What is Kusto Query Language?

Kusto Query Language is also known as KQL. KQL is a powerful query language model for analyzing large volumes of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.

KQL is a read-only request that takes a tabular input and produces a tabular output. It is a declarative language, which means that you specify what you want to do, not how to do it. This makes KQL easy to read and understand, even for non-technical users.

Key features of Kusto Query Language

KQL has a wide range of features, including:

  • The ability to filter, sort, and aggregate data
  • The ability to join tables
  • The ability to use functions to perform calculations
  • The ability to create calculated columns
  • The ability to export results to a variety of formats

Who developed Kusto Query Language?

Kusto Query Language (KQL) was developed by a team of engineers at Microsoft. The development began in 2014 as a grassroots incubation project in the Israeli R&D center of Microsoft, with the internal code name 'Kusto' (named after Jacques Cousteau, as a reference to "exploring the ocean of data").

Is KQL an Open-Source language?

Yes, KQL is an open-source language, and the source code is available on GitHub. The language is constantly being updated and improved, and there is a large and active community of KQL users and developers. You can access the source details from here - KQL Open Source GitHub.

What is KQL in Azure?

In Azure, KQL is a standard language to query big data sets in microsoft azure cloud computing. KQL is used to query data stored in variety of sources, including Azure Monitor Log Analytics, Azure Sentinel, and other Azure native services.

With KQL queries we can create dashboards or workbooks with the help of data logs stored in log analytics workspace or in storage account containers or in other Azure native services.

Where is KQL used in Azure?

KQL is used in Azure Monitor, Azure Log Analytics, Azure Resource Graph, Application Insights, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Sentinel which uses Azure Log Analytics as Backend Service, Azure Security Centre and in Azure Workbooks to create dashboards.

Learn more about Kusto Query Language:

If you are interested in learning more about Kusto Query Language, there are a number of resources available online. Microsoft has a comprehensive documentation site that covers all aspects of the language.