used. If the option
+  is used and the role does not exist the statement is a no-op.
+
+GRANT ROLE
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax).
+|  ::= GRANT TO 
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT report\_writer TO alice;
+
+| This statement grants the ``report_writer`` role to ``alice``. Any
+  permissions granted to ``report_writer`` are also acquired by
+  ``alice``.
+| Roles are modelled as a directed acyclic graph, so circular grants are
+  not permitted. The following examples result in error conditions:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT role\_a TO role\_b;
+| GRANT role\_b TO role\_a;
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT role\_a TO role\_b;
+| GRANT role\_b TO role\_c;
+| GRANT role\_c TO role\_a;
+
+REVOKE ROLE
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax).
+|  ::= REVOKE FROM 
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| REVOKE report\_writer FROM alice;
+
+This statement revokes the ``report_writer`` role from ``alice``. Any
+permissions that ``alice`` has acquired via the ``report_writer`` role
+are also revoked.
+
+LIST ROLES
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax).
+|  ::= LIST ROLES ( OF )? ( NORECURSIVE )?
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST ROLES;
+
+Return all known roles in the system, this requires ``DESCRIBE``
+permission on the database roles resource.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST ROLES OF ``alice``;
+
+Enumerate all roles granted to ``alice``, including those transitively
+aquired.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST ROLES OF ``bob`` NORECURSIVE
+
+List all roles directly granted to ``bob``.
+
+CREATE USER
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Prior to the introduction of roles in Cassandra 2.2, authentication and
+authorization were based around the concept of a ``USER``. For backward
+compatibility, the legacy syntax has been preserved with ``USER``
+centric statments becoming synonyms for the ``ROLE`` based equivalents.
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= CREATE USER ( IF NOT EXISTS )? ( WITH PASSWORD )? ()?
+
+|  ::= SUPERUSER
+|  \| NOSUPERUSER
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE USER alice WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_a’ SUPERUSER;
+| CREATE USER bob WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_b’ NOSUPERUSER;
+
+``CREATE USER`` is equivalent to ``CREATE ROLE`` where the ``LOGIN``
+option is ``true``. So, the following pairs of statements are
+equivalent:
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE USER alice WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_a’ SUPERUSER;
+| CREATE ROLE alice WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_a’ AND LOGIN = true AND
+  SUPERUSER = true;
+
+| CREATE USER IF EXISTS alice WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_a’ SUPERUSER;
+| CREATE ROLE IF EXISTS alice WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_a’ AND LOGIN =
+  true AND SUPERUSER = true;
+
+| CREATE USER alice WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_a’ NOSUPERUSER;
+| CREATE ROLE alice WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_a’ AND LOGIN = true AND
+  SUPERUSER = false;
+
+| CREATE USER alice WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_a’ NOSUPERUSER;
+| CREATE ROLE alice WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_a’ WITH LOGIN = true;
+
+| CREATE USER alice WITH PASSWORD ‘password\_a’;
+| CREATE ROLE alice WITH PASSWORD = ‘password\_a’ WITH LOGIN = true;
+| p.
+
+ALTER USER
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= ALTER USER ( WITH PASSWORD )? ( )?
+
+|  ::= SUPERUSER
+|  \| NOSUPERUSER
+| p.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| ALTER USER alice WITH PASSWORD ‘PASSWORD\_A’;
+| ALTER USER bob SUPERUSER;
+
+DROP USER
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= DROP USER ( IF EXISTS )? 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| DROP USER alice;
+| DROP USER IF EXISTS bob;
+
+LIST USERS
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax).
+|  ::= LIST USERS;
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST USERS;
+
+This statement is equivalent to
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST ROLES;
+
+but only roles with the ``LOGIN`` privilege are included in the output.
+
+Data Control
+------------
+
+Permissions
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Permissions on resources are granted to roles; there are several
+different types of resources in Cassandra and each type is modelled
+hierarchically:
+
+-  The hierarchy of Data resources, Keyspaces and Tables has the
+   structure ``ALL KEYSPACES`` [STRIKEOUT:> ``KEYSPACE``]> ``TABLE``
+-  Function resources have the structure ``ALL FUNCTIONS`` [STRIKEOUT:>
+   ``KEYSPACE``]> ``FUNCTION``
+-  Resources representing roles have the structure ``ALL ROLES`` ->
+   ``ROLE``
+-  Resources representing JMX ObjectNames, which map to sets of
+   MBeans/MXBeans, have the structure ``ALL MBEANS`` -> ``MBEAN``
+
+Permissions can be granted at any level of these hierarchies and they
+flow downwards. So granting a permission on a resource higher up the
+chain automatically grants that same permission on all resources lower
+down. For example, granting ``SELECT`` on a ``KEYSPACE`` automatically
+grants it on all ``TABLES`` in that ``KEYSPACE``. Likewise, granting a
+permission on ``ALL FUNCTIONS`` grants it on every defined function,
+regardless of which keyspace it is scoped in. It is also possible to
+grant permissions on all functions scoped to a particular keyspace.
+
+Modifications to permissions are visible to existing client sessions;
+that is, connections need not be re-established following permissions
+changes.
+
+The full set of available permissions is:
+
+-  ``CREATE``
+-  ``ALTER``
+-  ``DROP``
+-  ``SELECT``
+-  ``MODIFY``
+-  ``AUTHORIZE``
+-  ``DESCRIBE``
+-  ``EXECUTE``
+
+Not all permissions are applicable to every type of resource. For
+instance, ``EXECUTE`` is only relevant in the context of functions or
+mbeans; granting ``EXECUTE`` on a resource representing a table is
+nonsensical. Attempting to ``GRANT`` a permission on resource to which
+it cannot be applied results in an error response. The following
+illustrates which permissions can be granted on which types of resource,
+and which statements are enabled by that permission.
+
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| permission      | resource                        | operations                                                                                                                                                           |
++=================+=================================+======================================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``CREATE``      | ``ALL KEYSPACES``               | ``CREATE KEYSPACE`` <br> ``CREATE TABLE`` in any keyspace                                                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``CREATE``      | ``KEYSPACE``                    | ``CREATE TABLE`` in specified keyspace                                                                                                                               |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``CREATE``      | ``ALL FUNCTIONS``               | ``CREATE FUNCTION`` in any keyspace <br> ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` in any keyspace                                                                                        |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``CREATE``      | ``ALL FUNCTIONS IN KEYSPACE``   | ``CREATE FUNCTION`` in keyspace <br> ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` in keyspace                                                                                                |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``CREATE``      | ``ALL ROLES``                   | ``CREATE ROLE``                                                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``ALL KEYSPACES``               | ``ALTER KEYSPACE`` <br> ``ALTER TABLE`` in any keyspace                                                                                                              |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``KEYSPACE``                    | ``ALTER KEYSPACE`` <br> ``ALTER TABLE`` in keyspace                                                                                                                  |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``TABLE``                       | ``ALTER TABLE``                                                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``ALL FUNCTIONS``               | ``CREATE FUNCTION`` replacing any existing <br> ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` replacing any existing                                                                          |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``ALL FUNCTIONS IN KEYSPACE``   | ``CREATE FUNCTION`` replacing existing in keyspace <br> ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` replacing any existing in keyspace                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``FUNCTION``                    | ``CREATE FUNCTION`` replacing existing <br> ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` replacing existing                                                                                  |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``ALL ROLES``                   | ``ALTER ROLE`` on any role                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``ALTER``       | ``ROLE``                        | ``ALTER ROLE``                                                                                                                                                       |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``ALL KEYSPACES``               | ``DROP KEYSPACE`` <br> ``DROP TABLE`` in any keyspace                                                                                                                |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``KEYSPACE``                    | ``DROP TABLE`` in specified keyspace                                                                                                                                 |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``TABLE``                       | ``DROP TABLE``                                                                                                                                                       |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``ALL FUNCTIONS``               | ``DROP FUNCTION`` in any keyspace <br> ``DROP AGGREGATE`` in any existing                                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``ALL FUNCTIONS IN KEYSPACE``   | ``DROP FUNCTION`` in keyspace <br> ``DROP AGGREGATE`` in existing                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``FUNCTION``                    | ``DROP FUNCTION``                                                                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``ALL ROLES``                   | ``DROP ROLE`` on any role                                                                                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DROP``        | ``ROLE``                        | ``DROP ROLE``                                                                                                                                                        |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``SELECT``      | ``ALL KEYSPACES``               | ``SELECT`` on any table                                                                                                                                              |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``SELECT``      | ``KEYSPACE``                    | ``SELECT`` on any table in keyspace                                                                                                                                  |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``SELECT``      | ``TABLE``                       | ``SELECT`` on specified table                                                                                                                                        |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``SELECT``      | ``ALL MBEANS``                  | Call getter methods on any mbean                                                                                                                                     |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``SELECT``      | ``MBEANS``                      | Call getter methods on any mbean matching a wildcard pattern                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``SELECT``      | ``MBEAN``                       | Call getter methods on named mbean                                                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``MODIFY``      | ``ALL KEYSPACES``               | ``INSERT`` on any table <br> ``UPDATE`` on any table <br> ``DELETE`` on any table <br> ``TRUNCATE`` on any table                                                     |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``MODIFY``      | ``KEYSPACE``                    | ``INSERT`` on any table in keyspace <br> ``UPDATE`` on any table in keyspace <br>   ``DELETE`` on any table in keyspace <br> ``TRUNCATE`` on any table in keyspace   |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``MODIFY``      | ``TABLE``                       | ``INSERT`` <br> ``UPDATE`` <br> ``DELETE`` <br> ``TRUNCATE``                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``MODIFY``      | ``ALL MBEANS``                  | Call setter methods on any mbean                                                                                                                                     |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``MODIFY``      | ``MBEANS``                      | Call setter methods on any mbean matching a wildcard pattern                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``MODIFY``      | ``MBEAN``                       | Call setter methods on named mbean                                                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ALL KEYSPACES``               | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` on any table <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` on any table                                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``KEYSPACE``                    | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` on table in keyspace <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` on table in keyspace                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``TABLE``                       | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION``                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ALL FUNCTIONS``               | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` on any function <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` on any function                                                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ALL FUNCTIONS IN KEYSPACE``   | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` in keyspace <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` in keyspace                                                                                              |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ALL FUNCTIONS IN KEYSPACE``   | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` in keyspace <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` in keyspace                                                                                              |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``FUNCTION``                    | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION``                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ALL MBEANS``                  | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` on any mbean <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` on any mbean                                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``MBEANS``                      | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` on any mbean matching a wildcard pattern <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` on any mbean matching a wildcard pattern                                    |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``MBEAN``                       | ``GRANT PERMISSION`` on named mbean <br> ``REVOKE PERMISSION`` on named mbean                                                                                        |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ALL ROLES``                   | ``GRANT ROLE`` grant any role <br> ``REVOKE ROLE`` revoke any role                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``   | ``ROLES``                       | ``GRANT ROLE`` grant role <br> ``REVOKE ROLE`` revoke role                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DESCRIBE``    | ``ALL ROLES``                   | ``LIST ROLES`` all roles or only roles granted to another, specified role                                                                                            |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DESCRIBE``    | @ALL MBEANS                     | Retrieve metadata about any mbean from the platform’s MBeanServer                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DESCRIBE``    | @MBEANS                         | Retrieve metadata about any mbean matching a wildcard patter from the platform’s MBeanServer                                                                         |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``DESCRIBE``    | @MBEAN                          | Retrieve metadata about a named mbean from the platform’s MBeanServer                                                                                                |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``     | ``ALL FUNCTIONS``               | ``SELECT``, ``INSERT``, ``UPDATE`` using any function <br> use of any function in ``CREATE AGGREGATE``                                                               |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``     | ``ALL FUNCTIONS IN KEYSPACE``   | ``SELECT``, ``INSERT``, ``UPDATE`` using any function in keyspace <br> use of any function in keyspace in ``CREATE AGGREGATE``                                       |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``     | ``FUNCTION``                    | ``SELECT``, ``INSERT``, ``UPDATE`` using function <br> use of function in ``CREATE AGGREGATE``                                                                       |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``     | ``ALL MBEANS``                  | Execute operations on any mbean                                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``     | ``MBEANS``                      | Execute operations on any mbean matching a wildcard pattern                                                                                                          |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``     | ``MBEAN``                       | Execute operations on named mbean                                                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+---------------------------------+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+GRANT PERMISSION
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= GRANT ( ALL ( PERMISSIONS )? \| ( PERMISSION )? ) ON TO 
+
+ ::= CREATE \| ALTER \| DROP \| SELECT \| MODIFY \| AUTHORIZE \| DESCRIBE \| EXECUTE
+
+|  ::= ALL KEYSPACES
+|  \| KEYSPACE 
+|  \| ( TABLE )? 
+|  \| ALL ROLES
+|  \| ROLE 
+|  \| ALL FUNCTIONS ( IN KEYSPACE )?
+|  \| FUNCTION 
+|  \| ALL MBEANS
+|  \| ( MBEAN \| MBEANS ) 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT SELECT ON ALL KEYSPACES TO data\_reader;
+
+This gives any user with the role ``data_reader`` permission to execute
+``SELECT`` statements on any table across all keyspaces
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT MODIFY ON KEYSPACE keyspace1 TO data\_writer;
+
+This give any user with the role ``data_writer`` permission to perform
+``UPDATE``, ``INSERT``, ``UPDATE``, ``DELETE`` and ``TRUNCATE`` queries
+on all tables in the ``keyspace1`` keyspace
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT DROP ON keyspace1.table1 TO schema\_owner;
+
+This gives any user with the ``schema_owner`` role permissions to
+``DROP`` ``keyspace1.table1``.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT EXECUTE ON FUNCTION keyspace1.user\_function( int ) TO
+  report\_writer;
+
+This grants any user with the ``report_writer`` role permission to
+execute ``SELECT``, ``INSERT`` and ``UPDATE`` queries which use the
+function ``keyspace1.user_function( int )``
+
+| bc(sample).
+| GRANT DESCRIBE ON ALL ROLES TO role\_admin;
+
+This grants any user with the ``role_admin`` role permission to view any
+and all roles in the system with a ``LIST ROLES`` statement
+
+GRANT ALL
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+When the ``GRANT ALL`` form is used, the appropriate set of permissions
+is determined automatically based on the target resource.
+
+Automatic Granting
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+When a resource is created, via a ``CREATE KEYSPACE``, ``CREATE TABLE``,
+``CREATE FUNCTION``, ``CREATE AGGREGATE`` or ``CREATE ROLE`` statement,
+the creator (the role the database user who issues the statement is
+identified as), is automatically granted all applicable permissions on
+the new resource.
+
+REVOKE PERMISSION
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= REVOKE ( ALL ( PERMISSIONS )? \| ( PERMISSION )? ) ON FROM 
+
+ ::= CREATE \| ALTER \| DROP \| SELECT \| MODIFY \| AUTHORIZE \| DESCRIBE \| EXECUTE
+
+|  ::= ALL KEYSPACES
+|  \| KEYSPACE 
+|  \| ( TABLE )? 
+|  \| ALL ROLES
+|  \| ROLE 
+|  \| ALL FUNCTIONS ( IN KEYSPACE )?
+|  \| FUNCTION 
+|  \| ALL MBEANS
+|  \| ( MBEAN \| MBEANS ) 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| REVOKE SELECT ON ALL KEYSPACES FROM data\_reader;
+| REVOKE MODIFY ON KEYSPACE keyspace1 FROM data\_writer;
+| REVOKE DROP ON keyspace1.table1 FROM schema\_owner;
+| REVOKE EXECUTE ON FUNCTION keyspace1.user\_function( int ) FROM
+  report\_writer;
+| REVOKE DESCRIBE ON ALL ROLES FROM role\_admin;
+| p.
+
+LIST PERMISSIONS
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+*Syntax:*
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= LIST ( ALL ( PERMISSIONS )? \| )
+|  ( ON )?
+|  ( OF ( NORECURSIVE )? )?
+
+|  ::= ALL KEYSPACES
+|  \| KEYSPACE 
+|  \| ( TABLE )? 
+|  \| ALL ROLES
+|  \| ROLE 
+|  \| ALL FUNCTIONS ( IN KEYSPACE )?
+|  \| FUNCTION 
+|  \| ALL MBEANS
+|  \| ( MBEAN \| MBEANS ) 
+| p.
+
+*Sample:*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST ALL PERMISSIONS OF alice;
+
+Show all permissions granted to ``alice``, including those acquired
+transitively from any other roles.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST ALL PERMISSIONS ON keyspace1.table1 OF bob;
+
+Show all permissions on ``keyspace1.table1`` granted to ``bob``,
+including those acquired transitively from any other roles. This also
+includes any permissions higher up the resource hierarchy which can be
+applied to ``keyspace1.table1``. For example, should ``bob`` have
+``ALTER`` permission on ``keyspace1``, that would be included in the
+results of this query. Adding the ``NORECURSIVE`` switch restricts the
+results to only those permissions which were directly granted to ``bob``
+or one of ``bob``\ ’s roles.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| LIST SELECT PERMISSIONS OF carlos;
+
+Show any permissions granted to ``carlos`` or any of ``carlos``\ ’s
+roles, limited to ``SELECT`` permissions on any resource.
+
+Data Types
+----------
+
+CQL supports a rich set of data types for columns defined in a table,
+including collection types. On top of those native and collection types,
+users can also provide custom types (through a JAVA class extending
+``AbstractType`` loadable by Cassandra). The syntax of types is thus:
+
+| bc(syntax)..
+|  ::= 
+|  \| 
+|  \| 
+|  \| // Used for custom types. The fully-qualified name of a JAVA class
+
+|  ::= ascii
+|  \| bigint
+|  \| blob
+|  \| boolean
+|  \| counter
+|  \| date
+|  \| decimal
+|  \| double
+|  \| float
+|  \| inet
+|  \| int
+|  \| smallint
+|  \| text
+|  \| time
+|  \| timestamp
+|  \| timeuuid
+|  \| tinyint
+|  \| uuid
+|  \| varchar
+|  \| varint
+
+|  ::= list ‘<’ ‘>’
+|  \| set ‘<’ ‘>’
+|  \| map ‘<’ ‘,’ ‘>’
+|  ::= tuple ‘<’ (‘,’ )\* ‘>’
+| p. Note that the native types are keywords and as such are
+  case-insensitive. They are however not reserved ones.
+
+The following table gives additional informations on the native data
+types, and on which kind of `constants <#constants>`__ each type
+supports:
+
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| type            | constants supported   | description                                                                                                                                            |
++=================+=======================+========================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``ascii``       | strings               | ASCII character string                                                                                                                                 |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``bigint``      | integers              | 64-bit signed long                                                                                                                                     |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``blob``        | blobs                 | Arbitrary bytes (no validation)                                                                                                                        |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``boolean``     | booleans              | true or false                                                                                                                                          |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``counter``     | integers              | Counter column (64-bit signed value). See `Counters <#counters>`__ for details                                                                         |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``date``        | integers, strings     | A date (with no corresponding time value). See `Working with dates <#usingdates>`__ below for more information.                                        |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``decimal``     | integers, floats      | Variable-precision decimal                                                                                                                             |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``double``      | integers              | 64-bit IEEE-754 floating point                                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``float``       | integers, floats      | 32-bit IEEE-754 floating point                                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``inet``        | strings               | An IP address. It can be either 4 bytes long (IPv4) or 16 bytes long (IPv6). There is no ``inet`` constant, IP address should be inputed as strings    |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``int``         | integers              | 32-bit signed int                                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``smallint``    | integers              | 16-bit signed int                                                                                                                                      |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``text``        | strings               | UTF8 encoded string                                                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``time``        | integers, strings     | A time with nanosecond precision. See `Working with time <#usingtime>`__ below for more information.                                                   |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timestamp``   | integers, strings     | A timestamp. Strings constant are allow to input timestamps as dates, see `Working with timestamps <#usingtimestamps>`__ below for more information.   |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timeuuid``    | uuids                 | Type 1 UUID. This is generally used as a “conflict-free” timestamp. Also see the “functions on Timeuuid”:#timeuuidFun                                  |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``tinyint``     | integers              | 8-bit signed int                                                                                                                                       |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``uuid``        | uuids                 | Type 1 or type 4 UUID                                                                                                                                  |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``varchar``     | strings               | UTF8 encoded string                                                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``varint``      | integers              | Arbitrary-precision integer                                                                                                                            |
++-----------------+-----------------------+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+For more information on how to use the collection types, see the
+`Working with collections <#collections>`__ section below.
+
+Working with timestamps
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Values of the ``timestamp`` type are encoded as 64-bit signed integers
+representing a number of milliseconds since the standard base time known
+as `the epoch <>`__ January 1 1970 at 00:00:00 GMT.
+
+Timestamp can be input in CQL as simple long integers, giving the number
+of milliseconds since the epoch, as defined above.
+
+They can also be input as string literals in any of the following ISO
+8601 formats, each representing the time and date Mar 2, 2011, at
+04:05:00 AM, GMT.:
+
+-  ``2011-02-03 04:05+0000``
+-  ``2011-02-03 04:05:00+0000``
+-  ``2011-02-03 04:05:00.000+0000``
+-  ``2011-02-03T04:05+0000``
+-  ``2011-02-03T04:05:00+0000``
+-  ``2011-02-03T04:05:00.000+0000``
+
+The ``+0000`` above is an RFC 822 4-digit time zone specification;
+``+0000`` refers to GMT. US Pacific Standard Time is ``-0800``. The time
+zone may be omitted if desired— the date will be interpreted as being in
+the time zone under which the coordinating Cassandra node is configured.
+
+-  ``2011-02-03 04:05``
+-  ``2011-02-03 04:05:00``
+-  ``2011-02-03 04:05:00.000``
+-  ``2011-02-03T04:05``
+-  ``2011-02-03T04:05:00``
+-  ``2011-02-03T04:05:00.000``
+
+There are clear difficulties inherent in relying on the time zone
+configuration being as expected, though, so it is recommended that the
+time zone always be specified for timestamps when feasible.
+
+The time of day may also be omitted, if the date is the only piece that
+matters:
+
+-  ``2011-02-03``
+-  ``2011-02-03+0000``
+
+In that case, the time of day will default to 00:00:00, in the specified
+or default time zone.
+
+Working with dates
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Values of the ``date`` type are encoded as 32-bit unsigned integers
+representing a number of days with “the epoch” at the center of the
+range (2^31). Epoch is January 1st, 1970
+
+A date can be input in CQL as an unsigned integer as defined above.
+
+They can also be input as string literals in the following format:
+
+-  ``2014-01-01``
+
+Working with time
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Values of the ``time`` type are encoded as 64-bit signed integers
+representing the number of nanoseconds since midnight.
+
+A time can be input in CQL as simple long integers, giving the number of
+nanoseconds since midnight.
+
+They can also be input as string literals in any of the following
+formats:
+
+-  ``08:12:54``
+-  ``08:12:54.123``
+-  ``08:12:54.123456``
+-  ``08:12:54.123456789``
+
+Counters
+^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``counter`` type is used to define *counter columns*. A counter
+column is a column whose value is a 64-bit signed integer and on which 2
+operations are supported: incrementation and decrementation (see
+```UPDATE`` <#updateStmt>`__ for syntax). Note the value of a counter
+cannot be set. A counter doesn’t exist until first
+incremented/decremented, and the first incrementation/decrementation is
+made as if the previous value was 0. Deletion of counter columns is
+supported but have some limitations (see the `Cassandra
+Wiki <http://wiki.apache.org/cassandra/Counters>`__ for more
+information).
+
+The use of the counter type is limited in the following way:
+
+-  It cannot be used for column that is part of the ``PRIMARY KEY`` of a
+   table.
+-  A table that contains a counter can only contain counters. In other
+   words, either all the columns of a table outside the ``PRIMARY KEY``
+   have the counter type, or none of them have it.
+
+Working with collections
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Noteworthy characteristics
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Collections are meant for storing/denormalizing relatively small amount
+of data. They work well for things like “the phone numbers of a given
+user”, “labels applied to an email”, etc. But when items are expected to
+grow unbounded (“all the messages sent by a given user”, “events
+registered by a sensor”, …), then collections are not appropriate
+anymore and a specific table (with clustering columns) should be used.
+Concretely, collections have the following limitations:
+
+-  Collections are always read in their entirety (and reading one is not
+   paged internally).
+-  Collections cannot have more than 65535 elements. More precisely,
+   while it may be possible to insert more than 65535 elements, it is
+   not possible to read more than the 65535 first elements (see
+   `CASSANDRA-5428 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-5428>`__
+   for details).
+-  While insertion operations on sets and maps never incur a
+   read-before-write internally, some operations on lists do (see the
+   section on lists below for details). It is thus advised to prefer
+   sets over lists when possible.
+
+Please note that while some of those limitations may or may not be
+loosen in the future, the general rule that collections are for
+denormalizing small amount of data is meant to stay.
+
+Maps
+^^^^
+
+A ``map`` is a `typed <#types>`__ set of key-value pairs, where keys are
+unique. Furthermore, note that the map are internally sorted by their
+keys and will thus always be returned in that order. To create a column
+of type ``map``, use the ``map`` keyword suffixed with comma-separated
+key and value types, enclosed in angle brackets. For example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE users (
+|  id text PRIMARY KEY,
+|  given text,
+|  surname text,
+|  favs map // A map of text keys, and text values
+| )
+
+Writing ``map`` data is accomplished with a JSON-inspired syntax. To
+write a record using ``INSERT``, specify the entire map as a JSON-style
+associative array. *Note: This form will always replace the entire map.*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| // Inserting (or Updating)
+| INSERT INTO users (id, given, surname, favs)
+|  VALUES (‘jsmith’, ‘John’, ‘Smith’, { ‘fruit’ : ‘apple’, ‘band’ :
+  ‘Beatles’ })
+
+Adding or updating key-values of a (potentially) existing map can be
+accomplished either by subscripting the map column in an ``UPDATE``
+statement or by adding a new map literal:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| // Updating (or inserting)
+| UPDATE users SET favs[‘author’] = ‘Ed Poe’ WHERE id = ‘jsmith’
+| UPDATE users SET favs = favs + { ‘movie’ : ‘Cassablanca’ } WHERE id =
+  ‘jsmith’
+
+Note that TTLs are allowed for both ``INSERT`` and ``UPDATE``, but in
+both case the TTL set only apply to the newly inserted/updated *values*.
+In other words,
+
+| bc(sample).
+| // Updating (or inserting)
+| UPDATE users USING TTL 10 SET favs[‘color’] = ‘green’ WHERE id =
+  ‘jsmith’
+
+will only apply the TTL to the ``{ 'color' : 'green' }`` record, the
+rest of the map remaining unaffected.
+
+Deleting a map record is done with:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| DELETE favs[‘author’] FROM users WHERE id = ‘jsmith’
+
+Sets
+^^^^
+
+A ``set`` is a `typed <#types>`__ collection of unique values. Sets are
+ordered by their values. To create a column of type ``set``, use the
+``set`` keyword suffixed with the value type enclosed in angle brackets.
+For example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE images (
+|  name text PRIMARY KEY,
+|  owner text,
+|  date timestamp,
+|  tags set
+| );
+
+Writing a ``set`` is accomplished by comma separating the set values,
+and enclosing them in curly braces. *Note: An ``INSERT`` will always
+replace the entire set.*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| INSERT INTO images (name, owner, date, tags)
+|  VALUES (‘cat.jpg’, ‘jsmith’, ‘now’, { ‘kitten’, ‘cat’, ‘pet’ });
+
+Adding and removing values of a set can be accomplished with an
+``UPDATE`` by adding/removing new set values to an existing ``set``
+column.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| UPDATE images SET tags = tags + { ‘cute’, ‘cuddly’ } WHERE name =
+  ‘cat.jpg’;
+| UPDATE images SET tags = tags - { ‘lame’ } WHERE name = ‘cat.jpg’;
+
+As with `maps <#map>`__, TTLs if used only apply to the newly
+inserted/updated *values*.
+
+Lists
+^^^^^
+
+A ``list`` is a `typed <#types>`__ collection of non-unique values where
+elements are ordered by there position in the list. To create a column
+of type ``list``, use the ``list`` keyword suffixed with the value type
+enclosed in angle brackets. For example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE plays (
+|  id text PRIMARY KEY,
+|  game text,
+|  players int,
+|  scores list
+| )
+
+Do note that as explained below, lists have some limitations and
+performance considerations to take into account, and it is advised to
+prefer `sets <#set>`__ over lists when this is possible.
+
+Writing ``list`` data is accomplished with a JSON-style syntax. To write
+a record using ``INSERT``, specify the entire list as a JSON array.
+*Note: An ``INSERT`` will always replace the entire list.*
+
+| bc(sample).
+| INSERT INTO plays (id, game, players, scores)
+|  VALUES (‘123-afde’, ‘quake’, 3, [17, 4, 2]);
+
+Adding (appending or prepending) values to a list can be accomplished by
+adding a new JSON-style array to an existing ``list`` column.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| UPDATE plays SET players = 5, scores = scores + [ 14, 21 ] WHERE id =
+  ‘123-afde’;
+| UPDATE plays SET players = 5, scores = [ 12 ] + scores WHERE id =
+  ‘123-afde’;
+
+It should be noted that append and prepend are not idempotent
+operations. This means that if during an append or a prepend the
+operation timeout, it is not always safe to retry the operation (as this
+could result in the record appended or prepended twice).
+
+Lists also provides the following operation: setting an element by its
+position in the list, removing an element by its position in the list
+and remove all the occurrence of a given value in the list. *However,
+and contrarily to all the other collection operations, these three
+operations induce an internal read before the update, and will thus
+typically have slower performance characteristics*. Those operations
+have the following syntax:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| UPDATE plays SET scores[1] = 7 WHERE id = ‘123-afde’; // sets the 2nd
+  element of scores to 7 (raises an error is scores has less than 2
+  elements)
+| DELETE scores[1] FROM plays WHERE id = ‘123-afde’; // deletes the 2nd
+  element of scores (raises an error is scores has less than 2 elements)
+| UPDATE plays SET scores = scores - [ 12, 21 ] WHERE id = ‘123-afde’;
+  // removes all occurrences of 12 and 21 from scores
+
+As with `maps <#map>`__, TTLs if used only apply to the newly
+inserted/updated *values*.
+
+Functions
+---------
+
+CQL3 distinguishes between built-in functions (so called ‘native
+functions’) and `user-defined functions <#udfs>`__. CQL3 includes
+several native functions, described below:
+
+Cast
+^^^^
+
+The ``cast`` function can be used to converts one native datatype to
+another.
+
+The following table describes the conversions supported by the ``cast``
+function. Cassandra will silently ignore any cast converting a datatype
+into its own datatype.
+
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| from            | to                                                                                                                      |
++=================+=========================================================================================================================+
+| ``ascii``       | ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``bigint``      | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``float``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``               |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``boolean``     | ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``counter``     | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``date``        | ``timestamp``                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``decimal``     | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``double``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``                |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``double``      | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``               |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``float``       | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``              |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``inet``        | ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``int``         | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``            |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``smallint``    | ``tinyint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``                 |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``time``        | ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timestamp``   | ``date``, ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                                         |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timeuuid``    | ``timestamp``, ``date``, ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                          |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``tinyint``     | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``varint``, ``text``, ``varchar``   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``uuid``        | ``text``, ``varchar``                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``varint``      | ``tinyint``, ``smallint``, ``int``, ``bigint``, ``float``, ``double``, ``decimal``, ``text``, ``varchar``               |
++-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+The conversions rely strictly on Java’s semantics. For example, the
+double value 1 will be converted to the text value ‘1.0’.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT avg(cast(count as double)) FROM myTable
+
+Token
+^^^^^
+
+The ``token`` function allows to compute the token for a given partition
+key. The exact signature of the token function depends on the table
+concerned and of the partitioner used by the cluster.
+
+The type of the arguments of the ``token`` depend on the type of the
+partition key columns. The return type depend on the partitioner in use:
+
+-  For Murmur3Partitioner, the return type is ``bigint``.
+-  For RandomPartitioner, the return type is ``varint``.
+-  For ByteOrderedPartitioner, the return type is ``blob``.
+
+For instance, in a cluster using the default Murmur3Partitioner, if a
+table is defined by
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TABLE users (
+|  userid text PRIMARY KEY,
+|  username text,
+|  …
+| )
+
+then the ``token`` function will take a single argument of type ``text``
+(in that case, the partition key is ``userid`` (there is no clustering
+columns so the partition key is the same than the primary key)), and the
+return type will be ``bigint``.
+
+Uuid
+^^^^
+
+The ``uuid`` function takes no parameters and generates a random type 4
+uuid suitable for use in INSERT or SET statements.
+
+Timeuuid functions
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+``now``
+^^^^^^^
+
+The ``now`` function takes no arguments and generates, on the
+coordinator node, a new unique timeuuid (at the time where the statement
+using it is executed). Note that this method is useful for insertion but
+is largely non-sensical in ``WHERE`` clauses. For instance, a query of
+the form
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM myTable WHERE t = now()
+
+will never return any result by design, since the value returned by
+``now()`` is guaranteed to be unique.
+
+``minTimeuuid`` and ``maxTimeuuid``
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``minTimeuuid`` (resp. ``maxTimeuuid``) function takes a
+``timestamp`` value ``t`` (which can be `either a timestamp or a date
+string <#usingtimestamps>`__ ) and return a *fake* ``timeuuid``
+corresponding to the *smallest* (resp. *biggest*) possible ``timeuuid``
+having for timestamp ``t``. So for instance:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT \* FROM myTable WHERE t > maxTimeuuid(‘2013-01-01 00:05+0000’)
+  AND t < minTimeuuid(‘2013-02-02 10:00+0000’)
+
+will select all rows where the ``timeuuid`` column ``t`` is strictly
+older than ‘2013-01-01 00:05+0000’ but strictly younger than ‘2013-02-02
+10:00+0000’. Please note that
+``t >= maxTimeuuid('2013-01-01 00:05+0000')`` would still *not* select a
+``timeuuid`` generated exactly at ‘2013-01-01 00:05+0000’ and is
+essentially equivalent to ``t > maxTimeuuid('2013-01-01 00:05+0000')``.
+
+*Warning*: We called the values generated by ``minTimeuuid`` and
+``maxTimeuuid`` *fake* UUID because they do no respect the Time-Based
+UUID generation process specified by the `RFC
+4122 <http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4122.txt>`__. In particular, the value
+returned by these 2 methods will not be unique. This means you should
+only use those methods for querying (as in the example above). Inserting
+the result of those methods is almost certainly *a bad idea*.
+
+Time conversion functions
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+A number of functions are provided to “convert” a ``timeuuid``, a
+``timestamp`` or a ``date`` into another ``native`` type.
+
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| function name         | input type      | description                                                       |
++=======================+=================+===================================================================+
+| ``toDate``            | ``timeuuid``    | Converts the ``timeuuid`` argument into a ``date`` type           |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``toDate``            | ``timestamp``   | Converts the ``timestamp`` argument into a ``date`` type          |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``toTimestamp``       | ``timeuuid``    | Converts the ``timeuuid`` argument into a ``timestamp`` type      |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``toTimestamp``       | ``date``        | Converts the ``date`` argument into a ``timestamp`` type          |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``toUnixTimestamp``   | ``timeuuid``    | Converts the ``timeuuid`` argument into a ``bigInt`` raw value    |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``toUnixTimestamp``   | ``timestamp``   | Converts the ``timestamp`` argument into a ``bigInt`` raw value   |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``toUnixTimestamp``   | ``date``        | Converts the ``date`` argument into a ``bigInt`` raw value        |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``dateOf``            | ``timeuuid``    | Similar to ``toTimestamp(timeuuid)`` (DEPRECATED)                 |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``unixTimestampOf``   | ``timeuuid``    | Similar to ``toUnixTimestamp(timeuuid)`` (DEPRECATED)             |
++-----------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Blob conversion functions
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+A number of functions are provided to “convert” the native types into
+binary data (``blob``). For every ``<native-type>`` ``type`` supported
+by CQL3 (a notable exceptions is ``blob``, for obvious reasons), the
+function ``typeAsBlob`` takes a argument of type ``type`` and return it
+as a ``blob``. Conversely, the function ``blobAsType`` takes a 64-bit
+``blob`` argument and convert it to a ``bigint`` value. And so for
+instance, ``bigintAsBlob(3)`` is ``0x0000000000000003`` and
+``blobAsBigint(0x0000000000000003)`` is ``3``.
+
+Aggregates
+----------
+
+| Aggregate functions work on a set of rows. They receive values for
+  each row and returns one value for the whole set.
+| If ``normal`` columns, ``scalar functions``, ``UDT`` fields,
+  ``writetime`` or ``ttl`` are selected together with aggregate
+  functions, the values returned for them will be the ones of the first
+  row matching the query.
+
+CQL3 distinguishes between built-in aggregates (so called ‘native
+aggregates’) and `user-defined aggregates <#udas>`__. CQL3 includes
+several native aggregates, described below:
+
+Count
+^^^^^
+
+The ``count`` function can be used to count the rows returned by a
+query. Example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT COUNT (\*) FROM plays;
+| SELECT COUNT (1) FROM plays;
+
+It also can be used to count the non null value of a given column.
+Example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT COUNT (scores) FROM plays;
+
+Max and Min
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``max`` and ``min`` functions can be used to compute the maximum and
+the minimum value returned by a query for a given column.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT MIN (players), MAX (players) FROM plays WHERE game = ‘quake’;
+
+Sum
+^^^
+
+The ``sum`` function can be used to sum up all the values returned by a
+query for a given column.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT SUM (players) FROM plays;
+
+Avg
+^^^
+
+The ``avg`` function can be used to compute the average of all the
+values returned by a query for a given column.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| SELECT AVG (players) FROM plays;
+
+User-Defined Functions
+----------------------
+
+User-defined functions allow execution of user-provided code in
+Cassandra. By default, Cassandra supports defining functions in *Java*
+and *JavaScript*. Support for other JSR 223 compliant scripting
+languages (such as Python, Ruby, and Scala) can be added by adding a JAR
+to the classpath.
+
+UDFs are part of the Cassandra schema. As such, they are automatically
+propagated to all nodes in the cluster.
+
+UDFs can be *overloaded* - i.e. multiple UDFs with different argument
+types but the same function name. Example:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE FUNCTION sample ( arg int ) …;
+| CREATE FUNCTION sample ( arg text ) …;
+
+User-defined functions are susceptible to all of the normal problems
+with the chosen programming language. Accordingly, implementations
+should be safe against null pointer exceptions, illegal arguments, or
+any other potential source of exceptions. An exception during function
+execution will result in the entire statement failing.
+
+It is valid to use *complex* types like collections, tuple types and
+user-defined types as argument and return types. Tuple types and
+user-defined types are handled by the conversion functions of the
+DataStax Java Driver. Please see the documentation of the Java Driver
+for details on handling tuple types and user-defined types.
+
+Arguments for functions can be literals or terms. Prepared statement
+placeholders can be used, too.
+
+Note that you can use the double-quoted string syntax to enclose the UDF
+source code. For example:
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE FUNCTION some\_function ( arg int )
+|  RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS int
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS $$ return arg; $$;
+
+| SELECT some\_function(column) FROM atable …;
+| UPDATE atable SET col = some\_function(?) …;
+| p.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TYPE custom\_type (txt text, i int);
+| CREATE FUNCTION fct\_using\_udt ( udtarg frozen )
+|  RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS text
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS $$ return udtarg.getString(“txt”); $$;
+
+User-defined functions can be used in ```SELECT`` <#selectStmt>`__,
+```INSERT`` <#insertStmt>`__ and ```UPDATE`` <#updateStmt>`__
+statements.
+
+The implicitly available ``udfContext`` field (or binding for script
+UDFs) provides the neccessary functionality to create new UDT and tuple
+values.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| CREATE TYPE custom\_type (txt text, i int);
+| CREATE FUNCTION fct\_using\_udt ( somearg int )
+|  RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS custom\_type
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS $$
+|  UDTValue udt = udfContext.newReturnUDTValue();
+|  udt.setString(“txt”, “some string”);
+|  udt.setInt(“i”, 42);
+|  return udt;
+|  $$;
+
+The definition of the ``UDFContext`` interface can be found in the
+Apache Cassandra source code for
+``org.apache.cassandra.cql3.functions.UDFContext``.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| public interface UDFContext
+| {
+|  UDTValue newArgUDTValue(String argName);
+|  UDTValue newArgUDTValue(int argNum);
+|  UDTValue newReturnUDTValue();
+|  UDTValue newUDTValue(String udtName);
+|  TupleValue newArgTupleValue(String argName);
+|  TupleValue newArgTupleValue(int argNum);
+|  TupleValue newReturnTupleValue();
+|  TupleValue newTupleValue(String cqlDefinition);
+| }
+
+| Java UDFs already have some imports for common interfaces and classes
+  defined. These imports are:
+| Please note, that these convenience imports are not available for
+  script UDFs.
+
+| bc(sample).
+| import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+| import java.util.List;
+| import java.util.Map;
+| import java.util.Set;
+| import org.apache.cassandra.cql3.functions.UDFContext;
+| import com.datastax.driver.core.TypeCodec;
+| import com.datastax.driver.core.TupleValue;
+| import com.datastax.driver.core.UDTValue;
+
+See ```CREATE FUNCTION`` <#createFunctionStmt>`__ and
+```DROP FUNCTION`` <#dropFunctionStmt>`__.
+
+User-Defined Aggregates
+-----------------------
+
+User-defined aggregates allow creation of custom aggregate functions
+using `UDFs <#udfs>`__. Common examples of aggregate functions are
+*count*, *min*, and *max*.
+
+Each aggregate requires an *initial state* (``INITCOND``, which defaults
+to ``null``) of type ``STYPE``. The first argument of the state function
+must have type ``STYPE``. The remaining arguments of the state function
+must match the types of the user-defined aggregate arguments. The state
+function is called once for each row, and the value returned by the
+state function becomes the new state. After all rows are processed, the
+optional ``FINALFUNC`` is executed with last state value as its
+argument.
+
+``STYPE`` is mandatory in order to be able to distinguish possibly
+overloaded versions of the state and/or final function (since the
+overload can appear after creation of the aggregate).
+
+User-defined aggregates can be used in ```SELECT`` <#selectStmt>`__
+statement.
+
+A complete working example for user-defined aggregates (assuming that a
+keyspace has been selected using the ```USE`` <#useStmt>`__ statement):
+
+| bc(sample)..
+| CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION averageState ( state tuple, val int )
+|  CALLED ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS tuple
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS ‘
+   if (val != null) {
+   state.setInt(0, state.getInt(0)+1);
+   state.setLong(1, state.getLong(1)+val.intValue());
+   }
+   return state;
+   ’;
+
+| CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION averageFinal ( state tuple )
+|  CALLED ON NULL INPUT
+|  RETURNS double
+|  LANGUAGE java
+|  AS ‘
+   double r = 0;
+   if (state.getInt(0) == 0) return null;
+   r = state.getLong(1);
+   r /= state.getInt(0);
+   return Double.valueOf®;
+   ’;
+
+| CREATE OR REPLACE AGGREGATE average ( int )
+|  SFUNC averageState
+|  STYPE tuple
+|  FINALFUNC averageFinal
+|  INITCOND (0, 0);
+
+| CREATE TABLE atable (
+|  pk int PRIMARY KEY,
+|  val int);
+| INSERT INTO atable (pk, val) VALUES (1,1);
+| INSERT INTO atable (pk, val) VALUES (2,2);
+| INSERT INTO atable (pk, val) VALUES (3,3);
+| INSERT INTO atable (pk, val) VALUES (4,4);
+| SELECT average(val) FROM atable;
+| p.
+
+See ```CREATE AGGREGATE`` <#createAggregateStmt>`__ and
+```DROP AGGREGATE`` <#dropAggregateStmt>`__.
+
+JSON Support
+------------
+
+Cassandra 2.2 introduces JSON support to ```SELECT`` <#selectStmt>`__
+and ```INSERT`` <#insertStmt>`__ statements. This support does not
+fundamentally alter the CQL API (for example, the schema is still
+enforced), it simply provides a convenient way to work with JSON
+documents.
+
+SELECT JSON
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+With ``SELECT`` statements, the new ``JSON`` keyword can be used to
+return each row as a single ``JSON`` encoded map. The remainder of the
+``SELECT`` statment behavior is the same.
+
+The result map keys are the same as the column names in a normal result
+set. For example, a statement like “``SELECT JSON a, ttl(b) FROM ...``”
+would result in a map with keys ``"a"`` and ``"ttl(b)"``. However, this
+is one notable exception: for symmetry with ``INSERT JSON`` behavior,
+case-sensitive column names with upper-case letters will be surrounded
+with double quotes. For example, “``SELECT JSON myColumn FROM ...``”
+would result in a map key ``"\"myColumn\""`` (note the escaped quotes).
+
+The map values will ``JSON``-encoded representations (as described
+below) of the result set values.
+
+INSERT JSON
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+With ``INSERT`` statements, the new ``JSON`` keyword can be used to
+enable inserting a ``JSON`` encoded map as a single row. The format of
+the ``JSON`` map should generally match that returned by a
+``SELECT JSON`` statement on the same table. In particular,
+case-sensitive column names should be surrounded with double quotes. For
+example, to insert into a table with two columns named “myKey” and
+“value”, you would do the following:
+
+| bc(sample).
+| INSERT INTO mytable JSON ‘{“\\”myKey\\“”: 0, `value <>`__ 0}’
+
+Any columns which are ommitted from the ``JSON`` map will be defaulted
+to a ``NULL`` value (which will result in a tombstone being created).
+
+JSON Encoding of Cassandra Data Types
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Where possible, Cassandra will represent and accept data types in their
+native ``JSON`` representation. Cassandra will also accept string
+representations matching the CQL literal format for all single-field
+types. For example, floats, ints, UUIDs, and dates can be represented by
+CQL literal strings. However, compound types, such as collections,
+tuples, and user-defined types must be represented by native ``JSON``
+collections (maps and lists) or a JSON-encoded string representation of
+the collection.
+
+The following table describes the encodings that Cassandra will accept
+in ``INSERT JSON`` values (and ``fromJson()`` arguments) as well as the
+format Cassandra will use when returning data for ``SELECT JSON``
+statements (and ``fromJson()``):
+
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| type            | formats accepted         | return format   | notes                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
++=================+==========================+=================+===============================================================================================================================================================================================================+
+| ``ascii``       | string                   | string          | Uses JSON’s ``\u`` character escape                                                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``bigint``      | integer, string          | integer         | String must be valid 64 bit integer                                                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``blob``        | string                   | string          | String should be 0x followed by an even number of hex digits                                                                                                                                                  |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``boolean``     | boolean, string          | boolean         | String must be “true” or “false”                                                                                                                                                                              |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``date``        | string                   | string          | Date in format ``YYYY-MM-DD``, timezone UTC                                                                                                                                                                   |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``decimal``     | integer, float, string   | float           | May exceed 32 or 64-bit IEEE-754 floating point precision in client-side decoder                                                                                                                              |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``double``      | integer, float, string   | float           | String must be valid integer or float                                                                                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``float``       | integer, float, string   | float           | String must be valid integer or float                                                                                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``inet``        | string                   | string          | IPv4 or IPv6 address                                                                                                                                                                                          |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``int``         | integer, string          | integer         | String must be valid 32 bit integer                                                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``list``        | list, string             | list            | Uses JSON’s native list representation                                                                                                                                                                        |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``map``         | map, string              | map             | Uses JSON’s native map representation                                                                                                                                                                         |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``smallint``    | integer, string          | integer         | String must be valid 16 bit integer                                                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``set``         | list, string             | list            | Uses JSON’s native list representation                                                                                                                                                                        |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``text``        | string                   | string          | Uses JSON’s ``\u`` character escape                                                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``time``        | string                   | string          | Time of day in format ``HH-MM-SS[.fffffffff]``                                                                                                                                                                |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timestamp``   | integer, string          | string          | A timestamp. Strings constant are allow to input timestamps as dates, see `Working with dates <#usingdates>`__ below for more information. Datestamps with format ``YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS.SSS`` are returned.   |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``timeuuid``    | string                   | string          | Type 1 UUID. See `Constants <#constants>`__ for the UUID format                                                                                                                                               |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``tinyint``     | integer, string          | integer         | String must be valid 8 bit integer                                                                                                                                                                            |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``tuple``       | list, string             | list            | Uses JSON’s native list representation                                                                                                                                                                        |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``UDT``         | map, string              | map             | Uses JSON’s native map representation with field names as keys                                                                                                                                                |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``uuid``        | string                   | string          | See `Constants <#constants>`__ for the UUID format                                                                                                                                                            |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``varchar``     | string                   | string          | Uses JSON’s ``\u`` character escape                                                                                                                                                                           |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| ``varint``      | integer, string          | integer         | Variable length; may overflow 32 or 64 bit integers in client-side decoder                                                                                                                                    |
++-----------------+--------------------------+-----------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+The fromJson() Function
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``fromJson()`` function may be used similarly to ``INSERT JSON``,
+but for a single column value. It may only be used in the ``VALUES``
+clause of an ``INSERT`` statement or as one of the column values in an
+``UPDATE``, ``DELETE``, or ``SELECT`` statement. For example, it cannot
+be used in the selection clause of a ``SELECT`` statement.
+
+The toJson() Function
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``toJson()`` function may be used similarly to ``SELECT JSON``, but
+for a single column value. It may only be used in the selection clause
+of a ``SELECT`` statement.
+
+Appendix A: CQL Keywords
+------------------------
+
+CQL distinguishes between *reserved* and *non-reserved* keywords.
+Reserved keywords cannot be used as identifier, they are truly reserved
+for the language (but one can enclose a reserved keyword by
+double-quotes to use it as an identifier). Non-reserved keywords however
+only have a specific meaning in certain context but can used as
+identifer otherwise. The only *raison d’être* of these non-reserved
+keywords is convenience: some keyword are non-reserved when it was
+always easy for the parser to decide whether they were used as keywords
+or not.
+
++--------------------+-------------+
+| Keyword            | Reserved?   |
++====================+=============+
+| ``ADD``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``AGGREGATE``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ALL``            | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ALLOW``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ALTER``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``AND``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``APPLY``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``AS``             | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ASC``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ASCII``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``AUTHORIZE``      | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``BATCH``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``BEGIN``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``BIGINT``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``BLOB``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``BOOLEAN``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``BY``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``CALLED``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``CLUSTERING``     | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``COLUMNFAMILY``   | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``COMPACT``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``CONTAINS``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``COUNT``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``COUNTER``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``CREATE``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``CUSTOM``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DATE``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DECIMAL``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DELETE``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DESC``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DESCRIBE``       | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DISTINCT``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DOUBLE``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``DROP``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ENTRIES``        | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``EXECUTE``        | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``EXISTS``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FILTERING``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FINALFUNC``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FLOAT``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FROM``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FROZEN``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FULL``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FUNCTION``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``FUNCTIONS``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``GRANT``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``IF``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``IN``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INDEX``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INET``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INFINITY``       | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INITCOND``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INPUT``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INSERT``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INT``            | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``INTO``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``JSON``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``KEY``            | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``KEYS``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``KEYSPACE``       | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``KEYSPACES``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``LANGUAGE``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``LIMIT``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``LIST``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``LOGIN``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``MAP``            | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``MODIFY``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``NAN``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``NOLOGIN``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``NORECURSIVE``    | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``NOSUPERUSER``    | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``NOT``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``NULL``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``OF``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ON``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``OPTIONS``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``OR``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ORDER``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``PASSWORD``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``PERMISSION``     | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``PERMISSIONS``    | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``PRIMARY``        | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``RENAME``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``REPLACE``        | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``RETURNS``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``REVOKE``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ROLE``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``ROLES``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``SCHEMA``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``SELECT``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``SET``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``SFUNC``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``SMALLINT``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``STATIC``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``STORAGE``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``STYPE``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``SUPERUSER``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TABLE``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TEXT``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TIME``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TIMESTAMP``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TIMEUUID``       | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TINYINT``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TO``             | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TOKEN``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TRIGGER``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TRUNCATE``       | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TTL``            | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TUPLE``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``TYPE``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``UNLOGGED``       | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``UPDATE``         | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``USE``            | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``USER``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``USERS``          | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``USING``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``UUID``           | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``VALUES``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``VARCHAR``        | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``VARINT``         | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``WHERE``          | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``WITH``           | yes         |
++--------------------+-------------+
+| ``WRITETIME``      | no          |
++--------------------+-------------+
+
+Appendix B: CQL Reserved Types
+------------------------------
+
+The following type names are not currently used by CQL, but are reserved
+for potential future use. User-defined types may not use reserved type
+names as their name.
+
++-----------------+
+| type            |
++=================+
+| ``bitstring``   |
++-----------------+
+| ``byte``        |
++-----------------+
+| ``complex``     |
++-----------------+
+| ``date``        |
++-----------------+
+| ``enum``        |
++-----------------+
+| ``interval``    |
++-----------------+
+| ``macaddr``     |
++-----------------+
+
+Changes
+-------
+
+The following describes the changes in each version of CQL.
+
+3.4.2
+^^^^^
+
+-  ```INSERT/UPDATE options`` <#updateOptions>`__ for tables having a
+   default\_time\_to\_live specifying a TTL of 0 will remove the TTL
+   from the inserted or updated values
+-  ```ALTER TABLE`` <#alterTableStmt>`__ ``ADD`` and ``DROP`` now allow
+   mutiple columns to be added/removed
+-  New ```PER PARTITION LIMIT`` <#selectLimit>`__ option (see
+   `CASSANDRA-7017 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-7017)>`__.
+-  `User-defined functions <#udfs>`__ can now instantiate ``UDTValue``
+   and ``TupleValue`` instances via the new ``UDFContext`` interface
+   (see
+   `CASSANDRA-10818 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-10818)>`__.
+-  “User-defined types”#createTypeStmt may now be stored in a non-frozen
+   form, allowing individual fields to be updated and deleted in
+   ```UPDATE`` statements <#updateStmt>`__ and ```DELETE``
+   statements <#deleteStmt>`__, respectively.
+   (`CASSANDRA-7423 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-7423)>`__
+
+3.4.1
+^^^^^
+
+-  Adds ``CAST`` functions. See ```Cast`` <#castFun>`__.
+
+3.4.0
+^^^^^
+
+-  Support for `materialized views <#createMVStmt>`__
+-  ```DELETE`` <#deleteStmt>`__ support for inequality expressions and
+   ``IN`` restrictions on any primary key columns
+-  ```UPDATE`` <#updateStmt>`__ support for ``IN`` restrictions on any
+   primary key columns
+
+3.3.1
+^^^^^
+
+-  The syntax ``TRUNCATE TABLE X`` is now accepted as an alias for
+   ``TRUNCATE X``
+
+3.3.0
+^^^^^
+
+-  Adds new `aggregates <#aggregates>`__
+-  User-defined functions are now supported through
+   ```CREATE FUNCTION`` <#createFunctionStmt>`__ and
+   ```DROP FUNCTION`` <#dropFunctionStmt>`__.
+-  User-defined aggregates are now supported through
+   ```CREATE AGGREGATE`` <#createAggregateStmt>`__ and
+   ```DROP AGGREGATE`` <#dropAggregateStmt>`__.
+-  Allows double-dollar enclosed strings literals as an alternative to
+   single-quote enclosed strings.
+-  Introduces Roles to supercede user based authentication and access
+   control
+-  ```Date`` <#usingdates>`__ and ```Time`` <usingtime>`__ data types
+   have been added
+-  ```JSON`` <#json>`__ support has been added
+-  ``Tinyint`` and ``Smallint`` data types have been added
+-  Adds new time conversion functions and deprecate ``dateOf`` and
+   ``unixTimestampOf``. See ```Time conversion functions`` <#timeFun>`__
+
+3.2.0
+^^^^^
+
+-  User-defined types are now supported through
+   ```CREATE TYPE`` <#createTypeStmt>`__,
+   ```ALTER TYPE`` <#alterTypeStmt>`__, and
+   ```DROP TYPE`` <#dropTypeStmt>`__
+-  ```CREATE INDEX`` <#createIndexStmt>`__ now supports indexing
+   collection columns, including indexing the keys of map collections
+   through the ``keys()`` function
+-  Indexes on collections may be queried using the new ``CONTAINS`` and
+   ``CONTAINS KEY`` operators
+-  Tuple types were added to hold fixed-length sets of typed positional
+   fields (see the section on `types <#types>`__ )
+-  ```DROP INDEX`` <#dropIndexStmt>`__ now supports optionally
+   specifying a keyspace
+
+3.1.7
+^^^^^
+
+-  ``SELECT`` statements now support selecting multiple rows in a single
+   partition using an ``IN`` clause on combinations of clustering
+   columns. See `SELECT WHERE <#selectWhere>`__ clauses.
+-  ``IF NOT EXISTS`` and ``IF EXISTS`` syntax is now supported by
+   ``CREATE USER`` and ``DROP USER`` statmenets, respectively.
+
+3.1.6
+^^^^^
+
+-  A new ```uuid`` method <#uuidFun>`__ has been added.
+-  Support for ``DELETE ... IF EXISTS`` syntax.
+
+3.1.5
+^^^^^
+
+-  It is now possible to group clustering columns in a relatiion, see
+   `SELECT WHERE <#selectWhere>`__ clauses.
+-  Added support for ``STATIC`` columns, see `static in CREATE
+   TABLE <#createTableStatic>`__.
+
+3.1.4
+^^^^^
+
+-  ``CREATE INDEX`` now allows specifying options when creating CUSTOM
+   indexes (see `CREATE INDEX reference <#createIndexStmt>`__ ).
+
+3.1.3
+^^^^^
+
+-  Millisecond precision formats have been added to the timestamp parser
+   (see `working with dates <#usingtimestamps>`__ ).
+
+3.1.2
+^^^^^
+
+-  ``NaN`` and ``Infinity`` has been added as valid float contants. They
+   are now reserved keywords. In the unlikely case you we using them as
+   a column identifier (or keyspace/table one), you will noew need to
+   double quote them (see `quote identifiers <#identifiers>`__ ).
+
+3.1.1
+^^^^^
+
+-  ``SELECT`` statement now allows listing the partition keys (using the
+   ``DISTINCT`` modifier). See
+   `CASSANDRA-4536 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-4536>`__.
+-  The syntax ``c IN ?`` is now supported in ``WHERE`` clauses. In that
+   case, the value expected for the bind variable will be a list of
+   whatever type ``c`` is.
+-  It is now possible to use named bind variables (using ``:name``
+   instead of ``?``).
+
+3.1.0
+^^^^^
+
+-  `ALTER TABLE <#alterTableStmt>`__ ``DROP`` option has been reenabled
+   for CQL3 tables and has new semantics now: the space formerly used by
+   dropped columns will now be eventually reclaimed (post-compaction).
+   You should not readd previously dropped columns unless you use
+   timestamps with microsecond precision (see
+   `CASSANDRA-3919 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-3919>`__
+   for more details).
+-  ``SELECT`` statement now supports aliases in select clause. Aliases
+   in WHERE and ORDER BY clauses are not supported. See the `section on
+   select <#selectStmt>`__ for details.
+-  ``CREATE`` statements for ``KEYSPACE``, ``TABLE`` and ``INDEX`` now
+   supports an ``IF NOT EXISTS`` condition. Similarly, ``DROP``
+   statements support a ``IF EXISTS`` condition.
+-  ``INSERT`` statements optionally supports a ``IF NOT EXISTS``
+   condition and ``UPDATE`` supports ``IF`` conditions.
+
+3.0.5
+^^^^^
+
+-  ``SELECT``, ``UPDATE``, and ``DELETE`` statements now allow empty
+   ``IN`` relations (see
+   `CASSANDRA-5626 <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-5626)>`__.
+
+3.0.4
+^^^^^
+
+-  Updated the syntax for custom `secondary
+   indexes <#createIndexStmt>`__.
+-  Non-equal condition on the partition key are now never supported,
+   even for ordering partitioner as this was not correct (the order was
+   **not** the one of the type of the partition key). Instead, the
+   ``token`` method should always be used for range queries on the
+   partition key (see `WHERE clauses <#selectWhere>`__ ).
+
+3.0.3
+^^^^^
+
+-  Support for custom `secondary indexes <#createIndexStmt>`__ has been
+   added.
+
+3.0.2
+^^^^^
+
+-  Type validation for the `constants <#constants>`__ has been fixed.
+   For instance, the implementation used to allow ``'2'`` as a valid
+   value for an ``int`` column (interpreting it has the equivalent of
+   ``2``), or ``42`` as a valid ``blob`` value (in which case ``42`` was
+   interpreted as an hexadecimal representation of the blob). This is no
+   longer the case, type validation of constants is now more strict. See
+   the `data types <#types>`__ section for details on which constant is
+   allowed for which type.
+-  The type validation fixed of the previous point has lead to the
+   introduction of `blobs constants <#constants>`__ to allow inputing
+   blobs. Do note that while inputing blobs as strings constant is still
+   supported by this version (to allow smoother transition to blob
+   constant), it is now deprecated (in particular the `data
+   types <#types>`__ section does not list strings constants as valid
+   blobs) and will be removed by a future version. If you were using
+   strings as blobs, you should thus update your client code ASAP to
+   switch blob constants.
+-  A number of functions to convert native types to blobs have also been
+   introduced. Furthermore the token function is now also allowed in
+   select clauses. See the `section on functions <#functions>`__ for
+   details.
+
+3.0.1
+^^^^^
+
+-  `Date strings <#usingtimestamps>`__ (and timestamps) are no longer
+   accepted as valid ``timeuuid`` values. Doing so was a bug in the
+   sense that date string are not valid ``timeuuid``, and it was thus
+   resulting in `confusing
+   behaviors <https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-4936>`__.
+   However, the following new methods have been added to help working
+   with ``timeuuid``: ``now``, ``minTimeuuid``, ``maxTimeuuid`` ,
+   ``dateOf`` and ``unixTimestampOf``. See the `section dedicated to
+   these methods <#timeuuidFun>`__ for more detail.
+-  “Float constants”#constants now support the exponent notation. In
+   other words, ``4.2E10`` is now a valid floating point value.
+
+Versioning
+----------
+
+Versioning of the CQL language adheres to the `Semantic
+Versioning <http://semver.org>`__ guidelines. Versions take the form
+X.Y.Z where X, Y, and Z are integer values representing major, minor,
+and patch level respectively. There is no correlation between Cassandra
+release versions and the CQL language version.
+
++-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| version   | description                                                                                                       |
++===========+===================================================================================================================+
+| Major     | The major version *must* be bumped when backward incompatible changes are introduced. This should rarely occur.   |
++-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| Minor     | Minor version increments occur when new, but backward compatible, functionality is introduced.                    |
++-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+| Patch     | The patch version is incremented when bugs are fixed.                                                             |
++-----------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+
+.. [#] Technically, this document CQL version 3, which is not backward compatible with CQL version 1 and 2 (which have
+   been deprecated and remove) and differs from it in numerous ways.
diff --git a/doc/source/faq.rst b/doc/source/faq.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4ac0be4cec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/faq.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+Frequently Asked Questions
+==========================
+
+.. TODO: todo
diff --git a/doc/source/getting_started.rst b/doc/source/getting_started.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c30fb1e9ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/getting_started.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+.. highlight:: none
+
+Getting Started
+===============
+
+Installing Cassandra
+--------------------
+
+Prerequisites
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- The latest version of Java 8, either the `Oracle Java Standard Edition 8
+  <http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html>`__ or `OpenJDK 8 <http://openjdk.java.net/>`__. To
+  verify that you have the correct version of java installed, type ``java -version``.
+
+- For using cqlsh, the latest version of `Python 2.7 <https://www.python.org/downloads/>`__. To verify that you have
+  the correct version of Python installed, type ``python --version``.
+
+Installation from binary tarball files
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- Download the latest stable release from the `Apache Cassandra downloads website <http://cassandra.apache.org/download/>`__.
+
+- Untar the file somewhere, for example:
+
+::
+
+    tar -xvf apache-cassandra-3.6-bin.tar.gz cassandra
+
+The files will be extracted into ``apache-cassandra-3.6``, you need to substitute 3.6 with the release number that you
+have downloaded.
+
+- Optionally add ``apache-cassandra-3.6\bin`` to your path.
+- Start Cassandra in the foreground by invoking ``bin/cassandra -f`` from the command line. Press "Control-C" to stop
+  Cassandra. Start Cassandra in the background by invoking ``bin/cassandra`` from the command line. Invoke ``kill pid``
+  or ``pkill -f CassandraDaemon`` to stop Cassandra, where pid is the Cassandra process id, which you can find for
+  example by invoking ``pgrep -f CassandraDaemon``.
+- Verify that Cassandra is running by invoking ``bin/nodetool status`` from the command line.
+- Configuration files are located in the ``conf`` sub-directory.
+- Since Cassandra 2.1, log and data directories are located in the ``logs`` and ``data`` sub-directories respectively.
+  Older versions defaulted to ``/var/log/cassandra`` and ``/var/lib/cassandra``. Due to this, it is necessary to either
+  start Cassandra with root privileges or change ``conf/cassandra.yaml`` to use directories owned by the current user,
+  as explained below in the section on changing the location of directories.
+
+Installation from Debian packages
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- Add the Apache repository of Cassandra to ``/etc/apt/sources.list.d/cassandra.sources.list``, for example for version
+  3.6:
+
+::
+
+    echo "deb http://www.apache.org/dist/cassandra/debian 36x main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cassandra.sources.list
+
+- Update the repositories:
+
+::
+
+    sudo apt-get update
+
+- If you encounter this error:
+
+::
+
+    GPG error: http://www.apache.org 36x InRelease: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY 749D6EEC0353B12C
+
+Then add the public key 749D6EEC0353B12C as follows:
+
+::
+
+    gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 749D6EEC0353B12C
+    gpg --export --armor 749D6EEC0353B12C | sudo apt-key add -
+
+and repeat ``sudo apt-get update``. The actual key may be different, you get it from the error message itself. For a
+full list of Apache contributors public keys, you can refer to `this link <https://www.apache.org/dist/cassandra/KEYS>`__.
+
+- Install Cassandra:
+
+::
+
+    sudo apt-get install cassandra
+
+- You can start Cassandra with ``sudo service cassandra start`` and stop it with ``sudo service cassandra stop``.
+  However, normally the service will start automatically. For this reason be sure to stop it if you need to make any
+  configuration changes.
+- Verify that Cassandra is running by invoking ``nodetool status`` from the command line.
+- The default location of configuration files is ``/etc/cassandra``.
+- The default location of log and data directories is ``/var/log/cassandra/`` and ``/var/lib/cassandra``.
+
+Configuring Cassandra
+---------------------
+
+For running Cassandra on a single node, the steps above are enough, you don't really need to change any configuration.
+However, when you deploy a cluster of nodes, or use clients that are not on the same host, then there are some
+parameters that must be changed.
+
+The Cassandra configuration files can be found in the ``conf`` directory of tarballs. For packages, the configuration
+files will be located in ``/etc/cassandra``.
+
+Main runtime properties
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Most of configuration in Cassandra is done via yaml properties that can be set in ``cassandra.yaml``. At a minimum you
+should consider setting the following properties:
+
+- ``cluster_name``: the name of your cluster.
+- ``seeds``: a comma separated list of the IP addresses of your cluster seeds.
+- ``storage_port``: you don't necessarily need to change this but make sure that there are no firewalls blocking this
+  port.
+- ``listen_address``: the IP address of your node, this is what allows other nodes to communicate with this node so it
+  is important that you change it. Alternatively, you can set ``listen_interface`` to tell Cassandra which interface to
+  use, and consecutively which address to use. Set only one, not both.
+- ``native_transport_port``: as for storage\_port, make sure this port is not blocked by firewalls as clients will
+  communicate with Cassandra on this port.
+
+Changing the location of directories
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The following yaml properties control the location of directories:
+
+- ``data_file_directories``: one or more directories where data files are located.
+- ``commitlog_directory``: the directory where commitlog files are located.
+- ``saved_caches_directory``: the directory where saved caches are located.
+- ``hints_directory``: the directory where hints are located.
+
+For performance reasons, if you have multiple disks, consider putting commitlog and data files on different disks.
+
+Environment variables
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+JVM-level settings such as heap size can be set in ``cassandra-env.sh``.  You can add any additional JVM command line
+argument to the ``JVM_OPTS`` environment variable; when Cassandra starts these arguments will be passed to the JVM.
+
+Logging
+^^^^^^^
+
+The logger in use is logback. You can change logging properties by editing ``logback.xml``. By default it will log at
+INFO level into a file called ``system.log`` and at debug level into a file called ``debug.log``. When running in the
+foreground, it will also log at INFO level to the console.
+
+
+cqlsh
+-----
+
+.. todo:: TODO
+
+
+Cassandra client drivers
+------------------------
+
+Here are known Cassandra client drivers organized by language. Before choosing a driver, you should verify the Cassandra
+version and functionality supported by a specific driver.
+
+Java
+^^^^
+
+- `Achilles <http://achilles.archinnov.info/>`__
+- `Astyanax <https://github.com/Netflix/astyanax/wiki/Getting-Started>`__
+- `Casser <https://github.com/noorq/casser>`__
+- `Datastax Java driver <https://github.com/datastax/java-driver>`__
+- `Kundera <https://github.com/impetus-opensource/Kundera>`__
+- `PlayORM <https://github.com/deanhiller/playorm>`__
+
+Python
+^^^^^^
+
+- `Datastax Python driver <https://github.com/datastax/python-driver>`__
+
+Ruby
+^^^^
+
+- `Datastax Ruby driver <https://github.com/datastax/ruby-driver>`__
+
+C# / .NET
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+- `Cassandra Sharp <https://github.com/pchalamet/cassandra-sharp>`__
+- `Datastax C# driver <https://github.com/datastax/csharp-driver>`__
+- `Fluent Cassandra <https://github.com/managedfusion/fluentcassandra>`__
+
+Nodejs
+^^^^^^
+
+- `Datastax Nodejs driver <https://github.com/datastax/nodejs-driver>`__
+- `Node-Cassandra-CQL <https://github.com/jorgebay/node-cassandra-cql>`__
+
+PHP
+^^^
+
+- `CQL \| PHP <http://code.google.com/a/apache-extras.org/p/cassandra-pdo>`__
+- `Datastax PHP driver <https://github.com/datastax/php-driver/>`__
+- `PHP-Cassandra <https://github.com/aparkhomenko/php-cassandra>`__
+- `PHP Library for Cassandra <http://evseevnn.github.io/php-cassandra-binary/>`__
+
+C++
+^^^
+
+- `Datastax C++ driver <https://github.com/datastax/cpp-driver>`__
+- `libQTCassandra <http://sourceforge.net/projects/libqtcassandra>`__
+
+Scala
+^^^^^
+
+- `Datastax Spark connector <https://github.com/datastax/spark-cassandra-connector>`__
+- `Phantom <https://github.com/newzly/phantom>`__
+- `Quill <https://github.com/getquill/quill>`__
+
+Clojure
+^^^^^^^
+
+- `Alia <https://github.com/mpenet/alia>`__
+- `Cassaforte <https://github.com/clojurewerkz/cassaforte>`__
+- `Hayt <https://github.com/mpenet/hayt>`__
+
+Erlang
+^^^^^^
+
+- `CQerl <https://github.com/matehat/cqerl>`__
+- `Erlcass <https://github.com/silviucpp/erlcass>`__
+
+Go
+^^
+
+- `CQLc <http://relops.com/cqlc/>`__
+- `Gocassa <https://github.com/hailocab/gocassa>`__
+- `GoCQL <https://github.com/gocql/gocql>`__
+
+Haskell
+^^^^^^^
+
+- `Cassy <https://github.com/ozataman/cassy>`__
+
+Rust
+^^^^
+
+- `Rust CQL <https://github.com/neich/rust-cql>`__
diff --git a/doc/source/index.rst b/doc/source/index.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9573729c99
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/index.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+Welcome to Apache Cassandra's documentation!
+============================================
+
+This is the official documentation for `Apache Cassandra <http://cassandra.apache.org>`__ |version|.  If you would like
+to contribute to this documentation, you are welcome to do so by submitting your contribution like any other patch
+following `these instructions <https://wiki.apache.org/cassandra/HowToContribute>`__.
+
+Contents:
+
+.. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 2
+
+   getting_started
+   architecture
+   cql
+   operations
+   troubleshooting
+   faq
+   contactus
diff --git a/doc/source/operations.rst b/doc/source/operations.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8228746046
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/operations.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,369 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+.. highlight:: none
+
+Operating Cassandra
+===================
+
+Replication Strategies
+----------------------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Snitches
+--------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Adding, replacing, moving and removing nodes
+--------------------------------------------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Repair
+------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Read repair
+-----------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Hints
+-----
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Compaction
+----------
+
+Size Tiered
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Leveled
+^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+TimeWindow
+^^^^^^^^^^
+.. todo:: todo
+
+DateTiered
+^^^^^^^^^^
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Tombstones and Garbage Collection (GC) Grace
+--------------------------------------------
+
+Why Tombstones
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+When a delete request is received by Cassandra it does not actually remove the data from the underlying store. Instead
+it writes a special piece of data known as a tombstone. The Tombstone represents the delete and causes all values which
+occurred before the tombstone to not appear in queries to the database. This approach is used instead of removing values
+because of the distributed nature of Cassandra.
+
+Deletes without tombstones
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Imagine a three node cluster which has the value [A] replicated to every node.::
+
+    [A], [A], [A]
+
+If one of the nodes fails and and our delete operation only removes existing values we can end up with a cluster that
+looks like::
+
+    [], [], [A]
+
+Then a repair operation would replace the value of [A] back onto the two
+nodes which are missing the value.::
+
+    [A], [A], [A]
+
+This would cause our data to be resurrected even though it had been
+deleted.
+
+Deletes with Tombstones
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Starting again with a three node cluster which has the value [A] replicated to every node.::
+
+    [A], [A], [A]
+
+If instead of removing data we add a tombstone record, our single node failure situation will look like this.::
+
+    [A, Tombstone[A]], [A, Tombstone[A]], [A]
+
+Now when we issue a repair the Tombstone will be copied to the replica, rather than the deleted data being
+resurrected.::
+
+    [A, Tombstone[A]], [A, Tombstone[A]], [A, Tombstone[A]]
+
+Our repair operation will correctly put the state of the system to what we expect with the record [A] marked as deleted
+on all nodes. This does mean we will end up accruing Tombstones which will permanently accumulate disk space. To avoid
+keeping tombstones forever we have a parameter known as ``gc_grace_seconds`` for every table in Cassandra.
+
+The gc_grace_seconds parameter and Tombstone Removal
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The table level ``gc_grace_seconds`` parameter controls how long Cassandra will retain tombstones through compaction
+events before finally removing them. This duration should directly reflect the amount of time a user expects to allow
+before recovering a failed node. After ``gc_grace_seconds`` has expired the tombstone can be removed meaning there will
+no longer be any record that a certain piece of data was deleted. This means if a node remains down or disconnected for
+longer than ``gc_grace_seconds`` it's deleted data will be repaired back to the other nodes and re-appear in the
+cluster. This is basically the same as in the "Deletes without Tombstones" section. Note that tombstones will not be
+removed until a compaction event even if ``gc_grace_seconds`` has elapsed.
+
+The default value for ``gc_grace_seconds`` is 864000 which is equivalent to 10 days. This can be set when creating or
+altering a table using ``WITH gc_grace_seconds``.
+
+
+Bloom Filters
+-------------
+
+In the read path, Cassandra merges data on disk (in SSTables) with data in RAM (in memtables). To avoid checking every
+SSTable data file for the partition being requested, Cassandra employs a data structure known as a bloom filter.
+
+Bloom filters are a probabilistic data structure that allows Cassandra to determine one of two possible states: - The
+data definitely does not exist in the given file, or - The data probably exists in the given file.
+
+While bloom filters can not guarantee that the data exists in a given SSTable, bloom filters can be made more accurate
+by allowing them to consume more RAM. Operators have the opportunity to tune this behavior per table by adjusting the
+the ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` to a float between 0 and 1.
+
+The default value for ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` is 0.1 for tables using LeveledCompactionStrategy and 0.01 for all
+other cases.
+
+Bloom filters are stored in RAM, but are stored offheap, so operators should not consider bloom filters when selecting
+the maximum heap size.  As accuracy improves (as the ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` gets closer to 0), memory usage
+increases non-linearly - the bloom filter for ``bloom_filter_fp_chance = 0.01`` will require about three times as much
+memory as the same table with ``bloom_filter_fp_chance = 0.1``.
+
+Typical values for ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` are usually between 0.01 (1%) to 0.1 (10%) false-positive chance, where
+Cassandra may scan an SSTable for a row, only to find that it does not exist on the disk. The parameter should be tuned
+by use case:
+
+- Users with more RAM and slower disks may benefit from setting the ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` to a numerically lower
+  number (such as 0.01) to avoid excess IO operations
+- Users with less RAM, more dense nodes, or very fast disks may tolerate a higher ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` in order to
+  save RAM at the expense of excess IO operations
+- In workloads that rarely read, or that only perform reads by scanning the entire data set (such as analytics
+  workloads), setting the ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` to a much higher number is acceptable.
+
+Changing
+^^^^^^^^
+
+The bloom filter false positive chance is visible in the ``DESCRIBE TABLE`` output as the field
+``bloom_filter_fp_chance``. Operators can change the value with an ``ALTER TABLE`` statement:
+::
+
+    ALTER TABLE keyspace.table WITH bloom_filter_fp_chance=0.01
+
+Operators should be aware, however, that this change is not immediate: the bloom filter is calculated when the file is
+written, and persisted on disk as the Filter component of the SSTable. Upon issuing an ``ALTER TABLE`` statement, new
+files on disk will be written with the new ``bloom_filter_fp_chance``, but existing sstables will not be modified until
+they are compacted - if an operator needs a change to ``bloom_filter_fp_chance`` to take effect, they can trigger an
+SSTable rewrite using ``nodetool scrub`` or ``nodetool upgradesstables -a``, both of which will rebuild the sstables on
+disk, regenerating the bloom filters in the progress.
+
+
+Compression
+-----------
+
+Cassandra offers operators the ability to configure compression on a per-table basis. Compression reduces the size of
+data on disk by compressing the SSTable in user-configurable compression ``chunk_length_in_kb``. Because Cassandra
+SSTables are immutable, the CPU cost of compressing is only necessary when the SSTable is written - subsequent updates
+to data will land in different SSTables, so Cassandra will not need to decompress, overwrite, and recompress data when
+UPDATE commands are issued. On reads, Cassandra will locate the relevant compressed chunks on disk, decompress the full
+chunk, and then proceed with the remainder of the read path (merging data from disks and memtables, read repair, and so
+on).
+
+Configuring Compression
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Compression is configured on a per-table basis as an optional argument to ``CREATE TABLE`` or ``ALTER TABLE``. By
+default, three options are relevant:
+
+- ``class`` specifies the compression class - Cassandra provides three classes (``LZ4Compressor``,
+  ``SnappyCompressor``, and ``DeflateCompressor`` ). The default is ``SnappyCompressor``.
+- ``chunk_length_in_kb`` specifies the number of kilobytes of data per compression chunk. The default is 64KB.
+- ``crc_check_chance`` determines how likely Cassandra is to verify the checksum on each compression chunk during
+  reads. The default is 1.0.
+
+Users can set compression using the following syntax:
+
+::
+
+    CREATE TABLE keyspace.table (id int PRIMARY KEY) WITH compression = {'class': 'LZ4Compressor'};
+
+Or
+
+::
+
+    ALTER TABLE keyspace.table WITH compression = {'class': 'SnappyCompressor', 'chunk_length_in_kb': 128, 'crc_check_chance': 0.5};
+
+Once enabled, compression can be disabled with ``ALTER TABLE`` setting ``enabled`` to ``false``:
+
+::
+
+    ALTER TABLE keyspace.table WITH compression = {'enabled':'false'};
+
+Operators should be aware, however, that changing compression is not immediate. The data is compressed when the SSTable
+is written, and as SSTables are immutable, the compression will not be modified until the table is compacted. Upon
+issuing a change to the compression options via ``ALTER TABLE``, the existing SSTables will not be modified until they
+are compacted - if an operator needs compression changes to take effect immediately, the operator can trigger an SSTable
+rewrite using ``nodetool scrub`` or ``nodetool upgradesstables -a``, both of which will rebuild the SSTables on disk,
+re-compressing the data in the process.
+
+Benefits and Uses
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Compression's primary benefit is that it reduces the amount of data written to disk. Not only does the reduced size save
+in storage requirements, it often increases read and write throughput, as the CPU overhead of compressing data is faster
+than the time it would take to read or write the larger volume of uncompressed data from disk.
+
+Compression is most useful in tables comprised of many rows, where the rows are similar in nature. Tables containing
+similar text columns (such as repeated JSON blobs) often compress very well.
+
+Operational Impact
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- Compression metadata is stored offheap and scales with data on disk.  This often requires 1-3GB of offheap RAM per
+  terabyte of data on disk, though the exact usage varies with ``chunk_length_in_kb`` and compression ratios.
+
+- Streaming operations involve compressing and decompressing data on compressed tables - in some code paths (such as
+  non-vnode bootstrap), the CPU overhead of compression can be a limiting factor.
+
+- The compression path checksums data to ensure correctness - while the traditional Cassandra read path does not have a
+  way to ensure correctness of data on disk, compressed tables allow the user to set ``crc_check_chance`` (a float from
+  0.0 to 1.0) to allow Cassandra to probabilistically validate chunks on read to verify bits on disk are not corrupt.
+
+Advanced Use
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Advanced users can provide their own compression class by implementing the interface at
+``org.apache.cassandra.io.compress.ICompressor``.
+
+Backups
+-------
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Monitoring
+----------
+
+JMX
+^^^
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Metric Reporters
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Security
+--------
+
+Roles
+^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+JMX access
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. todo:: todo
+
+Nodetool (and other tooling)
+----------------------------
+
+.. todo:: Try to autogenerate this from Nodetool’s help.
+
+Hardware Choices
+----------------
+
+Like most databases, Cassandra throughput improves with more CPU cores, more RAM, and faster disks. While Cassandra can
+be made to run on small servers for testing or development environments (including Raspberry Pis), a minimal production
+server requires at least 2 cores, and at least 8GB of RAM. Typical production servers have 8 or more cores and at least
+32GB of RAM.
+
+CPU
+^^^
+Cassandra is highly concurrent, handling many simultaneous requests (both read and write) using multiple threads running
+on as many CPU cores as possible. The Cassandra write path tends to be heavily optimized (writing to the commitlog and
+then inserting the data into the memtable), so writes, in particular, tend to be CPU bound. Consequently, adding
+additional CPU cores often increases throughput of both reads and writes.
+
+Memory
+^^^^^^
+Cassandra runs within a Java VM, which will pre-allocate a fixed size heap (java's Xmx system parameter). In addition to
+the heap, Cassandra will use significant amounts of RAM offheap for compression metadata, bloom filters, row, key, and
+counter caches, and an in process page cache. Finally, Cassandra will take advantage of the operating system's page
+cache, storing recently accessed portions files in RAM for rapid re-use.
+
+For optimal performance, operators should benchmark and tune their clusters based on their individual workload. However,
+basic guidelines suggest:
+
+-  ECC RAM should always be used, as Cassandra has few internal safeguards to protect against bit level corruption
+-  The Cassandra heap should be no less than 2GB, and no more than 50% of your system RAM
+-  Heaps smaller than 12GB should consider ParNew/ConcurrentMarkSweep garbage collection
+-  Heaps larger than 12GB should consider G1GC
+
+Disks
+^^^^^
+Cassandra persists data to disk for two very different purposes. The first is to the commitlog when a new write is made
+so that it can be replayed after a crash or system shutdown. The second is to the data directory when thresholds are
+exceeded and memtables are flushed to disk as SSTables.
+
+Commitlogs receive every write made to a Cassandra node and have the potential to block client operations, but they are
+only ever read on node start-up. SSTable (data file) writes on the other hand occur asynchronously, but are read to
+satisfy client look-ups. SSTables are also periodically merged and rewritten in a process called compaction.  The data
+held in the commitlog directory is data that has not been permanently saved to the SSTable data directories - it will be
+periodically purged once it is flushed to the SSTable data files.
+
+Cassandra performs very well on both spinning hard drives and solid state disks. In both cases, Cassandra's sorted
+immutable SSTables allow for linear reads, few seeks, and few overwrites, maximizing throughput for HDDs and lifespan of
+SSDs by avoiding write amplification. However, when using spinning disks, it's important that the commitlog
+(``commitlog_directory``) be on one physical disk (not simply a partition, but a physical disk), and the data files
+(``data_file_directories``) be set to a separate physical disk. By separating the commitlog from the data directory,
+writes can benefit from sequential appends to the commitlog without having to seek around the platter as reads request
+data from various SSTables on disk.
+
+In most cases, Cassandra is designed to provide redundancy via multiple independent, inexpensive servers. For this
+reason, using NFS or a SAN for data directories is an antipattern and should typically be avoided.  Similarly, servers
+with multiple disks are often better served by using RAID0 or JBOD than RAID1 or RAID5 - replication provided by
+Cassandra obsoletes the need for replication at the disk layer, so it's typically recommended that operators take
+advantage of the additional throughput of RAID0 rather than protecting against failures with RAID1 or RAID5.
+
+Common Cloud Choices
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Many large users of Cassandra run in various clouds, including AWS, Azure, and GCE - Cassandra will happily run in any
+of these environments. Users should choose similar hardware to what would be needed in physical space. In EC2, popular
+options include:
+
+- m1.xlarge instances, which provide 1.6TB of local ephemeral spinning storage and sufficient RAM to run moderate
+  workloads
+- i2 instances, which provide both a high RAM:CPU ratio and local ephemeral SSDs
+- m4.2xlarge / c4.4xlarge instances, which provide modern CPUs, enhanced networking and work well with EBS GP2 (SSD)
+  storage
+
+Generally, disk and network performance increases with instance size and generation, so newer generations of instances
+and larger instance types within each family often perform better than their smaller or older alternatives.
diff --git a/doc/source/troubleshooting.rst b/doc/source/troubleshooting.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2e5cf106de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/source/troubleshooting.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+.. Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+.. or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+.. distributed with this work for additional information
+.. regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+.. to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+.. "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+.. with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+..
+..     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+..
+.. Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+.. distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+.. WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+.. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+.. limitations under the License.
+
+Troubleshooting
+===============
+
+.. TODO: todo