Expressions and functions in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics

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05/17/2024

APPLIES TO: Azure Data Factory Azure Synapse Analytics

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This article provides details about expressions and functions supported by Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics.

Expressions

JSON values in the definition can be literal or expressions that are evaluated at runtime. For example:

"name": "value"

"name": "@pipeline().parameters.password"

Expressions can appear anywhere in a JSON string value and always result in another JSON value. If a JSON value is an expression, the body of the expression is extracted by removing the at-sign (@). If a literal string is needed that starts with @, it must be escaped by using @@. The following examples show how expressions are evaluated.

JSON value	Result
"parameters"	The characters 'parameters' are returned.
"parameters[1]"	The characters 'parameters[1]' are returned.
"@@"	A 1 character string that contains '@' is returned.
" @"	A 2 character string that contains ' @' is returned.

Expressions can also appear inside strings, using a feature called string interpolation where expressions are wrapped in @{ ... }. For example: "name" : "First Name: @{pipeline().parameters.firstName} Last Name: @{pipeline().parameters.lastName}"

Using string interpolation, the result is always a string. Say I have defined myNumber as 42 and myString as foo:

JSON value	Result
"@pipeline().parameters.myString"	Returns `foo` as a string.
"@{pipeline().parameters.myString}"	Returns `foo` as a string.
"@pipeline().parameters.myNumber"	Returns `42` as a number.
"@{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}"	Returns `42` as a string.
"Answer is: @{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}"	Returns the string `Answer is: 42`.
"@concat('Answer is: ', string(pipeline().parameters.myNumber))"	Returns the string `Answer is: 42`
"Answer is: @@{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}"	Returns the string `Answer is: @{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}`.

In the control flow activities like ForEach activity, you can provide an array to be iterated over for the property items and use @item() to iterate over a single enumeration in ForEach activity. For example, if items is an array: [1, 2, 3], @item() returns 1 in the first iteration, 2 in the second iteration, and 3 in the third iteration. You can also use @range(0,10) like expression to iterate ten times starting with 0 ending with 9.

You can use @activity('activity name') to capture output of activity and make decisions. Consider a web activity called Web1. For placing the output of the first activity in the body of the second, the expression generally looks like: @activity('Web1').output or @activity('Web1').output.data or something similar depending upon what the output of the first activity looks like.

Examples

Complex expression example

The below example shows a complex example that references a deep sub-field of activity output. To reference a pipeline parameter that evaluates to a sub-field, use [] syntax instead of dot(.) operator (as in case of subfield1 and subfield2), as part of an activity output.

@activity('*activityName*').output.*subfield1*.*subfield2*[pipeline().parameters.*subfield3*].*subfield4*

Creating files dynamically and naming them is common pattern. Let us explore few dynamic file naming examples.

Append Date to a filename: @concat('Test_', formatDateTime(utcnow(), 'yyyy-dd-MM'))
Append DateTime in customer timezone : @concat('Test_', convertFromUtc(utcnow(), 'Pacific Standard Time'))
Append Trigger Time : @concat('Test_', pipeline().TriggerTime)
Output a custom filename in a Mapping Data Flow when outputting to a single file with date : 'Test_' + toString(currentDate()) + '.csv'

In above cases, 4 dynamic filenames are created starting with Test_.

Dynamic content editor

Dynamic content editor automatically escapes characters in your content when you finish editing. For example, the following content in content editor is a string interpolation with two expression functions.

{ 
  "type": "@{if(equals(1, 2), 'Blob', 'Table' )}",
  "name": "@{toUpper('myData')}"
}

Dynamic content editor converts above content to expression "{ \n \"type\": \"@{if(equals(1, 2), 'Blob', 'Table' )}\",\n \"name\": \"@{toUpper('myData')}\"\n}". The result of this expression is a JSON format string showed below.

{
  "type": "Table",
  "name": "MYDATA"
}

A dataset with a parameter

In the following example, the BlobDataset takes a parameter named path. Its value is used to set a value for the folderPath property by using the expression: dataset().path.

{
    "name": "BlobDataset",
    "properties": {
        "type": "AzureBlob",
        "typeProperties": {
            "folderPath": "@dataset().path"
        },
        "linkedServiceName": {
            "referenceName": "AzureStorageLinkedService",
            "type": "LinkedServiceReference"
        },
        "parameters": {
            "path": {
                "type": "String"
            }
        }
    }
}

A pipeline with a parameter

In the following example, the pipeline takes inputPath and outputPath parameters. The path for the parameterized blob dataset is set by using values of these parameters. The syntax used here is: pipeline().parameters.parametername.

{
    "name": "Adfv2QuickStartPipeline",
    "properties": {
        "activities": [
            {
                "name": "CopyFromBlobToBlob",
                "type": "Copy",
                "inputs": [
                    {
                        "referenceName": "BlobDataset",
                        "parameters": {
                            "path": "@pipeline().parameters.inputPath"
                        },
                        "type": "DatasetReference"
                    }
                ],
                "outputs": [
                    {
                        "referenceName": "BlobDataset",
                        "parameters": {
                            "path": "@pipeline().parameters.outputPath"
                        },
                        "type": "DatasetReference"
                    }
                ],
                "typeProperties": {
                    "source": {
                        "type": "BlobSource"
                    },
                    "sink": {
                        "type": "BlobSink"
                    }
                }
            }
        ],
        "parameters": {
            "inputPath": {
                "type": "String"
            },
            "outputPath": {
                "type": "String"
            }
        }
    }
}

Replacing special characters

Dynamic content editor automatically escapes characters like double quote, backslash in your content when you finish editing. This causes trouble if you want to replace line feed or tab by using \n, \t in replace() function. You can of edit your dynamic content in code view to remove the extra \ in the expression, or you can follow below steps to replace special characters using expression language:

URL encoding against the original string value
Replace URL encoded string, for example, line feed (%0A), carriage return(%0D), horizontal tab(%09).
URL decoding

For example, variable companyName with a newline character in its value, expression @uriComponentToString(replace(uriComponent(variables('companyName')), '%0A', '')) can remove the newline character.

Contoso-
Corporation

Escaping single quote character

Expression functions in pipelines use the single quote (') to surround string value parameters. Use two consecutive single quote characters within a pipeline string expression to include a single quote. Here's an example: expression @concat('Here is a double quote character: ". ', 'And here is a single quote character all within the same string: ''.') will return the following result:

Here is a double quote character: ". And here is a single quote character all within the same string: '.

However, in data flow expressions, this syntax isn't supported. Instead, data flow expressions can be surrounded by either single or double quotes. Enclose text requiring single quotes within double quotes, and text requiring double quotes within single quotes, within string functions. If you require a string containing both single and double quotes, you can use concat() to merge two substrings that each contain either single quotes or double quotes. The data flow equivalent of the previous pipeline expression example would be concat('Here is a double quote character: ". ', "And here is a single quote character all within the same string: '."). In a data flow, that expression will return the same result as the previous example for pipeline expressions.

Tutorial

This tutorial walks you through how to pass parameters between a pipeline and activity as well as between the activities. The tutorial specifically demonstrates steps for an Azure Data Factory although steps for a Synapse workspace are nearly equivalent but with a slightly different user interface.

Functions

You can call functions within expressions. The following sections provide information about the functions that can be used in an expression.

Date functions

Date or time function	Task
addDays	Add a number of days to a timestamp.
addHours	Add a number of hours to a timestamp.
addMinutes	Add a number of minutes to a timestamp.
addSeconds	Add a number of seconds to a timestamp.
addToTime	Add a number of time units to a timestamp. See also getFutureTime.
convertFromUtc	Convert a timestamp from Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) to the target time zone.
convertTimeZone	Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to the target time zone.
convertToUtc	Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).
dayOfMonth	Return the day of the month component from a timestamp.
dayOfWeek	Return the day of the week component from a timestamp.
dayOfYear	Return the day of the year component from a timestamp.
formatDateTime	Return the timestamp as a string in optional format.
getFutureTime	Return the current timestamp plus the specified time units. See also addToTime.
getPastTime	Return the current timestamp minus the specified time units. See also subtractFromTime.
startOfDay	Return the start of the day for a timestamp.
startOfHour	Return the start of the hour for a timestamp.
startOfMonth	Return the start of the month for a timestamp.
subtractFromTime	Subtract a number of time units from a timestamp. See also getPastTime.
ticks	Return the `ticks` property value for a specified timestamp.
utcNow	Return the current timestamp as a string.

String functions

To work with strings, you can use these string functions and also some collection functions. String functions work only on strings.

String function	Task
concat	Combine two or more strings, and return the combined string.
endsWith	Check whether a string ends with the specified substring.
guid	Generate a globally unique identifier (GUID) as a string.
indexOf	Return the starting position for a substring.
lastIndexOf	Return the starting position for the last occurrence of a substring.
replace	Replace a substring with the specified string, and return the updated string.
split	Split a string at each occurrence of a specified delimiter, returning the resulting substrings as elements of an array.
startsWith	Check whether a string starts with a specific substring.
substring	Return characters from a string, starting from the specified position.
toLower	Return a string in lowercase format.
toUpper	Return a string in uppercase format.
trim	Remove leading and trailing whitespace from a string, and return the updated string.

Collection functions

To work with collections, generally arrays, strings, and sometimes, dictionaries, you can use these collection functions.

Collection function	Task
contains	Check whether a collection has a specific item.
empty	Check whether a collection is empty.
first	Return the first item from a collection.
intersection	Return a collection that has only the common items across the specified collections.
join	Return a string that has all the items from an array, separated by the specified character.
last	Return the last item from a collection.
length	Return the number of items in a string or array.
skip	Remove items from the front of a collection, and return all the other items.
take	Return items from the front of a collection.
union	Return a collection that has all the items from the specified collections.

Logical functions

These functions are useful inside conditions, they can be used to evaluate any type of logic.

Logical comparison function	Task
and	Check whether all expressions are true.
equals	Check whether both values are equivalent.
greater	Check whether the first value is greater than the second value.
greaterOrEquals	Check whether the first value is greater than or equal to the second value.
if	Check whether an expression is true or false. Based on the result, return a specified value.
less	Check whether the first value is less than the second value.
lessOrEquals	Check whether the first value is less than or equal to the second value.
not	Check whether an expression is false.
or	Check whether at least one expression is true.

Conversion functions

These functions are used to convert between each of the native types in the language:

string
integer
float
boolean
arrays
dictionaries

Conversion function	Task
array	Return an array from a single specified input. For multiple inputs, see createArray.
base64	Return the base64-encoded version for a string.
base64ToBinary	Return the binary version for a base64-encoded string.
base64ToString	Return the string version for a base64-encoded string.
binary	Return the binary version for an input value.
bool	Return the Boolean version for an input value.
coalesce	Return the first non-null value from one or more parameters.
createArray	Return an array from multiple inputs.
dataUri	Return the data URI for an input value.
dataUriToBinary	Return the binary version for a data URI.
dataUriToString	Return the string version for a data URI.
decodeBase64	Return the string version for a base64-encoded string.
decodeDataUri	Return the binary version for a data URI.
decodeUriComponent	Return a string that replaces escape characters with decoded versions.
encodeUriComponent	Return a string that replaces URL-unsafe characters with escape characters.
float	Return a floating point number for an input value.
int	Return the integer version for a string.
json	Return the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) type value or object for a string or XML.
string	Return the string version for an input value.
uriComponent	Return the URI-encoded version for an input value by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters.
uriComponentToBinary	Return the binary version for a URI-encoded string.
uriComponentToString	Return the string version for a URI-encoded string.
xml	Return the XML version for a string.
xpath	Check XML for nodes or values that match an XPath (XML Path Language) expression, and return the matching nodes or values.

Math functions

These functions can be used for either types of numbers: integers and floats.

Math function	Task
add	Return the result from adding two numbers.
div	Return the result from dividing one number by another number.
max	Return the highest value from a set of numbers or an array.
min	Return the lowest value from a set of numbers or an array.
mod	Return the remainder from dividing one number by another number.
mul	Return the product from multiplying two numbers.
rand	Return a random integer from a specified range.
range	Return an integer array that starts from a specified integer.
sub	Return the result from subtracting one number from another number.

Function reference

This section lists all the available functions in alphabetical order.

add

Return the result from adding two numbers.

add(<summand_1>, <summand_2>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<summand_1>, <summand_2>	Yes	Integer, Float, or mixed	The numbers to add

Return value	Type	Description
<result-sum>	Integer or Float	The result from adding the specified numbers

Example

This example adds the specified numbers:

add(1, 1.5)

And returns this result: 2.5

addDays

Add a number of days to a timestamp.

addDays('<timestamp>', <days>, '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<days>	Yes	Integer	The positive or negative number of days to add
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The timestamp plus the specified number of days

Example 1

This example adds 10 days to the specified timestamp:

addDays('2018-03-15T13:00:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-25T00:00:0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five days from the specified timestamp:

addDays('2018-03-15T00:00:00Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-10T00:00:0000000Z"

addHours

Add a number of hours to a timestamp.

addHours('<timestamp>', <hours>, '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<hours>	Yes	Integer	The positive or negative number of hours to add
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The timestamp plus the specified number of hours

Example 1

This example adds 10 hours to the specified timestamp:

addHours('2018-03-15T00:00:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T10:00:0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five hours from the specified timestamp:

addHours('2018-03-15T15:00:00Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T10:00:0000000Z"

addMinutes

Add a number of minutes to a timestamp.

addMinutes('<timestamp>', <minutes>, '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<minutes>	Yes	Integer	The positive or negative number of minutes to add
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The timestamp plus the specified number of minutes

Example 1

This example adds 10 minutes to the specified timestamp:

addMinutes('2018-03-15T00:10:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:20:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five minutes from the specified timestamp:

addMinutes('2018-03-15T00:20:00Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:15:00.0000000Z"

addSeconds

Add a number of seconds to a timestamp.

addSeconds('<timestamp>', <seconds>, '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<seconds>	Yes	Integer	The positive or negative number of seconds to add
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The timestamp plus the specified number of seconds

Example 1

This example adds 10 seconds to the specified timestamp:

addSeconds('2018-03-15T00:00:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:00:10.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five seconds to the specified timestamp:

addSeconds('2018-03-15T00:00:30Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:00:25.0000000Z"

addToTime

Add a number of time units to a timestamp. See also getFutureTime().

addToTime('<timestamp>', <interval>, '<timeUnit>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<interval>	Yes	Integer	The number of specified time units to add
<timeUnit>	Yes	String	The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The timestamp plus the specified number of time units

Example 1

This example adds one day to the specified timestamp:

addToTime('2018-01-01T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-01-02T00:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example adds one day to the specified timestamp:

addToTime('2018-01-01T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day', 'D')

And returns the result using the optional "D" format: "Tuesday, January 2, 2018"

and

Check whether both expressions are true. Return true when both expressions are true, or return false when at least one expression is false.

and(<expression1>, <expression2>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<expression1>, <expression2>	Yes	Boolean	The expressions to check

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when both expressions are true. Return false when at least one expression is false.

Example 1

These examples check whether the specified Boolean values are both true:

and(true, true)
and(false, true)
and(false, false)

And returns these results:

First example: Both expressions are true, so returns true.
Second example: One expression is false, so returns false.
Third example: Both expressions are false, so returns false.

Example 2

These examples check whether the specified expressions are both true:

and(equals(1, 1), equals(2, 2))
and(equals(1, 1), equals(1, 2))
and(equals(1, 2), equals(1, 3))

And returns these results:

First example: Both expressions are true, so returns true.
Second example: One expression is false, so returns false.
Third example: Both expressions are false, so returns false.

array

Return an array from a single specified input. For multiple inputs, see createArray().

array('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string for creating an array

Return value	Type	Description
[<value>]	Array	An array that contains the single specified input

Example

This example creates an array from the "hello" string:

array('hello')

And returns this result: ["hello"]

base64

Return the base64-encoded version for a string.

base64('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The input string

Return value	Type	Description
<base64-string>	String	The base64-encoded version for the input string

Example

This example converts the "hello" string to a base64-encoded string:

base64('hello')

And returns this result: "aGVsbG8="

base64ToBinary

Return the binary version for a base64-encoded string.

base64ToBinary('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The base64-encoded string to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<binary-for-base64-string>	String	The binary version for the base64-encoded string

Example

This example converts the "aGVsbG8=" base64-encoded string to a binary string:

base64ToBinary('aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result:

"0110000101000111010101100111001101100010010001110011100000111101"

base64ToString

Return the string version for a base64-encoded string, effectively decoding the base64 string. Use this function rather than decodeBase64(). Although both functions work the same way, base64ToString() is preferred.

base64ToString('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The base64-encoded string to decode

Return value	Type	Description
<decoded-base64-string>	String	The string version for a base64-encoded string

Example

This example converts the "aGVsbG8=" base64-encoded string to just a string:

base64ToString('aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result: "hello"

binary

Return the binary version for a string.

binary('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<binary-for-input-value>	String	The binary version for the specified string

Example

This example converts the "hello" string to a binary string:

binary('hello')

And returns this result:

"0110100001100101011011000110110001101111"

bool

Return the Boolean version for a value.

bool(<value>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	Any	The value to convert

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	The Boolean version for the specified value

Example

These examples convert the specified values to Boolean values:

bool(1)
bool(0)

And returns these results:

First example: true
Second example: false

coalesce

Return the first non-null value from one or more parameters. Empty strings, empty arrays, and empty objects are not null.

coalesce(<object_1>, <object_2>, ...)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<object_1>, <object_2>, ...	Yes	Any, can mix types	One or more items to check for null

Return value	Type	Description
<first-non-null-item>	Any	The first item or value that is not null. If all parameters are null, this function returns null.

Example

These examples return the first non-null value from the specified values, or null when all the values are null:

coalesce(null, true, false)
coalesce(null, 'hello', 'world')
coalesce(null, null, null)

And returns these results:

First example: true
Second example: "hello"
Third example: null

concat

Combine two or more strings, and return the combined string.

concat('<text1>', '<text2>', ...)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text1>, <text2>, ...	Yes	String	At least two strings to combine

Return value	Type	Description
<text1text2...>	String	The string created from the combined input strings

Example

This example combines the strings "Hello" and "World":

concat('Hello', 'World')

And returns this result: "HelloWorld"

contains

Check whether a collection has a specific item. Return true when the item is found, or return false when not found. This function is case-sensitive.

contains('<collection>', '<value>')
contains([<collection>], '<value>')

Specifically, this function works on these collection types:

A string to find a substring
An array to find a value
A dictionary to find a key

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	String, Array, or Dictionary	The collection to check
<value>	Yes	String, Array, or Dictionary, respectively	The item to find

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the item is found. Return false when not found.

Example 1

This example checks the string "hello world" for the substring "world" and returns true:

contains('hello world', 'world')

Example 2

This example checks the string "hello world" for the substring "universe" and returns false:

contains('hello world', 'universe')

convertFromUtc

Convert a timestamp from Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) to the target time zone.

convertFromUtc('<timestamp>', '<destinationTimeZone>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<destinationTimeZone>	Yes	String	The name for the target time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<converted-timestamp>	String	The timestamp converted to the target time zone

Example 1

This example converts a timestamp to the specified time zone:

convertFromUtc('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'Pacific Standard Time')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T00:00:00Z"

Example 2

This example converts a timestamp to the specified time zone and format:

convertFromUtc('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'Pacific Standard Time', 'D')

And returns this result: "Monday, January 1, 2018"

convertTimeZone

Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to the target time zone.

convertTimeZone('<timestamp>', '<sourceTimeZone>', '<destinationTimeZone>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<sourceTimeZone>	Yes	String	The name for the source time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<destinationTimeZone>	Yes	String	The name for the target time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<converted-timestamp>	String	The timestamp converted to the target time zone

Example 1

This example converts the source time zone to the target time zone:

convertTimeZone('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T00:00:00.0000000"

Example 2

This example converts a time zone to the specified time zone and format:

convertTimeZone('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time', 'D')

And returns this result: "Monday, January 1, 2018"

convertToUtc

Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).

convertToUtc('<timestamp>', '<sourceTimeZone>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<sourceTimeZone>	Yes	String	The name for the source time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<converted-timestamp>	String	The timestamp converted to UTC

Example 1

This example converts a timestamp to UTC:

convertToUtc('01/01/2018 00:00:00', 'Pacific Standard Time')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example converts a timestamp to UTC:

convertToUtc('01/01/2018 00:00:00', 'Pacific Standard Time', 'D')

And returns this result: "Monday, January 1, 2018"

createArray

Return an array from multiple inputs. For single input arrays, see array().

createArray('<object1>', '<object2>', ...)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<object1>, <object2>, ...	Yes	Any, but not mixed	At least two items to create the array

Return value	Type	Description
[<object1>, <object2>, ...]	Array	The array created from all the input items

Example

This example creates an array from these inputs:

createArray('h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o')

And returns this result: ["h", "e", "l", "l", "o"]

dataUri

Return a data uniform resource identifier (URI) for a string.

dataUri('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<data-uri>	String	The data URI for the input string

Example

This example creates a data URI for the "hello" string:

dataUri('hello')

And returns this result: "data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8="

dataUriToBinary

Return the binary version for a data uniform resource identifier (URI). Use this function rather than decodeDataUri(). Although both functions work the same way, dataUriBinary() is preferred.

dataUriToBinary('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The data URI to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<binary-for-data-uri>	String	The binary version for the data URI

Example

This example creates a binary version for this data URI:

dataUriToBinary('data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result:

"01100100011000010111010001100001001110100111010001100101011110000111010000101111011100000 1101100011000010110100101101110001110110110001101101000011000010111001001110011011001010111 0100001111010111010101110100011001100010110100111000001110110110001001100001011100110110010 10011011000110100001011000110000101000111010101100111001101100010010001110011100000111101"

dataUriToString

Return the string version for a data uniform resource identifier (URI).

dataUriToString('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The data URI to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<string-for-data-uri>	String	The string version for the data URI

Example

This example creates a string for this data URI:

dataUriToString('data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result: "hello"

dayOfMonth

Return the day of the month from a timestamp.

dayOfMonth('<timestamp>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp

Return value	Type	Description
<day-of-month>	Integer	The day of the month from the specified timestamp

Example

This example returns the number for the day of the month from this timestamp:

dayOfMonth('2018-03-15T13:27:36Z')

And returns this result: 15

dayOfWeek

Return the day of the week from a timestamp.

dayOfWeek('<timestamp>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp

Return value	Type	Description
<day-of-week>	Integer	The day of the week from the specified timestamp where Sunday is 0, Monday is 1, and so on

Example

This example returns the number for the day of the week from this timestamp:

dayOfWeek('2018-03-15T13:27:36Z')

And returns this result: 3

dayOfYear

Return the day of the year from a timestamp.

dayOfYear('<timestamp>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp

Return value	Type	Description
<day-of-year>	Integer	The day of the year from the specified timestamp

Example

This example returns the number of the day of the year from this timestamp:

dayOfYear('2018-03-15T13:27:36Z')

And returns this result: 74

decodeBase64

Return the string version for a base64-encoded string, effectively decoding the base64 string. Consider using base64ToString() rather than decodeBase64(). Although both functions work the same way, base64ToString() is preferred.

decodeBase64('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The base64-encoded string to decode

Return value	Type	Description
<decoded-base64-string>	String	The string version for a base64-encoded string

Example

This example creates a string for a base64-encoded string:

decodeBase64('aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result: "hello"

decodeDataUri

Return the binary version for a data uniform resource identifier (URI). Consider using dataUriToBinary(), rather than decodeDataUri(). Although both functions work the same way, dataUriToBinary() is preferred.

decodeDataUri('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The data URI string to decode

Return value	Type	Description
<binary-for-data-uri>	String	The binary version for a data URI string

Example

This example returns the binary version for this data URI:

decodeDataUri('data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result:

decodeUriComponent

Return a string that replaces escape characters with decoded versions.

decodeUriComponent('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string with the escape characters to decode

Return value	Type	Description
<decoded-uri>	String	The updated string with the decoded escape characters

Example

This example replaces the escape characters in this string with decoded versions:

decodeUriComponent('http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com')

And returns this result: "https://contoso.com"

div

Return the result of dividing one number by another number.

div(<dividend>, <divisor>)

The precise return type of the function depends on the types of its parameters — see examples for detail.

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<dividend>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number to divide by the divisor
<divisor>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number that divides the dividend. A divisor value of zero causes an error at runtime.

Return value	Type	Description
<quotient-result>	Integer or Float	The result of dividing the first number by the second number

Example 1

These examples divide the number 9 by 2:

div(9, 2.0)
div(9.0, 2)
div(9.0, 2.0)

And all return this result: 4.5

Example 2

This example also divides the number 9 by 2, but because both parameters are integers the remainder is discarded (integer division):

div(9, 2)

The expression returns the result 4. To obtain the value of the remainder, use the mod() function.

encodeUriComponent

Return a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded version for a string by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters. Consider using uriComponent(), rather than encodeUriComponent(). Although both functions work the same way, uriComponent() is preferred.

encodeUriComponent('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string to convert to URI-encoded format

Return value	Type	Description
<encoded-uri>	String	The URI-encoded string with escape characters

Example

This example creates a URI-encoded version for this string:

encodeUriComponent('https://contoso.com')

And returns this result: "http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com"

empty

Check whether a collection is empty. Return true when the collection is empty, or return false when not empty.

empty('<collection>')
empty([<collection>])

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	String, Array, or Object	The collection to check

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the collection is empty. Return false when not empty.

Example

These examples check whether the specified collections are empty:

empty('')
empty('abc')

And returns these results:

First example: Passes an empty string, so the function returns true.
Second example: Passes the string "abc", so the function returns false.

endsWith

Check whether a string ends with a specific substring. Return true when the substring is found, or return false when not found. This function is not case-sensitive.

endsWith('<text>', '<searchText>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string to check
<searchText>	Yes	String	The ending substring to find

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the ending substring is found. Return false when not found.

Example 1

This example checks whether the "hello world" string ends with the "world" string:

endsWith('hello world', 'world')

And returns this result: true

Example 2

This example checks whether the "hello world" string ends with the "universe" string:

endsWith('hello world', 'universe')

And returns this result: false

equals

Check whether both values, expressions, or objects are equivalent. Return true when both are equivalent, or return false when they're not equivalent.

equals('<object1>', '<object2>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<object1>, <object2>	Yes	Various	The values, expressions, or objects to compare

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when both are equivalent. Return false when not equivalent.

Example

These examples check whether the specified inputs are equivalent.

equals(true, 1)
equals('abc', 'abcd')

And returns these results:

First example: Both values are equivalent, so the function returns true.
Second example: Both values aren't equivalent, so the function returns false.

first

Return the first item from a string or array.

first('<collection>')
first([<collection>])

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	String or Array	The collection where to find the first item

Return value	Type	Description
<first-collection-item>	Any	The first item in the collection

Example

These examples find the first item in these collections:

first('hello')
first(createArray(0, 1, 2))

And return these results:

First example: "h"
Second example: 0

float

Convert a string version for a floating-point number to an actual floating point number.

float('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string that has a valid floating-point number to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<float-value>	Float	The floating-point number for the specified string

Example

This example creates a string version for this floating-point number:

float('10.333')

And returns this result: 10.333

formatDateTime

Return a timestamp in the specified format.

formatDateTime('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<reformatted-timestamp>	String	The updated timestamp in the specified format

Example

This example converts a timestamp to the specified format:

formatDateTime('03/15/2018 12:00:00', 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss')

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T12:00:00"

getFutureTime

Return the current timestamp plus the specified time units.

getFutureTime(<interval>, <timeUnit>, <format>?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<interval>	Yes	Integer	The number of specified time units to add
<timeUnit>	Yes	String	The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The current timestamp plus the specified number of time units

Example 1

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-03-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example adds five days to that timestamp:

getFutureTime(5, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-03-06T00:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-03-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example adds five days and converts the result to "D" format:

getFutureTime(5, 'Day', 'D')

And returns this result: "Tuesday, March 6, 2018"

getPastTime

Return the current timestamp minus the specified time units.

getPastTime(<interval>, <timeUnit>, <format>?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<interval>	Yes	Integer	The number of specified time units to subtract
<timeUnit>	Yes	String	The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The current timestamp minus the specified number of time units

Example 1

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-02-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example subtracts five days from that timestamp:

getPastTime(5, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-01-27T00:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-02-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example subtracts five days and converts the result to "D" format:

getPastTime(5, 'Day', 'D')

And returns this result: "Saturday, January 27, 2018"

greater

Check whether the first value is greater than the second value. Return true when the first value is more, or return false when less.

greater(<value>, <compareTo>)
greater('<value>', '<compareTo>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String	The first value to check whether greater than the second value
<compareTo>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String, respectively	The comparison value

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the first value is greater than the second value. Return false when the first value is equal to or less than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is greater than the second value:

greater(10, 5)
greater('apple', 'banana')

And return these results:

First example: true
Second example: false

greaterOrEquals

Check whether the first value is greater than or equal to the second value. Return true when the first value is greater or equal, or return false when the first value is less.

greaterOrEquals(<value>, <compareTo>)
greaterOrEquals('<value>', '<compareTo>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String	The first value to check whether greater than or equal to the second value
<compareTo>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String, respectively	The comparison value

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the first value is greater than or equal to the second value. Return false when the first value is less than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is greater or equal than the second value:

greaterOrEquals(5, 5)
greaterOrEquals('apple', 'banana')

And return these results:

First example: true
Second example: false

guid

Generate a globally unique identifier (GUID) as a string, for example, "c2ecc88d-88c8-4096-912c-d6f2e2b138ce":

guid()

Also, you can specify a different format for the GUID other than the default format, "D", which is 32 digits separated by hyphens.

guid('<format>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<format>	No	String	A single format specifier for the returned GUID. By default, the format is "D", but you can use "N", "D", "B", "P", or "X".

Return value	Type	Description
<GUID-value>	String	A randomly generated GUID

Example

This example generates the same GUID, but as 32 digits, separated by hyphens, and enclosed in parentheses:

guid('P')

And returns this result: "(c2ecc88d-88c8-4096-912c-d6f2e2b138ce)"

if

Check whether an expression is true or false. Based on the result, return a specified value.

if(<expression>, <valueIfTrue>, <valueIfFalse>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<expression>	Yes	Boolean	The expression to check
<valueIfTrue>	Yes	Any	The value to return when the expression is true
<valueIfFalse>	Yes	Any	The value to return when the expression is false

Return value	Type	Description
<specified-return-value>	Any	The specified value that returns based on whether the expression is true or false

Example

This example returns "yes" because the specified expression returns true. Otherwise, the example returns "no":

if(equals(1, 1), 'yes', 'no')

indexOf

Return the starting position or index value for a substring. This function is not case-sensitive, and indexes start with the number 0.

indexOf('<text>', '<searchText>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string that has the substring to find
<searchText>	Yes	String	The substring to find

Return value	Type	Description
<index-value>	Integer	The starting position or index value for the specified substring. If the string is not found, return the number -1.

Example

This example finds the starting index value for the "world" substring in the "hello world" string:

indexOf('hello world', 'world')

And returns this result: 6

int

Return the integer version for a string.

int('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<integer-result>	Integer	The integer version for the specified string

Example

This example creates an integer version for the string "10":

int('10')

And returns this result: 10

json

Return the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) type value or object for a string or XML.

json('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String or XML	The string or XML to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<JSON-result>	JSON native type or object	The JSON native type value or object for the specified string or XML. If the string is null, the function returns an empty object.

Example 1

This example converts this string to the JSON value:

json('[1, 2, 3]')

And returns this result: [1, 2, 3]

Example 2

This example converts this string to JSON:

json('{"fullName": "Sophia Owen"}')

And returns this result:

{
  "fullName": "Sophia Owen"
}

Example 3

This example converts this XML to JSON:

json(xml('<?xml version="1.0"?> <root> <person id='1'> <name>Sophia Owen</name> <occupation>Engineer</occupation> </person> </root>'))

And returns this result:

{
   "?xml": { "@version": "1.0" },
   "root": {
      "person": [ {
         "@id": "1",
         "name": "Sophia Owen",
         "occupation": "Engineer"
      } ]
   }
}

intersection

Return a collection that has only the common items across the specified collections. To appear in the result, an item must appear in all the collections passed to this function. If one or more items have the same name, the last item with that name appears in the result.

intersection([<collection1>], [<collection2>], ...)
intersection('<collection1>', '<collection2>', ...)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection1>, <collection2>, ...	Yes	Array or Object, but not both	The collections from where you want only the common items

Return value	Type	Description
<common-items>	Array or Object, respectively	A collection that has only the common items across the specified collections

Example

This example finds the common items across these arrays:

intersection(createArray(1, 2, 3), createArray(101, 2, 1, 10), createArray(6, 8, 1, 2))

And returns an array with only these items: [1, 2]

join

Return a string that has all the items from an array and has each character separated by a delimiter.

join([<collection>], '<delimiter>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	Array	The array that has the items to join
<delimiter>	Yes	String	The separator that appears between each character in the resulting string

Return value	Type	Description
<char1><delimiter><char2><delimiter>...	String	The resulting string created from all the items in the specified array

Example

This example creates a string from all the items in this array with the specified character as the delimiter:

join(createArray('a', 'b', 'c'), '.')

And returns this result: "a.b.c"

last

Return the last item from a collection.

last('<collection>')
last([<collection>])

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	String or Array	The collection where to find the last item

Return value	Type	Description
<last-collection-item>	String or Array, respectively	The last item in the collection

Example

These examples find the last item in these collections:

last('abcd')
last(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3))

And returns these results:

First example: "d"
Second example: 3

lastIndexOf

Return the starting position or index value for the last occurrence of a substring. This function is not case-sensitive, and indexes start with the number 0.

lastIndexOf('<text>', '<searchText>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string that has the substring to find
<searchText>	Yes	String	The substring to find

Return value	Type	Description
<ending-index-value>	Integer	The starting position or index value for the last occurrence of the specified substring. If the string is not found, return the number -1.

Example

This example finds the starting index value for the last occurrence of the "world" substring in the "hello world" string:

lastIndexOf('hello world', 'world')

And returns this result: 6

length

Return the number of items in a collection.

length('<collection>')
length([<collection>])

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	String or Array	The collection with the items to count

Return value	Type	Description
<length-or-count>	Integer	The number of items in the collection

Example

These examples count the number of items in these collections:

length('abcd')
length(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3))

And return this result: 4

less

Check whether the first value is less than the second value. Return true when the first value is less, or return false when the first value is more.

less(<value>, <compareTo>)
less('<value>', '<compareTo>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String	The first value to check whether less than the second value
<compareTo>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String, respectively	The comparison item

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the first value is less than the second value. Return false when the first value is equal to or greater than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is less than the second value.

less(5, 10)
less('banana', 'apple')

And return these results:

First example: true
Second example: false

lessOrEquals

Check whether the first value is less than or equal to the second value. Return true when the first value is less than or equal, or return false when the first value is more.

lessOrEquals(<value>, <compareTo>)
lessOrEquals('<value>', '<compareTo>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String	The first value to check whether less than or equal to the second value
<compareTo>	Yes	Integer, Float, or String, respectively	The comparison item

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the first value is less than or equal to the second value. Return false when the first value is greater than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is less or equal than the second value.

lessOrEquals(10, 10)
lessOrEquals('apply', 'apple')

And return these results:

First example: true
Second example: false

max

Return the highest value from a list or array with numbers that is inclusive at both ends.

max(<number1>, <number2>, ...)
max([<number1>, <number2>, ...])

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<number1>, <number2>, ...	Yes	Integer, Float, or both	The set of numbers from which you want the highest value
[<number1>, <number2>, ...]	Yes	Array - Integer, Float, or both	The array of numbers from which you want the highest value

Return value	Type	Description
<max-value>	Integer or Float	The highest value in the specified array or set of numbers

Example

These examples get the highest value from the set of numbers and the array:

max(1, 2, 3)
max(createArray(1, 2, 3))

And return this result: 3

min

Return the lowest value from a set of numbers or an array.

min(<number1>, <number2>, ...)
min([<number1>, <number2>, ...])

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<number1>, <number2>, ...	Yes	Integer, Float, or both	The set of numbers from which you want the lowest value
[<number1>, <number2>, ...]	Yes	Array - Integer, Float, or both	The array of numbers from which you want the lowest value

Return value	Type	Description
<min-value>	Integer or Float	The lowest value in the specified set of numbers or specified array

Example

These examples get the lowest value in the set of numbers and the array:

min(1, 2, 3)
min(createArray(1, 2, 3))

And return this result: 1

mod

Return the remainder from dividing one number by another number. For integer division, see div().

mod(<dividend>, <divisor>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<dividend>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number to divide by the divisor
<divisor>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number that divides the dividend. A divisor value of zero causes an error at runtime.

Return value	Type	Description
<modulo-result>	Integer or Float	The remainder from dividing the first number by the second number

Example

This example calculates the remainder when the first number is divided by the second number:

mod(3, 2)

And returns this result: 1

mul

Return the product from multiplying two numbers.

mul(<multiplicand1>, <multiplicand2>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<multiplicand1>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number to multiply by multiplicand2
<multiplicand2>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number that multiplies multiplicand1

Return value	Type	Description
<product-result>	Integer or Float	The product from multiplying the first number by the second number

Example

These examples multiply the first number by the second number:

mul(1, 2)
mul(1.5, 2)

And return these results:

First example: 2
Second example 3

not

Check whether an expression is false. Return true when the expression is false, or return false when true.

not(<expression>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<expression>	Yes	Boolean	The expression to check

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the expression is false. Return false when the expression is true.

Example 1

These examples check whether the specified expressions are false:

not(false)
not(true)

And return these results:

First example: The expression is false, so the function returns true.
Second example: The expression is true, so the function returns false.

Example 2

These examples check whether the specified expressions are false:

not(equals(1, 2))
not(equals(1, 1))

And return these results:

First example: The expression is false, so the function returns true.
Second example: The expression is true, so the function returns false.

or

Check whether at least one expression is true. Return true when at least one expression is true, or return false when both are false.

or(<expression1>, <expression2>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<expression1>, <expression2>	Yes	Boolean	The expressions to check

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when at least one expression is true. Return false when both expressions are false.

Example 1

These examples check whether at least one expression is true:

or(true, false)
or(false, false)

And return these results:

First example: At least one expression is true, so the function returns true.
Second example: Both expressions are false, so the function returns false.

Example 2

These examples check whether at least one expression is true:

or(equals(1, 1), equals(1, 2))
or(equals(1, 2), equals(1, 3))

And return these results:

First example: At least one expression is true, so the function returns true.
Second example: Both expressions are false, so the function returns false.

rand

Return a random integer from a specified range, which is inclusive only at the starting end.

rand(<minValue>, <maxValue>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<minValue>	Yes	Integer	The lowest integer in the range
<maxValue>	Yes	Integer	The integer that follows the highest integer in the range that the function can return

Return value	Type	Description
<random-result>	Integer	The random integer returned from the specified range. Note that every invocation of `rand()` will produce a unique result, meaning that the value you observe in output monitoring may not be the same at actual run time.

Example

This example gets a random integer from the specified range, excluding the maximum value:

rand(1, 5)

And returns one of these numbers as the result: 1, 2, 3, or 4

range

Return an integer array that starts from a specified integer.

range(<startIndex>, <count>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<startIndex>	Yes	Integer	An integer value that starts the array as the first item
<count>	Yes	Integer	The number of integers in the array

Return value	Type	Description
[<range-result>]	Array	The array with integers starting from the specified index

Example

This example creates an integer array that starts from the specified index and has the specified number of integers:

range(1, 4)

And returns this result: [1, 2, 3, 4]

replace

Replace a substring with the specified string, and return the result string. This function is case-sensitive.

replace('<text>', '<oldText>', '<newText>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string that has the substring to replace
<oldText>	Yes	String	The substring to replace
<newText>	Yes	String	The replacement string

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-text>	String	The updated string after replacing the substring If the substring is not found, return the original string.

Example

This example finds the "old" substring in "the old string" and replaces "old" with "new":

replace('the old string', 'old', 'new')

And returns this result: "the new string"

skip

Remove items from the front of a collection, and return all the other items.

skip([<collection>], <count>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	Array	The collection whose items you want to remove
<count>	Yes	Integer	A positive integer for the number of items to remove at the front

Return value	Type	Description
[<updated-collection>]	Array	The updated collection after removing the specified items

Example

This example removes one item, the number 0, from the front of the specified array:

skip(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3), 1)

And returns this array with the remaining items: [1,2,3]

split

Split a string at each occurrence of a specified delimiter, returning the resulting substrings as elements of an array. A delimiter is typically a single character, but multicharacter delimiters are supported.

split('<text>', '<delimiter>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string to separate into substrings
<delimiter>	Yes	String	The string to use as the delimiter

Return value	Type	Description
[<substring1>,<substring2>,...]	Array	An array that contains substrings of the original string

Example

This example returns an array containing substrings of the string "a_b_c" based on the delimiter "_":

split('a_b_c', '_')

The array returned is: ["a","b","c"]

startOfDay

Return the start of the day for a timestamp.

startOfDay('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The specified timestamp but starting at the zero-hour mark for the day

Example

This example finds the start of the day for this timestamp:

startOfDay('2018-03-15T13:30:30Z')

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:00:00.0000000Z"

startOfHour

Return the start of the hour for a timestamp.

startOfHour('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The specified timestamp but starting at the zero-minute mark for the hour

Example

This example finds the start of the hour for this timestamp:

startOfHour('2018-03-15T13:30:30Z')

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T13:00:00.0000000Z"

startOfMonth

Return the start of the month for a timestamp.

startOfMonth('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The specified timestamp but starting on the first day of the month at the zero-hour mark

Example

This example returns the start of the month for this timestamp:

startOfMonth('2018-03-15T13:30:30Z')

And returns this result: "2018-03-01T00:00:00.0000000Z"

startsWith

Check whether a string starts with a specific substring. Return true when the substring is found, or return false when not found. This function is not case-sensitive.

startsWith('<text>', '<searchText>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string to check
<searchText>	Yes	String	The starting string to find

Return value	Type	Description
true or false	Boolean	Return true when the starting substring is found. Return false when not found.

Example 1

This example checks whether the "hello world" string starts with the "hello" substring:

startsWith('hello world', 'hello')

And returns this result: true

Example 2

This example checks whether the "hello world" string starts with the "greetings" substring:

startsWith('hello world', 'greetings')

And returns this result: false

string

Return the string version for a value.

string(<value>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	Any	The value to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<string-value>	String	The string version for the specified value

Example 1

This example creates the string version for this number:

string(10)

And returns this result: "10"

Example 2

This example creates a string for the specified JSON object and uses the backslash character (\) as an escape character for the double-quotation mark (").

string( { "name": "Sophie Owen" } )

And returns this result: "{ \\"name\\": \\"Sophie Owen\\" }"

sub

Return the result from subtracting one number from another number.

sub(<minuend>, <subtrahend>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<minuend>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number from which to subtract the subtrahend
<subtrahend>	Yes	Integer or Float	The number to subtract from the minuend

Return value	Type	Description
<result>	Integer or Float	The result from subtracting the second number from the first number

Example

This example subtracts the second number from the first number:

sub(10.3, .3)

And returns this result: 10

substring

Return characters from a string, starting from the specified position, or index. Index values start with the number 0.

substring('<text>', <startIndex>, <length>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string whose characters you want
<startIndex>	Yes	Integer	A positive number equal to or greater than 0 that you want to use as the starting position or index value
<length>	Yes	Integer	A positive number of characters that you want in the substring

Return value	Type	Description
<substring-result>	String	A substring with the specified number of characters, starting at the specified index position in the source string

Example

This example creates a five-character substring from the specified string, starting from the index value 6:

substring('hello world', 6, 5)

And returns this result: "world"

subtractFromTime

Subtract a number of time units from a timestamp. See also getPastTime.

subtractFromTime('<timestamp>', <interval>, '<timeUnit>', '<format>'?)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string that contains the timestamp
<interval>	Yes	Integer	The number of specified time units to subtract
<timeUnit>	Yes	String	The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<updated-timestamp>	String	The timestamp minus the specified number of time units

Example 1

This example subtracts one day from this timestamp:

subtractFromTime('2018-01-02T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T00:00:00:0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts one day from this timestamp:

subtractFromTime('2018-01-02T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day', 'D')

And returns this result using the optional "D" format: "Monday, January, 1, 2018"

take

Return items from the front of a collection.

take('<collection>', <count>)
take([<collection>], <count>)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection>	Yes	String or Array	The collection whose items you want
<count>	Yes	Integer	A positive integer for the number of items that you want from the front

Return value	Type	Description
<subset> or [<subset>]	String or Array, respectively	A string or array that has the specified number of items taken from the front of the original collection

Example

These examples get the specified number of items from the front of these collections:

take('abcde', 3)
take(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3, 4), 3)

And return these results:

First example: "abc"
Second example: [0, 1, 2]

ticks

Return the ticks property value for a specified timestamp. A tick is a 100-nanosecond interval.

ticks('<timestamp>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<timestamp>	Yes	String	The string for a timestamp

Return value	Type	Description
<ticks-number>	Integer	The number of ticks that have elapsed since 12:00:00 midnight, January 1, 0001 in the Gregorian calendar since the input timestamp

toLower

Return a string in lowercase format. If a character in the string doesn't have a lowercase version, that character stays unchanged in the returned string.

toLower('<text>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string to return in lowercase format

Return value	Type	Description
<lowercase-text>	String	The original string in lowercase format

Example

This example converts this string to lowercase:

toLower('Hello World')

And returns this result: "hello world"

toUpper

Return a string in uppercase format. If a character in the string doesn't have an uppercase version, that character stays unchanged in the returned string.

toUpper('<text>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string to return in uppercase format

Return value	Type	Description
<uppercase-text>	String	The original string in uppercase format

Example

This example converts this string to uppercase:

toUpper('Hello World')

And returns this result: "HELLO WORLD"

trim

Remove leading and trailing whitespace from a string, and return the updated string.

trim('<text>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<text>	Yes	String	The string that has the leading and trailing whitespace to remove

Return value	Type	Description
<updatedText>	String	An updated version for the original string without leading or trailing whitespace

Example

This example removes the leading and trailing whitespace from the string " Hello World ":

trim(' Hello World  ')

And returns this result: "Hello World"

union

Return a collection that has all the items from the specified collections. To appear in the result, an item can appear in any collection passed to this function. If one or more items have the same name, the last item with that name appears in the result.

union('<collection1>', '<collection2>', ...)
union([<collection1>], [<collection2>], ...)

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<collection1>, <collection2>, ...	Yes	Array or Object, but not both	The collections from where you want all the items

Return value	Type	Description
<updatedCollection>	Array or Object, respectively	A collection with all the items from the specified collections - no duplicates

Example

This example gets all the items from these collections:

union(createArray(1, 2, 3), createArray(1, 2, 10, 101))

And returns this result: [1, 2, 3, 10, 101]

uriComponent

Return a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded version for a string by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters. Use this function rather than encodeUriComponent(). Although both functions work the same way, uriComponent() is preferred.

uriComponent('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string to convert to URI-encoded format

Return value	Type	Description
<encoded-uri>	String	The URI-encoded string with escape characters

Example

This example creates a URI-encoded version for this string:

uriComponent('https://contoso.com')

And returns this result: "http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com"

uriComponentToBinary

Return the binary version for a uniform resource identifier (URI) component.

uriComponentToBinary('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The URI-encoded string to convert

Return value	Type	Description
<binary-for-encoded-uri>	String	The binary version for the URI-encoded string. The binary content is base64-encoded and represented by `$content`.

Example

This example creates the binary version for this URI-encoded string:

uriComponentToBinary('http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com')

And returns this result:

"001000100110100001110100011101000111000000100101001100 11010000010010010100110010010001100010010100110010010001 10011000110110111101101110011101000110111101110011011011 110010111001100011011011110110110100100010"

uriComponentToString

Return the string version for a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded string, effectively decoding the URI-encoded string.

uriComponentToString('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The URI-encoded string to decode

Return value	Type	Description
<decoded-uri>	String	The decoded version for the URI-encoded string

Example

This example creates the decoded string version for this URI-encoded string:

uriComponentToString('http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com')

And returns this result: "https://contoso.com"

utcNow

Return the current timestamp.

utcNow('<format>')

Optionally, you can specify a different format with the <format> parameter.

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<format>	No	String	Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.

Return value	Type	Description
<current-timestamp>	String	The current date and time

Example 1

Suppose today is April 15, 2018 at 1:00:00 PM. This example gets the current timestamp:

utcNow()

And returns this result: "2018-04-15T13:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

Suppose today is April 15, 2018 at 1:00:00 PM. This example gets the current timestamp using the optional "D" format:

utcNow('D')

And returns this result: "Sunday, April 15, 2018"

xml

Return the XML version for a string that contains a JSON object.

xml('<value>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<value>	Yes	String	The string with the JSON object to convert The JSON object must have only one root property, which can't be an array. Use the backslash character (\) as an escape character for the double quotation mark (").

Return value	Type	Description
<xml-version>	Object	The encoded XML for the specified string or JSON object

Example 1

This example creates the XML version for this string, which contains a JSON object:

xml(json('{ \"name\": \"Sophia Owen\" }'))

And returns this result XML:

<name>Sophia Owen</name>

Example 2

Suppose you have this JSON object:

{
  "person": {
    "name": "Sophia Owen",
    "city": "Seattle"
  }
}

This example creates XML for a string that contains this JSON object:

xml(json('{\"person\": {\"name\": \"Sophia Owen\", \"city\": \"Seattle\"}}'))

And returns this result XML:

<person>
  <name>Sophia Owen</name>
  <city>Seattle</city>
<person>

xpath

Check XML for nodes or values that match an XPath (XML Path Language) expression, and return the matching nodes or values. An XPath expression, or just "XPath", helps you navigate an XML document structure so that you can select nodes or compute values in the XML content.

xpath('<xml>', '<xpath>')

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
<xml>	Yes	Any	The XML string to search for nodes or values that match an XPath expression value
<xpath>	Yes	Any	The XPath expression used to find matching XML nodes or values

Return value	Type	Description
<xml-node>	XML	An XML node when only a single node matches the specified XPath expression
<value>	Any	The value from an XML node when only a single value matches the specified XPath expression
[<xml-node1>, <xml-node2>, ...] -or- [<value1>, <value2>, ...]	Array	An array with XML nodes or values that match the specified XPath expression

Example 1

Following on Example 1, this example finds nodes that match the <count></count> node and adds those node values with the sum() function:

xpath(xml(parameters('items')), 'sum(/produce/item/count)')

And returns this result: 30

Example 2

For this example, both expressions find nodes that match the <location></location> node, in the specified arguments, which include XML with a namespace. The expressions use the backslash character (\) as an escape character for the double quotation mark (").

Expression 1

xpath(xml(body('Http')), '/*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"]')
Expression 2

xpath(xml(body('Http')), '/*[local-name()=\"file\" and namespace-uri()=\"http://contoso.com\"]/*[local-name()=\"location\"]')

Here are the arguments:

This XML, which includes the XML document namespace, xmlns="http://contoso.com":

<?xml version="1.0"?> <file xmlns="http://contoso.com"> <location>Paris</location> </file>

Either XPath expression here:
- /*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"]
- /*[local-name()=\"file\" and namespace-uri()=\"http://contoso.com\"]/*[local-name()=\"location\"]

Here is the result node that matches the <location></location> node:

<location xmlns="https://contoso.com">Paris</location>

Example 3

Following on Example 3, this example finds the value in the <location></location> node:

xpath(xml(body('Http')), 'string(/*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"])')

And returns this result: "Paris"

Note

One can add comments to data flow expressions, but not in pipeline expressions.

For a list of system variables you can use in expressions, see System variables.

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