The sum aggregation in APL is used to compute the total sum of a specific numeric field in a dataset. This aggregation is useful when you want to find the cumulative value for a certain metric, such as the total duration of requests, total sales revenue, or any other numeric field that can be summed. You can use the sum aggregation in a wide range of scenarios, such as analyzing log data, monitoring traces, or examining security logs. It is particularly helpful when you want to get a quick overview of your data in terms of totals or cumulative statistics.

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For users of other query languages

If you come from other query languages, this section explains how to adjust your existing queries to achieve the same results in APL.

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Usage

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Syntax

summarize [<new_column_name> =] sum(<numeric_field>)

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Parameters

  • <new_column_name>: (Optional) The name you want to assign to the resulting column that contains the sum.
  • <numeric_field>: The field in your dataset that contains the numeric values you want to sum.

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Returns

The sum aggregation returns a single row with the sum of the specified numeric field. If used with a by clause, it returns multiple rows with the sum per group.

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Use case examples

The sum aggregation can be used to calculate the total request duration in an HTTP log dataset.Query
['sample-http-logs']
| summarize total_duration = sum(req_duration_ms)
Run in PlaygroundOutput
total_duration
123456
This query calculates the total request duration across all HTTP requests in the dataset.
  • count: Counts the number of records in a dataset. Use count when you want to count the number of rows, not aggregate numeric values.
  • avg: Computes the average value of a numeric field. Use avg when you need to find the mean instead of the total sum.
  • min: Returns the minimum value of a numeric field. Use min when you’re interested in the lowest value.
  • max: Returns the maximum value of a numeric field. Use max when you’re interested in the highest value.
  • sumif: Sums a numeric field conditionally. Use sumif when you only want to sum values that meet a specific condition.