How can I efficiently convert the output of one KDB function into three table columns? - kdb

Question

I have a function that takes as input some of the values in a table and returns a tuple if you will - three separate return values, which I want to transpose into the output of a query. Here's a simplified example of what I want to achieve:
multiplier:{(x*2;x*3;x*3)};
select twoX:multiplier[price][0]; threeX:multiplier[price][1]; fourX:multiplier[price][2] from data;
The above basically works (I think I've got the syntax right for the simplified example - if not then hopefully my intention is clear), but is inefficient because I'm calling the function three times and throwing away most of the output each time. I want to rewrite the query to only call the function once, and I'm struggling.
Update
I think I missed a crucial piece of information in my explanation of the problem which affects the outcome - I need to get other data in the query alongside the output of my function. Here's a hopefully more realistic example:
multiplier:{(x*2;x*3;x*4)};
select average:avg price, total:sum price, twoX:multiplier[sum price][0]; threeX:multiplier[sum price][1]; fourX:multiplier[sum price][2] by category from data;
I'll have a go at adapting your answers to fit this requirement anyway, and apologies for missing this bit of information. The real function if a proprietary and fairly complex algorithm and the real query has about 30 output columns, hence the attempt at simplifying the example :)

Answer 1

If you're just looking for the results themselves you can extract (exec) as lists, create dictionary and then flip the dictionary into a table:
q)exec flip`twoX`threeX`fourX!multiplier[price] from ([]price:til 10)
twoX threeX fourX
-----------------
0 0 0
2 3 4
4 6 8
6 9 12
8 12 16
10 15 20
12 18 24
14 21 28
16 24 32
18 27 36
If you need other columns from the original table too then its trickier but you could join the tables sideways using ,'
q)t:([]price:til 10)
q)t,'exec flip`twoX`threeX`fourX!multiplier[price] from t

Answer 2

An apply # can also achieve what you want. Here data is just a table with 10 random prices. # is then used to apply the multiplier function to the price column while also assigning a column name to each of the three resulting lists:
q)data:([] price:10?100)
q)multiplier:{(x*2;x*3;x*3)}
q)#[data;`twoX`threeX`fourX;:;multiplier data`price]
price twoX threeX fourX
-----------------------
80 160 240 240
24 48 72 72
41 82 123 123
0 0 0 0
81 162 243 243
10 20 30 30
36 72 108 108
36 72 108 108
16 32 48 48
17 34 51 51