repeat dataset function

Use the repeat() function to create events in a temporary dataset. The repeat() function is often used to create events for testing. You can use the repeat function anywhere you can specify a dataset name, for example with the FROM, union, and join commands.

The SPL2 repeat() dataset function is similar to the makeresults command in SPL.

Syntax

The required syntax is in bold.

repeat (<template>, <count>)

The arguments must be enclosed in parentheses ( ).

Required arguments

template

Syntax: <template>

Description: Either an empty object { } or a single JSON object, in the format {field: value}. Field names that contain characters other than a-z, A-Z, 0-9, or the underscore ( _ ) character must be enclosed in single quotation marks. This includes field names with spaces. String values must be enclosed in double quotation marks.

count

Syntax: <integer>

Description: The number of events to create.

Optional arguments

None

Usage

The repeat() function is a generating function. Generating functions are functions that create events to form a dataset.

There are some limitations using the repeat function:

• You can't specify nested JSON objects with the repeat dataset function.
• You can't specify an array of JSON objects. You can only specify a single JSON object with multiple field-value pairs.

Should I use the repeat function or a dataset literal?

The repeat function is a very useful method to create a temporary dataset in certain circumstances. An alternative to the repeat function is to use a dataset literal. See Dataset literals in the SPL2 Search Manual.

The following table describes the usage differences and limitations between the repeat function and a dataset literal:

Method	Usage	Limitations
repeat function	Use the repeat function when you want to create multiple identical, or nearly identical events, where only a few values are different. You can use the repeat function to create a lot of events quickly.	You can't use nested objects or an array of objects with the repeat function.
dataset literal	Use a dataset literal when you want to create events with many different values. You can use nested objects and arrays in a dataset literal.	Manually typing in each of the objects is time-consuming. See Sample dataset literals in the SPL2 Search Manual.

Examples

These examples show different ways to use the repeat function to create events.

1. Create a dataset with empty events

You can create a dataset of empty events. For example, to create a dataset with 5 events use this search:

FROM repeat({}, 5)

To add a timestamp to the events, use the eval command:

from repeat({},5) | eval _time = now()

The results look something like this:

_time
25 Feb 2022 15:35:14
25 Feb 2022 15:35:14
25 Feb 2022 15:35:14
25 Feb 2022 15:35:14
25 Feb 2022 15:35:14

Each event has the exact same timestamp.

2. Create events with hourly or daily timestamps

There are many things you can do to extend the events you create.

For example, you can create a set of hourly timestamps instead of events with the exact same timestamp. Add the streamstats command to create a count of the events. Use the eval command to create incremental timestamps by multiplying the count by 3600, the number of seconds in an hour.

| FROM repeat({}, 5) | eval _time = now() | streamstats count() | eval _time=_time-(count*3600)

The results look something like this:

_time	count
25 Feb 2022 15:35:14	1
25 Feb 2022 14:35:14	2
25 Feb 2022 13:35:14	3
25 Feb 2022 12:35:14	4
25 Feb 2022 11:35:14	5

The hours in the timestamp are 1 hour apart, starting with the latest timestamp and ending with the earliest timestamp.

To create daily timestamps, use 86400, the number of seconds in a day, in the eval command.

3. Create events with a field-value object

You can specify a JSON object to create a field in the events in the dataset.

| from repeat({'city-name': "San Francisco"},2)

Because the field city-name contains a dash ( - ), the name must be enclosed in single quotation marks. The value San Francisco is a string, which must be enclosed in double quotation marks.

The results look something like this:

city-name
San Francisco
San Francisco

4. Create events with multiple fields

This example shows how to specify multiple key-value pairs in a JSON object, which results in multiple, duplicate fields in each event in the dataset.

| from repeat({host: "www1", sourcetype: "access_combined"},3) | eval _time = now()

The results look something like this:

_time	host	sourcetype
25 Feb 2022 14:35:58.000 PM	www1	access_combined
25 Feb 2022 14:35:58.000 PM	www1	access_combined
25 Feb 2022 14:35:58.000 PM	www1	access_combined

You can alter the duplicate events by adding the streamstats command to create a count of the events. Use the eval command to alter an event by the count number.

For example, this search alters the value of the host field for the second event:

| from repeat({host: "www1", sourcetype: "access_combined_wcookie"},3) | eval _time = now() | streamstats count() | eval host = if(count=2, "www2", host)

The results look something like this:

_time	host	sourcetype	count
25 Feb 2022 14:35:58.000 PM	www1	access_combined	1
25 Feb 2022 14:35:58.000 PM	www2	access_combined	2
25 Feb 2022 14:35:58.000 PM	www1	access_combined	3

See also

Function information

Overview of SPL2 dataset_functions

Naming function arguments in the SPL2 Search Manual

Related information

eval command overview

from command overview

streamstats command overview