Grouping Field Aliases

By default, aggregate query group results use the fully-qualified path name of each grouping field. You can shorten the output result by using an alias for each grouping field. The alias name is used instead of the fully-qualified name. For example:

GET /Email/Message/_aggregate?m=COUNT(*)&f=TOP(3,Sender.Person.Name)&range=0

This query produces a result such as the following:

<results>

<aggregate metric="COUNT(*)" group="TOP(3,Sender.Person.Name)"/>

<totalobjects>6030</totalobjects>

<summary>6030</summary>

<totalgroups>186</totalgroups>

<groups>

<group>

<metric>5256</metric>

<field name="Sender.Person.Name">(null)</field>

</group>

<group>

<metric>82</metric>

<field name="Sender.Person.Name">Quest Support</field>

</group>

<group>

<metric>80</metric>

<field name="Sender.Person.Name">spb_setupbuilder</field>

</group>

</groups>

</results>

The fully-qualified field name Sender.Person.Name is used for the field parameter in each group element. An alias can be substituted for a grouping field by appending AS name or .AS(name) to the grouping field. The two syntaxes are equivalent. The AS function’s parameter can be an unquoted term or a quoted string. Example:

GET /Email/Message/_aggregate?m=COUNT(*)&f=TOP(3,Sender.Person.Name) AS Name&range=0

GET /Email/Message/_aggregate?m=COUNT(*)&f=TOP(3,Sender.Person.Name).AS(Name)&range=0

With either form, the alias Name is used in the output as shown below:

<results>

<aggregate metric="COUNT(*)" group="TOP(3,Sender.Person.Name)"/>

<totalobjects>6030</totalobjects>

<summary>6030</summary>

<totalgroups>186</totalgroups>

<groups>

<group>

<metric>5256</metric>

<field name="Name">(null)</field>

</group>

<group>

<metric>82</metric>

<field name="Name">Quest Support</field>

</group>

<group>

<metric>80</metric>

<field name="Name">spb_setupbuilder</field>

</group>

</groups>

</results>

When many groups are returned and/or the grouping field name is long, the alias name can significantly shorten the output results. An alias name can also improve the identity of the groups.