diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/optimizer/rules/ConstantFoldingRule.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/optimizer/rules/ConstantFoldingRule.java
index 7110dbb..06f7cc2 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/optimizer/rules/ConstantFoldingRule.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/optimizer/rules/ConstantFoldingRule.java
@@ -96,7 +96,8 @@
             BuiltinFunctions.FIELD_ACCESS_NESTED, BuiltinFunctions.GET_ITEM, BuiltinFunctions.OPEN_RECORD_CONSTRUCTOR,
             BuiltinFunctions.FIELD_ACCESS_BY_INDEX, BuiltinFunctions.CAST_TYPE, BuiltinFunctions.META,
             BuiltinFunctions.META_KEY, BuiltinFunctions.RECORD_CONCAT, BuiltinFunctions.RECORD_CONCAT_STRICT,
-            BuiltinFunctions.TO_ATOMIC, BuiltinFunctions.TO_ARRAY);
+            BuiltinFunctions.RECORD_PAIRS, BuiltinFunctions.PAIRS, BuiltinFunctions.TO_ATOMIC,
+            BuiltinFunctions.TO_ARRAY);
 
     private static final Map<FunctionIdentifier, IAObject> FUNC_ID_TO_CONSTANT = ImmutableMap
             .of(BuiltinFunctions.NUMERIC_E, new ADouble(Math.E), BuiltinFunctions.NUMERIC_PI, new ADouble(Math.PI));
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/ObjectsQueries.xml b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/ObjectsQueries.xml
index 9eca213..a537e2b 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/ObjectsQueries.xml
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/ObjectsQueries.xml
@@ -196,4 +196,9 @@
       <source-location>false</source-location>
     </compilation-unit>
   </test-case>
+  <test-case FilePath="objects">
+    <compilation-unit name="pairs">
+      <output-dir compare="Text">pairs</output-dir>
+    </compilation-unit>
+  </test-case>
 </test-group>
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/object_pairs/object_pairs.2.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/object_pairs/object_pairs.2.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..27a088f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/object_pairs/object_pairs.2.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+{
+  "t1": object_pairs(missing) is missing,
+  "t2": object_pairs(null) is null,
+  "t3": object_pairs(1) is null,
+  "t4": object_pairs("a") is null,
+  "t5": object_pairs(true) is null,
+  "t6": object_pairs([]) is null,
+  "t7": object_pairs([{"a":1}]) is null,
+  "t8": object_pairs({"a":{"b":{"c":{"d":1}}}})
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.1.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.1.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b3d125a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.1.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Testing pairs() under different queries.
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ */
+
+drop  dataverse TinySocial if exists;
+create  dataverse TinySocial;
+
+use TinySocial;
+
+create type TinySocial.TwitterUserType as
+{
+  `screen-name` : string,
+  lang : string,
+  friends_count : bigint,
+  statuses_count : bigint
+};
+
+create type TinySocial.TweetMessageType as closed {
+  tweetid : string,
+  user : TwitterUserType,
+  `sender-location` : point?,
+  `send-time` : datetime,
+  `referred-topics` : {{string}},
+  `message-text` : string
+};
+
+create  dataset TwitterUsers(TwitterUserType) primary key `screen-name`;
+
+create  dataset TweetMessages(TweetMessageType) primary key tweetid;
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.2.update.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.2.update.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a25de1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.2.update.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Testing pairs() under different queries.
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ */
+
+use TinySocial;
+
+load  dataset TwitterUsers using localfs ((`path`=`asterix_nc1://data/tinysocial/twu.adm`),(`format`=`adm`));
+
+load  dataset TweetMessages using localfs ((`path`=`asterix_nc1://data/tinysocial/twm.adm`),(`format`=`adm`));
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.3.query.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.3.query.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1a63cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.3.query.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Testing pairs() under different queries.
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ */
+
+use TinySocial;
+
+{
+  "t1": [
+    pairs(missing) is missing,
+    pairs(null) is null,
+    pairs("non-object") is null
+  ],
+
+  "t2": [
+    pairs({}),
+    pairs([]),
+    pairs([{}]),
+    pairs([1,2]),
+    pairs([1,2,null,{"a":3}])
+  ],
+
+  "t3": pairs({"object":{"a":{"b":{"c":3}}}, "array":[1,2], "primitive": 4}),
+
+  /* open type */
+  "t4": (
+    select value pairs(u)
+    from TwitterUsers as u
+    order by u.screen-name
+    limit 1
+  ),
+
+  /* closed type */
+  "t5": (
+    select value pairs(m)
+    from TweetMessages as m
+    order by m.tweetid
+    limit 1
+  )
+};
+
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.4.ddl.sqlpp b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.4.ddl.sqlpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e23af2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/queries_sqlpp/objects/pairs/pairs.4.ddl.sqlpp
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+ * 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.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * Description  : Testing pairs() under different queries.
+ * Expected Res : Success
+ */
+
+drop  dataverse TinySocial;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/objects/object_pairs/object_pairs.2.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/objects/object_pairs/object_pairs.2.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..713966d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/objects/object_pairs/object_pairs.2.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": true, "t2": true, "t3": true, "t4": true, "t5": true, "t6": true, "t7": true, "t8": [ { "name": "a", "value": { "b": { "c": { "d": 1 } } } } ] }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/objects/pairs/pairs.3.adm b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/objects/pairs/pairs.3.adm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41715ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/test/resources/runtimets/results/objects/pairs/pairs.3.adm
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{ "t1": [ true, true, true ], "t2": [ [  ], [  ], [  ], [  ], [ [ "a", 3 ] ] ], "t3": [ [ "object", { "a": { "b": { "c": 3 } } } ], [ "a", { "b": { "c": 3 } } ], [ "b", { "c": 3 } ], [ "c", 3 ], [ "array", [ 1, 2 ] ], [ "array", 1 ], [ "array", 2 ], [ "primitive", 4 ] ], "t4": [ [ [ "screen-name", "ChangEwing_573" ], [ "lang", "en" ], [ "friends_count", 182 ], [ "statuses_count", 394 ], [ "name", "Chang Ewing" ], [ "followers_count", 32136 ] ] ], "t5": [ [ [ "tweetid", "1" ], [ "user", { "screen-name": "NathanGiesen@211", "lang": "en", "friends_count": 39339, "statuses_count": 473, "name": "Nathan Giesen", "followers_count": 49416 } ], [ "screen-name", "NathanGiesen@211" ], [ "lang", "en" ], [ "friends_count", 39339 ], [ "statuses_count", 473 ], [ "name", "Nathan Giesen" ], [ "followers_count", 49416 ], [ "sender-location", point("47.44,80.65") ], [ "send-time", datetime("2008-04-26T10:10:00.000Z") ], [ "referred-topics", {{ "t-mobile", "customization" }} ], [ "referred-topics", "t-mobile" ], [ "referred-topics", "customization" ], [ "message-text", " love t-mobile its customization is good:)" ] ] ] }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/builtins/8_record.md b/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/builtins/8_record.md
index 6596b99..187f04c 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/builtins/8_record.md
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-doc/src/main/markdown/builtins/8_record.md
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@
 ### object_rename ###
  * Syntax:
 
-        object_name(input_object, old_field, new_field)
+        object_rename(input_object, old_field, new_field)
 
  * Returns a new object that has the same fields as `input_object` with field `old_field` replaced by `new_field`
  * Arguments:
@@ -530,3 +530,76 @@
           {"city": "Irvine", "state": "CA"}
         ]
 
+### object_pairs ###
+ * Syntax:
+
+        object_pairs(input_object)
+
+ * Returns an array of objects describing fields of `input_object`.
+   For each field of the `input_object` the returned array contains an object with two fields `name` and `value`
+   which are set to the `input_object`'s field name and value.
+
+ * Arguments:
+    * `input_object` : an object value.
+ * Return Value:
+    * An array of the `name`/`value` pairs of the fields in `input_object`,
+    * `missing` if `input_object` is `missing`,
+    * `null` if `input_object` is null or any non-object value.
+
+ * Example:
+
+        object_pairs(
+                      {
+                        "id": 1,
+                        "project": "AsterixDB",
+                        "address": {"city": "Irvine", "state": "CA"}
+                      }
+                    );
+
+ * The expected result is:
+
+        [
+          { "name": "id", "value": 1 },
+          { "name": "project", "value": "AsterixDB" },
+          { "name": "address", "value": {"city": "Irvine", "state": "CA"} }
+        ]
+
+### pairs ###
+ * Syntax:
+
+        pairs(input_object)
+
+ * Returns an array of arrays describing fields of `input_object`, including nested fields.
+   For each field of the `input_object` the returned array contains an array with two elements.
+   The first element is the name and the second one is the value of the `input_object`'s field.
+   The input object is introspected recursively, so all fields of its nested objects are returned.
+   Nested objects contained in arrays and multisets are also processed by this function.
+
+ * Arguments:
+    * `input_object` : an object value (or an array or a multiset)
+ * Return Value:
+    * An array of arrays with name, value pairs of the fields in `input_object`, including nested fields.
+      Each inner array has exactly two items: name and value of the `input_object`'s field.
+    * `missing` if `input_object` is `missing`,
+    * `null` if `input_object` is null or a value of a primitive data type.
+
+ * Example:
+
+        pairs(
+               {
+                 "id": 1,
+                 "project": "AsterixDB",
+                 "address": {"city": "Irvine", "state": "CA"}
+               }
+             );
+
+ * The expected result is:
+
+        [
+          [ "id", 1 ],
+          [ "project", "AsterixDB" ],
+          [ "address", { "city": "Irvine", "state": "CA" } ],
+          [ "city", "Irvine" ],
+          [ "state", "CA" ]
+        ]
+
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/functions/BuiltinFunctions.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/functions/BuiltinFunctions.java
index 10e5a9a..da45e29 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/functions/BuiltinFunctions.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/functions/BuiltinFunctions.java
@@ -101,7 +101,6 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.PropagateTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.RecordAddFieldsTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.RecordMergeTypeComputer;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.RecordPairsTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.RecordRemoveFieldsTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.ScalarVersionOfAggregateResultType;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl.SleepTypeComputer;
@@ -244,6 +243,7 @@
             new FunctionIdentifier(FunctionConstants.ASTERIX_NS, "object-put", 3);
     public static final FunctionIdentifier RECORD_VALUES =
             new FunctionIdentifier(FunctionConstants.ASTERIX_NS, "object-values", 1);
+    public static final FunctionIdentifier PAIRS = new FunctionIdentifier(FunctionConstants.ASTERIX_NS, "pairs", 1);
 
     // numeric
     public static final FunctionIdentifier NUMERIC_UNARY_MINUS =
@@ -1491,7 +1491,8 @@
         addFunction(GET_RECORD_FIELD_VALUE, FieldAccessNestedResultType.INSTANCE, true);
         addFunction(RECORD_LENGTH, AInt64TypeComputer.INSTANCE_NULLABLE, true);
         addFunction(RECORD_NAMES, OrderedListOfAStringTypeComputer.INSTANCE_NULLABLE, true);
-        addFunction(RECORD_PAIRS, RecordPairsTypeComputer.INSTANCE, true);
+        addFunction(RECORD_PAIRS, OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer.INSTANCE_NULLABLE, true);
+        addFunction(PAIRS, OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer.INSTANCE_NULLABLE, true);
         addFunction(GEOMETRY_CONSTRUCTOR, AGeometryTypeComputer.INSTANCE, true);
         addFunction(RECORD_REMOVE, OpenARecordTypeComputer.INSTANCE, true);
         addFunction(RECORD_RENAME, OpenARecordTypeComputer.INSTANCE, true);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AFlatValuePointable.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AFlatValuePointable.java
index 86a8a29..4108aca 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AFlatValuePointable.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AFlatValuePointable.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 
 package org.apache.asterix.om.pointables;
 
-import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.base.IVisitablePointable;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.visitor.IVisitablePointableVisitor;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.util.container.IObjectFactory;
@@ -37,11 +36,7 @@
      * use object pool based allocator. The factory is not public so that it
      * cannot called in other places than PointableAllocator.
      */
-    static IObjectFactory<IVisitablePointable, IAType> FACTORY = new IObjectFactory<IVisitablePointable, IAType>() {
-        public AFlatValuePointable create(IAType type) {
-            return new AFlatValuePointable();
-        }
-    };
+    static IObjectFactory<AFlatValuePointable, IAType> FACTORY = type -> new AFlatValuePointable();
 
     /**
      * private constructor, to prevent arbitrary creation
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AListVisitablePointable.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AListVisitablePointable.java
index 5b85d00..15766b3 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AListVisitablePointable.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/AListVisitablePointable.java
@@ -47,11 +47,8 @@
      * DO NOT allow to create AListPointable object arbitrarily, force to use
      * object pool based allocator, in order to have object reuse.
      */
-    static IObjectFactory<IVisitablePointable, IAType> FACTORY = new IObjectFactory<IVisitablePointable, IAType>() {
-        public IVisitablePointable create(IAType type) {
-            return new AListVisitablePointable((AbstractCollectionType) type);
-        }
-    };
+    static IObjectFactory<AListVisitablePointable, IAType> FACTORY =
+            type -> new AListVisitablePointable((AbstractCollectionType) type);
 
     private final List<IVisitablePointable> items = new ArrayList<IVisitablePointable>();
     private final List<IVisitablePointable> itemTags = new ArrayList<IVisitablePointable>();
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/ARecordVisitablePointable.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/ARecordVisitablePointable.java
index b6ba848..7089fd6 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/ARecordVisitablePointable.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/ARecordVisitablePointable.java
@@ -49,12 +49,8 @@
      * DO NOT allow to create ARecordPointable object arbitrarily, force to use
      * object pool based allocator, in order to have object reuse
      */
-    static IObjectFactory<IVisitablePointable, IAType> FACTORY = new IObjectFactory<IVisitablePointable, IAType>() {
-        @Override
-        public IVisitablePointable create(IAType type) {
-            return new ARecordVisitablePointable((ARecordType) type);
-        }
-    };
+    static IObjectFactory<ARecordVisitablePointable, IAType> FACTORY =
+            type -> new ARecordVisitablePointable((ARecordType) type);
 
     // access results: field names, field types, and field values
     private final List<IVisitablePointable> fieldNames = new ArrayList<>();
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/PointableAllocator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/PointableAllocator.java
index abd4841..91c47fd 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/PointableAllocator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/pointables/PointableAllocator.java
@@ -37,21 +37,21 @@
  */
 public class PointableAllocator {
 
-    private IObjectPool<IVisitablePointable, IAType> flatValueAllocator =
-            new ListObjectPool<IVisitablePointable, IAType>(AFlatValuePointable.FACTORY);
-    private IObjectPool<IVisitablePointable, IAType> recordValueAllocator =
-            new ListObjectPool<IVisitablePointable, IAType>(ARecordVisitablePointable.FACTORY);
-    private IObjectPool<IVisitablePointable, IAType> listValueAllocator =
-            new ListObjectPool<IVisitablePointable, IAType>(AListVisitablePointable.FACTORY);
+    private IObjectPool<AFlatValuePointable, IAType> flatValueAllocator =
+            new ListObjectPool<>(AFlatValuePointable.FACTORY);
+    private IObjectPool<ARecordVisitablePointable, IAType> recordValueAllocator =
+            new ListObjectPool<>(ARecordVisitablePointable.FACTORY);
+    private IObjectPool<AListVisitablePointable, IAType> listValueAllocator =
+            new ListObjectPool<>(AListVisitablePointable.FACTORY);
     private IObjectPool<AOrderedListType, IAType> orederedListTypeAllocator =
-            new ListObjectPool<AOrderedListType, IAType>(new IObjectFactory<AOrderedListType, IAType>() {
+            new ListObjectPool<>(new IObjectFactory<AOrderedListType, IAType>() {
                 @Override
                 public AOrderedListType create(IAType type) {
                     return new AOrderedListType(type, type.getTypeName() + "OrderedList");
                 }
             });
     private IObjectPool<AOrderedListType, IAType> unorederedListTypeAllocator =
-            new ListObjectPool<AOrderedListType, IAType>(new IObjectFactory<AOrderedListType, IAType>() {
+            new ListObjectPool<>(new IObjectFactory<AOrderedListType, IAType>() {
                 @Override
                 public AOrderedListType create(IAType type) {
                     return new AOrderedListType(type, type.getTypeName() + "UnorderedList");
@@ -126,11 +126,11 @@
             return flatValueAllocator.allocate(null);
     }
 
-    public IVisitablePointable allocateListValue(IAType type) {
+    public AListVisitablePointable allocateListValue(IAType type) {
         return listValueAllocator.allocate(type);
     }
 
-    public IVisitablePointable allocateRecordValue(IAType type) {
+    public ARecordVisitablePointable allocateRecordValue(IAType type) {
         return recordValueAllocator.allocate(type);
     }
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer.java
index 19f0e70..8c23f51 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer.java
@@ -20,20 +20,26 @@
 
 import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.base.AbstractResultTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AOrderedListType;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.types.BuiltinType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AUnionType;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 
 public class OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer extends AbstractResultTypeComputer {
 
-    public static final OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer INSTANCE = new OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer();
+    public static final OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer INSTANCE = new OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer(false);
 
-    private OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer() {
+    public static final OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer INSTANCE_NULLABLE = new OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer(true);
+
+    private final IAType type;
+
+    private OrderedListOfAnyTypeComputer(boolean nullable) {
+        IAType t = AOrderedListType.FULL_OPEN_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE;
+        type = nullable ? AUnionType.createNullableType(t) : t;
     }
 
     @Override
     protected IAType getResultType(ILogicalExpression expr, IAType... strippedInputTypes) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new AOrderedListType(BuiltinType.ANY, null);
+        return type;
     }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/RecordPairsTypeComputer.java b/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/RecordPairsTypeComputer.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ae51c61..0000000
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-om/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/om/typecomputer/impl/RecordPairsTypeComputer.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-/*
- *  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.asterix.om.typecomputer.impl;
-
-import org.apache.asterix.om.exceptions.TypeMismatchException;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.typecomputer.base.AbstractResultTypeComputer;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AOrderedListType;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
-import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
-import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.SourceLocation;
-
-public class RecordPairsTypeComputer extends AbstractResultTypeComputer {
-
-    public static final RecordPairsTypeComputer INSTANCE = new RecordPairsTypeComputer();
-
-    private RecordPairsTypeComputer() {
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected void checkArgType(String funcName, int argIndex, IAType type, SourceLocation sourceLoc)
-            throws AlgebricksException {
-        ATypeTag typeTag = type.getTypeTag();
-        if (typeTag != ATypeTag.OBJECT) {
-            throw new TypeMismatchException(sourceLoc, funcName, argIndex, typeTag, ATypeTag.OBJECT);
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public IAType getResultType(ILogicalExpression expr, IAType... strippedInputTypes) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return AOrderedListType.FULL_OPEN_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE;
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82c45af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/*
+ * 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.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.BuiltinType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
+import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.CastTypeEvaluator;
+import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.PointableHelper;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+abstract class AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator implements IScalarEvaluator {
+    protected final IScalarEvaluator eval0;
+    protected final IPointable inputPointable = new VoidPointable();
+    protected final ArrayBackedValueStorage resultStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+    protected final DataOutput resultOutput = resultStorage.getDataOutput();
+    private CastTypeEvaluator inputCaster;
+
+    AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator(IScalarEvaluator eval0, IAType inputType) {
+        this.eval0 = eval0;
+        if (inputType != null) {
+            inputCaster = new CastTypeEvaluator(BuiltinType.ANY, inputType, eval0);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws HyracksDataException {
+        eval0.evaluate(tuple, inputPointable);
+        final ATypeTag inputTypeTag = PointableHelper.getTypeTag(inputPointable);
+        if (!validateInputType(inputTypeTag)) {
+            PointableHelper.setNull(result);
+            return;
+        }
+        inputCaster.evaluate(tuple, inputPointable);
+        resultStorage.reset();
+        buildOutput();
+        result.set(resultStorage);
+    }
+
+    protected abstract boolean validateInputType(ATypeTag inputTypeTag);
+
+    protected abstract void buildOutput() throws HyracksDataException;
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/PairsDescriptor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/PairsDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..38295b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/PairsDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+ * 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.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records;
+
+import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.BuiltinFunctions;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionDescriptor;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionDescriptorFactory;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionTypeInferer;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
+import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.base.AbstractScalarFunctionDynamicDescriptor;
+import org.apache.asterix.runtime.functions.FunctionTypeInferers;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+
+public class PairsDescriptor extends AbstractScalarFunctionDynamicDescriptor {
+    public static final IFunctionDescriptorFactory FACTORY = new IFunctionDescriptorFactory() {
+        @Override
+        public IFunctionDescriptor createFunctionDescriptor() {
+            return new PairsDescriptor();
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IFunctionTypeInferer createFunctionTypeInferer() {
+            return FunctionTypeInferers.SET_ARGUMENT_TYPE;
+        }
+    };
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private IAType inputType;
+
+    @Override
+    public void setImmutableStates(Object... states) {
+        inputType = (IAType) states[0];
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IScalarEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(final IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] args) {
+        return new IScalarEvaluatorFactory() {
+            private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+            @Override
+            public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+                return new PairsEvaluator(args[0].createScalarEvaluator(ctx), inputType);
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public FunctionIdentifier getIdentifier() {
+        return BuiltinFunctions.PAIRS;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/PairsEvaluator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/PairsEvaluator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cc54e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/PairsEvaluator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+/*
+ * 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.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.util.ArrayDeque;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.asterix.builders.OrderedListBuilder;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.AListVisitablePointable;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.ARecordVisitablePointable;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.PointableAllocator;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.base.DefaultOpenFieldType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.base.IVisitablePointable;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AOrderedListType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.IAType;
+import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.PointableHelper;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+
+class PairsEvaluator extends AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator {
+
+    // For writing output list
+    private final OrderedListBuilder outerListBuilder = new OrderedListBuilder();
+
+    // For writing each individual inner list.
+    private final ArrayBackedValueStorage innerListStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+    private final DataOutput innerListOutput = innerListStorage.getDataOutput();
+    private final OrderedListBuilder innerListBuilder = new OrderedListBuilder();
+
+    private final PointableAllocator pAlloc = new PointableAllocator();
+    private final ArrayDeque<IPointable> pNameQueue = new ArrayDeque<>();
+    private final ArrayDeque<IPointable> pValueQueue = new ArrayDeque<>();
+
+    private final VoidPointable nullPointable = new VoidPointable();
+
+    PairsEvaluator(IScalarEvaluator eval0, IAType inputType) {
+        super(eval0, inputType);
+        PointableHelper.setNull(nullPointable);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void buildOutput() throws HyracksDataException {
+        pAlloc.reset();
+        pNameQueue.clear();
+        pValueQueue.clear();
+
+        outerListBuilder.reset(AOrderedListType.FULL_OPEN_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE);
+
+        addMembersToQueue(nullPointable, inputPointable);
+        IPointable namePointable, valuePointable;
+        while ((valuePointable = pValueQueue.poll()) != null) {
+            namePointable = pNameQueue.remove();
+
+            addMembersToQueue(namePointable, valuePointable);
+
+            if (PointableHelper.getTypeTag(namePointable) != ATypeTag.NULL) {
+                innerListStorage.reset();
+                innerListBuilder.reset(AOrderedListType.FULL_OPEN_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE);
+                innerListBuilder.addItem(namePointable);
+                innerListBuilder.addItem(valuePointable);
+                innerListBuilder.write(innerListOutput, true);
+
+                outerListBuilder.addItem(innerListStorage);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Writes the result and sets the result pointable.
+        outerListBuilder.write(resultOutput, true);
+    }
+
+    private void addMembersToQueue(IPointable namePointable, IPointable valuePointable) {
+        ATypeTag valueTypeTag = PointableHelper.getTypeTag(valuePointable);
+        switch (valueTypeTag) {
+            case OBJECT:
+                addRecordFieldsToQueue(valuePointable);
+                break;
+            case ARRAY:
+            case MULTISET:
+                addListItemsToQueue(valuePointable, DefaultOpenFieldType.getDefaultOpenFieldType(valueTypeTag),
+                        namePointable);
+                break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void addRecordFieldsToQueue(IPointable recordPointable) {
+        ARecordVisitablePointable visitablePointable =
+                pAlloc.allocateRecordValue(DefaultOpenFieldType.NESTED_OPEN_RECORD_TYPE);
+        visitablePointable.set(recordPointable);
+        List<IVisitablePointable> fieldNames = visitablePointable.getFieldNames();
+        List<IVisitablePointable> fieldValues = visitablePointable.getFieldValues();
+        for (int i = fieldNames.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+            pNameQueue.push(fieldNames.get(i));
+            pValueQueue.push(fieldValues.get(i));
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void addListItemsToQueue(IPointable listPointable, IAType listType, IPointable fieldNamePointable) {
+        AListVisitablePointable visitablePointable = pAlloc.allocateListValue(listType);
+        visitablePointable.set(listPointable);
+        List<IVisitablePointable> items = visitablePointable.getItems();
+        for (int i = items.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+            pNameQueue.push(fieldNamePointable);
+            pValueQueue.push(items.get(i));
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected boolean validateInputType(ATypeTag inputTypeTag) {
+        return inputTypeTag == ATypeTag.OBJECT || inputTypeTag == ATypeTag.ARRAY || inputTypeTag == ATypeTag.MULTISET;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsDescriptor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsDescriptor.java
index 770f5bb..166ce96 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsDescriptor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsDescriptor.java
@@ -18,25 +18,11 @@
  */
 package org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.List;
-
-import org.apache.asterix.builders.OrderedListBuilder;
-import org.apache.asterix.builders.RecordBuilder;
-import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.nontagged.serde.AObjectSerializerDeserializer;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.base.AString;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionTypeInferer;
-import org.apache.asterix.runtime.exceptions.TypeMismatchException;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.BuiltinFunctions;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionDescriptorFactory;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.ARecordVisitablePointable;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.base.IVisitablePointable;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AOrderedListType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.functions.IFunctionTypeInferer;
 import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ARecordType;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
-import org.apache.asterix.om.utils.RecordUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.base.AbstractScalarFunctionDynamicDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.functions.FunctionTypeInferers;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
@@ -44,10 +30,6 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
-import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
-import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-import org.apache.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
 public class RecordPairsDescriptor extends AbstractScalarFunctionDynamicDescriptor {
 
@@ -59,7 +41,7 @@
 
         @Override
         public IFunctionTypeInferer createFunctionTypeInferer() {
-            return FunctionTypeInferers.RecordAccessorTypeInferer.INSTANCE_STRICT;
+            return FunctionTypeInferers.RecordAccessorTypeInferer.INSTANCE_LAX;
         }
     };
 
@@ -83,67 +65,7 @@
 
             @Override
             public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
-                // For writing each individual output record.
-                final ArrayBackedValueStorage itemStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-                final DataOutput itemOutput = itemStorage.getDataOutput();
-                final RecordBuilder recBuilder = new RecordBuilder();
-                recBuilder.reset(RecordUtil.FULLY_OPEN_RECORD_TYPE);
-
-                // For writing the resulting list of records.
-                final OrderedListBuilder listBuilder = new OrderedListBuilder();
-                final ArrayBackedValueStorage resultStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-                final DataOutput resultOut = resultStorage.getDataOutput();
-
-                // Sets up the constant field names, "name" for the key field, "value" for the value field.
-                final ArrayBackedValueStorage nameStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-                final ArrayBackedValueStorage valueStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-                AObjectSerializerDeserializer serde = AObjectSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE;
-                try {
-                    serde.serialize(new AString("name"), nameStorage.getDataOutput());
-                    serde.serialize(new AString("value"), valueStorage.getDataOutput());
-                } catch (IOException e) {
-                    throw HyracksDataException.create(e);
-                }
-
-                return new IScalarEvaluator() {
-                    private final IScalarEvaluator argEvaluator = args[0].createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
-                    private final IPointable argPtr = new VoidPointable();
-                    private final ARecordVisitablePointable recordVisitablePointable =
-                            new ARecordVisitablePointable(recType);
-
-                    @Override
-                    public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws HyracksDataException {
-                        // Resets the result storage.
-                        resultStorage.reset();
-
-                        // Gets the input record.
-                        argEvaluator.evaluate(tuple, argPtr);
-                        byte inputTypeTag = argPtr.getByteArray()[argPtr.getStartOffset()];
-                        if (inputTypeTag != ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_RECORD_TYPE_TAG) {
-                            throw new TypeMismatchException(sourceLoc, getIdentifier(), 0, inputTypeTag,
-                                    ATypeTag.SERIALIZED_RECORD_TYPE_TAG);
-                        }
-                        recordVisitablePointable.set(argPtr);
-
-                        listBuilder.reset(AOrderedListType.FULL_OPEN_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE);
-                        List<IVisitablePointable> fieldNames = recordVisitablePointable.getFieldNames();
-                        List<IVisitablePointable> fieldValues = recordVisitablePointable.getFieldValues();
-                        // Adds each field of the input record as a key-value pair into the result.
-                        int numFields = recordVisitablePointable.getFieldNames().size();
-                        for (int fieldIndex = 0; fieldIndex < numFields; ++fieldIndex) {
-                            itemStorage.reset();
-                            recBuilder.init();
-                            recBuilder.addField(nameStorage, fieldNames.get(fieldIndex));
-                            recBuilder.addField(valueStorage, fieldValues.get(fieldIndex));
-                            recBuilder.write(itemOutput, true);
-                            listBuilder.addItem(itemStorage);
-                        }
-
-                        // Writes the result and sets the result pointable.
-                        listBuilder.write(resultOut, true);
-                        result.set(resultStorage);
-                    }
-                };
+                return new RecordPairsEvaluator(args[0].createScalarEvaluator(ctx), recType);
             }
         };
     }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsEvaluator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsEvaluator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03273d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/evaluators/functions/records/RecordPairsEvaluator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+/*
+ * 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.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.asterix.builders.OrderedListBuilder;
+import org.apache.asterix.builders.RecordBuilder;
+import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.nontagged.serde.AObjectSerializerDeserializer;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.base.AString;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.ARecordVisitablePointable;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.base.DefaultOpenFieldType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.pointables.base.IVisitablePointable;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.AOrderedListType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ARecordType;
+import org.apache.asterix.om.types.ATypeTag;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+
+class RecordPairsEvaluator extends AbstractRecordPairsEvaluator {
+
+    // For writing output list
+    private final OrderedListBuilder listBuilder = new OrderedListBuilder();
+
+    // For writing each individual output record.
+    private final ArrayBackedValueStorage itemStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+    private final DataOutput itemOutput = itemStorage.getDataOutput();
+    private final RecordBuilder recBuilder = new RecordBuilder();
+
+    // Sets up the constant field names, "name" for the key field, "value" for the value field.
+    private final ArrayBackedValueStorage nameStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+    private final ArrayBackedValueStorage valueStorage = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+
+    private ARecordVisitablePointable recordVisitablePointable;
+
+    RecordPairsEvaluator(IScalarEvaluator eval0, ARecordType recordType) throws HyracksDataException {
+        super(eval0, recordType);
+        recBuilder.reset(DefaultOpenFieldType.NESTED_OPEN_RECORD_TYPE);
+        recordVisitablePointable = new ARecordVisitablePointable(DefaultOpenFieldType.NESTED_OPEN_RECORD_TYPE);
+
+        try {
+            AObjectSerializerDeserializer serde = AObjectSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE;
+            serde.serialize(new AString("name"), nameStorage.getDataOutput());
+            serde.serialize(new AString("value"), valueStorage.getDataOutput());
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw HyracksDataException.create(e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void buildOutput() throws HyracksDataException {
+        listBuilder.reset(AOrderedListType.FULL_OPEN_ORDEREDLIST_TYPE);
+
+        recordVisitablePointable.set(inputPointable);
+        List<IVisitablePointable> fieldNames = recordVisitablePointable.getFieldNames();
+        List<IVisitablePointable> fieldValues = recordVisitablePointable.getFieldValues();
+        // Adds each field of the input record as a key-value pair into the result.
+        int numFields = recordVisitablePointable.getFieldNames().size();
+        for (int fieldIndex = 0; fieldIndex < numFields; ++fieldIndex) {
+            itemStorage.reset();
+            recBuilder.init();
+            recBuilder.addField(nameStorage, fieldNames.get(fieldIndex));
+            recBuilder.addField(valueStorage, fieldValues.get(fieldIndex));
+            recBuilder.write(itemOutput, true);
+            listBuilder.addItem(itemStorage);
+        }
+
+        // Writes the result and sets the result pointable.
+        listBuilder.write(resultOutput, true);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected boolean validateInputType(ATypeTag inputTypeTag) {
+        return inputTypeTag == ATypeTag.OBJECT;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/functions/FunctionCollection.java b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/functions/FunctionCollection.java
index 61a158e..199cc40 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/functions/FunctionCollection.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-runtime/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/runtime/functions/FunctionCollection.java
@@ -279,6 +279,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.FieldAccessNestedDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.GetRecordFieldValueDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.GetRecordFieldsDescriptor;
+import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.PairsDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.RecordAddDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.RecordAddFieldsDescriptor;
 import org.apache.asterix.runtime.evaluators.functions.records.RecordConcatDescriptor;
@@ -670,6 +671,7 @@
         fc.add(RecordAddDescriptor.FACTORY);
         fc.add(RecordPutDescriptor.FACTORY);
         fc.addGenerated(RecordValuesDescriptor.FACTORY);
+        fc.addGenerated(PairsDescriptor.FACTORY);
 
         // Spatial and temporal type accessors
         fc.addGenerated(TemporalYearAccessor.FACTORY);