Format Duration Into Human Readable String

Format a duration into a human readable string using the formatDuration() function

Query

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formatDuration(duration, precision=3)

Introduction

The formatDuration() function is used to format a duration into a human readable string. A duration string is a possibly signed sequence of decimal numbers, each with an optional fraction and an optional unit suffix.

In this example, the formatDuration() function is used to format the sequences of decimal numbers into a human readable string with limited precision. Note that the value of the field being formatted must always be an integer.

Step-by-Step

  1. Starting with the source repository events.

  2. flowchart LR; %%{init: {"flowchart": {"defaultRenderer": "elk"}} }%% repo{{Events}} 0>Augment Data] result{{Result Set}} repo --> 0 0 --> result style 0 fill:#ff0000,stroke-width:4px,stroke:#000;
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    formatDuration(duration, precision=3)

    Formats a duration into a string. The duration field contains the value in milliseconds.

    For example, an input event with the field duration with the value 23452553 with a default interpretation of the source value as milliseconds, results in the field duration having the value 6h30m52s553ms.

    The optional precision parameter specifies the number of time units to include. In this example, precision equals 3, which means, that it shows three units: hours, minutes, and seconds. If precision=2 is used, it may show 6h30m instead.

  3. Event Result set.

Summary and Results

The query is used to format the sequences of decimal numbers into a human readable string to improve readability of log entries with duration fields. The value of the field being formatted must always be an integer. If not an integer, you can use round() or format() to create an integer value.

It is also possible to use the formatDuration() function in combination with eval() to create a new formatted field: 

formatDuration(processingTime, precision=3)
|eval(formattedDuration = formatDuration(duration))