serialize operator

Learn how to use the serialize operator to mark the input row set as serialized and ready for window functions.

Marks that the order of the input row set is safe to use for window functions.

The operator has a declarative meaning. It marks the input row set as serialized (ordered), so that window functions can be applied to it.

Syntax

serialize [Name1 = Expr1 [, Name2 = Expr2]…]

Parameters

NameTypeRequiredDescription
NamestringThe name of the column to add or update. If omitted, the output column name is automatically generated.
Exprstring✔️The calculation to perform over the input.

Examples

The example in this section shows how to use the syntax to help you get started.

Serialize subset of rows by condition

This query retrieves all log entries from the TraceLogs table that have a specific ClientRequestId and preserves the order of these entries during processing.

TraceLogs
| where ClientRequestId == "5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0e"
| serialize

Output

This table only shows the top 5 query results.

TimestampNodeComponentClientRequestIdMessage
2014-03-08T12:24:55.5464757ZEngine000000000757INGESTOR_GATEWAY5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0e$$IngestionCommand table=fogEvents format=json
2014-03-08T12:24:56.0929514ZEngine000000000757DOWNLOADER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eDownloading file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_0.json.gz""
2014-03-08T12:25:40.3574831ZEngine000000000341INGESTOR_EXECUTER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eIngestionCompletionEvent: finished ingestion file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_0.json.gz""
2014-03-08T12:25:40.9039588ZEngine000000000341DOWNLOADER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eDownloading file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_1.json.gz""
2014-03-08T12:26:25.1684905ZEngine000000000057INGESTOR_EXECUTER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eIngestionCompletionEvent: finished ingestion file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_1.json.gz""
……………

Add row number to the serialized table

To add a row number to the serialized table, use the row_number() function.

TraceLogs
| where ClientRequestId == "5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0e"
| serialize rn = row_number()

Output

This table only shows the top 5 query results.

TimestamprnNodeComponentClientRequestIdMessage
2014-03-08T13:00:01.6638235Z1Engine000000000899INGESTOR_EXECUTER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eIngestionCompletionEvent: finished ingestion file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_46.json.gz""
2014-03-08T13:00:02.2102992Z2Engine000000000899DOWNLOADER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eDownloading file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_47.json.gz""
2014-03-08T13:00:46.4748309Z3Engine000000000584INGESTOR_EXECUTER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eIngestionCompletionEvent: finished ingestion file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_47.json.gz""
2014-03-08T13:00:47.0213066Z4Engine000000000584DOWNLOADER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eDownloading file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_48.json.gz""
2014-03-08T13:01:31.2858383Z5Engine000000000380INGESTOR_EXECUTER5a848f70-9996-eb17-15ed-21b8eb94bf0eIngestionCompletionEvent: finished ingestion file path: ““https://benchmarklogs3.blob.core.windows.net/benchmark/2014/IMAGINEFIRST0_1399_48.json.gz""
……………

Serialization behavior of operators

The output row set of the following operators is marked as serialized.

The output row set of the following operators is marked as nonserialized.

All other operators preserve the serialization property. If the input row set is serialized, then the output row set is also serialized.