Conversion and casting functions

Conversion functions convert the expression or value from one data type to another type.

Converting data types

Functions prefixed with as(Type) ensure that a value is of a target type. If the data type is incompatible, they return null. These functions are applicable after parsing.

1...
2| parse content, "LD'DQL 'KVP{LD:key'='(LONG:valueLong| BOOLEAN:valueBoolean| [!;]*:valueStr)';'?}:q"
3| fields timestamp, asLong(q[workTime])

asArray
asBoolean
asDouble
asDuration
asLong
asString
asSummaryStats
asTimeframe
asTimestamp
asIp()

The as*T will try to cast the input to T but won't perform any conversions, it will cause an exception for strongly typed fields (marked as ) and null for incompatible data types (empty cell).

asT(arg) => if(typeOf(arg) == ’T’, arg)

as*T	asNumber	asRecord
`Integer`	`Integer`
`Long`	`Long`
`Double`	`Double`
`String`
`Boolean`
`Timestamp`
`Duration`
`Timeframe`
`Geopoint`
`IpAddress`
`Binary`
`Array`
`Record`
`V<Integer>`	`V<Integer>`
`V<Long>`	`V<Long>`
`V<Double>`	`V<Double>`
`V<String>`
`V<Boolean>`
`V<Timestamp>`
`V<Duration>`
`V<Timeframe>`
`V<Geopoint>`
`V<IpAddress>`
`V<SummaryStats>`
`V<Binary>`
`V<Array>`
`V<Record>`		`V<Record>`

asBoolean

Returns boolean value if the value is boolean, otherwise, returns null.

Syntax

asBoolean(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
boolean
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	boolean	yes

Example

1data record(a = true),
2     record(a = "true"),
3     record(a = 1)
4| fieldsAdd type(a), asBoolean(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	asBoolean(a)
`true`	`boolean`	`true`
`true`	`string`	null
`1`	`long`	null

asDouble

Returns double value if the value is double, otherwise, returns null.

Syntax

asDouble(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
double
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	double	yes

Example

1data record(a = 3),
2     record(a = 3.14),
3     record(a = "3.14")
4| fieldsAdd type(a), asDouble(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	asDouble(a)
`3`	`long`	null
`3.14`	`double`	`3.14`
`3.14`	`string`	null

asIp

You can use this function to cast to an IP address.

Syntax

asIp(expression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
expression
string expression, ip address
yes
The expression to cast an expression to an IP address.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
expression	string expression, ip address	yes
	The expression to cast an expression to an IP address.

Example

1data record(a = ip("127.0.0.1")),
2     record(a = "10.0.0.1")
3| fieldsAdd type(a), asIp(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	asIp(a)
`127.0.0.1`	`ip`	`127.0.0.1`
`10.0.0.1`	`string`	null

asLong

Returns long value if the value is long, otherwise null.

Syntax

asLong(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
long
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	long	yes

Example

1data record(a = 3),
2     record(a = 3.14),
3     record(a = "3")
4| fieldsAdd type(a), asLong(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	asLong(a)
`3`	`long`	`3`
`3.14`	`double`	null
`3`	`string`	null

asTimeframe

Returns timeframe value if the value is timeframe, otherwise returns null.

Syntax

asTimeframe(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
timeframe
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	timeframe	yes

Example

1data record(timeframe = timeframe(from: "2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400", to: "2019-08-01T16:00:00.000-0400")),
2     record(timeframe = timeframe(from: - 24h, to: - 2h)),
3     record(timeframe = "2019-08-01T15:30:00.000-0400/2019-08-01T22:00:00.000-0400")
4| fieldsAdd type(timeframe), asTimeframe(timeframe)

Query result

timeframe	type(timeframe)	asTimeframe(timeframe)
start: `2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z` end: `2019-08-01T20:00:00.000Z`	`timeframe`	start: `2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z` end: `2019-08-01T20:00:00.000Z`
start: `2023-11-16T10:05:42.927Z` end: `2023-11-17T08:05:42.927Z`	`timeframe`	start: `2023-11-16T10:05:42.927Z` end: `2023-11-17T08:05:42.927Z`
`2019-08-01T15:30:00.000-0400/2019-08-01T22:00:00.000-0400`	`string`	null

asTimestamp

Returns timestamp value if the value is timestamp, otherwise, returns null.

Syntax

asTimestamp(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
timestamp
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	timestamp	yes

Example

1data record(timestamp = timestamp(2019, 8, 1, 13, 30, 0)),
2     record(timestamp = 1564666200000000000),
3     record(timestamp = "2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400")
4| fieldsAdd type(timestamp), asTimestamp(timestamp)

Query result

timestamp	type(timestamp)	asTimestamp(timestamp)
`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`	`timestamp`	`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`
`1,564,666,200,000,000,000`	`long`	null
`2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400`	`string`	null

asUid

Returns a uid value if the value is uid, otherwise returns null.

Syntax

asUid(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
uid
yes
The value to cast.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	uid	yes			The value to cast.

Example

1data record(a = uid64(123)), record(a = 123)
2| fields asUid(a)

Query result

asUid(a)	asUid(a)
`000000000000007b`	`null`

decode

The decode function allows encoding binary data and strings into a string representation, and the opposite way. There are two types of decode functions, BASE64 and BASE16.

Syntax

decodeBase64ToBinary(expression)
decodeBase64ToString(expression)
decodeBase16ToBinary(expression)
decodeBase16ToString(expression)

Parameters

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraint	Description
expression	string	yes			An encoded string that needs to be decoded to a plain string or binary. Retrieves `NULL` if the encoding format does not match the outcome format.

Example 1

1data record(content = "RFFMIGlzIGF3ZXNvbWUh"),
2     record(content = "RHluYXRyYWNlIFF1ZXJ5IExhbmd1YWdl")
3| fieldsAdd decodeBase64ToString(content)

Query result

content	decodeBase64ToString(content)
`RFFMIGlzIGF3ZXNvbWUh`	`DQL is awesome!`
`RHluYXRyYWNlIFF1ZXJ5IExhbmd1YWdl`	`Dynatrace Query Language`

Example 2

1data record(content = "44514c20697320617765736f6d6521"),
2       record(content = "44796e617472616365205175657279204c616e6775616765")
3| fieldsAdd decodeBase16ToString(content)

Query result

content	decodeBase16ToString(content)
`44514c20697320617765736f6d6521`	`DQL is awesome!`
`44796e617472616365205175657279204c616e6775616765`	`Dynatrace Query Language`

encode

The encode function allows encoding binary data and strings into a string representation, and the opposite way. There are two types of encode functions, BASE64 and BASE16.

Syntax

encodeBase64(expression)
encodeBase16(expression)
Parameters: encode

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraint Description
expression
string, binary
yes
A string or binary expression to encode.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraint	Description
expression	string, binary	yes			A string or binary expression to encode.

Example

1data record(content = "DQL is awesome!"),
2     record(content = "Dynatrace Query Language")
3| fieldsAdd encodeBase16(content),
4            encodeBase64(content)

Query result

content	encodeBase16(content)	encodeBase64(content)
`DQL is awesome!`	`44514c20697320617765736f6d6521`	`RFFMIGlzIGF3ZXNvbWUh`
`Dynatrace Query Language`	`44796e617472616365205175657279204c616e6775616765`	`RHluYXRyYWNlIFF1ZXJ5IExhbmd1YWdl`

hexStringToNumber

Converts a hexadecimal string to a number.

Syntax

hexStringToNumber(expression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
expression
string expression
yes
The string expression that will be converted to a number.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
expression	string expression	yes			The string expression that will be converted to a number.

Example

1data record(a = "0x7f"),
2     record(a = "100"),
3     record(a = "0X80000000")
4| fieldsAdd hexStringToNumber(a)

Query result

a	hexStringToNumber(a)
`0x7f`	`127`
`100`	`256`
`0X80000000`	`2,147,483,648`

numberToHexString

Converts a number to a hexadecimal string.

Syntax

numberToHexString(expression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Consraints Descriptiont
expression
numeric expression
yes
The numeric expression that will be converted to a hexadecimal string.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Consraints	Descriptiont
expression	numeric expression	yes			The numeric expression that will be converted to a hexadecimal string.

Example

1data record(a = 127),
2     record(a = 256),
3     record(a = 2147483648)
4| fieldsAdd numberToHexString(a)

Query result

a	numberToHexString(a)
`127`	`7f`
`256`	`100`
`2,147,483,648`	`80000000`

toArray

Returns the value if it is an array. Otherwise, converts a value to the single element array holding that value.

Syntax

toArray(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
array, boolean, double, duration, ip, long, record, string, timeframe, timestamp
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	array, boolean, double, duration, ip, long, record, string, timeframe, timestamp	yes

Example

1data record(a = array(2, 3, 7, 7, 1)),
2     record(a = "DQL is awesome!"),
3     record(a = 3.14)
4| fieldsAdd type(a), toArray(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toArray(a)
`[2, 3, 7, 7, 1]`	`array`	`[2, 3, 7, 7, 1]`
`DQL is awesome!`	`string`	`[DQL is awesome!]`
`3.14`	`double`	`[3.14]`

toBoolean

Converts a value to Boolean if the value is of a suitable type. If the argument is an array, the element at position 0 is converted.

Use asBoolean(value) function to return if the value is boolean or variant<boolean>, otherwise NULL.

Converts string values true or TRUE to a Boolean true.The comparison is case insensitive. Converts other values to Boolean false.
Converts numeric value 0 to Boolean false. Converts other numeric values to Boolean true.

Syntax

toBoolean(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
boolean, double, long, string, array
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	boolean, double, long, string, array	yes

Example

1data record(a = true),
2     record(a = "true"),
3     record(a = "yes"),
4     record(a = 0),
5     record(a = 1),
6     record(a = 2)
7| fieldsAdd type(a), toBoolean(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toBoolean(a)
`true`	`boolean`	`true`
`true`	`string`	`true`
`yes`	`string`	null
`0`	`long`	`false`
`1`	`long`	`true`
`2`	`long`	`true`

toDouble

Converts a value to double if the value is of a suitable type. If the argument is an array, the element at position 0 is converted.

Use asDouble(value) function to return if the value is double or variant<double>, otherwise NULL.

Syntax

toDouble(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
double, long, string, boolean, ip, timestamp, duration, array
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	double, long, string, boolean, ip, timestamp, duration, array	yes

Example

1data record(a = 3),
2     record(a = 3.14),
3     record(a = "3.14"),
4     record(a = true),
5     record(a = toTimestamp("2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400")),
6     record(a = 15s),
7     record(a = ip("10.0.0.1"))
8| fieldsAdd type(a), toDouble(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toDouble(a)
`3`	`long`	`3`
`3.14`	`double`	`3.14`
`3.14`	`string`	`3.14`
`true`	`boolean`	`1`
`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`	`timestamp`	`1,564,666,200,000,000,000`
`15 s`	`duration`	`15,000,000,000`
`10.0.0.1`	`ip`	`167,772,161`

toDuration

Converts a value to duration if the value is of a suitable type. If the argument is an array, the element at position 0 is converted.

Syntax

toDuration(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
duration, double, long, string, timeframe, array
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	duration, double, long, string, timeframe, array	yes

Example

1data record(a = 15s),
2     record(a = 3.14),
3     record(a = timeframe(from: "2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400", to: "2019-08-01T16:00:00.000-0400")),
4     record(a = "42"),
5     record(a = "42s")
6| fieldsAdd type(a), toDuration(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toDuration(a)
`15 s`	`duration`	`15 s`
`3.14`	`double`	`3 ns`
start: `2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z` end: `2019-08-01T20:00:00.000Z`	`timeframe`	`6.5 h`
`42`	`string`	`42 ns`
`42s`	`string`	null

toIp

You can use this function to convert an expression to an IP address.

Syntax

toIp(expression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
expression
string expression, ip address
yes
The expression to convert an expression to an IP address.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
expression	string expression, ip address	yes			The expression to convert an expression to an IP address.

Example

1data record(a = ip("127.0.0.1")),
2     record(a = "10.0.0.1"),
3     record(a = "300.0.0.1"),
4     record(a = 1234567890)
5| fieldsAdd type(a), toIp(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toIp(a)
`127.0.0.1`	`ip`	`127.0.0.1`
`10.0.0.1`	`string`	`10.0.0.1`
`300.0.0.1`	`string`	null
`1,234,567,890`	`long`	`73.150.2.210`

toLong

Converts a value to long if the value is of a suitable type. If the argument is an array, the element at position 0 is converted.

Syntax

toLong(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
long, double, string, boolean, ip, timestamp, duration, array
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	long, double, string, boolean, ip, timestamp, duration, array	yes

Example

1data record(a = 3),
2     record(a = 3.14),
3     record(a = "3"),
4     record(a = true),
5     record(a = false),
6     record(a = ip("10.0.0.1")),
7     record(a = 15s),
8     record(a = toTimestamp("2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400"))
9| fieldsAdd type(a), toLong(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toLong(a)
`3`	`long`	`3`
`3.14`	`double`	`3`
`3`	`string`	`3`
`true`	`boolean`	`1`
`false`	`boolean`	`0`
`10.0.0.1`	`ip`	`167,772,161`
`15 s`	`duration`	`15,000,000,000`
`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`	`timestamp`	`1,564,666,200,000,000,000`

toString

Returns the string representation of a value.

Syntax

toString(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
double, boolean, timestamp, timeframe, duration, ip, array, record
yes
Parameter that should be transformed into text form.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	double, boolean, timestamp, timeframe, duration, ip, array, record	yes			Parameter that should be transformed into text form.

Example

1data record(a = array(1, 2, 3)),
2     record(a = true),
3     record(a = 3),
4     record(a = 3.14),
5     record(a = 5m),
6     record(a = toIp("127.0.0.1")),
7     record(a = "DQL is awesome!"),
8     record(a = timeframe(from: now() - 5m, to: now())),
9     record(a = toTimestamp("2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400")),
10     record(a = record(content = "A nested record"))
11| fieldsAdd type(a), toString(a)

Query result

a	type(a)	toString(a)
`[1, 2, 3]`	`array`	`[1, 2, 3]`
`true`	`boolean`	`true`
`3`	`long`	`3`
`3.14`	`double`	`3.14`
`5 min`	`duration`	`"05:00.000000000"`
`127.0.0.1`	`ip`	`"127.0.0.1"`
`DQL is awesome!`	`string`	`DQL is awesome!`
start: `2023-11-17T10:00:43.724Z` end: `2023-11-17T10:05:43.724Z`	`timeframe`	`"2023-11-17T10:00:43.724031180 +0000/2023-11-17T10:05:43.724031180 +0000"`
`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`	`timestamp`	`"2019-08-01T13:30:00.000000000 +0000"`
content: `A nested record`	`record`	`{"content":"A nested record"}`

toTimeframe

Converts a value to timeframe if the value is of a suitable type. If the argument is an array, the element at position 0 is converted.

Syntax

toTimeframe(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
timeframe, string, array
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	timeframe, string, array	yes

Example

1data record(timeframe = timeframe(from: "2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400", to: "2019-08-01T16:00:00.000-0400")),
2     record(timeframe = timeframe(from: - 24h, to: - 2h)),
3     record(timeframe = "2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400/2019-08-01T16:00:00.000-0400")
4| fieldsAdd type(timeframe), toTimeframe(timeframe)

Query result

timeframe	type(timeframe)	toTimeframe(timeframe)
start: `2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z` end: `2019-08-01T20:00:00.000Z`	`timeframe`	start: `2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z` end: `2019-08-01T20:00:00.000Z`
start: `2023-11-16T10:05:43.784Z` end: `2023-11-17T08:05:43.784Z`	`timeframe`	start: `2023-11-16T10:05:43.784Z` end: `2023-11-17T08:05:43.784Z`
`2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400/2019-08-01T16:00:00.000-0400`	`string`	start: `2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z` end: `2019-08-01T20:00:00.000Z`

toTimestamp

Converts a value to timestamp if the value is of a suitable type. If the argument is an ARRAY, the element at position 0 is converted.

Use asTimestamp(<value>) function to return if the value is timestamp or variant<timestamp>, otherwise NULL.

Syntax

toTimestamp(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
timestamp, double, long , string, array
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	timestamp, double, long , string, array	yes

Example

1data record(timestamp = toTimestamp("2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400")),
2     record(timestamp = 1564666200000000000),
3     record(timestamp = "2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400")
4| fieldsAdd type(timestamp), toTimestamp(timestamp)

Query result

timestamp	type(timestamp)	toTimestamp(timestamp)
`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`	`timestamp`	`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`
`1,564,666,200,000,000,000`	`long`	`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`
`2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400`	`string`	`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`

toUid

Converts a value to uid if the value is of a suitable type.

Syntax

toUid(value)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
value
number, string, uid, array
yes
Any convertible value. If the argument is an array, the element at position 0 is converted.

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
value	number, string, uid, array	yes			Any convertible value. If the argument is an `array`, the element at position 0 is converted.

Example

1data record(a = "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000", b = 123, c = uid64(456), d=array(123))
2| fields toUid(a), toUid(b), toUid(c), toUid(d)

Query result

toUid(a)	toUid(b)	toUid(c)	toUid(d)
`550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000`	`000000000000007bt`	`00000000000001c8`	`000000000000007b`

type

Returns the type of a value as a string.

Syntax

type(expression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
expression
array, boolean, double, duration, ip, long, record, string, timeframe, timestamp
yes

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
expression	array, boolean, double, duration, ip, long, record, string, timeframe, timestamp	yes

Example

1data record(a = array(1, 2, 3)),
2     record(a = true),
3     record(a = 3),
4     record(a = 3.14),
5     record(a = 5m),
6     record(a = toIp("127.0.0.1")),
7     record(a = "DQL is awesome!"),
8     record(a = timeframe(from: now() - 5m, to: now())),
9     record(a = toTimestamp("2019-08-01T09:30:00.000-0400")),
10     record(a = record(content = "A nested record"))
11| fieldsAdd type(a)

Query result

a	type(a)
`[1, 2, 3]`	`array`
`true`	`boolean`
`3`	`long`
`3.14`	`double`
`5 min`	`duration`
`127.0.0.1`	`ip`
`DQL is awesome!`	`string`
start: `2023-11-17T10:00:43.967Z` end: `2023-11-17T10:05:43.967Z`	`timeframe`
`2019-08-01T13:30:00.000Z`	`timestamp`
content: `A nested record`	`record`

uid128

Creates a uid from the given two long expressions.

Syntax

uid128(firstExpression, secondExpression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
expression
long
yes
The first long expression for a uid.
expression
long
yes
The second long expression for a uid.
Example
```
1data record(a = 123, b = 456)
2| fields uid128(a, b)
```
Query result

uid128(a, b)
000000000000007b00000000000001c8

Name	Type	Mandatory	Default	Constraints	Description
expression	long	yes			The first long expression for a uid.
expression	long	yes			The second long expression for a uid.

uid128(a, b)
`000000000000007b00000000000001c8`

uid64

Creates a uid from the given long expression.

Syntax

uid64(expression)
Parameters

Name Type Mandatory Default Constraints Description
expression
long
yes
The long expression for a uid.
Example
```
1data record(a = 123)
2| fields uid64(a)
```
Query result

uid128(a, b)
000000000000007b00000000000001c8

Conversion and casting functions

Converting data types

asBoolean

asDouble

asIp

asLong

asTimeframe

asTimestamp

asUid

decode

encode

hexStringToNumber

numberToHexString

toArray

toBoolean

toDouble

toDuration

toIp

toLong

toString

toTimeframe

toTimestamp

toUid

type

uid128

uid64

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