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row_window_session()

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Calculates session start values of a column in a serialized row set.

Syntax

row_window_session ( Expr , MaxDistanceFromFirst , MaxDistanceBetweenNeighbors [, Restart] )

  • Expr is an expression whose values are grouped together in sessions. Null values produce null values, and the next value starts a new session. Expr must be a scalar expression of type datetime.

  • MaxDistanceFromFirst establishes one criterion for starting a new session: The maximum distance between the current value of Expr and the value of Expr at the beginning of the session. It's a scalar constant of type timespan.

  • MaxDistanceBetweenNeighbors establishes a second criterion for starting a new session: The maximum distance from one value of Expr to the next. It's a scalar constant of type timespan.

  • Restart is an optional scalar expression of type boolean. If specified, every value that evaluates to true will immediately restart the session.

Learn more about syntax conventions.

Returns

The function returns the values at the beginning of each session.

The function has the following conceptual calculation model:

  1. Goes over the input sequence of Expr values in order.

  2. For every value, determines if it establishes a new session.

  3. If it establishes a new session, it emits the value of Expr. Otherwise, emits the previous value of Expr.

Note

The condition that determines if the value represents a new session is a logical OR one of the following conditions:

  • If there was no previous session value, or the previous session value was null.
  • If the value of Expr equals or exceeds the previous session value plus MaxDistanceFromFirst.
  • If the value of Expr equals or exceeds the previous value of Expr plus MaxDistanceBetweenNeighbors.
  • If Restart condition is specified and evaluates to true.

Examples

The following example shows how to calculate the session start values for a table with two columns: an ID column that identifies a sequence, and a Timestamp column that gives the time at which each record occurred. In this example, a session can't exceed 1 hour, and it continues as long as records are less than 5 minutes apart.

datatable (ID:string, Timestamp:datetime) [
    // ...
]
| sort by ID asc, Timestamp asc
| extend SessionStarted = row_window_session(Timestamp, 1h, 5m, ID != prev(ID))

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