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Field templates in expressions

A field template generates a field name by using a template. You can use field templates in expressions in the eval command.

When a field template is resolved, the expression is replaced by the string representation of the expression results.

For more information about expressions, see Types of expressions.

Syntax

The syntax for a field template starts with the dollar sign ( $ ) and uses curly braces ( { } ) to enclose the expression. Field templates must be enclosed in single quotation marks, such as '${expression}'.

If the expression contains a field name with special characters, that field name must be enclosed in single quotation marks. For example, if you use the field name désolé, in the field template you need quotations like this ...| eval '${'désolé'}' = 123.

Field template examples

Interpolating field names

Using a field template, you can add a field to your events where the field name is based on a value in your data.

The following search uses a field template '${city}' to interpolate the field name in the eval command:

SELECT * FROM [{city: "Seattle", Seattle: 123}] | eval '${city}' = 456

Here's what's happening in this search.

In the FROM clause, the search uses the dataset literal [{city: "Seattle", Seattle: 123}], which is equivalent to these fields and values:

city Seattle
Seattle 123

The eval command contains a field template expression '${city}' for the <field> argument portion of the eval command.

When the eval command is processed the field template '${city}' is resolved to Seattle. the value of the city field.

The eval command portion of the search becomes ...| eval Seattle = 456. Since the Seattle field already exists in your data, the value in the field is overwritten.

The output looks like this:

city Seattle
Seattle 456

Using multiple field templates in an expression

In this example, multiple field templates are used in the expression for the field name in an eval command.

Consider the following events, which are organized alphabetically by bridge name:

city country length name
Bristol England 1352 Clifton Suspension Bridge
Venice Italy 36 Bridge of Sighs
Singapore Republic of Singapore 918 Helix Bridge
London England 1066 Millennium Bridge
Shanghai China 27381 Nanpu Bridge
Venice Italy unknown Ponte della Paglia
Venice Italy 157 Rialto Bridge
London England 801 Tower Bridge


This example shows two field templates used in an expression for the <field> argument for the eval command:

... | eval '${country}, ${city}' = name | sort country

The values from the country and city fields combine to create new fields with the corresponding values for the bridge names. The results are sorted by the country field.

By default, the fields are arranged alphabetically with uppercase field names appearing before lowercase field names.

The results look like this:

China, Shanghai England, Bristol England, London Italy, Venice Republic of Singapore, Singapore city country length name
Nanpu Bridge Shanghai China 27381 Nanpu Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge Bristol England 1352 Clifton Suspension Bridge
Millennium Bridge London England 1066 Millennium Bridge
Tower Bridge London England 801 Tower Bridge
Bridge of Sighs Bridge of Sighs Italy 36 Bridge of Sighs
Ponte della Paglia Venice Italy unknown Ponte della Paglia
Rialto Bridge Venice Italy 157 Rialto Bridge
Helix Bridge Singapore Republic of Singapore 918 Helix Bridge

Using a string in a field template

In this example, a string is concatenated to the field template.

The data consists of this information about precious metals:

metal price
gold 1881.93
silver 24.26

The search looks like this:

... | eval 'value of ${metal}' = price

Here are the search results:

metal price value of gold value of silver
gold 1881.93 1881.93
silver 24.26 24.26

Combining field and string templates

You can use field templates and string templates in the same search.

Consider this data:

park type
Yellowstone National
Palmetto State

Using a field template, the following search uses the values in the type field to generate the names of the fields in the search results. Using a string template, this search also uses the values in the type field as the values for the generated fields.

| SELECT * FROM [{type:"National", park:"Yellowstone"}, {type:"State", park:"Palmetto"}] | eval '${type} Park' = park + " ${type} Park"

Here's what's happening in this search:

  • The dataset literal in the FROM clause creates two fields, type and park.
  • The eval command uses a field template to generate the field names. The field template ${type} includes the string Park.
  • The values for the fields created by the eval command are generated from three concatenated components:
    • The values in field name park.
    • A string template, which uses the values in the type field.
    • The string Park.


The output looks like this:

National Park State Park park type
Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National
Palmetto State Park Palmetto State

See also

Related information
String templates in expressions
Types of expressions
Dataset literals
Last modified on 04 August, 2022
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This documentation applies to the following versions of Splunk® Cloud Services: current


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