SPL2 for DSP

Users build and configure pipelines in DSP using the Search Processing Language (SPL2). For details about the SPL2 language, see the SPL2 Search Manual. A DSP pipeline corresponds to an SPL2 program. Users can either construct the program directly in the SPL2 Pipeline Builder or they can construct pipelines incrementally from the Canvas Pipeline Builder. DSP may refer to various SPL2 language constructs by other names. This page outlines equivalent terminology between SPL2 concepts and those used in DSP. In the future, these DSP names will be replaced by their equivalent SPL2 counterparts.

Ways to use SPL2 in DSP

The DSP SPL2 Pipeline Builder uses SPL2 programs to build and configure pipelines. SPL2 programs can contain statements, which supports variable assignments, and must be terminated by a semi-colon. See Create a pipeline using the SPL2 Pipeline Builder.

Pipelines can also be built via a UI using the DSP Canvas Pipeline Builder. With the DSP Canvas Pipeline Builder, you can build a pipeline by incrementally dropping functions into a canvas, and typing SPL2 expressions. See Create a pipeline using the Canvas Builder.

Terminology

There are terminology differences in SPL2 for DSP.

Functions

DSP uses the term "functions" more broadly. A DSP pipeline is constructed entirely from "functions". Certain functions operate on data streams (called "commands" in SPL2), and are referred to as "streaming commands" or "streaming functions" in DSP. There are also functions that operate on scalars, such as string manipulations, which are called "functions" in SPL2, or "scalar functions" in DSP.

In summary, a "function" in DSP is either:

• A SPL2 command, or "streaming function" or "streaming command", which operates on data streams.
• A SPL2 function, or a "scalar function", which operates on scalar data, and are used within a streaming function.

DSP supports a rich set of functions. Since these functions are used in a stream processing context, some of them are unique to DSP, and some may be slightly different from similar SPL2 Search commands/functions, For a comprehensive list of functions available in DSP, see the Function Reference.

Sources and Sinks vs. Datasets

SPL2 reads and writes data from Datasets. These are also referred to as source functions or sink functions in DSP. Source functions and sink functions are a special type of streaming function that represent a data source or a data destination respectively.