Grouping on arrays as arrays (#12078)

* init multiValue column group by

* Changing sorting to Lexicographic as default

* Adding initial tests

* 1.Fixing test cases adding
2.Optimized inmem structs

* Linking SQL layer to native layer

* Adding multiDimension support to group by column strategy

* 1. Removing array coercion in Calcite layer
2. Removing ResultRowDeserializer

* 1. Supporting all primitive array types
2. Removing dimension spec as part of columnSelector

* 1. Supporting all primitive array types
2. Removing dimension spec as part of columnSelector

* 1. Checkstyle things
2. Removing flag

* Minor naming things

* CheckStyle Things

* Fixing test case

* Fixing hashing

* 1. Adding the MV function
2. Added few test cases

* 1. Adding MV function test cases

* Adding Selector strategy function test cases

* Fixing ClientQuerySegmentWalkerTest

* Adding GroupByQueryRunnerTest test cases

* Fixing test cases

* Adding few more test cases

* Fixing Exception asset statement and intellij inspection

* Adding null compatibility tests

* Review comments

* Fixing few failing tests

* Fixing few failing tests

* Do no convert to topN Q incase of group by on array

* Fixing checkstyle

* Fixing differences between jdk's class cast exception message

* 1. Fixing ordering if the grouping key is an array

* Fixing DefaultLimitSpec

* Fixing CalciteArraysQueryTest

* Dummy commit for LGTM

* changes:
* only coerce multi-value string null values when `ExpressionPlan.Trait.NEEDS_APPLIED` is set
* correct return type inference for ARRAY_APPEND,ARRAY_PREPEND,ARRAY_SLICE,ARRAY_CONCAT
* fix bug with ExprEval.ofType when actual type of object from binding doesn't match its claimed type

* Review comments

* Fixing test cases

* Fixing spot bugs

* Fixing strict compile

Co-authored-by: Clint Wylie <cwylie@apache.org>

core/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/math/expr/ExprEval.java

@@ -405,11 +405,26 @@ public abstract class ExprEval<T>
         if (value instanceof List) {
           return bestEffortOf(value);
         }
-        return of((String) value);
+        if (value == null) {
+          return of(null);
+        }
+        return of(String.valueOf(value));
       case LONG:
-        return ofLong((Number) value);
+        if (value instanceof Number) {
+          return ofLong((Number) value);
+        }
+        if (value instanceof String) {
+          return ofLong(ExprEval.computeNumber((String) value));
+        }
+        return ofLong(null);
       case DOUBLE:
-        return ofDouble((Number) value);
+        if (value instanceof Number) {
+          return ofDouble((Number) value);
+        }
+        if (value instanceof String) {
+          return ofDouble(ExprEval.computeNumber((String) value));
+        }
+        return ofDouble(null);
       case COMPLEX:
         byte[] bytes = null;
         if (value instanceof String) {

core/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/math/expr/ExpressionProcessing.java

@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@ public class ExpressionProcessing
   @VisibleForTesting
   public static void initializeForTests(@Nullable Boolean allowNestedArrays)
   {
-    INSTANCE = new ExpressionProcessingConfig(allowNestedArrays, null);
+    INSTANCE = new ExpressionProcessingConfig(allowNestedArrays, null, null);
   }
 
   @VisibleForTesting
   public static void initializeForStrictBooleansTests(boolean useStrict)
   {
-    INSTANCE = new ExpressionProcessingConfig(null, useStrict);
+    INSTANCE = new ExpressionProcessingConfig(null, useStrict, null);
   }
 
   /**
@@ -81,4 +81,16 @@ public class ExpressionProcessing
     }
     return INSTANCE.isUseStrictBooleans();
   }
+
+
+  public static boolean processArraysAsMultiValueStrings()
+  {
+    // this should only be null in a unit test context, in production this will be injected by the null handling module
+    if (INSTANCE == null) {
+      throw new IllegalStateException(
+          "ExpressionProcessing module not initialized, call ExpressionProcessing.initializeForTests()"
+      );
+    }
+    return INSTANCE.processArraysAsMultiValueStrings();
+  }
 }

core/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/math/expr/ExpressionProcessingConfig.java

@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ public class ExpressionProcessingConfig
 {
   public static final String NESTED_ARRAYS_CONFIG_STRING = "druid.expressions.allowNestedArrays";
   public static final String NULL_HANDLING_LEGACY_LOGICAL_OPS_STRING = "druid.expressions.useStrictBooleans";
+  // Coerce arrays to multi value strings
+  public static final String
+      PROCESS_ARRAYS_AS_MULTIVALUE_STRINGS_CONFIG_STRING = "druid.expressions.processArraysAsMultiValueStrings";
 
   @JsonProperty("allowNestedArrays")
   private final boolean allowNestedArrays;
@@ -35,10 +38,14 @@ public class ExpressionProcessingConfig
   @JsonProperty("useStrictBooleans")
   private final boolean useStrictBooleans;
 
+  @JsonProperty("processArraysAsMultiValueStrings")
+  private final boolean processArraysAsMultiValueStrings;
+
   @JsonCreator
   public ExpressionProcessingConfig(
       @JsonProperty("allowNestedArrays") @Nullable Boolean allowNestedArrays,
-      @JsonProperty("useStrictBooleans") @Nullable Boolean useStrictBooleans
+      @JsonProperty("useStrictBooleans") @Nullable Boolean useStrictBooleans,
+      @JsonProperty("processArraysAsMultiValueStrings") @Nullable Boolean processArraysAsMultiValueStrings
   )
   {
     this.allowNestedArrays = allowNestedArrays == null
@@ -51,6 +58,10 @@ public class ExpressionProcessingConfig
     } else {
       this.useStrictBooleans = useStrictBooleans;
     }
+    this.processArraysAsMultiValueStrings
+        = processArraysAsMultiValueStrings == null
+          ? Boolean.valueOf(System.getProperty(PROCESS_ARRAYS_AS_MULTIVALUE_STRINGS_CONFIG_STRING, "false"))
+          : processArraysAsMultiValueStrings;
   }
 
   public boolean allowNestedArrays()
@@ -62,4 +73,9 @@ public class ExpressionProcessingConfig
   {
     return useStrictBooleans;
   }
+
+  public boolean processArraysAsMultiValueStrings()
+  {
+    return processArraysAsMultiValueStrings;
+  }
 }

core/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/math/expr/Function.java

@@ -2976,6 +2976,67 @@ public interface Function
     }
   }
 
+  class MVToArrayFunction implements Function
+  {
+    @Override
+    public String name()
+    {
+      return "mv_to_array";
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ExprEval apply(List<Expr> args, Expr.ObjectBinding bindings)
+    {
+      return args.get(0).eval(bindings).castTo(ExpressionType.STRING_ARRAY);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void validateArguments(List<Expr> args)
+    {
+      if (args.size() != 1) {
+        throw new IAE("Function[%s] needs exactly 1 argument of type String", name());
+      }
+      IdentifierExpr expr = args.get(0).getIdentifierExprIfIdentifierExpr();
+
+      if (expr == null) {
+        throw new IAE(
+            "Arg %s should be an identifier expression ie refer to columns directaly. Use array() instead",
+            args.get(0).toString()
+        );
+      }
+    }
+
+    @Nullable
+    @Override
+    public ExpressionType getOutputType(Expr.InputBindingInspector inspector, List<Expr> args)
+    {
+      return ExpressionType.STRING_ARRAY;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean hasArrayInputs()
+    {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean hasArrayOutput()
+    {
+      return true;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<Expr> getScalarInputs(List<Expr> args)
+    {
+      return Collections.emptySet();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<Expr> getArrayInputs(List<Expr> args)
+    {
+      return ImmutableSet.copyOf(args);
+    }
+  }
   class ArrayConstructorFunction implements Function
   {
     @Override
@@ -2993,6 +3054,7 @@ public interface Function
       Object[] out = new Object[length];
 
       ExpressionType arrayType = null;
+
       for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
         ExprEval<?> evaluated = args.get(i).eval(bindings);
         arrayType = setArrayOutput(arrayType, out, i, evaluated);

core/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/math/expr/FunctionTest.java

@@ -934,6 +934,45 @@ public class FunctionTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
     );
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testMVToArrayWithValidInputs()
+  {
+    assertArrayExpr("mv_to_array(x)", new String[]{"foo"});
+    assertArrayExpr("mv_to_array(a)", new String[]{"foo", "bar", "baz", "foobar"});
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMVToArrayWithConstantLiteral()
+  {
+    expectedException.expect(IAE.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage("should be an identifier expression");
+    assertArrayExpr("mv_to_array('1')", null);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMVToArrayWithFunction()
+  {
+    expectedException.expect(IAE.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage("should be an identifier expression");
+    assertArrayExpr("mv_to_array(repeat('hello', 2))", null);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMVToArrayWithMoreArgs()
+  {
+    expectedException.expect(IAE.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage("needs exactly 1 argument of type String");
+    assertArrayExpr("mv_to_array(x,y)", null);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMVToArrayWithNoArgs()
+  {
+    expectedException.expect(IAE.class);
+    expectedException.expectMessage("needs exactly 1 argument of type String");
+    assertArrayExpr("mv_to_array()", null);
+  }
+
   private void assertExpr(final String expression, @Nullable final Object expectedResult)
   {
     final Expr expr = Parser.parse(expression, ExprMacroTable.nil());

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/aggregation/ExpressionLambdaAggregatorFactory.java

@@ -486,22 +486,18 @@ public class ExpressionLambdaAggregatorFactory extends AggregatorFactory
 
     FactorizePlan(ColumnSelectorFactory metricFactory)
     {
-      final List<String> columns;
-
       if (fields != null) {
         // if fields are set, we are accumulating from raw inputs, use fold expression
         plan = ExpressionPlanner.plan(inspectorWithAccumulator(metricFactory), foldExpression.get());
         seed = initialValue.get();
-        columns = plan.getAnalysis().getRequiredBindingsList();
       } else {
         // else we are merging intermediary results, use combine expression
         plan = ExpressionPlanner.plan(inspectorWithAccumulator(metricFactory), combineExpression.get());
         seed = initialCombineValue.get();
-        columns = plan.getAnalysis().getRequiredBindingsList();
       }
 
       bindings = new ExpressionLambdaAggregatorInputBindings(
-          ExpressionSelectors.createBindings(metricFactory, columns),
+          ExpressionSelectors.createBindings(metricFactory, plan),
           accumulatorId,
           seed
       );

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/GroupByQuery.java

@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.segment.VirtualColumns;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnHolder;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.joda.time.DateTime;
 import org.joda.time.Interval;
 
@@ -775,6 +777,15 @@ public class GroupByQuery extends BaseQuery<ResultRow>
         } else {
           dimCompare = comparator.compare(String.valueOf(lhsObj), String.valueOf(rhsObj));
         }
+      } else if (dimensionType.equals(ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)) {
+        final ComparableStringArray lhsArr = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(lhsObj);
+        final ComparableStringArray rhsArr = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(rhsObj);
+        dimCompare = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare(lhsArr, rhsArr);
+      } else if (dimensionType.equals(ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+                 || dimensionType.equals(ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY)) {
+        final ComparableList lhsArr = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(lhsObj);
+        final ComparableList rhsArr = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(rhsObj);
+        dimCompare = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare(lhsArr, rhsArr);
       } else {
         dimCompare = comparator.compare((String) lhsObj, (String) rhsObj);
       }

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/GroupByQueryEngineV2.java

@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.filter.Filter;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.GroupByQuery;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.GroupByQueryConfig;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column.ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column.ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column.ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column.DictionaryBuildingStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column.DoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column.FloatGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy;
@@ -233,7 +236,7 @@ public class GroupByQueryEngineV2
                       processingBuffer,
                       fudgeTimestamp,
                       dims,
-                      isAllSingleValueDims(columnSelectorFactory, query.getDimensions()),
+                      hasNoExplodingDimensions(columnSelectorFactory, query.getDimensions()),
                       cardinalityForArrayAggregation
                   );
                 } else {
@@ -244,7 +247,7 @@ public class GroupByQueryEngineV2
                       processingBuffer,
                       fudgeTimestamp,
                       dims,
-                      isAllSingleValueDims(columnSelectorFactory, query.getDimensions())
+                      hasNoExplodingDimensions(columnSelectorFactory, query.getDimensions())
                   );
                 }
               }
@@ -290,6 +293,11 @@ public class GroupByQueryEngineV2
       if (query.getVirtualColumns().exists(Iterables.getOnlyElement(dimensions).getDimension())) {
         return -1;
       }
+      // We cannot support array-based aggregation on array based grouping as we we donot have all the indexes up front
+      // to allocate appropriate values
+      if (dimensions.get(0).getOutputType().equals(ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)) {
+        return -1;
+      }
 
       final String columnName = Iterables.getOnlyElement(dimensions).getDimension();
       columnCapabilities = storageAdapter.getColumnCapabilities(columnName);
@@ -319,11 +327,12 @@ public class GroupByQueryEngineV2
   }
 
   /**
-   * Checks whether all "dimensions" are either single-valued, or if allowed, nonexistent. Since non-existent column
-   * selectors will show up as full of nulls they are effectively single valued, however they can also be null during
-   * broker merge, for example with an 'inline' datasource subquery.
+   * Checks whether all "dimensions" are either single-valued,
+   * or STRING_ARRAY, in case we don't want to explode the underline multi value column,
+   * or if allowed, nonexistent. Since non-existent columnselectors will show up as full of nulls they are effectively
+   * single valued, however they can also be null during broker merge, for example with an 'inline' datasource subquery.
    */
-  public static boolean isAllSingleValueDims(
+  public static boolean hasNoExplodingDimensions(
       final ColumnInspector inspector,
       final List<DimensionSpec> dimensions
   )
@@ -340,7 +349,8 @@ public class GroupByQueryEngineV2
 
               // Now check column capabilities, which must be present and explicitly not multi-valued
               final ColumnCapabilities columnCapabilities = inspector.getColumnCapabilities(dimension.getDimension());
-              return columnCapabilities != null && columnCapabilities.hasMultipleValues().isFalse();
+              return dimension.getOutputType().equals(ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+                     || (columnCapabilities != null && columnCapabilities.hasMultipleValues().isFalse());
             });
   }
 
@@ -403,6 +413,20 @@ public class GroupByQueryEngineV2
           return makeNullableNumericStrategy(new FloatGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy());
         case DOUBLE:
           return makeNullableNumericStrategy(new DoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy());
+        case ARRAY:
+          switch (capabilities.getElementType().getType()) {
+            case LONG:
+              return new ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy();
+            case STRING:
+              return new ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy();
+            case DOUBLE:
+              return new ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy();
+            case FLOAT:
+              // Array<Float> not supported in expressions, ingestion
+            default:
+              throw new IAE("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [%s]", capabilities.asTypeString());
+
+          }
         default:
           throw new IAE("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [%s]", capabilities.asTypeString());
       }

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/RowBasedGrouperHelper.java

@@ -72,6 +72,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnCapabilitiesImpl;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ValueType;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.data.IndexedInts;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.filter.BooleanValueMatcher;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.filter.Filters;
@@ -750,6 +752,24 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
         case DOUBLE:
           return (InputRawSupplierColumnSelectorStrategy<BaseDoubleColumnValueSelector>)
               columnSelector -> () -> columnSelector.isNull() ? null : columnSelector.getDouble();
+        case ARRAY:
+          switch (capabilities.getElementType().getType()) {
+            case STRING:
+              return (InputRawSupplierColumnSelectorStrategy<ColumnValueSelector>)
+                  columnSelector ->
+                      () -> DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(columnSelector.getObject());
+            case FLOAT:
+            case LONG:
+            case DOUBLE:
+              return (InputRawSupplierColumnSelectorStrategy<ColumnValueSelector>)
+                  columnSelector ->
+                      () -> DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(columnSelector.getObject());
+            default:
+              throw new IAE(
+                  "Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [%s]",
+                  capabilities.asTypeString()
+              );
+          }
         default:
           throw new IAE("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [%s]", capabilities.asTypeString());
       }
@@ -1017,6 +1037,15 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
               lhs != null ? ((Number) lhs).doubleValue() : null,
               rhs != null ? ((Number) rhs).doubleValue() : null
           );
+        } else if (fieldTypes.get(i - dimStart).equals(ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)) {
+          final ComparableStringArray lhs = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(key1.getKey()[i]);
+          final ComparableStringArray rhs = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(key2.getKey()[i]);
+          cmp = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare(lhs, rhs);
+        } else if (fieldTypes.get(i - dimStart).equals(ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+                   || fieldTypes.get(i - dimStart).equals(ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY)) {
+          final ComparableList lhs = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(key1.getKey()[i]);
+          final ComparableList rhs = DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(key2.getKey()[i]);
+          cmp = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare(lhs, rhs);
         } else {
           cmp = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare(
               (Comparable) key1.getKey()[i],
@@ -1046,24 +1075,24 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
         final int fieldIndex = fieldIndices.get(i);
         final boolean needsReverse = needsReverses.get(i);
         final int cmp;
-        final Comparable lhs;
-        final Comparable rhs;
+        final Object lhs;
+        final Object rhs;
 
         if (aggFlags.get(i)) {
           if (needsReverse) {
-            lhs = (Comparable) entry2.getValues()[fieldIndex];
-            rhs = (Comparable) entry1.getValues()[fieldIndex];
+            lhs = entry2.getValues()[fieldIndex];
+            rhs = entry1.getValues()[fieldIndex];
           } else {
-            lhs = (Comparable) entry1.getValues()[fieldIndex];
-            rhs = (Comparable) entry2.getValues()[fieldIndex];
+            lhs = entry1.getValues()[fieldIndex];
+            rhs = entry2.getValues()[fieldIndex];
           }
         } else {
           if (needsReverse) {
-            lhs = (Comparable) entry2.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
-            rhs = (Comparable) entry1.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
+            lhs = entry2.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
+            rhs = entry1.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
           } else {
-            lhs = (Comparable) entry1.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
-            rhs = (Comparable) entry2.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
+            lhs = entry1.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
+            rhs = entry2.getKey().getKey()[fieldIndex + dimStart];
           }
         }
 
@@ -1080,8 +1109,23 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
                 rhs != null ? ((Number) rhs).doubleValue() : null
             );
           } else {
-            cmp = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare(lhs, rhs);
+            cmp = Comparators.<Comparable>naturalNullsFirst().compare((Comparable) lhs, (Comparable) rhs);
           }
+        } else if (fieldType.equals(ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)) {
+          cmp = ComparableStringArray.compareWithComparator(
+              comparator,
+              DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(lhs),
+              DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(rhs)
+          );
+        } else if (fieldType.equals(ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+                   || fieldType.equals(ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY)) {
+
+          cmp = ComparableList.compareWithComparator(
+              comparator,
+              DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(lhs),
+              DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(rhs)
+          );
+
         } else {
           cmp = comparator.compare(
               DimensionHandlerUtils.convertObjectToString(lhs),
@@ -1124,6 +1168,13 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
     private final List<String> dictionary;
     private final Object2IntMap<String> reverseDictionary;
 
+    private final List<ComparableStringArray> arrayDictionary;
+    private final Object2IntMap<ComparableStringArray> reverseArrayDictionary;
+
+    private final List<ComparableList> listDictionary;
+    private final Object2IntMap<ComparableList> reverseListDictionary;
+
+
     // Size limiting for the dictionary, in (roughly estimated) bytes.
     private final long maxDictionarySize;
 
@@ -1156,7 +1207,17 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
       this.reverseDictionary = enableRuntimeDictionaryGeneration ?
                                new Object2IntOpenHashMap<>() :
                                new Object2IntOpenHashMap<>(dictionary.size());
+
+      this.arrayDictionary = new ArrayList<>();
+      this.reverseArrayDictionary = new Object2IntOpenHashMap<>();
+
+      this.listDictionary = new ArrayList<>();
+      this.reverseListDictionary = new Object2IntOpenHashMap<>();
+
       this.reverseDictionary.defaultReturnValue(UNKNOWN_DICTIONARY_ID);
+      this.reverseArrayDictionary.defaultReturnValue(UNKNOWN_DICTIONARY_ID);
+      this.reverseListDictionary.defaultReturnValue(UNKNOWN_DICTIONARY_ID);
+
       this.maxDictionarySize = maxDictionarySize;
       this.serdeHelpers = makeSerdeHelpers(limitSpec != null, enableRuntimeDictionaryGeneration);
       this.serdeHelperComparators = new BufferComparator[serdeHelpers.length];
@@ -1357,6 +1418,21 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
     )
     {
       switch (valueType.getType()) {
+        case ARRAY:
+          switch (valueType.getElementType().getType()) {
+            case STRING:
+              return new ArrayStringRowBasedKeySerdeHelper(
+                  keyBufferPosition,
+                  stringComparator
+              );
+            case LONG:
+            case FLOAT:
+            case DOUBLE:
+              return new ArrayNumericRowBasedKeySerdeHelper(keyBufferPosition, stringComparator);
+            default:
+              throw new IAE("invalid type: %s", valueType);
+          }
+
         case STRING:
           if (enableRuntimeDictionaryGeneration) {
             return new DynamicDictionaryStringRowBasedKeySerdeHelper(
@@ -1426,6 +1502,123 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
       }
     }
 
+    private class ArrayNumericRowBasedKeySerdeHelper implements RowBasedKeySerdeHelper
+    {
+      final int keyBufferPosition;
+      final BufferComparator bufferComparator;
+
+      public ArrayNumericRowBasedKeySerdeHelper(
+          int keyBufferPosition,
+          @Nullable StringComparator stringComparator
+      )
+      {
+        this.keyBufferPosition = keyBufferPosition;
+        this.bufferComparator = (lhsBuffer, rhsBuffer, lhsPosition, rhsPosition) ->
+            ComparableList.compareWithComparator(
+                stringComparator,
+                listDictionary.get(lhsBuffer.getInt(lhsPosition
+                                                    + keyBufferPosition)),
+                listDictionary.get(rhsBuffer.getInt(rhsPosition
+                                                    + keyBufferPosition))
+            );
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public int getKeyBufferValueSize()
+      {
+        return Integer.BYTES;
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public boolean putToKeyBuffer(RowBasedKey key, int idx)
+      {
+        final ComparableList comparableList = (ComparableList) key.getKey()[idx];
+        int id = reverseDictionary.getInt(comparableList);
+        if (id == UNKNOWN_DICTIONARY_ID) {
+          id = listDictionary.size();
+          reverseListDictionary.put(comparableList, id);
+          listDictionary.add(comparableList);
+        }
+        keyBuffer.putInt(id);
+        return true;
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public void getFromByteBuffer(ByteBuffer buffer, int initialOffset, int dimValIdx, Comparable[] dimValues)
+      {
+        dimValues[dimValIdx] = listDictionary.get(buffer.getInt(initialOffset + keyBufferPosition));
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public BufferComparator getBufferComparator()
+      {
+        return bufferComparator;
+      }
+    }
+
+    private class ArrayStringRowBasedKeySerdeHelper implements RowBasedKeySerdeHelper
+    {
+      final int keyBufferPosition;
+      final BufferComparator bufferComparator;
+
+      ArrayStringRowBasedKeySerdeHelper(
+          int keyBufferPosition,
+          @Nullable StringComparator stringComparator
+      )
+      {
+        this.keyBufferPosition = keyBufferPosition;
+        bufferComparator = (lhsBuffer, rhsBuffer, lhsPosition, rhsPosition) ->
+            ComparableStringArray.compareWithComparator(
+                stringComparator,
+                arrayDictionary.get(lhsBuffer.getInt(lhsPosition
+                                                     + keyBufferPosition)),
+                arrayDictionary.get(rhsBuffer.getInt(rhsPosition
+                                                     + keyBufferPosition))
+            );
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public int getKeyBufferValueSize()
+      {
+        return Integer.BYTES;
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public boolean putToKeyBuffer(RowBasedKey key, int idx)
+      {
+        ComparableStringArray comparableStringArray = (ComparableStringArray) key.getKey()[idx];
+        final int id = addToArrayDictionary(comparableStringArray);
+        if (id < 0) {
+          return false;
+        }
+        keyBuffer.putInt(id);
+        return true;
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public void getFromByteBuffer(ByteBuffer buffer, int initialOffset, int dimValIdx, Comparable[] dimValues)
+      {
+        dimValues[dimValIdx] = arrayDictionary.get(buffer.getInt(initialOffset + keyBufferPosition));
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public BufferComparator getBufferComparator()
+      {
+        return bufferComparator;
+      }
+
+      private int addToArrayDictionary(final ComparableStringArray s)
+      {
+        int idx = reverseArrayDictionary.getInt(s);
+        if (idx == UNKNOWN_DICTIONARY_ID) {
+          idx = arrayDictionary.size();
+          reverseArrayDictionary.put(s, idx);
+          arrayDictionary.add(s);
+        }
+        return idx;
+      }
+    }
+
     private abstract class AbstractStringRowBasedKeySerdeHelper implements RowBasedKeySerdeHelper
     {
       final int keyBufferPosition;
@@ -1502,7 +1695,6 @@ public class RowBasedGrouperHelper
        * this returns -1.
        *
        * @param s a string
-       *
        * @return id for this string, or -1
        */
       private int addToDictionary(final String s)

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy.java

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.objects.Object2IntOpenHashMap;
+import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.ISE;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+
+public class ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy extends ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy<Double>
+{
+  public ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy()
+  {
+
+  }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(
+      List<List<Double>> dictionary,
+      Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<Double>> reverseDictionary
+  )
+  {
+    super(dictionary, reverseDictionary);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Object getOnlyValue(ColumnValueSelector selector)
+  {
+    Object object = selector.getObject();
+    if (object == null) {
+      return GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE;
+    } else if (object instanceof Double) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary(ImmutableList.of((Double) object));
+    } else if (object instanceof List) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary((List<Double>) object);
+    } else if (object instanceof Double[]) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary(Arrays.asList((Double[]) object));
+    } else if (object instanceof Object[]) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary(Arrays.stream(((Object[]) (object)))
+                                          .map(a -> (Double) a)
+                                          .collect(Collectors.toList()));
+    } else {
+      throw new ISE("Found unknowm type %s in ColumnValueSelector.", object.getClass().toString());
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy.java

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.objects.Object2IntOpenHashMap;
+import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.ISE;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+
+public class ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy extends ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy<Long>
+{
+
+  public ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy()
+  {
+
+  }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(
+      List<List<Long>> dictionary,
+      Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<Long>> reverseDictionary
+  )
+  {
+    super(dictionary, reverseDictionary);
+  }
+
+
+  @Override
+  public Object getOnlyValue(ColumnValueSelector selector)
+  {
+    Object object = selector.getObject();
+    if (object == null) {
+      return GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE;
+    } else if (object instanceof Long) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary(ImmutableList.of((Long) object));
+    } else if (object instanceof List) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary((List<Long>) object);
+    } else if (object instanceof Long[]) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary(Arrays.asList((Long[]) object));
+    } else if (object instanceof Object[]) {
+      return addToIndexedDictionary(Arrays.stream(((Object[]) (object)))
+                                          .map(a -> (Long) a)
+                                          .collect(Collectors.toList()));
+    } else {
+      throw new ISE("Found unknowm type %s in ColumnValueSelector.", object.getClass().toString());
+    }
+  }
+}

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy.java

@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.objects.Object2IntOpenHashMap;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.Grouper;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparator;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public abstract class ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy<T extends Comparable> implements GroupByColumnSelectorStrategy
+{
+  protected static final int GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE = -1;
+
+  protected final List<List<T>> dictionary;
+  protected final Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<T>> reverseDictionary;
+
+  public ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy()
+  {
+    dictionary = new ArrayList<>();
+    reverseDictionary = new Object2IntOpenHashMap<>();
+    reverseDictionary.defaultReturnValue(-1);
+  }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(
+      List<List<T>> dictionary,
+      Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<T>> reverseDictionary
+  )
+  {
+    this.dictionary = dictionary;
+    this.reverseDictionary = reverseDictionary;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int getGroupingKeySize()
+  {
+    return Integer.BYTES;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void processValueFromGroupingKey(
+      GroupByColumnSelectorPlus selectorPlus,
+      ByteBuffer key,
+      ResultRow resultRow,
+      int keyBufferPosition
+  )
+  {
+    final int id = key.getInt(keyBufferPosition);
+
+    // GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE is used to indicate empty rows, which are omitted from the result map.
+    if (id != GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE) {
+      final List<T> value = dictionary.get(id);
+      resultRow.set(selectorPlus.getResultRowPosition(), new ComparableList(value));
+    } else {
+      resultRow.set(selectorPlus.getResultRowPosition(), null);
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void initColumnValues(ColumnValueSelector selector, int columnIndex, Object[] valuess)
+  {
+    final int groupingKey = (int) getOnlyValue(selector);
+    valuess[columnIndex] = groupingKey;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void initGroupingKeyColumnValue(
+      int keyBufferPosition,
+      int columnIndex,
+      Object rowObj,
+      ByteBuffer keyBuffer,
+      int[] stack
+  )
+  {
+    final int groupingKey = (int) rowObj;
+    writeToKeyBuffer(keyBufferPosition, groupingKey, keyBuffer);
+    if (groupingKey == GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE) {
+      stack[columnIndex] = 0;
+    } else {
+      stack[columnIndex] = 1;
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public boolean checkRowIndexAndAddValueToGroupingKey(
+      int keyBufferPosition,
+      Object rowObj,
+      int rowValIdx,
+      ByteBuffer keyBuffer
+  )
+  {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public abstract Object getOnlyValue(ColumnValueSelector selector);
+
+
+  @Override
+  public void writeToKeyBuffer(int keyBufferPosition, Object obj, ByteBuffer keyBuffer)
+  {
+    keyBuffer.putInt(keyBufferPosition, (int) obj);
+  }
+
+  int addToIndexedDictionary(List<T> t)
+  {
+    final int dictId = reverseDictionary.getInt(t);
+    if (dictId < 0) {
+      final int size = dictionary.size();
+      dictionary.add(t);
+      reverseDictionary.put(t, size);
+      return size;
+    }
+    return dictId;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Grouper.BufferComparator bufferComparator(int keyBufferPosition, @Nullable StringComparator stringComparator)
+  {
+    StringComparator comparator = stringComparator == null ? StringComparators.NUMERIC : stringComparator;
+    return (lhsBuffer, rhsBuffer, lhsPosition, rhsPosition) -> {
+      List<T> lhs = dictionary.get(lhsBuffer.getInt(lhsPosition + keyBufferPosition));
+      List<T> rhs = dictionary.get(rhsBuffer.getInt(rhsPosition + keyBufferPosition));
+
+      int minLength = Math.min(lhs.size(), rhs.size());
+      if (lhs == rhs) {
+        return 0;
+      } else {
+        for (int i = 0; i < minLength; i++) {
+          final T left = lhs.get(i);
+          final T right = rhs.get(i);
+          final int cmp;
+          if (left == null && right == null) {
+            cmp = 0;
+          } else if (left == null) {
+            cmp = -1;
+          } else {
+            cmp = comparator.compare(String.valueOf(lhs.get(i)), String.valueOf(rhs.get(i)));
+          }
+          if (cmp == 0) {
+            continue;
+          }
+          return cmp;
+        }
+        if (lhs.size() == rhs.size()) {
+          return 0;
+        } else if (lhs.size() < rhs.size()) {
+          return -1;
+        }
+        return 1;
+      }
+    };
+  }
+}

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy.java

@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import com.google.common.collect.BiMap;
+import com.google.common.collect.HashBiMap;
+import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.ISE;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.Grouper;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparator;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableIntArray;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
+
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public class ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy
+    implements GroupByColumnSelectorStrategy
+{
+  private static final int GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE = -1;
+
+
+  // contains string <-> id for each element of the multi value grouping column
+  // for eg : [a,b,c] is the col value. dictionaryToInt will contain { a <-> 1, b <-> 2, c <-> 3}
+  private final BiMap<String, Integer> dictionaryToInt;
+
+  // stores each row as a integer array where the int represents the value in dictionaryToInt
+  // for eg : [a,b,c] would be converted to [1,2,3] and assigned a integer value 1.
+  // [1,2,3] <-> 1
+  private final BiMap<ComparableIntArray, Integer> intListToInt;
+
+  @Override
+  public int getGroupingKeySize()
+  {
+    return Integer.BYTES;
+  }
+
+  public ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy()
+  {
+    dictionaryToInt = HashBiMap.create();
+    intListToInt = HashBiMap.create();
+  }
+
+  @VisibleForTesting
+  ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(
+      BiMap<String, Integer> dictionaryToInt,
+      BiMap<ComparableIntArray, Integer> intArrayToInt
+  )
+  {
+    this.dictionaryToInt = dictionaryToInt;
+    this.intListToInt = intArrayToInt;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void processValueFromGroupingKey(
+      GroupByColumnSelectorPlus selectorPlus,
+      ByteBuffer key,
+      ResultRow resultRow,
+      int keyBufferPosition
+  )
+  {
+    final int id = key.getInt(keyBufferPosition);
+
+    // GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE is used to indicate empty rows
+    if (id != GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE) {
+      final int[] intRepresentation = intListToInt.inverse()
+                                                  .get(id).getDelegate();
+      final String[] stringRepresentaion = new String[intRepresentation.length];
+      for (int i = 0; i < intRepresentation.length; i++) {
+        stringRepresentaion[i] = dictionaryToInt.inverse().get(intRepresentation[i]);
+      }
+      resultRow.set(selectorPlus.getResultRowPosition(), ComparableStringArray.of(stringRepresentaion));
+    } else {
+      resultRow.set(selectorPlus.getResultRowPosition(), null);
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void initColumnValues(
+      ColumnValueSelector selector,
+      int columnIndex,
+      Object[] valuess
+  )
+  {
+    final int groupingKey = (int) getOnlyValue(selector);
+    valuess[columnIndex] = groupingKey;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void initGroupingKeyColumnValue(
+      int keyBufferPosition,
+      int columnIndex,
+      Object rowObj,
+      ByteBuffer keyBuffer,
+      int[] stack
+  )
+  {
+    final int groupingKey = (int) rowObj;
+    writeToKeyBuffer(keyBufferPosition, groupingKey, keyBuffer);
+    if (groupingKey == GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE) {
+      stack[columnIndex] = 0;
+    } else {
+      stack[columnIndex] = 1;
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public boolean checkRowIndexAndAddValueToGroupingKey(
+      int keyBufferPosition,
+      Object rowObj,
+      int rowValIdx,
+      ByteBuffer keyBuffer
+  )
+  {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Object getOnlyValue(ColumnValueSelector selector)
+  {
+    final int[] intRepresentation;
+    Object object = selector.getObject();
+    if (object == null) {
+      return GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE;
+    } else if (object instanceof String) {
+      intRepresentation = new int[1];
+      intRepresentation[0] = addToIndexedDictionary((String) object);
+    } else if (object instanceof List) {
+      final int size = ((List<?>) object).size();
+      intRepresentation = new int[size];
+      for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+        intRepresentation[i] = addToIndexedDictionary((String) ((List<?>) object).get(i));
+      }
+    } else if (object instanceof String[]) {
+      final int size = ((String[]) object).length;
+      intRepresentation = new int[size];
+      for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+        intRepresentation[i] = addToIndexedDictionary(((String[]) object)[i]);
+      }
+    } else if (object instanceof Object[]) {
+      final int size = ((Object[]) object).length;
+      intRepresentation = new int[size];
+      for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+        intRepresentation[i] = addToIndexedDictionary((String) ((Object[]) object)[i]);
+      }
+    } else {
+      throw new ISE("Found unknowm type %s in ColumnValueSelector.", object.getClass().toString());
+    }
+
+    final ComparableIntArray comparableIntArray = ComparableIntArray.of(intRepresentation);
+    final int dictId = intListToInt.getOrDefault(comparableIntArray, GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE);
+    if (dictId == GROUP_BY_MISSING_VALUE) {
+      final int dictionarySize = intListToInt.keySet().size();
+      intListToInt.put(comparableIntArray, dictionarySize);
+      return dictionarySize;
+    } else {
+      return dictId;
+    }
+  }
+
+  private int addToIndexedDictionary(String value)
+  {
+    final Integer dictId = dictionaryToInt.get(value);
+    if (dictId == null) {
+      final int size = dictionaryToInt.size();
+      dictionaryToInt.put(value, dictionaryToInt.size());
+      return size;
+    } else {
+      return dictId;
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public void writeToKeyBuffer(int keyBufferPosition, Object obj, ByteBuffer keyBuffer)
+  {
+    keyBuffer.putInt(keyBufferPosition, (int) obj);
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public Grouper.BufferComparator bufferComparator(int keyBufferPosition, @Nullable StringComparator stringComparator)
+  {
+    final StringComparator comparator = stringComparator == null ? StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC : stringComparator;
+    return (lhsBuffer, rhsBuffer, lhsPosition, rhsPosition) -> {
+      int[] lhs = intListToInt.inverse().get(lhsBuffer.getInt(lhsPosition + keyBufferPosition)).getDelegate();
+      int[] rhs = intListToInt.inverse().get(rhsBuffer.getInt(rhsPosition + keyBufferPosition)).getDelegate();
+
+      int minLength = Math.min(lhs.length, rhs.length);
+      //noinspection ArrayEquality
+      if (lhs == rhs) {
+        return 0;
+      } else {
+        for (int i = 0; i < minLength; i++) {
+          final int cmp = comparator.compare(
+              dictionaryToInt.inverse().get(lhs[i]),
+              dictionaryToInt.inverse().get(rhs[i])
+          );
+          if (cmp == 0) {
+            continue;
+          }
+          return cmp;
+        }
+        if (lhs.length == rhs.length) {
+          return 0;
+        } else if (lhs.length < rhs.length) {
+          return -1;
+        }
+        return 1;
+      }
+    };
+  }
+}
+

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/vector/VectorGroupByEngine.java

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnProcessors;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.StorageAdapter;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.VirtualColumns;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnCapabilities;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ValueType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.filter.Filters;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.vector.VectorColumnSelectorFactory;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.vector.VectorCursor;
@@ -105,6 +106,11 @@ public class VectorGroupByEngine
                 return false;
               }
 
+              if (dimension.getOutputType().getType().equals(ValueType.ARRAY)) {
+                // group by on arrays is not currently supported in the vector processing engine
+                return false;
+              }
+
               // Now check column capabilities.
               final ColumnCapabilities columnCapabilities = inspector.getColumnCapabilities(dimension.getDimension());
               // null here currently means the column does not exist, nil columns can be vectorized

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/orderby/DefaultLimitSpec.java

@@ -44,9 +44,12 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.GroupByQuery;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
 import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparator;
 import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.DimensionHandlerUtils;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ValueType;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
@@ -58,6 +61,7 @@ import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Objects;
+import java.util.Optional;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 
@@ -202,6 +206,12 @@ public class DefaultLimitSpec implements LimitSpec
           naturalComparator = StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC;
         } else if (columnType.isNumeric()) {
           naturalComparator = StringComparators.NUMERIC;
+        } else if (columnType.isArray()) {
+          if (columnType.getElementType().isNumeric()) {
+            naturalComparator = StringComparators.NUMERIC;
+          } else {
+            naturalComparator = StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC;
+          }
         } else {
           sortingNeeded = true;
           break;
@@ -375,7 +385,17 @@ public class DefaultLimitSpec implements LimitSpec
           //noinspection unchecked
           nextOrdering = metricOrdering(columnIndex, aggregatorsMap.get(columnName).getComparator());
         } else if (dimensionsMap.containsKey(columnName)) {
-          nextOrdering = dimensionOrdering(columnIndex, columnSpec.getDimensionComparator());
+          Optional<DimensionSpec> dimensionSpec = dimensions.stream()
+                                                            .filter(ds -> ds.getOutputName().equals(columnName))
+                                                            .findFirst();
+          if (!dimensionSpec.isPresent()) {
+            throw new ISE("Could not find the dimension spec for ordering column %s", columnName);
+          }
+          nextOrdering = dimensionOrdering(
+              columnIndex,
+              dimensionSpec.get().getOutputType(),
+              columnSpec.getDimensionComparator()
+          );
         }
       }
 
@@ -412,10 +432,41 @@ public class DefaultLimitSpec implements LimitSpec
     return Ordering.from(Comparator.comparing(row -> (T) row.get(column), nullFriendlyComparator));
   }
 
-  private Ordering<ResultRow> dimensionOrdering(final int column, final StringComparator comparator)
+  private Ordering<ResultRow> dimensionOrdering(
+      final int column,
+      final ColumnType columnType,
+      final StringComparator comparator
+  )
   {
+    Comparator arrayComparator = null;
+    if (columnType.isArray()) {
+      if (columnType.getElementType().isNumeric()) {
+        arrayComparator = (Comparator<Object>) (o1, o2) -> ComparableList.compareWithComparator(
+            comparator,
+            DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(o1),
+            DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToList(o2)
+        );
+      } else if (columnType.getElementType().equals(ColumnType.STRING)) {
+        arrayComparator = (Comparator<Object>) (o1, o2) -> ComparableStringArray.compareWithComparator(
+            comparator,
+            DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(o1),
+            DimensionHandlerUtils.convertToComparableStringArray(o2)
+        );
+      } else {
+        throw new ISE("Cannot create comparator for array type %s.", columnType.toString());
+      }
+    }
     return Ordering.from(
-        Comparator.comparing((ResultRow row) -> getDimensionValue(row, column), Comparator.nullsFirst(comparator))
+        Comparator.comparing(
+            (ResultRow row) -> {
+              if (columnType.isArray()) {
+                return row.get(column);
+              } else {
+                return getDimensionValue(row, column);
+              }
+            },
+            Comparator.nullsFirst(arrayComparator == null ? comparator : arrayComparator)
+        )
     );
   }
 

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/segment/DimensionHandlerUtils.java

@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnCapabilitiesImpl;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.TypeSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ValueType;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 import java.math.BigDecimal;
@@ -156,9 +158,7 @@ public final class DimensionHandlerUtils
    * @param strategyFactory A factory provided by query engines that generates type-handling strategies
    * @param dimensionSpec   column to generate a ColumnSelectorPlus object for
    * @param cursor          Used to create value selectors for columns.
-   *
    * @return A ColumnSelectorPlus object
-   *
    * @see ColumnProcessors#makeProcessor which may replace this in the future
    */
   public static <Strategy extends ColumnSelectorStrategy> ColumnSelectorPlus<Strategy> createColumnSelectorPlus(
@@ -174,10 +174,10 @@ public final class DimensionHandlerUtils
    * Creates an array of ColumnSelectorPlus objects, selectors that handle type-specific operations within
    * query processing engines, using a strategy factory provided by the query engine. One ColumnSelectorPlus
    * will be created for each column specified in dimensionSpecs.
-   *
+   * <p>
    * The ColumnSelectorPlus provides access to a type strategy (e.g., how to group on a float column)
    * and a value selector for a single column.
-   *
+   * <p>
    * A caller should define a strategy factory that provides an interface for type-specific operations
    * in a query engine. See GroupByStrategyFactory for a reference.
    *
@@ -185,9 +185,7 @@ public final class DimensionHandlerUtils
    * @param strategyFactory       A factory provided by query engines that generates type-handling strategies
    * @param dimensionSpecs        The set of columns to generate ColumnSelectorPlus objects for
    * @param columnSelectorFactory Used to create value selectors for columns.
-   *
    * @return An array of ColumnSelectorPlus objects, in the order of the columns specified in dimensionSpecs
-   *
    * @see ColumnProcessors#makeProcessor which may replace this in the future
    */
   public static <Strategy extends ColumnSelectorStrategy> ColumnSelectorPlus<Strategy>[] createColumnSelectorPluses(
@@ -376,11 +374,59 @@ public final class DimensionHandlerUtils
         return convertObjectToDouble(obj, reportParseExceptions);
       case STRING:
         return convertObjectToString(obj);
+      case ARRAY:
+        switch (type.getElementType().getType()) {
+          case STRING:
+            return convertToComparableStringArray(obj);
+          default:
+            return convertToList(obj);
+        }
+
       default:
         throw new IAE("Type[%s] is not supported for dimensions!", type);
     }
   }
 
+  @Nullable
+  public static ComparableList convertToList(Object obj)
+  {
+    if (obj == null) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    if (obj instanceof List) {
+      return new ComparableList((List) obj);
+    }
+    if (obj instanceof ComparableList) {
+      return (ComparableList) obj;
+    }
+    throw new ISE("Unable to convert type %s to %s", obj.getClass().getName(), ComparableList.class.getName());
+  }
+
+
+  @Nullable
+  public static ComparableStringArray convertToComparableStringArray(Object obj)
+  {
+    if (obj == null) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    if (obj instanceof ComparableStringArray) {
+      return (ComparableStringArray) obj;
+    }
+    if (obj instanceof String[]) {
+      return ComparableStringArray.of((String[]) obj);
+    }
+    // Jackson converts the serialized array into a list. Converting it back to a string array
+    if (obj instanceof List) {
+      return ComparableStringArray.of((String[]) ((List) obj).toArray(new String[0]));
+    }
+    Objects[] objects = (Objects[]) obj;
+    String[] delegate = new String[objects.length];
+    for (int i = 0; i < objects.length; i++) {
+      delegate[i] = convertObjectToString(objects[i]);
+    }
+    return ComparableStringArray.of(delegate);
+  }
+
   public static int compareObjectsAsType(
       @Nullable final Object lhs,
       @Nullable final Object rhs,
@@ -443,12 +489,11 @@ public final class DimensionHandlerUtils
 
   /**
    * Convert a string representing a decimal value to a long.
-   *
+   * <p>
    * If the decimal value is not an exact integral value (e.g. 42.0), or if the decimal value
    * is too large to be contained within a long, this function returns null.
    *
    * @param decimalStr string representing a decimal value
-   *
    * @return long equivalent of decimalStr, returns null for non-integral decimals and integral decimal values outside
    * of the values representable by longs
    */

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/segment/data/ComparableIntArray.java

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.segment.data;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonValue;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+
+public class ComparableIntArray implements Comparable<ComparableIntArray>
+{
+  public static final ComparableIntArray EMPTY_ARRAY = new ComparableIntArray(new int[0]);
+
+  final int[] delegate;
+  private int hashCode;
+  private boolean hashCodeComputed;
+
+  private ComparableIntArray(int[] array)
+  {
+    delegate = array;
+  }
+
+  @JsonCreator
+  public static ComparableIntArray of(int... array)
+  {
+    if (array.length == 0) {
+      return EMPTY_ARRAY;
+    } else {
+      return new ComparableIntArray(array);
+    }
+  }
+
+  @JsonValue
+  public int[] getDelegate()
+  {
+    return delegate;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int hashCode()
+  {
+    // Check is not thread-safe, but that's fine. Even if used by multiple threads, it's ok to write these primitive
+    // fields more than once.
+    // As ComparableIntArray is used in hot loop caching the hashcode
+    if (!hashCodeComputed) {
+      hashCode = Arrays.hashCode(delegate);
+      hashCodeComputed = true;
+    }
+
+    return hashCode;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public boolean equals(Object obj)
+  {
+    if (this == obj) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    if (obj == null || getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    return Arrays.equals(delegate, ((ComparableIntArray) obj).getDelegate());
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int compareTo(ComparableIntArray rhs)
+  {
+    // rhs.getDelegate() cannot be null
+    if (rhs == null) {
+      return 1;
+    }
+    final int minSize = Math.min(this.getDelegate().length, rhs.getDelegate().length);
+    //noinspection ArrayEquality
+    if (this.delegate == rhs.getDelegate()) {
+      return 0;
+    } else {
+      for (int i = 0; i < minSize; i++) {
+        //int's cant be null
+        final int cmp = Integer.compare(delegate[i], rhs.getDelegate()[i]);
+        if (cmp == 0) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        return cmp;
+      }
+      if (this.getDelegate().length == rhs.getDelegate().length) {
+        return 0;
+      } else if (this.getDelegate().length < rhs.getDelegate().length) {
+        return -1;
+      } else {
+        return 1;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public String toString()
+  {
+    return Arrays.toString(delegate);
+  }
+}

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/segment/data/ComparableList.java

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.segment.data;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonValue;
+import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparator;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+
+public class ComparableList<T extends Comparable> implements Comparable<ComparableList>
+{
+
+  private final List<T> delegate;
+
+  public ComparableList(List<T> input)
+  {
+    Preconditions.checkArgument(
+        input != null,
+        "Input cannot be null for %s",
+        ComparableList.class.getName()
+    );
+    this.delegate = input;
+  }
+
+  @JsonValue
+  public List<T> getDelegate()
+  {
+    return delegate;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int hashCode()
+  {
+    return delegate.hashCode();
+  }
+
+
+  @Override
+  public boolean equals(Object obj)
+  {
+    if (this == obj) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    if (obj == null || getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    return this.delegate.equals(((ComparableList) obj).getDelegate());
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int compareTo(ComparableList rhs)
+  {
+    if (rhs == null) {
+      return 1;
+    }
+
+    final int minSize = Math.min(this.getDelegate().size(), rhs.getDelegate().size());
+
+    if (this.delegate == rhs.getDelegate()) {
+      return 0;
+    } else {
+      for (int i = 0; i < minSize; i++) {
+        final int cmp;
+        T first = this.delegate.get(i);
+        Object second = rhs.getDelegate().get(i);
+        if (first == null && second == null) {
+          cmp = 0;
+        } else if (first == null) {
+          cmp = -1;
+        } else if (second == null) {
+          cmp = 1;
+        } else {
+          cmp = first.compareTo(second);
+        }
+        if (cmp == 0) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        return cmp;
+      }
+      if (this.getDelegate().size() == rhs.getDelegate().size()) {
+        return 0;
+      } else if (this.getDelegate().size() < rhs.getDelegate().size()) {
+        return -1;
+      } else {
+        return 1;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public String toString()
+  {
+    return delegate.toString();
+  }
+
+  public static int compareWithComparator(
+      StringComparator stringComparator,
+      ComparableList lhsComparableArray,
+      ComparableList rhsComparableArray
+  )
+  {
+    final StringComparator comparator = stringComparator == null
+                                        ? StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                                        : stringComparator;
+
+    if (lhsComparableArray == null && rhsComparableArray == null) {
+      return 0;
+    } else if (lhsComparableArray == null) {
+      return -1;
+    } else if (rhsComparableArray == null) {
+      return 1;
+    }
+
+    List lhs = lhsComparableArray.getDelegate();
+    List rhs = rhsComparableArray.getDelegate();
+
+    int minLength = Math.min(lhs.size(), rhs.size());
+
+    //noinspection ArrayEquality
+    if (lhs == rhs) {
+      return 0;
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < minLength; i++) {
+      final int cmp = comparator.compare(String.valueOf(lhs.get(i)), String.valueOf(rhs.get(i)));
+      if (cmp == 0) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      return cmp;
+    }
+    if (lhs.size() == rhs.size()) {
+      return 0;
+    } else if (lhs.size() < rhs.size()) {
+      return -1;
+    }
+    return 1;
+  }
+}

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/segment/data/ComparableStringArray.java

@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.segment.data;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonCreator;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonValue;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparator;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+
+public class ComparableStringArray implements Comparable<ComparableStringArray>
+{
+  public static final ComparableStringArray EMPTY_ARRAY = new ComparableStringArray(new String[0]);
+
+  final String[] delegate;
+  private int hashCode;
+  private boolean hashCodeComputed;
+
+  private ComparableStringArray(String[] array)
+  {
+    delegate = array;
+  }
+
+  @JsonCreator
+  public static ComparableStringArray of(String... array)
+  {
+    if (array.length == 0) {
+      return EMPTY_ARRAY;
+    } else {
+      return new ComparableStringArray(array);
+    }
+  }
+
+  @JsonValue
+  public String[] getDelegate()
+  {
+    return delegate;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int hashCode()
+  {
+    // Check is not thread-safe, but that's fine. Even if used by multiple threads, it's ok to write these primitive
+    // fields more than once.
+    // As ComparableIntArray is used in hot loop caching the hashcode
+    if (!hashCodeComputed) {
+      hashCode = Arrays.hashCode(delegate);
+      hashCodeComputed = true;
+    }
+
+    return hashCode;
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public boolean equals(Object obj)
+  {
+    if (this == obj) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    if (obj == null || getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    return Arrays.equals(delegate, ((ComparableStringArray) obj).getDelegate());
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public int compareTo(ComparableStringArray rhs)
+  {
+    // rhs.getDelegate() cannot be null
+    if (rhs == null) {
+      return 1;
+    }
+    final int minSize = Math.min(this.getDelegate().length, rhs.getDelegate().length);
+    //noinspection ArrayEquality
+    if (this.delegate == rhs.getDelegate()) {
+      return 0;
+    } else {
+      for (int i = 0; i < minSize; i++) {
+        final int cmp;
+        String first = this.delegate[i];
+        String second = rhs.getDelegate()[i];
+        if (first == null && second == null) {
+          cmp = 0;
+        } else if (first == null) {
+          cmp = -1;
+        } else if (second == null) {
+          cmp = 1;
+        } else {
+          cmp = first.compareTo(second);
+        }
+        if (cmp == 0) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        return cmp;
+      }
+      if (this.getDelegate().length == rhs.getDelegate().length) {
+        return 0;
+      } else if (this.getDelegate().length < rhs.getDelegate().length) {
+        return -1;
+      } else {
+        return 1;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  public String toString()
+  {
+    return Arrays.toString(delegate);
+  }
+
+
+  public static int compareWithComparator(
+      StringComparator stringComparator,
+      ComparableStringArray lhsComparableArray,
+      ComparableStringArray rhsComparableArray
+  )
+  {
+    final StringComparator comparator = stringComparator == null
+                                        ? StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC
+                                        : stringComparator;
+    if (lhsComparableArray == null && rhsComparableArray == null) {
+      return 0;
+    } else if (lhsComparableArray == null) {
+      return -1;
+    } else if (rhsComparableArray == null) {
+      return 1;
+    }
+
+    String[] lhs = lhsComparableArray.getDelegate();
+    String[] rhs = rhsComparableArray.getDelegate();
+
+    int minLength = Math.min(lhs.length, rhs.length);
+
+    //noinspection ArrayEquality
+    if (lhs == rhs) {
+      return 0;
+    }
+    for (int i = 0; i < minLength; i++) {
+      final int cmp = comparator.compare(lhs[i], rhs[i]);
+      if (cmp == 0) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      return cmp;
+    }
+    if (lhs.length == rhs.length) {
+      return 0;
+    } else if (lhs.length < rhs.length) {
+      return -1;
+    }
+    return 1;
+  }
+}

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/segment/virtual/ExpressionPlanner.java

@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ public class ExpressionPlanner
       outputType = expression.getOutputType(inspector);
     }
 
-    // if analysis predicts output, or inferred output type is array, output will be multi-valued
+    // if analysis predicts output, or inferred output type, is array, output will be arrays
     if (analysis.isOutputArray() || (outputType != null && outputType.isArray())) {
       traits.add(ExpressionPlan.Trait.NON_SCALAR_OUTPUT);
 

processing/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/segment/virtual/ExpressionSelectors.java

@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
         );
       }
     }
-    final Expr.ObjectBinding bindings = createBindings(plan.getAnalysis(), columnSelectorFactory);
+    final Expr.ObjectBinding bindings = createBindings(columnSelectorFactory, plan);
 
     // Optimization for constant expressions
     if (bindings.equals(InputBindings.nilBindings())) {
@@ -244,29 +244,16 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
   }
 
   /**
-   * Create {@link Expr.ObjectBinding} given a {@link ColumnSelectorFactory} and {@link Expr.BindingAnalysis} which
-   * provides the set of identifiers which need a binding (list of required columns), and context of whether or not they
-   * are used as array or scalar inputs
-   */
-  public static Expr.ObjectBinding createBindings(
-      Expr.BindingAnalysis bindingAnalysis,
-      ColumnSelectorFactory columnSelectorFactory
-  )
-  {
-    final List<String> columns = bindingAnalysis.getRequiredBindingsList();
-    return createBindings(columnSelectorFactory, columns);
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Create {@link Expr.ObjectBinding} given a {@link ColumnSelectorFactory} and {@link Expr.BindingAnalysis} which
+   * Create {@link Expr.ObjectBinding} given a {@link ColumnSelectorFactory} and {@link ExpressionPlan} which
    * provides the set of identifiers which need a binding (list of required columns), and context of whether or not they
    * are used as array or scalar inputs
    */
   public static Expr.ObjectBinding createBindings(
       ColumnSelectorFactory columnSelectorFactory,
-      List<String> columns
+      ExpressionPlan plan
   )
   {
+    final List<String> columns = plan.getAnalysis().getRequiredBindingsList();
     final Map<String, Pair<ExpressionType, Supplier<Object>>> suppliers = new HashMap<>();
     for (String columnName : columns) {
       final ColumnCapabilities columnCapabilities = columnSelectorFactory.getColumnCapabilities(columnName);
@@ -274,9 +261,15 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
       final Supplier<Object> supplier;
       final ExpressionType expressionType = ExpressionType.fromColumnType(columnCapabilities);
 
-      if (columnCapabilities == null || columnCapabilities.isArray()) {
+      if (columnCapabilities == null ||
+          columnCapabilities.isArray() ||
+          (plan.is(ExpressionPlan.Trait.NON_SCALAR_OUTPUT) && !plan.is(ExpressionPlan.Trait.NEEDS_APPLIED))
+      ) {
         // Unknown ValueType or array type. Try making an Object selector and see if that gives us anything useful.
-        supplier = supplierFromObjectSelector(columnSelectorFactory.makeColumnValueSelector(columnName));
+        supplier = supplierFromObjectSelector(
+            columnSelectorFactory.makeColumnValueSelector(columnName),
+            plan.is(ExpressionPlan.Trait.NEEDS_APPLIED)
+        );
       } else if (columnCapabilities.is(ValueType.FLOAT)) {
         ColumnValueSelector<?> selector = columnSelectorFactory.makeColumnValueSelector(columnName);
         supplier = makeNullableNumericSupplier(selector, selector::getFloat);
@@ -393,7 +386,10 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
    * detected as a primitive type
    */
   @Nullable
-  static Supplier<Object> supplierFromObjectSelector(final BaseObjectColumnValueSelector<?> selector)
+  static Supplier<Object> supplierFromObjectSelector(
+      final BaseObjectColumnValueSelector<?> selector,
+      boolean homogenizeMultiValue
+  )
   {
     if (selector instanceof NilColumnValueSelector) {
       return null;
@@ -408,7 +404,7 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
       return () -> {
         final Object val = selector.getObject();
         if (val instanceof List) {
-          NonnullPair<ExpressionType, Object[]> coerced = ExprEval.coerceListToArray((List) val, true);
+          NonnullPair<ExpressionType, Object[]> coerced = ExprEval.coerceListToArray((List) val, homogenizeMultiValue);
           if (coerced == null) {
             return null;
           }
@@ -421,7 +417,7 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
       return () -> {
         final Object val = selector.getObject();
         if (val != null) {
-          NonnullPair<ExpressionType, Object[]> coerced = ExprEval.coerceListToArray((List) val, true);
+          NonnullPair<ExpressionType, Object[]> coerced = ExprEval.coerceListToArray((List) val, homogenizeMultiValue);
           if (coerced == null) {
             return null;
           }
@@ -443,7 +439,10 @@ public class ExpressionSelectors
   public static Object coerceEvalToSelectorObject(ExprEval eval)
   {
     if (eval.type().isArray()) {
-      return Arrays.stream(eval.asArray()).collect(Collectors.toList());
+      final Object[] asArray = eval.asArray();
+      return asArray == null
+             ? null
+             : Arrays.stream(asArray).collect(Collectors.toList());
     }
     return eval.value();
   }

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/MultiValuedDimensionTest.java

@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -426,7 +427,14 @@ public class MultiValuedDimensionTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
     );
 
     List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
-        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "foo", "count", 2L),
+        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(
+            query,
+            "1970",
+            "texpr",
+            NullHandling.sqlCompatible() ? "foo" : null,
+            "count",
+            2L
+        ),
         GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1foo", "count", 2L),
         GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2foo", "count", 2L),
         GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t3foo", "count", 4L),
@@ -473,13 +481,23 @@ public class MultiValuedDimensionTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
         query
     );
 
-    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
-        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1u1", "count", 2L),
-        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1u2", "count", 2L),
-        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2u1", "count", 2L),
-        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2u2", "count", 2L),
-        GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t3u1", "count", 2L)
-    );
+    List<ResultRow>
+        expectedResults =
+        NullHandling.sqlCompatible() ?
+        Arrays.asList(
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1u1", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1u2", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2u1", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2u2", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t3u1", "count", 2L)
+        ) :
+        Arrays.asList(
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", null, "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1u1", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t1u2", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2u1", "count", 2L),
+            GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.createExpectedRow(query, "1970", "texpr", "t2u2", "count", 2L)
+        );
 
     TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, result.toList(), "expr-multi-multi");
   }
@@ -1089,7 +1107,15 @@ public class MultiValuedDimensionTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
           ImmutableList.<Map<String, Object>>builder()
                        .add(ImmutableMap.of("texpr", "t3foo", "count", 2L))
                        .add(ImmutableMap.of("texpr", "t5foo", "count", 2L))
-                       .add(ImmutableMap.of("texpr", "foo", "count", 1L))
+                       .add(
+                           new HashMap<String, Object>()
+                           {
+                             {
+                               put("texpr", NullHandling.sqlCompatible() ? "foo" : null);
+                               put("count", 1L);
+                             }
+                           }
+                       )
                        .add(ImmutableMap.of("texpr", "t1foo", "count", 1L))
                        .add(ImmutableMap.of("texpr", "t2foo", "count", 1L))
                        .add(ImmutableMap.of("texpr", "t4foo", "count", 1L))

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/GroupByQueryQueryToolChestTest.java

@@ -589,25 +589,26 @@ public class GroupByQueryQueryToolChestTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
         query.withOverriddenContext(ImmutableMap.of(GroupByQueryConfig.CTX_KEY_ARRAY_RESULT_ROWS, false))
     );
 
-    final Object[] rowObjects = {DateTimes.of("2000").getMillis(), "foo", 100, 10};
+    final Object[] rowObjects = {DateTimes.of("2000").getMillis(), "foo", 100, 10.0};
     final ResultRow resultRow = ResultRow.of(rowObjects);
 
+
     Assert.assertEquals(
         resultRow,
         arraysObjectMapper.readValue(
-            StringUtils.format("[%s, \"foo\", 100, 10]", DateTimes.of("2000").getMillis()),
+            StringUtils.format("[%s, \"foo\", 100, 10.0]", DateTimes.of("2000").getMillis()),
             ResultRow.class
         )
     );
 
-    Assert.assertEquals(
+    TestHelper.assertRow("",
         resultRow,
-        arraysObjectMapper.readValue(
+                         arraysObjectMapper.readValue(
             StringUtils.format(
                 "{\"version\":\"v1\","
                 + "\"timestamp\":\"%s\","
                 + "\"event\":"
-                + "  {\"test\":\"foo\", \"rows\":100, \"post\":10}"
+                + "  {\"test\":\"foo\", \"rows\":100, \"post\":10.0}"
                 + "}",
                 DateTimes.of("2000")
             ),

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/GroupByQueryRunnerTest.java

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.guava.Sequence;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.guava.Sequences;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.io.Closer;
 import org.apache.druid.js.JavaScriptConfig;
+import org.apache.druid.math.expr.ExprMacroTable;
 import org.apache.druid.query.BySegmentResultValue;
 import org.apache.druid.query.BySegmentResultValueClass;
 import org.apache.druid.query.ChainedExecutionQueryRunner;
@@ -98,6 +99,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.extraction.RegexDimExtractionFn;
 import org.apache.druid.query.extraction.SearchQuerySpecDimExtractionFn;
 import org.apache.druid.query.extraction.StringFormatExtractionFn;
 import org.apache.druid.query.extraction.StrlenExtractionFn;
+import org.apache.druid.query.extraction.SubstringDimExtractionFn;
 import org.apache.druid.query.extraction.TimeFormatExtractionFn;
 import org.apache.druid.query.filter.AndDimFilter;
 import org.apache.druid.query.filter.BoundDimFilter;
@@ -129,6 +131,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.spec.MultipleIntervalSegmentSpec;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.TestHelper;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnHolder;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.virtual.ExpressionVirtualColumn;
 import org.apache.druid.testing.InitializedNullHandlingTest;
 import org.joda.time.DateTime;
@@ -1306,6 +1310,769 @@ public class GroupByQueryRunnerTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
     TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "multi-value-dim");
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueDimensionAsArray()
+  {
+    // array types don't work with group by v1
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage(
+          "GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING.");
+    }
+
+    // Cannot vectorize due to multi-value dimensions.
+    cannotVectorize();
+
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("a", "preferred"), "rows", 2L, "idx", 282L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("b", "preferred"), "rows", 2L, "idx", 230L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("e", "preferred"), "rows", 2L, "idx", 324L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("h", "preferred"), "rows", 2L, "idx", 233L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("m", "preferred"), "rows", 6L, "idx", 5317L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("n", "preferred"), "rows", 2L, "idx", 235L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("p", "preferred"), "rows", 6L, "idx", 5405L),
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias", ComparableStringArray.of("preferred", "t"), "rows", 4L, "idx", 420L)
+    );
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "multi-value-dim-groupby-arrays");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testSingleValueDimensionAsArray()
+  {
+    // array types don't work with group by v1
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage(
+          "GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    }
+
+    // Cannot vectorize due to multi-value dimensions.
+    cannotVectorize();
+
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placement)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(
+            QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT,
+            new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index")
+        )
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = ImmutableList.of(
+        makeRow(query, "2011-04-01", "alias",
+                ComparableStringArray.of("preferred"), "rows", 26L, "idx", 12446L
+        )
+    );
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "multi-value-dim-groupby-arrays");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueDimensionAsArrayWithOtherDims()
+  {
+    // array types don't work with group by v1
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage(
+          "GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    }
+
+
+    // Cannot vectorize due to multi-value dimensions.
+    cannotVectorize();
+
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("quality", "quality")
+        )
+        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                "alias",
+                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.ASCENDING,
+                StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC
+            ), new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                "quality",
+                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.ASCENDING,
+                StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC
+            )),
+            Integer.MAX_VALUE - 1
+        ))
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("a", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "automotive",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            282L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("b", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "business",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            230L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("e", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "entertainment",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            324L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("h", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "health",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            233L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("m", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "mezzanine",
+            "rows",
+            6L,
+            "idx",
+            5317L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("n", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "news",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            235L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("p", "preferred"),
+            "quality",
+            "premium",
+            "rows",
+            6L,
+            "idx",
+            5405L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("preferred", "t"),
+            "quality",
+            "technology",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            175L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("preferred", "t"),
+            "quality",
+            "travel",
+            "rows",
+            2L,
+            "idx",
+            245L
+        )
+    );
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "multi-value-dims-groupby-arrays");
+
+    query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("quality", "quality")
+        )
+        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+            ImmutableList.of(
+                new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                    "alias",
+                    OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                    StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC
+                ),
+                new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                    "quality",
+                    OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                    StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC
+                )
+            ),
+            Integer.MAX_VALUE - 1
+        ))
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    Collections.reverse(expectedResults);
+
+    results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "multi-value-dims-groupby-arrays-descending");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueDimensionAsStringArrayWithoutExpression()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    } else if (!vectorize) {
+      expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("Not supported for multi-value dimensions");
+    }
+
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("placementish", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testSingleValueDimensionAsStringArrayWithoutExpression()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    } else if (!vectorize) {
+      // cannot add exact class cast message due to discrepancies between various JDK versions
+      expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
+    }
+    cannotVectorize();
+
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("placement", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = ImmutableList.of(
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            ComparableStringArray.of("preferred"),
+            "rows",
+            26L,
+            "idx",
+            12446L
+        ));
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(
+        expectedResults,
+        results,
+        "single-value-dims-groupby-arrays-as-string-arrays"
+    );
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testNumericDimAsStringArrayWithoutExpression()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    } else if (!vectorize) {
+      // cannot add exact class cast message due to discrepancies between various JDK versions
+      expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
+    }
+
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("index", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueVirtualDimAsString()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    } else if (!vectorize) {
+      // cannot add exact class cast message due to discrepancies between various JDK versions
+      expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
+    }
+
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING)
+        )
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("index", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testExtractionStringSpecWithMultiValueVirtualDimAsInput()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 does not support dimension selectors with unknown cardinality");
+    }
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new ExtractionDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING,
+                                        new SubstringDimExtractionFn(1, 1)
+            )
+        )
+
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            null,
+            "rows",
+            26L,
+            "idx",
+            12446L
+        ),
+        makeRow(
+            query,
+            "2011-04-01",
+            "alias",
+            "r",
+            "rows",
+            26L,
+            "idx",
+            12446L
+        )
+    );
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(
+        expectedResults,
+        results,
+        "multi-value-extraction-spec-as-string-dim-groupby-arrays"
+    );
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testExtractionStringArraySpecWithMultiValueVirtualDimAsInput()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    } else if (!vectorize) {
+      expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("Not supported for multi-value dimensions");
+    }
+
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new ExtractionDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+                                        new SubstringDimExtractionFn(1, 1)
+            )
+        )
+
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testVirtualColumnNumericTypeAsStringArray()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    } else if (!vectorize) {
+      // cannot add exact class cast message due to discrepancies between various JDK versions
+      expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
+    }
+
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery query = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "array(index)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+            )
+        )
+
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT)
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, query);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testNestedGroupByWithStringArray()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    }
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery inner = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "mv_to_array(placementish)",
+            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQuery outer = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(new QueryDataSource(inner))
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("alias", "alias_outer", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+            )
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT)
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("a", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("b", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("e", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("h", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("m", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("n", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("p", "preferred"), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", ComparableStringArray.of("preferred", "t"), "rows", 1L)
+    );
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, outer);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "multi-value-dim-nested-groupby-arrays");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testNestedGroupByWithLongArrays()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    }
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery inner = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "array(1,2)",
+            ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT)
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    GroupByQuery outer = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(new QueryDataSource(inner))
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("alias", "alias_outer", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY
+            )
+        )
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT)
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = ImmutableList.of(
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L)),
+                "rows", 1L
+        ));
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, outer);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "long-nested-groupby-arrays");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testGroupByWithLongArrays()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    }
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery outer = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "array(index)",
+            ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias_outer", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                "alias_outer",
+                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.ASCENDING,
+                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+            )),
+            Integer.MAX_VALUE
+        ))
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(
+            QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT
+        )
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(78.622547)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(97.387433)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(109.705815)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(110.931934)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(112.987027)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(113.446008)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(114.290141)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(118.57034)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(119.922742)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(120.134704)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(121.583581)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(126.411364)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(135.301506)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(135.885094)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(144.507368)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(147.425935)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(158.747224)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(166.016049)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1049.738585)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1144.342401)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1193.556278)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1234.247546)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1314.839715)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1321.375057)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1447.34116)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1522.043733)), "rows", 1L)
+    );
+
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, outer);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "long-groupby-arrays");
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testGroupByWithLongArraysDesc()
+  {
+    if (config.getDefaultStrategy().equals(GroupByStrategySelector.STRATEGY_V1)) {
+      expectedException.expect(UnsupportedOperationException.class);
+      expectedException.expectMessage("GroupBy v1 only supports dimensions with an outputType of STRING");
+    }
+    cannotVectorize();
+    GroupByQuery outer = makeQueryBuilder()
+        .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
+        .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
+        .setVirtualColumns(new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
+            "v0",
+            "array(index)",
+            ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY,
+            ExprMacroTable.nil()
+        ))
+        .setDimensions(
+            new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "alias_outer", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+        )
+        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                "alias_outer",
+                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+            )),
+            Integer.MAX_VALUE - 1
+        ))
+        .setAggregatorSpecs(
+            QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT
+        )
+        .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ALL_GRAN)
+        .build();
+
+
+    List<ResultRow> expectedResults = Arrays.asList(
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(78.622547)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(97.387433)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(109.705815)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(110.931934)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(112.987027)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(113.446008)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(114.290141)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(118.57034)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(119.922742)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(120.134704)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(121.583581)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(126.411364)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(135.301506)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(135.885094)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(144.507368)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(147.425935)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(158.747224)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(166.016049)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1049.738585)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1144.342401)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1193.556278)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1234.247546)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1314.839715)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1321.375057)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1447.34116)), "rows", 1L),
+        makeRow(outer, "2011-04-01", "alias_outer", new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1522.043733)), "rows", 1L)
+    );
+    // reversing list
+    Collections.reverse(expectedResults);
+    Iterable<ResultRow> results = GroupByQueryRunnerTestHelper.runQuery(factory, runner, outer);
+    TestHelper.assertExpectedObjects(expectedResults, results, "long-groupby-arrays");
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void testTwoMultiValueDimensions()
   {

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/GroupByQueryTest.java

@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.spec.MultipleIntervalSegmentSpec;
 import org.apache.druid.query.spec.QuerySegmentSpec;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.TestHelper;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.virtual.ExpressionVirtualColumn;
 import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -61,7 +62,13 @@ public class GroupByQueryTest
         .builder()
         .setDataSource(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DATA_SOURCE)
         .setQuerySegmentSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.FIRST_TO_THIRD)
-        .setDimensions(new DefaultDimensionSpec("quality", "alias"))
+        .setDimensions(new DefaultDimensionSpec(QueryRunnerTestHelper.QUALITY_DIMENSION, "alias"),
+                       new DefaultDimensionSpec(
+                           QueryRunnerTestHelper.MARKET_DIMENSION,
+                           "market",
+                           ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+                       )
+        )
         .setAggregatorSpecs(QueryRunnerTestHelper.ROWS_COUNT, new LongSumAggregatorFactory("idx", "index"))
         .setGranularity(QueryRunnerTestHelper.DAY_GRAN)
         .setPostAggregatorSpecs(ImmutableList.of(new FieldAccessPostAggregator("x", "idx")))
@@ -120,12 +127,13 @@ public class GroupByQueryTest
                                            .addDimension(new DefaultDimensionSpec("foo", "foo", ColumnType.LONG))
                                            .addDimension(new DefaultDimensionSpec("bar", "bar", ColumnType.FLOAT))
                                            .addDimension(new DefaultDimensionSpec("baz", "baz", ColumnType.STRING))
+                                           .addDimension(new DefaultDimensionSpec("bat", "bat", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
                                            .build();
 
     final Ordering<ResultRow> rowOrdering = query.getRowOrdering(false);
     final int compare = rowOrdering.compare(
-        ResultRow.of(1, 1f, "a"),
-        ResultRow.of(1L, 1d, "b")
+        ResultRow.of(1, 1f, "a", ComparableStringArray.of("1", "2")),
+        ResultRow.of(1L, 1d, "b", ComparableStringArray.of("3"))
     );
     Assert.assertEquals(-1, compare);
   }

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.objects.Object2IntOpenHashMap;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.Grouper;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.mockito.Mockito;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public class ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategyTest
+{
+  protected final List<List<Double>> dictionary = new ArrayList<List<Double>>()
+  {
+    {
+      add(ImmutableList.of(1.0, 2.0));
+      add(ImmutableList.of(2.0, 3.0));
+      add(ImmutableList.of(1.0));
+    }
+  };
+
+  protected final Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<Double>> reverseDictionary = new Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<Double>>()
+  {
+    {
+      put(ImmutableList.of(1.0, 2.0), 0);
+      put(ImmutableList.of(2.0, 3.0), 1);
+      put(ImmutableList.of(1.0), 2);
+    }
+  };
+
+  private final ByteBuffer buffer1 = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
+  private final ByteBuffer buffer2 = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
+
+  private ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy strategy;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setup()
+  {
+    reverseDictionary.defaultReturnValue(-1);
+    strategy = new ArrayDoubleGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(dictionary, reverseDictionary);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testKeySize()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(Integer.BYTES, strategy.getGroupingKeySize());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testWriteKey()
+  {
+    strategy.writeToKeyBuffer(0, 1, buffer1);
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, buffer1.getInt(0));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparatorsWithNullAndNonNullStringComprators()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(1);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, null);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+
+    comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+
+    comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, StringComparators.STRLEN);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparator()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(0);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, null);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testSanity()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of(1.0, 2.0));
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(0);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1.0, 2.0)), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testAddingInDictionary()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of(4.0, 2.0));
+    Assert.assertEquals(3, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(3);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4.0, 2.0)), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testAddingInDictionaryWithObjects()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(new Object[]{4.0D, 2.0D});
+    Assert.assertEquals(3, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+    buffer1.putInt(3);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4.0, 2.0)), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+  @After
+  public void tearDown()
+  {
+    buffer1.clear();
+    buffer2.clear();
+  }
+}

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import it.unimi.dsi.fastutil.objects.Object2IntOpenHashMap;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.Grouper;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.mockito.Mockito;
+import org.mockito.junit.MockitoJUnitRunner;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+@RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
+public class ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategyTest
+{
+  protected final List<List<Long>> dictionary = new ArrayList<List<Long>>()
+  {
+    {
+      add(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L));
+      add(ImmutableList.of(2L, 3L));
+      add(ImmutableList.of(1L));
+    }
+  };
+
+  protected final Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<Long>> reverseDictionary = new Object2IntOpenHashMap<List<Long>>()
+  {
+    {
+      put(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L), 0);
+      put(ImmutableList.of(2L, 3L), 1);
+      put(ImmutableList.of(1L), 2);
+    }
+  };
+
+  private final ByteBuffer buffer1 = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
+  private final ByteBuffer buffer2 = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
+
+  private ArrayNumericGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy strategy;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setup()
+  {
+    reverseDictionary.defaultReturnValue(-1);
+    strategy = new ArrayLongGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(dictionary, reverseDictionary);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testKeySize()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(Integer.BYTES, strategy.getGroupingKeySize());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testWriteKey()
+  {
+    strategy.writeToKeyBuffer(0, 1, buffer1);
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, buffer1.getInt(0));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparatorsWithNullAndNonNullStringComprators()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(1);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, null);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+
+    comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+
+    comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, StringComparators.STRLEN);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparator()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(0);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, null);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testSanity()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L));
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(0);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L)), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testAddingInDictionary()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of(4L, 2L));
+    Assert.assertEquals(3, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(3);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4L, 2L)), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testAddingInDictionaryWithObjects()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(new Object[]{4L, 2L});
+    Assert.assertEquals(3, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+    buffer1.putInt(3);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4L, 2L)), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+  @After
+  public void tearDown()
+  {
+    buffer1.clear();
+    buffer2.clear();
+  }
+}

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/query/groupby/epinephelinae/column/ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategyTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.column;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.BiMap;
+import com.google.common.collect.HashBiMap;
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
+import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.epinephelinae.Grouper;
+import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.ColumnValueSelector;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableIntArray;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.mockito.Mockito;
+import org.mockito.junit.MockitoJUnitRunner;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+
+@RunWith(MockitoJUnitRunner.class)
+public class ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategyTest
+{
+
+  private final BiMap<String, Integer> DICTIONARY_INT = HashBiMap.create(new HashMap<String, Integer>()
+  {
+    {
+      put("a", 0);
+      put("b", 1);
+      put("bd", 2);
+      put("d", 3);
+      put("e", 4);
+    }
+  });
+
+  // The dictionary has been constructed such that the values are not sorted lexicographically
+  // so we can tell when the comparator uses a lexicographic comparison and when it uses the indexes.
+  private final BiMap<ComparableIntArray, Integer> INDEXED_INTARRAYS = HashBiMap.create(
+      new HashMap<ComparableIntArray, Integer>()
+      {
+        {
+          put(ComparableIntArray.of(0, 1), 0);
+          put(ComparableIntArray.of(2, 4), 1);
+          put(ComparableIntArray.of(0, 2), 2);
+        }
+      }
+  );
+
+
+  private final ByteBuffer buffer1 = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
+  private final ByteBuffer buffer2 = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
+
+  private ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy strategy;
+
+  @Before
+  public void setup()
+  {
+    strategy = new ArrayStringGroupByColumnSelectorStrategy(DICTIONARY_INT, INDEXED_INTARRAYS);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testKeySize()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(Integer.BYTES, strategy.getGroupingKeySize());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testWriteKey()
+  {
+    strategy.writeToKeyBuffer(0, 1, buffer1);
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, buffer1.getInt(0));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparatorCanCompareIntsAndNullStringComparatorShouldUseLexicographicComparator()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(1);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, null);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparatorCanCompareIntsAndLexicographicStringComparatorShouldUseLexicographicComparator()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(1);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testBufferComparatorCanCompareIntsAndStrLenStringComparatorShouldUseLexicographicComparator()
+  {
+    buffer1.putInt(1);
+    buffer2.putInt(2);
+    Grouper.BufferComparator comparator = strategy.bufferComparator(0, StringComparators.STRLEN);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer1, buffer2, 0, 0) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparator.compare(buffer2, buffer1, 0, 0) < 0);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testSanity()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of("a", "b"));
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(0);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(ComparableStringArray.of("a", "b"), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testAddingInDictionary()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(ImmutableList.of("f", "a"));
+    Assert.assertEquals(3, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(3);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(ComparableStringArray.of("f", "a"), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testAddingInDictionaryWithObjects()
+  {
+    ColumnValueSelector columnValueSelector = Mockito.mock(ColumnValueSelector.class);
+    Mockito.when(columnValueSelector.getObject()).thenReturn(new Object[]{"f", "a"});
+    Assert.assertEquals(3, strategy.getOnlyValue(columnValueSelector));
+
+    GroupByColumnSelectorPlus groupByColumnSelectorPlus = Mockito.mock(GroupByColumnSelectorPlus.class);
+    Mockito.when(groupByColumnSelectorPlus.getResultRowPosition()).thenReturn(0);
+    ResultRow row = ResultRow.create(1);
+
+    buffer1.putInt(3);
+    strategy.processValueFromGroupingKey(groupByColumnSelectorPlus, buffer1, row, 0);
+    Assert.assertEquals(ComparableStringArray.of("f", "a"), row.get(0));
+  }
+
+  @After
+  public void tearDown()
+  {
+    buffer1.clear();
+    buffer2.clear();
+  }
+}

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/segment/TestHelper.java

@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.ResultRow;
 import org.apache.druid.query.timeseries.TimeseriesResultValue;
 import org.apache.druid.query.topn.TopNResultValue;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnConfig;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.writeout.SegmentWriteOutMediumFactory;
 import org.apache.druid.timeline.DataSegment.PruneSpecsHolder;
 import org.junit.Assert;
@@ -372,7 +374,7 @@ public class TestHelper
     }
   }
 
-  private static void assertRow(String msg, ResultRow expected, ResultRow actual)
+  public static void assertRow(String msg, ResultRow expected, ResultRow actual)
   {
     Assert.assertEquals(
         StringUtils.format("%s: row length", msg),
@@ -408,6 +410,16 @@ public class TestHelper
             ((Number) actualValue).doubleValue(),
             Math.abs(((Number) expectedValue).doubleValue() * 1e-6)
         );
+      } else if (expectedValue instanceof ComparableStringArray && actualValue instanceof List) {
+        Assert.assertArrayEquals(
+            ((ComparableStringArray) expectedValue).getDelegate(),
+            ExprEval.coerceListToArray((List) actualValue, true).rhs
+        );
+      } else if (expectedValue instanceof ComparableList && actualValue instanceof List) {
+        Assert.assertEquals(
+            ((ComparableList) expectedValue).getDelegate(),
+            (List) actualValue
+        );
       } else {
         Assert.assertEquals(
             message,

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/segment/data/ComparableIntArrayTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.segment.data;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+public class ComparableIntArrayTest
+{
+  private final int[] array = new int[]{1, 2, 3};
+  private final ComparableIntArray comparableIntArray = ComparableIntArray.of(1, 2, 3);
+
+  @Test
+  public void testDelegate()
+  {
+    Assert.assertArrayEquals(array, comparableIntArray.getDelegate());
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, ComparableIntArray.of(new int[0]).getDelegate().length);
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, ComparableIntArray.of().getDelegate().length);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testHashCode()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(Arrays.hashCode(array), comparableIntArray.hashCode());
+    Set<ComparableIntArray> set = new HashSet<>();
+    set.add(comparableIntArray);
+    set.add(ComparableIntArray.of(array));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, set.size());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testEquals()
+  {
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableIntArray.equals(ComparableIntArray.of(array)));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableIntArray.equals(ComparableIntArray.of(1, 2, 5)));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableIntArray.equals(ComparableIntArray.EMPTY_ARRAY));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableIntArray.equals(null));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testCompareTo()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, comparableIntArray.compareTo(ComparableIntArray.of(array)));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, comparableIntArray.compareTo(null));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, comparableIntArray.compareTo(ComparableIntArray.of(1, 2)));
+    Assert.assertEquals(-1, comparableIntArray.compareTo(ComparableIntArray.of(1, 2, 3, 4)));
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableIntArray.compareTo(ComparableIntArray.of(2)) < 0);
+  }
+}

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/segment/data/ComparableListTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.segment.data;
+
+import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+public class ComparableListTest
+{
+  private final List<Integer> integers = ImmutableList.of(1, 2, 3);
+  private final ComparableList comparableList = new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1, 2, 3));
+
+  @Test
+  public void testDelegate()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(integers, comparableList.getDelegate());
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of()).getDelegate().size());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testHashCode()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(integers.hashCode(), comparableList.hashCode());
+    Set<ComparableList> set = new HashSet<>();
+    set.add(comparableList);
+    set.add(new ComparableList(integers));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, set.size());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testEquals()
+  {
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableList.equals(new ComparableList(integers)));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableList.equals(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1, 2, 5))));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableList.equals(null));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testCompareTo()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, comparableList.compareTo(new ComparableList(integers)));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, comparableList.compareTo(null));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, comparableList.compareTo(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1, 2))));
+    Assert.assertEquals(-1, comparableList.compareTo(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1, 2, 3, 4))));
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableList.compareTo(new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(2))) < 0);
+    ComparableList nullList = new ComparableList(new ArrayList<Integer>()
+    {
+      {
+        add(null);
+        add(1);
+      }
+    });
+
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableList.compareTo(nullList) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(nullList.compareTo(comparableList) < 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(nullList.compareTo(new ComparableList(new ArrayList<Integer>()
+    {
+      {
+        add(null);
+        add(1);
+      }
+    })) == 0);
+  }
+}

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/segment/data/ComparableStringArrayTest.java

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.segment.data;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+public class ComparableStringArrayTest
+{
+  private final String[] array = new String[]{"a", "b", "c"};
+  private final ComparableStringArray comparableStringArray = ComparableStringArray.of("a", "b", "c");
+
+  @Test
+  public void testDelegate()
+  {
+    Assert.assertArrayEquals(array, comparableStringArray.getDelegate());
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, ComparableStringArray.of(new String[0]).getDelegate().length);
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, ComparableStringArray.of().getDelegate().length);
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testHashCode()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(Arrays.hashCode(array), comparableStringArray.hashCode());
+    Set<ComparableStringArray> set = new HashSet<>();
+    set.add(comparableStringArray);
+    set.add(ComparableStringArray.of(array));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, set.size());
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testEquals()
+  {
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableStringArray.equals(ComparableStringArray.of(array)));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableStringArray.equals(ComparableStringArray.of("a", "b", "C")));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableStringArray.equals(ComparableStringArray.EMPTY_ARRAY));
+    Assert.assertFalse(comparableStringArray.equals(null));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testCompareTo()
+  {
+    Assert.assertEquals(0, comparableStringArray.compareTo(ComparableStringArray.of(array)));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, comparableStringArray.compareTo(null));
+    Assert.assertEquals(1, comparableStringArray.compareTo(ComparableStringArray.of("a", "b")));
+    Assert.assertEquals(-1, comparableStringArray.compareTo(ComparableStringArray.of("a", "b", "c", "d")));
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableStringArray.compareTo(ComparableStringArray.of("b")) < 0);
+
+    ComparableStringArray nullList = ComparableStringArray.of(null, "a");
+
+    Assert.assertTrue(comparableStringArray.compareTo(nullList) > 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(nullList.compareTo(comparableStringArray) < 0);
+    Assert.assertTrue(nullList.compareTo(ComparableStringArray.of(null, "a")) == 0);
+  }
+}

processing/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/segment/virtual/ExpressionSelectorsTest.java

@@ -171,7 +171,8 @@ public class ExpressionSelectorsTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
   {
     final SettableSupplier<Object> settableSupplier = new SettableSupplier<>();
     final Supplier<Object> supplier = ExpressionSelectors.supplierFromObjectSelector(
-        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, Object.class)
+        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, Object.class),
+        true
     );
 
     Assert.assertNotNull(supplier);
@@ -195,7 +196,8 @@ public class ExpressionSelectorsTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
   {
     final SettableSupplier<Number> settableSupplier = new SettableSupplier<>();
     final Supplier<Object> supplier = ExpressionSelectors.supplierFromObjectSelector(
-        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, Number.class)
+        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, Number.class),
+        true
     );
 
 
@@ -214,7 +216,8 @@ public class ExpressionSelectorsTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
   {
     final SettableSupplier<String> settableSupplier = new SettableSupplier<>();
     final Supplier<Object> supplier = ExpressionSelectors.supplierFromObjectSelector(
-        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, String.class)
+        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, String.class),
+        true
     );
 
     Assert.assertNotNull(supplier);
@@ -232,7 +235,8 @@ public class ExpressionSelectorsTest extends InitializedNullHandlingTest
   {
     final SettableSupplier<List> settableSupplier = new SettableSupplier<>();
     final Supplier<Object> supplier = ExpressionSelectors.supplierFromObjectSelector(
-        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, List.class)
+        objectSelectorFromSupplier(settableSupplier, List.class),
+        true
     );
 
     Assert.assertNotNull(supplier);

server/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/server/ClientQuerySegmentWalkerTest.java

@@ -71,6 +71,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.segment.SegmentWrangler;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.TestHelper;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.join.InlineJoinableFactory;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.join.JoinConditionAnalysis;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.join.JoinType;
@@ -807,19 +809,48 @@ public class ClientQuerySegmentWalkerTest
                                    .setDataSource(ARRAY)
                                    .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
                                    .setInterval(Collections.singletonList(INTERVAL))
-                                   .setDimensions(DefaultDimensionSpec.of("ad"))
+                                   .setDimensions(
+                                       new DefaultDimensionSpec(
+                                           "ad",
+                                           "ad",
+                                           ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY
+                                       ))
                                    .build()
                                    .withId(DUMMY_QUERY_ID);
 
-
-    // group by cannot handle true array types, expect this, RuntimeExeception with IAE in stack trace
-    expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
-    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [ARRAY<DOUBLE>]");
-
     testQuery(
         query,
         ImmutableList.of(ExpectedQuery.cluster(query)),
-        ImmutableList.of()
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1.0, 2.0))},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(2.0, 4.0))},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(3.0, 6.0))},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4.0, 8.0))}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testGroupByOnArraysDoublesAsString()
+  {
+    final GroupByQuery query =
+        (GroupByQuery) GroupByQuery.builder()
+                                   .setDataSource(ARRAY)
+                                   .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                                   .setInterval(Collections.singletonList(INTERVAL))
+                                   .setDimensions(DefaultDimensionSpec.of("ad"))
+                                   .build()
+                                   .withId(DUMMY_QUERY_ID);
+
+    testQuery(
+        query,
+        ImmutableList.of(ExpectedQuery.cluster(query)),
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1.0, 2.0)).toString()},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(2.0, 4.0)).toString()},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(3.0, 6.0)).toString()},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4.0, 8.0)).toString()}
+        )
     );
   }
 
@@ -865,18 +896,49 @@ public class ClientQuerySegmentWalkerTest
                                    .setDataSource(ARRAY)
                                    .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
                                    .setInterval(Collections.singletonList(INTERVAL))
-                                   .setDimensions(DefaultDimensionSpec.of("al"))
+                                   .setDimensions(new DefaultDimensionSpec(
+                                       "al",
+                                       "al",
+                                       ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY
+                                   ))
                                    .build()
                                    .withId(DUMMY_QUERY_ID);
 
-    // group by cannot handle true array types, expect this, RuntimeExeception with IAE in stack trace
-    expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
-    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [ARRAY<LONG>]");
 
     testQuery(
         query,
         ImmutableList.of(ExpectedQuery.cluster(query)),
-        ImmutableList.of()
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L))},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(2L, 4L))},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(3L, 6L))},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4L, 8L))}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testGroupByOnArraysLongsAsString()
+  {
+    final GroupByQuery query =
+        (GroupByQuery) GroupByQuery.builder()
+                                   .setDataSource(ARRAY)
+                                   .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                                   .setInterval(Collections.singletonList(INTERVAL))
+                                   .setDimensions(DefaultDimensionSpec.of("al"))
+                                   .build()
+                                   .withId(DUMMY_QUERY_ID);
+
+    // when we donot define an outputType, convert {@link ComparableList} to a string
+    testQuery(
+        query,
+        ImmutableList.of(ExpectedQuery.cluster(query)),
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(1L, 2L)).toString()},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(2L, 4L)).toString()},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(3L, 6L)).toString()},
+            new Object[]{new ComparableList(ImmutableList.of(4L, 8L)).toString()}
+        )
     );
   }
 
@@ -922,22 +984,47 @@ public class ClientQuerySegmentWalkerTest
                                    .setDataSource(ARRAY)
                                    .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
                                    .setInterval(Collections.singletonList(INTERVAL))
-                                   .setDimensions(DefaultDimensionSpec.of("as"))
+                                   .setDimensions(new DefaultDimensionSpec("as", "as", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
                                    .build()
                                    .withId(DUMMY_QUERY_ID);
 
-
-    // group by cannot handle true array types, expect this, RuntimeExeception with IAE in stack trace
-    expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
-    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [ARRAY<STRING>]");
-
     testQuery(
         query,
         ImmutableList.of(ExpectedQuery.cluster(query)),
-        ImmutableList.of()
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("1.0", "2.0")},
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("2.0", "4.0")},
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("3.0", "6.0")},
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("4.0", "8.0")}
+        )
     );
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testGroupByOnArraysStringsasString()
+  {
+    final GroupByQuery query =
+        (GroupByQuery) GroupByQuery.builder()
+                                   .setDataSource(ARRAY)
+                                   .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                                   .setInterval(Collections.singletonList(INTERVAL))
+                                   .setDimensions(DefaultDimensionSpec.of("as"))
+                                   .build()
+                                   .withId(DUMMY_QUERY_ID);
+
+    testQuery(
+        query,
+        ImmutableList.of(ExpectedQuery.cluster(query)),
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("1.0", "2.0").toString()},
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("2.0", "4.0").toString()},
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("3.0", "6.0").toString()},
+            new Object[]{ComparableStringArray.of("4.0", "8.0").toString()}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+
   @Test
   public void testGroupByOnArraysUnknownStrings()
   {

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/aggregation/builtin/ArraySqlAggregator.java

@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.rel.VirtualColumnRegistry;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.table.RowSignatures;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
-
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/expression/builtin/ArrayAppendOperatorConversion.java

@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunction;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunctionCategory;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlOperator;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.OperandTypes;
-import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.ReturnTypes;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeFamily;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.DruidExpression;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.OperatorConversions;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.SqlOperatorConversion;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.Calcites;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.PlannerContext;
 
 public class ArrayAppendOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public class ArrayAppendOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
           )
       )
       .functionCategory(SqlFunctionCategory.STRING)
-      .returnTypeInference(ReturnTypes.ARG0_NULLABLE)
+      .returnTypeInference(Calcites.ARG0_NULLABLE_ARRAY_RETURN_TYPE_INFERENCE)
       .build();
 
   @Override

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/expression/builtin/ArrayConcatOperatorConversion.java

@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunction;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunctionCategory;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlOperator;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.OperandTypes;
-import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.ReturnTypes;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeFamily;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.DruidExpression;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.OperatorConversions;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.SqlOperatorConversion;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.Calcites;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.PlannerContext;
 
 public class ArrayConcatOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public class ArrayConcatOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
           )
       )
       .functionCategory(SqlFunctionCategory.STRING)
-      .returnTypeInference(ReturnTypes.ARG0_NULLABLE)
+      .returnTypeInference(Calcites.ARG0_NULLABLE_ARRAY_RETURN_TYPE_INFERENCE)
       .build();
 
   @Override

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/expression/builtin/ArrayPrependOperatorConversion.java

@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunction;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunctionCategory;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlOperator;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.OperandTypes;
-import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.ReturnTypes;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeFamily;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.DruidExpression;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.OperatorConversions;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.SqlOperatorConversion;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.Calcites;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.PlannerContext;
 
 public class ArrayPrependOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public class ArrayPrependOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
           )
       )
       .functionCategory(SqlFunctionCategory.STRING)
-      .returnTypeInference(ReturnTypes.ARG1_NULLABLE)
+      .returnTypeInference(Calcites.ARG1_NULLABLE_ARRAY_RETURN_TYPE_INFERENCE)
       .build();
 
   @Override

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/expression/builtin/ArraySliceOperatorConversion.java

@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunction;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunctionCategory;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlOperator;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.OperandTypes;
-import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.ReturnTypes;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeFamily;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.DruidExpression;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.OperatorConversions;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.SqlOperatorConversion;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.Calcites;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.PlannerContext;
 
 public class ArraySliceOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public class ArraySliceOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
           )
       )
       .functionCategory(SqlFunctionCategory.STRING)
-      .returnTypeInference(ReturnTypes.ARG0_NULLABLE)
+      .returnTypeInference(Calcites.ARG0_NULLABLE_ARRAY_RETURN_TYPE_INFERENCE)
       .build();
 
   @Override

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/expression/builtin/MultiValueStringToArrayOperatorConversion.java

@@ -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.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin;
+
+import org.apache.calcite.rex.RexNode;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunction;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlFunctionCategory;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlOperator;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.OperandTypes;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeFamily;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeName;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.column.RowSignature;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.DruidExpression;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.OperatorConversions;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.SqlOperatorConversion;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.planner.PlannerContext;
+
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+
+/**
+ * Function that converts a String or a Multi Value direct column to an array.
+ * Input expressions are not supported as one should use the array function for such cases.
+ **/
+
+public class MultiValueStringToArrayOperatorConversion implements SqlOperatorConversion
+{
+  private static final SqlFunction SQL_FUNCTION = OperatorConversions
+      .operatorBuilder("MV_TO_ARRAY")
+      .operandTypeChecker(
+              OperandTypes.family(SqlTypeFamily.STRING)
+      )
+      .functionCategory(SqlFunctionCategory.STRING)
+      .returnTypeNullableArray(SqlTypeName.VARCHAR)
+      .build();
+
+  @Override
+  public SqlOperator calciteOperator()
+  {
+    return SQL_FUNCTION;
+  }
+
+  @Nullable
+  @Override
+  public DruidExpression toDruidExpression(PlannerContext plannerContext, RowSignature rowSignature, RexNode rexNode)
+  {
+    return OperatorConversions.convertCall(
+        plannerContext,
+        rowSignature,
+        rexNode,
+        druidExpressions -> DruidExpression.of(
+            null,
+            DruidExpression.functionCall("mv_to_array", druidExpressions)
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+}

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/planner/Calcites.java

@@ -29,7 +29,10 @@ import org.apache.calcite.rex.RexLiteral;
 import org.apache.calcite.rex.RexNode;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlCollation;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlKind;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.SqlOperatorBinding;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlReturnTypeInference;
 import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeName;
+import org.apache.calcite.sql.type.SqlTypeUtil;
 import org.apache.calcite.util.ConversionUtil;
 import org.apache.calcite.util.DateString;
 import org.apache.calcite.util.TimeString;
@@ -38,6 +41,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.DateTimes;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.IAE;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.ISE;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.druid.math.expr.ExpressionProcessing;
 import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparator;
 import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
@@ -84,6 +88,11 @@ public class Calcites
 
   private static final Pattern TRAILING_ZEROS = Pattern.compile("\\.?0+$");
 
+  public static final SqlReturnTypeInference
+      ARG0_NULLABLE_ARRAY_RETURN_TYPE_INFERENCE = new Arg0NullableArrayTypeInference();
+  public static final SqlReturnTypeInference
+      ARG1_NULLABLE_ARRAY_RETURN_TYPE_INFERENCE = new Arg1NullableArrayTypeInference();
+
   private Calcites()
   {
     // No instantiation.
@@ -128,17 +137,16 @@ public class Calcites
   }
 
   /**
-   * Convert {@link RelDataType} to the most appropriate {@link ValueType}, coercing all ARRAY types to STRING (until
-   * the time is right and we are more comfortable handling Druid ARRAY types in all parts of the engine).
-   *
-   * Callers who are not scared of ARRAY types should isntead call {@link #getValueTypeForRelDataTypeFull(RelDataType)},
-   * which returns the most accurate conversion of {@link RelDataType} to {@link ValueType}.
+   * Convert {@link RelDataType} to the most appropriate {@link ValueType}
+   * Caller who want to coerce all ARRAY types to STRING can set `druid.expressions.allowArrayToStringCast`
+   * runtime property in {@link org.apache.druid.math.expr.ExpressionProcessingConfig}
    */
   @Nullable
   public static ColumnType getColumnTypeForRelDataType(final RelDataType type)
   {
     ColumnType valueType = getValueTypeForRelDataTypeFull(type);
-    if (valueType != null && valueType.isArray()) {
+    // coerce array to multi value string
+    if (ExpressionProcessing.processArraysAsMultiValueStrings() && valueType != null && valueType.isArray()) {
       return ColumnType.STRING;
     }
     return valueType;
@@ -468,4 +476,38 @@ public class Calcites
         return Object.class;
     }
   }
+
+  public static class Arg0NullableArrayTypeInference implements SqlReturnTypeInference
+  {
+    @Override
+    public RelDataType inferReturnType(SqlOperatorBinding opBinding)
+    {
+      RelDataType type = opBinding.getOperandType(0);
+      if (SqlTypeUtil.isArray(type)) {
+        return type;
+      }
+      return Calcites.createSqlArrayTypeWithNullability(
+          opBinding.getTypeFactory(),
+          type.getSqlTypeName(),
+          true
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
+  public static class Arg1NullableArrayTypeInference implements SqlReturnTypeInference
+  {
+    @Override
+    public RelDataType inferReturnType(SqlOperatorBinding opBinding)
+    {
+      RelDataType type = opBinding.getOperandType(1);
+      if (SqlTypeUtil.isArray(type)) {
+        return type;
+      }
+      return Calcites.createSqlArrayTypeWithNullability(
+          opBinding.getTypeFactory(),
+          type.getSqlTypeName(),
+          true
+      );
+    }
+  }
 }

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/planner/DruidOperatorTable.java

@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.LeftOperatorConversion;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.LikeOperatorConversion;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.MillisToTimestampOperatorConversion;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.MultiValueStringOperatorConversions;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.MultiValueStringToArrayOperatorConversion;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.ParseLongOperatorConversion;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.PositionOperatorConversion;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.expression.builtin.RPadOperatorConversion;
@@ -242,6 +243,7 @@ public class DruidOperatorTable implements SqlOperatorTable
                    .add(new MultiValueStringOperatorConversions.StringToMultiString())
                    .add(new MultiValueStringOperatorConversions.FilterOnly())
                    .add(new MultiValueStringOperatorConversions.FilterNone())
+                   .add(new MultiValueStringToArrayOperatorConversion())
                    .build();
 
   private static final List<SqlOperatorConversion> REDUCTION_OPERATOR_CONVERSIONS =

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/rel/DruidQuery.java

@@ -87,7 +87,6 @@ import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.table.RowSignatures;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
-
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Comparator;
@@ -415,7 +414,6 @@ public class DruidQuery
 
       final VirtualColumn virtualColumn;
 
-
       final String dimOutputName = outputNamePrefix + outputNameCounter++;
       if (!druidExpression.isSimpleExtraction()) {
         virtualColumn = virtualColumnRegistry.getOrCreateVirtualColumnForExpression(
@@ -933,6 +931,10 @@ public class DruidQuery
     }
 
     final DimensionSpec dimensionSpec = Iterables.getOnlyElement(grouping.getDimensions()).toDimensionSpec();
+    // grouping col cannot be type array
+    if (dimensionSpec.getOutputType().isArray()) {
+      return null;
+    }
     final OrderByColumnSpec limitColumn;
     if (sorting.getOrderBys().isEmpty()) {
       limitColumn = new OrderByColumnSpec(

sql/src/main/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/run/NativeQueryMaker.java

@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.spec.QuerySegmentSpec;
 import org.apache.druid.query.timeseries.TimeseriesQuery;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.DimensionHandlerUtils;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnHolder;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableList;
+import org.apache.druid.segment.data.ComparableStringArray;
 import org.apache.druid.server.QueryLifecycle;
 import org.apache.druid.server.QueryLifecycleFactory;
 import org.apache.druid.server.security.Access;
@@ -340,6 +342,10 @@ public class NativeQueryMaker implements QueryMaker
           coercedValue = Arrays.asList((Double[]) value);
         } else if (value instanceof Object[]) {
           coercedValue = Arrays.asList((Object[]) value);
+        } else if (value instanceof ComparableStringArray) {
+          coercedValue = Arrays.asList(((ComparableStringArray) value).getDelegate());
+        } else if (value instanceof ComparableList) {
+          coercedValue = ((ComparableList) value).getDelegate();
         } else {
           throw new ISE("Cannot coerce[%s] to %s", value.getClass().getName(), sqlType);
         }

sql/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/BaseCalciteQueryTest.java

@@ -110,7 +110,6 @@ import org.junit.rules.ExpectedException;
 import org.junit.rules.TemporaryFolder;
 
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
-
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
@@ -895,6 +894,12 @@ public class BaseCalciteQueryTest extends CalciteTestBase
     }
   }
 
+  public void testQueryThrows(final String sql, Consumer<ExpectedException> expectedExceptionInitializer)
+      throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(sql, new HashMap<>(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT), ImmutableList.of(), expectedExceptionInitializer);
+  }
+
   public void testQueryThrows(
       final String sql,
       final Map<String, Object> queryContext,

sql/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/CalciteArraysQueryTest.java

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.common.config.NullHandling;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.HumanReadableBytes;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.IAE;
 import org.apache.druid.java.util.common.granularity.Granularities;
+import org.apache.druid.math.expr.ExprMacroTable;
 import org.apache.druid.math.expr.ExpressionProcessing;
 import org.apache.druid.query.Druids;
 import org.apache.druid.query.Query;
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.expression.TestExprMacroTable;
 import org.apache.druid.query.filter.AndDimFilter;
 import org.apache.druid.query.filter.ExpressionDimFilter;
 import org.apache.druid.query.filter.InDimFilter;
+import org.apache.druid.query.filter.NotDimFilter;
 import org.apache.druid.query.filter.SelectorDimFilter;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.GroupByQuery;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.orderby.DefaultLimitSpec;
@@ -47,6 +49,8 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.orderby.NoopLimitSpec;
 import org.apache.druid.query.groupby.orderby.OrderByColumnSpec;
 import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
 import org.apache.druid.query.scan.ScanQuery;
+import org.apache.druid.query.topn.DimensionTopNMetricSpec;
+import org.apache.druid.query.topn.TopNQuery;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.join.JoinType;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.filtration.Filtration;
@@ -55,6 +59,7 @@ import org.junit.Test;
 import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 
 /**
@@ -74,7 +79,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
             newScanQueryBuilder()
                 .dataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE1)
                 .intervals(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
-                .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array(1,2)", ColumnType.STRING))
+                .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array(1,2)", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY))
                 .columns("dim1", "v0")
                 .resultFormat(ScanQuery.ResultFormat.RESULT_FORMAT_COMPACTED_LIST)
                 .limit(1)
@@ -93,6 +98,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     cannotVectorize();
     testQuery(
         "SELECT CASE WHEN dim4 = 'a' THEN ARRAY['foo','bar','baz'] END as mv_value, count(1) from numfoo GROUP BY 1",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             GroupByQuery.builder()
                         .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
@@ -100,9 +106,9 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                         .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
                             "v0",
                             "case_searched((\"dim4\" == 'a'),array('foo','bar','baz'),null)",
-                            ColumnType.STRING
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
                         ))
-                        .setDimensions(new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0"))
+                        .setDimensions(new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
                         .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
                         .setAggregatorSpecs(new CountAggregatorFactory("a0"))
                         .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT)
@@ -110,9 +116,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
         ),
         ImmutableList.of(
             new Object[]{null, 3L},
-            new Object[]{"bar", 3L},
-            new Object[]{"baz", 3L},
-            new Object[]{"foo", 3L}
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "bar", "baz"), 3L}
         )
     );
   }
@@ -126,7 +130,11 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
             newScanQueryBuilder()
                 .dataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE1)
                 .intervals(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
-                .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array(concat(\"dim1\",'word'),'up')", ColumnType.STRING))
+                .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                    "v0",
+                    "array(concat(\"dim1\",'word'),'up')",
+                    ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+                ))
                 .columns("dim1", "v0")
                 .resultFormat(ScanQuery.ResultFormat.RESULT_FORMAT_COMPACTED_LIST)
                 .limit(5)
@@ -150,7 +158,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     final Query<?> scanQuery = newScanQueryBuilder()
         .dataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE1)
         .intervals(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
-        .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array(concat(\"dim3\",'word'),'up')", ColumnType.STRING))
+        .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array(concat(\"dim3\",'word'),'up')", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
         .columns("dim1", "v0")
         .resultFormat(ScanQuery.ResultFormat.RESULT_FORMAT_COMPACTED_LIST)
         .limit(5)
@@ -183,7 +191,8 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
 
     // if nested arrays are not enabled, this doesn't work
     expectedException.expect(IAE.class);
-    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot create a nested array type [ARRAY<ARRAY<STRING>>], 'druid.expressions.allowNestedArrays' must be set to true");
+    expectedException.expectMessage(
+        "Cannot create a nested array type [ARRAY<ARRAY<STRING>>], 'druid.expressions.allowNestedArrays' must be set to true");
     testQuery(
         sql,
         ImmutableList.of(scanQuery),
@@ -288,22 +297,26 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                 .intervals(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
                 .virtualColumns(
                     // these report as strings even though they are not, someday this will not be so
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array('a','b','c')", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v1", "array(1,2,3)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v10", "array_concat(array(\"l1\"),array(\"l2\"))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v11", "array_concat(array(\"d1\"),array(\"d2\"))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v12", "array_offset(array(\"l1\"),0)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v13", "array_offset(array(\"d1\"),0)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v14", "array_ordinal(array(\"l1\"),1)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v15", "array_ordinal(array(\"d1\"),1)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v2", "array(1.9,2.2,4.3)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v3", "array_append(\"dim3\",'foo')", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v4", "array_prepend('foo',array(\"dim2\"))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v5", "array_append(array(1,2),\"l1\")", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v6", "array_prepend(\"l2\",array(1,2))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v7", "array_append(array(1.2,2.2),\"d1\")", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v8", "array_prepend(\"d2\",array(1.1,2.2))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v9", "array_concat(\"dim2\",\"dim3\")", ColumnType.STRING)
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array('a','b','c')", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v1", "array(1,2,3)", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v10", "array_concat(array(\"l1\"),array(\"l2\"))", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn(
+                        "v11",
+                        "array_concat(array(\"d1\"),array(\"d2\"))",
+                        ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY
+                    ),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v12", "array_offset(array(\"l1\"),0)", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v13", "array_offset(array(\"d1\"),0)", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v14", "array_ordinal(array(\"l1\"),1)", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v15", "array_ordinal(array(\"d1\"),1)", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v2", "array(1.9,2.2,4.3)", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v3", "array_append(\"dim3\",'foo')", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v4", "array_prepend('foo',array(\"dim2\"))", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v5", "array_append(array(1,2),\"l1\")", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v6", "array_prepend(\"l2\",array(1,2))", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v7", "array_append(array(1.2,2.2),\"d1\")", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v8", "array_prepend(\"d2\",array(1.1,2.2))", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v9", "array_concat(\"dim2\",\"dim3\")", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
                 )
                 .columns(
                     "d1",
@@ -357,13 +370,13 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
               Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c"),
               Arrays.asList(1L, 2L, 3L),
               Arrays.asList(1.9, 2.2, 4.3),
-              "[\"a\",\"b\",\"foo\"]",
+              Arrays.asList("a", "b", "foo"),
               Arrays.asList("foo", "a"),
               Arrays.asList(1L, 2L, 7L),
               Arrays.asList(0L, 1L, 2L),
               Arrays.asList(1.2, 2.2, 1.0),
               Arrays.asList(0.0, 1.1, 2.2),
-              "[\"a\",\"a\",\"b\"]",
+              Arrays.asList("a", "a", "b"),
               Arrays.asList(7L, 0L),
               Arrays.asList(1.0, 0.0)
           }
@@ -377,13 +390,13 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
               Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c"),
               Arrays.asList(1L, 2L, 3L),
               Arrays.asList(1.9, 2.2, 4.3),
-              "[\"a\",\"b\",\"foo\"]",
+              Arrays.asList("a", "b", "foo"),
               Arrays.asList("foo", "a"),
               Arrays.asList(1L, 2L, 7L),
               Arrays.asList(null, 1L, 2L),
               Arrays.asList(1.2, 2.2, 1.0),
               Arrays.asList(null, 1.1, 2.2),
-              "[\"a\",\"a\",\"b\"]",
+              Arrays.asList("a", "a", "b"),
               Arrays.asList(7L, null),
               Arrays.asList(1.0, null)
           }
@@ -414,19 +427,22 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                 .dataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
                 .intervals(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
                 .virtualColumns(
-                    // these report as strings even though they are not, someday this will not be so
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array('a','b','c')", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v1", "array(1,2,3)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v10", "array_concat(array(\"l1\"),array(\"l2\"))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v11", "array_concat(array(\"d1\"),array(\"d2\"))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v2", "array(1.9,2.2,4.3)", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v3", "array_append(\"dim3\",'foo')", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v4", "array_prepend('foo',array(\"dim2\"))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v5", "array_append(array(1,2),\"l1\")", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v6", "array_prepend(\"l2\",array(1,2))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v7", "array_append(array(1.2,2.2),\"d1\")", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v8", "array_prepend(\"d2\",array(1.1,2.2))", ColumnType.STRING),
-                    expressionVirtualColumn("v9", "array_concat(\"dim2\",\"dim3\")", ColumnType.STRING)
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array('a','b','c')", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v1", "array(1,2,3)", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v10", "array_concat(array(\"l1\"),array(\"l2\"))", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn(
+                        "v11",
+                        "array_concat(array(\"d1\"),array(\"d2\"))",
+                        ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY
+                    ),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v2", "array(1.9,2.2,4.3)", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v3", "array_append(\"dim3\",'foo')", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v4", "array_prepend('foo',array(\"dim2\"))", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v5", "array_append(array(1,2),\"l1\")", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v6", "array_prepend(\"l2\",array(1,2))", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v7", "array_append(array(1.2,2.2),\"d1\")", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v8", "array_prepend(\"d2\",array(1.1,2.2))", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY),
+                    expressionVirtualColumn("v9", "array_concat(\"dim2\",\"dim3\")", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
                 )
                 .columns(
                     "dim1",
@@ -554,6 +570,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
   {
     testQuery(
         "SELECT dim3 FROM druid.numfoo WHERE ARRAY_CONTAINS(dim3, ARRAY[dim2]) LIMIT 5",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             newScanQueryBuilder()
                 .dataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
@@ -562,12 +579,11 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                 .columns("dim3")
                 .resultFormat(ScanQuery.ResultFormat.RESULT_FORMAT_COMPACTED_LIST)
                 .limit(5)
-                .context(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT)
+                .context(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
                 .build()
         ),
         ImmutableList.of(
-            new Object[]{"[\"a\",\"b\"]"},
-            new Object[]{useDefault ? "" : null}
+            new Object[]{"[\"a\",\"b\"]"}
         )
     );
   }
@@ -577,24 +593,25 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
   {
     testQuery(
         "SELECT ARRAY_SLICE(dim3, 1) FROM druid.numfoo",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             new Druids.ScanQueryBuilder()
                 .dataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
                 .intervals(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
-                .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array_slice(\"dim3\",1)", ColumnType.STRING))
+                .virtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array_slice(\"dim3\",1)", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY))
                 .columns(ImmutableList.of("v0"))
-                .context(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT)
+                .context(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
                 .resultFormat(ScanQuery.ResultFormat.RESULT_FORMAT_COMPACTED_LIST)
                 .legacy(false)
                 .build()
         ),
         ImmutableList.of(
-            new Object[]{"[\"b\"]"},
-            new Object[]{"[\"c\"]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"}
+            new Object[]{Collections.singletonList("b")},
+            new Object[]{Collections.singletonList("c")},
+            new Object[]{Collections.emptyList()},
+            new Object[]{useDefault ? null : Collections.emptyList()},
+            new Object[]{null},
+            new Object[]{null}
         )
     );
   }
@@ -651,26 +668,23 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
-          new Object[]{"", 3L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"d", 1L}
+          new Object[]{null, 3L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b", "foo"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c", "foo"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d", "foo"), 1L}
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
           new Object[]{null, 2L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"d", 1L}
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("", "foo"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b", "foo"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c", "foo"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d", "foo"), 1L}
       );
     }
     testQuery(
         "SELECT ARRAY_APPEND(dim3, 'foo'), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             GroupByQuery.builder()
                         .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
@@ -679,11 +693,11 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                         .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
                             "v0",
                             "array_append(\"dim3\",'foo')",
-                            ColumnType.STRING
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
                         ))
                         .setDimensions(
                             dimensions(
-                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING)
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
                             )
                         )
                         .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
@@ -695,7 +709,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                             )),
                             Integer.MAX_VALUE
                         ))
-                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT)
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
                         .build()
         ),
         results
@@ -711,26 +725,23 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
-          new Object[]{"", 3L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"d", 1L}
+          new Object[]{null, 3L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "a", "b"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "b", "c"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "d"), 1L}
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
           new Object[]{null, 2L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"d", 1L}
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", ""), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "a", "b"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "b", "c"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("foo", "d"), 1L}
       );
     }
     testQuery(
         "SELECT ARRAY_PREPEND('foo', dim3), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             GroupByQuery.builder()
                         .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
@@ -739,11 +750,11 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                         .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
                             "v0",
                             "array_prepend('foo',\"dim3\")",
-                            ColumnType.STRING
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
                         ))
                         .setDimensions(
                             dimensions(
-                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING)
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
                             )
                         )
                         .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
@@ -755,7 +766,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                             )),
                             Integer.MAX_VALUE
                         ))
-                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT)
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
                         .build()
         ),
         results
@@ -835,24 +846,23 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"", 6L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 4L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"d", 2L}
+          new Object[]{null, 3L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b", "a", "b"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c", "b", "c"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d", "d"), 1L}
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{null, 4L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 4L},
-          new Object[]{"", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"d", 2L}
+          new Object[]{null, 2L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("", ""), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b", "a", "b"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c", "b", "c"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d", "d"), 1L}
       );
     }
     testQuery(
         "SELECT ARRAY_CONCAT(dim3, dim3), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             GroupByQuery.builder()
                         .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
@@ -861,11 +871,11 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                         .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
                             "v0",
                             "array_concat(\"dim3\",\"dim3\")",
-                            ColumnType.STRING
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
                         ))
                         .setDimensions(
                             dimensions(
-                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING)
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
                             )
                         )
                         .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
@@ -877,7 +887,7 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                             )),
                             Integer.MAX_VALUE
                         ))
-                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_DEFAULT)
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
                         .build()
         ),
         results
@@ -923,6 +933,197 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     );
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void testArrayGroupAsLongArray() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize as we donot have support in native query subsytem for grouping on arrays
+    cannotVectorize();
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT ARRAY[l1], SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "array(\"l1\")",
+                            ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.LONG_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                "a0",
+                                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                            )),
+                            Integer.MAX_VALUE
+                        ))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ? ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0L), 4L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(7L), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(325323L), 1L}
+        ) : ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{Collections.singletonList(null), 3L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0L), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(7L), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(325323L), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testArrayGroupAsDoubleArray() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize as we donot have support in native query subsytem for grouping on arrays as keys
+    cannotVectorize();
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT ARRAY[d1], SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "array(\"d1\")",
+                            ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                "a0",
+                                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                            )),
+                            Integer.MAX_VALUE
+                        ))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ? ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0.0), 4L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(1.0), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(1.7), 1L}
+        ) :
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{Collections.singletonList(null), 3L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0.0), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(1.0), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(1.7), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testArrayGroupAsFloatArray() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize as we donot have support in native query subsytem for grouping on arrays as keys
+    cannotVectorize();
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT ARRAY[f1], SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "array(\"f1\")",
+                            ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.DOUBLE_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                "a0",
+                                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                            )),
+                            Integer.MAX_VALUE
+                        ))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ? ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0.0), 4L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0.10000000149011612), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(1.0), 1L}
+        ) :
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{Collections.singletonList(null), 3L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0.0), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(0.10000000149011612), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(1.0), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testArrayGroupAsArrayWithFunction() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize due to usage of expressions.
+    cannotVectorize();
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT ARRAY[ARRAY_ORDINAL(dim3, 2)], SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "array(array_ordinal(\"dim3\",2))",
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                                          ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                              "a0",
+                                              OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                              StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                                          )),
+                                          Integer.MAX_VALUE
+                                      )
+                        )
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{Collections.singletonList(null), 4L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("c"), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
   @Test
   public void testArrayOrdinal() throws Exception
   {
@@ -936,7 +1137,11 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                         .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
                         .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
                         .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
-                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn("v0", "array_ordinal(\"dim3\",2)", ColumnType.STRING))
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "array_ordinal(\"dim3\",2)",
+                            ColumnType.STRING
+                        ))
                         .setDimensions(
                             dimensions(
                                 new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING)
@@ -1113,24 +1318,23 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"d", 7L},
-          new Object[]{null, 3L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 1L}
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("", "d"), 3L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b", "d"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c", "d"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d", "d"), 1L}
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"d", 5L},
           new Object[]{null, 2L},
-          new Object[]{"b", 2L},
-          new Object[]{"", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"a", 1L},
-          new Object[]{"c", 1L}
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("", "d"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b", "d"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c", "d"), 1L},
+          new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d", "d"), 1L}
       );
     }
     testQuery(
         "SELECT STRING_TO_ARRAY(CONCAT(ARRAY_TO_STRING(dim3, ','), ',d'), ','), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo WHERE ARRAY_LENGTH(dim3) > 0 GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
         ImmutableList.of(
             GroupByQuery.builder()
                         .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
@@ -1141,13 +1345,13 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                             expressionVirtualColumn(
                                 "v1",
                                 "string_to_array(concat(array_to_string(\"dim3\",','),',d'),',')",
-                                ColumnType.STRING
+                                ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
                             )
                         )
                         .setDimFilter(bound("v0", "0", null, true, false, null, StringComparators.NUMERIC))
                         .setDimensions(
                             dimensions(
-                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v1", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING)
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v1", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
                             )
                         )
                         .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
@@ -1640,13 +1844,65 @@ public class CalciteArraysQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
   public void testArrayAggGroupByArrayAggFromSubquery() throws Exception
   {
     cannotVectorize();
-    // yo, can't group on array types right now so expect failure
-    expectedException.expect(RuntimeException.class);
-    expectedException.expectMessage("Cannot create query type helper from invalid type [ARRAY<STRING>]");
+
     testQuery(
         "SELECT dim2, arr, COUNT(*) FROM (SELECT dim2, ARRAY_AGG(DISTINCT dim1) as arr FROM foo WHERE dim1 is not null GROUP BY 1 LIMIT 5) GROUP BY 1,2",
-        ImmutableList.of(),
-        ImmutableList.of()
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(new TopNQuery(
+                            new TableDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE1),
+                            null,
+                            new DefaultDimensionSpec(
+                                "dim2",
+                                "d0",
+                                ColumnType.STRING
+                            ),
+                            new DimensionTopNMetricSpec(
+                                null,
+                                StringComparators.LEXICOGRAPHIC
+                            ), 5,
+                            querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()),
+                            new NotDimFilter(new SelectorDimFilter("dim1", null, null)),
+                            Granularities.ALL,
+                            aggregators(new ExpressionLambdaAggregatorFactory(
+                                "a0",
+                                ImmutableSet.of("dim1"),
+                                "__acc",
+                                "[]",
+                                "[]",
+                                true,
+                                "array_set_add(\"__acc\", \"dim1\")",
+                                "array_set_add_all(\"__acc\", \"a0\")",
+                                null,
+                                null,
+                                new HumanReadableBytes(1024),
+                                ExprMacroTable.nil()
+                            )),
+                            null,
+                            QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setDimFilter(null).setGranularity(Granularities.ALL).setDimensions(dimensions(
+                            new DefaultDimensionSpec("d0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING),
+                            new DefaultDimensionSpec("a0", "_d1", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+                        ))
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new CountAggregatorFactory("_a0")))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY).build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ?
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{"", ImmutableList.of("2", "abc", "10.1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{"a", ImmutableList.of("1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{"abc", ImmutableList.of("def"), 1L}
+        ) :
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{null, ImmutableList.of("abc", "10.1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{"", ImmutableList.of("2"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{"a", ImmutableList.of("", "1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{"abc", ImmutableList.of("def"), 1L}
+        )
     );
   }
 

sql/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest.java

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import org.apache.druid.query.ordering.StringComparators;
 import org.apache.druid.query.scan.ScanQuery;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.column.ColumnType;
 import org.apache.druid.segment.virtual.ListFilteredVirtualColumn;
+import org.apache.druid.sql.SqlPlanningException;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.filtration.Filtration;
 import org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.util.CalciteTests;
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -337,8 +338,7 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                 .build()
         ),
         ImmutableList.of(
-            new Object[]{"[\"a\",\"b\"]"},
-            new Object[]{useDefault ? "" : null}
+            new Object[]{"[\"a\",\"b\"]"}
         )
     );
   }
@@ -363,9 +363,9 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
             new Object[]{"[\"b\"]"},
             new Object[]{"[\"c\"]"},
             new Object[]{"[]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"},
-            new Object[]{"[]"}
+            new Object[]{useDefault ? NULL_STRING : "[]"},
+            new Object[]{NULL_STRING},
+            new Object[]{NULL_STRING}
         )
     );
   }
@@ -422,8 +422,8 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
           new Object[]{"", 3L},
+          new Object[]{"foo", 3L},
           new Object[]{"b", 2L},
           new Object[]{"a", 1L},
           new Object[]{"c", 1L},
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
+          new Object[]{"foo", 4L},
           new Object[]{null, 2L},
           new Object[]{"b", 2L},
           new Object[]{"", 1L},
@@ -482,8 +482,8 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
           new Object[]{"", 3L},
+          new Object[]{"foo", 3L},
           new Object[]{"b", 2L},
           new Object[]{"a", 1L},
           new Object[]{"c", 1L},
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"foo", 6L},
+          new Object[]{"foo", 4L},
           new Object[]{null, 2L},
           new Object[]{"b", 2L},
           new Object[]{"", 1L},
@@ -606,16 +606,16 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
     ImmutableList<Object[]> results;
     if (useDefault) {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{"", 6L},
           new Object[]{"b", 4L},
+          new Object[]{"", 3L},
           new Object[]{"a", 2L},
           new Object[]{"c", 2L},
           new Object[]{"d", 2L}
       );
     } else {
       results = ImmutableList.of(
-          new Object[]{null, 4L},
           new Object[]{"b", 4L},
+          new Object[]{null, 2L},
           new Object[]{"", 2L},
           new Object[]{"a", 2L},
           new Object[]{"c", 2L},
@@ -1259,4 +1259,226 @@ public class CalciteMultiValueStringQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
         )
     );
   }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayGroupAsArrayWithMultiValueDimension() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize as we donot have support in native query subsytem for grouping on arrays as keys
+    cannotVectorize();
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(dim3), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "mv_to_array(\"dim3\")",
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                "a0",
+                                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                            )),
+                            Integer.MAX_VALUE
+                        ))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ? ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{null, 3L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d"), 1L}
+        ) :
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{null, 2L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(""), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("a", "b"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("b", "c"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("d"), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayGroupAsArrayWithSingleValueDim() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize due to usage of expressions.
+    cannotVectorize();
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(dim1), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "mv_to_array(\"dim1\")",
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                "a0",
+                                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                            )),
+                            Integer.MAX_VALUE
+                        ))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ? ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{null, 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("10.1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("2"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("abc"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("def"), 1L}
+        ) :
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(""), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("10.1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("2"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("abc"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("def"), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayGroupAsArrayWithSingleValueDimIsNotConvertedToTopN() throws Exception
+  {
+    // Cannot vectorize due to usage of expressions.
+    cannotVectorize();
+    // Test for method {@link org.apache.druid.sql.calcite.rel.DruidQuery.toTopNQuery()} so that it does not convert
+    // group by on array to topn
+    testQuery(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(dim1), SUM(cnt) FROM druid.numfoo GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC limit 10",
+        QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY,
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            GroupByQuery.builder()
+                        .setDataSource(CalciteTests.DATASOURCE3)
+                        .setInterval(querySegmentSpec(Filtration.eternity()))
+                        .setGranularity(Granularities.ALL)
+                        .setVirtualColumns(expressionVirtualColumn(
+                            "v0",
+                            "mv_to_array(\"dim1\")",
+                            ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY
+                        ))
+                        .setDimensions(
+                            dimensions(
+                                new DefaultDimensionSpec("v0", "_d0", ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY)
+                            )
+                        )
+                        .setAggregatorSpecs(aggregators(new LongSumAggregatorFactory("a0", "cnt")))
+                        .setLimitSpec(new DefaultLimitSpec(
+                            ImmutableList.of(new OrderByColumnSpec(
+                                "a0",
+                                OrderByColumnSpec.Direction.DESCENDING,
+                                StringComparators.NUMERIC
+                            )),
+                            10
+                        ))
+                        .setContext(QUERY_CONTEXT_NO_STRINGIFY_ARRAY)
+                        .build()
+        ),
+        useDefault ? ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{null, 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("10.1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("2"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("abc"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("def"), 1L}
+        ) :
+        ImmutableList.of(
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of(""), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("10.1"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("2"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("abc"), 1L},
+            new Object[]{ImmutableList.of("def"), 1L}
+        )
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayMoreArgs() throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(dim3,dim3) FROM druid.numfoo",
+        exception -> {
+          exception.expect(SqlPlanningException.class);
+          exception.expectMessage("Invalid number of arguments to function");
+        }
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayNoArgs() throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY() FROM druid.numfoo",
+        exception -> {
+          exception.expect(SqlPlanningException.class);
+          exception.expectMessage("Invalid number of arguments to function");
+        }
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayArgsWithMultiValueDimFunc() throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(concat(dim3,'c')) FROM druid.numfoo",
+        exception -> exception.expect(RuntimeException.class)
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayArgsWithSingleDimFunc() throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(concat(dim1,'c')) FROM druid.numfoo",
+        exception -> exception.expect(RuntimeException.class)
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayArgsWithConstant() throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(concat(dim1,'c')) FROM druid.numfoo",
+        exception -> exception.expect(RuntimeException.class)
+    );
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void testMultiValueToArrayArgsWithArray() throws Exception
+  {
+    testQueryThrows(
+        "SELECT MV_TO_ARRAY(Array[1,2]) FROM druid.numfoo",
+        exception -> exception.expect(RuntimeException.class)
+    );
+  }
 }

sql/src/test/java/org/apache/druid/sql/calcite/CalciteSelectQueryTest.java

@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ public class CalciteSelectQueryTest extends BaseCalciteQueryTest
                     new ExpressionVirtualColumn(
                         "v0",
                         "array('Hello',null)",
-                        ColumnType.STRING,
+                        ColumnType.STRING_ARRAY,
                         ExprMacroTable.nil()
                     )
                 )