pow ↗

Use the pow() function to calculate the value of a number raised to the power of another number.

Syntax

pow (<base>, <exponent>)

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
base	integer, float, string	Yes	The base number to be raised.
exponent	integer, float, string	Yes	The exponent to which the base is raised.

Returns

The pow() function returns the numerical result of the base raised to the power of the exponent.

Usage notes

• The function accepts numeric literals (for example, 2, 1.5), floating-point numbers, and integers as input.
• Input values can also be provided as strings representing numbers (for example, extracted from a data field), which the function will convert for calculation.
• The function supports negative numbers for both the base and the exponent.

Examples

Example 1: Literal base and literal integer exponent (calculating 1 MB and 1 GB)

Goal: Calculate common byte sizes (Megabytes and Gigabytes) using integer literals, where 1MB is 2^20 bytes and 1GB is 2^30 bytes.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| alter mega_bytes = pow(2, 20)
| alter giga_bytes = pow(2, 30)
| fields event_id, mega_bytes, giga_bytes
| limit 3

Explanation: This query creates two new fields, mega_bytes and giga_bytes, by raising the literal 2 to the powers of 20 and 30 respectively. The result, 1048576 for 1MB and 1073741824 for 1GB, is a constant numerical value for each record.

Output:

EVENT_ID	MEGA_BYTES	GIGA_BYTES
101	1048576	1073741824
102	1048576	1073741824
103	1048576	1073741824

Example 2: Field base and literal integer exponent

Goal: Use a floating-point field as the base for a power calculation to square the value.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| alter duration_squared = pow(duration_seconds, 2)
| fields event_id, duration_seconds, duration_squared
| limit 3

Explanation: The duration_seconds field (for example, 1.5, 0.8, 10.2) is raised to the power of 2 (squared). For instance, 1.5 becomes 2.25, and 0.8 becomes 0.64, demonstrating the function's precision with floating-point numbers.

Output:

EVENT_ID	DURATION_SECONDS	DURATION_SQUARED
101	1.5	2.25
102	0.8	0.64
103	10.2	104.04

Example 3: Field base from array and literal integer exponent

Goal: Use an element extracted from an array field as the base for a power calculation.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| alter first_numeric_code = arrayindex(numeric_codes, 0)
| alter code_cubed = pow(first_numeric_code, 3)
| fields event_id, numeric_codes, first_numeric_code, code_cubed
| limit 3

Explanation: This query extracts the first element (index 0) from the numeric_codes array for each record. The query then raises this extracted integer to the power of 3 (cubed), storing the result in code_cubed.

Output:

EVENT_ID	NUMERIC_CODES	FIRST_NUMERIC_CODE	CODE_CUBED
101	[13, -47, 29, 82, -15]	13	2197
102	[-21, 56, 13, -88, 42]	-21	-9261
103	[90, -33, 7, 51, -62, 18]	90	729000

Example 4: Literal base and negative integer exponent from array

Goal: Raise a literal base to the power of a negative exponent extracted from an array field.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| alter second_numeric_code = arrayindex(numeric_codes, 1)
| alter base_powered_by_code = pow(10, second_numeric_code)
| fields event_id, numeric_codes, second_numeric_code, base_powered_by_code
| limit 3

Explanation: For event_id 101, second_numeric_code is -47. The calculation becomes 10^-47, resulting in a very small floating-point number (scientific notation 1e-47). This illustrates how pow() correctly handles negative exponents, producing decimal results.

Output:

EVENT_ID	NUMERIC_CODES	SECOND_NUMERIC_CODE	BASE_POWERED_BY_CODE
101	[13, -47, 29, 82, -15]	-47	1e-47
102	[-21, 56, 13, -88, 42]	56	1e+56
103	[90, -33, 7, 51, -62, 18]	-33	1e-33

Example 5: Negative base and literal integer exponent

Goal: Calculate the power of a negative base number.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| alter pow_negative_base = pow(-5, 3)
| fields event_id, pow_negative_base
| limit 3

Explanation: This calculates -5 multiplied by itself three times (-5 -5 -5), resulting in -125. The result is consistently -125 across records as the inputs are literals.

Output:

EVENT_ID	POW_NEGATIVE_BASE
101	-125
102	-125
103	-125

Example 6: Field base and zero exponent

Goal: Demonstrate the mathematical rule that any non-zero number raised to the power of zero equals one.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| alter zero_exponent_result = pow(event_id, 0)
| fields event_id, zero_exponent_result
| limit 3

Explanation: Regardless of the event_id value (as long as it's non-zero), pow(<number>, 0) will always return 1, following standard mathematical rules.

Output:

EVENT_ID	ZERO_EXPONENT_RESULT
101	1
102	1
103	1

Example 7: Extracting from JSON and applying pow

Goal: Extract a numeric value from JSON data and use it as the base for a power calculation.

XQL code:

config timeframe = 1d
| dataset = sample_xql_raw
| filter simple_json_data != null
| alter json_code_string = simple_json_data -> code
| alter json_numeric_value = to_number(json_code_string)
| alter code_to_power_of_two = pow(json_numeric_value, 2)
| fields event_id, simple_json_data, json_numeric_value, code_to_power_of_two
| limit 3

Explanation: This query first extracts the code value (for example, "200") from the simple_json_data field as a string. The query then converts this string to a number using to_number() and applies pow() with a literal exponent, storing the result in code_to_power_of_two.

Output:

EVENT_ID	SIMPLE_JSON_DATA	JSON_NUMERIC_VALUE	CODE_TO_POWER_OF_TWO
101	{"status": "ok", "code": 200}	200	40000

Related articles

• Stages: alter, config, fields, limit, filter
• Functions: arrayindex, to_number