# ColumnStore Utility Functions

MariaDB ColumnStore utility functions are a set of simple functions that return useful information about the system, such as whether it is ready for queries.

| Function            | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| mcsSystemReady()    | Returns 1 if the system can accept queries, 0 if it's not ready yet.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| mcsSystemReadOnly() | <p>Returns 1 if ColumnStore is in a write-suspended mode. That is, a user executed the <code>SuspendDatabaseWrites</code>.<br>It returns 2 if in a read-only state. ColumnStore puts itself into a read-only state if it detects a logic error that may have corrupted data. Generally, it means a <code>ROLLBACK</code> operation failed. Returns 0 if the system is writable.</p> |

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