+1 to that. Here here! :)
On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 2:21 PM, Nick Allen <n...@nickallen.org> wrote:
> Yes, agreed. However we specify the schedule, it would be decoupled from
> the Profiler client functions.
>
> timestamps := CRON("* * * ? * foo bar")
> profiles := PROFILE_GET("profile1", "entity1", timestamps)
>
>
> Or
>
> timestamps := STELLAR_DSL("on every other Tuesday")
> profiles := PROFILE_GET("profile1", "entity1", timestamps)
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 2:01 PM, Casey Stella <ceste...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > One more point, one of the reasons for decoupling the PROFILE_GET from
> > PROFILE_LOOKUP means that we could ahve alternative implementations of
> > PROFILE_LOOKUP. We could have a PROFILE_LOOKUP_CRON as well.
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 1:43 PM, Casey Stella <ceste...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > > Regarding the "?" syntax:
> > > Wouldn't that be forking cron syntax so now we have a metron cron? If
> > > we're constructing our own syntax, then why not do it so that it reads
> > like
> > > natural language?
> > >
> > > Regarding the holiday problem:
> > > Agreed, it's a smaller problem than constructing a DSL, but that's not
> > > really the point, I think. The concern is that it would be unable to be
> > > expressed using cron syntax in a natural way without modifying cron
> > syntax,
> > > which would be constructing a new DSL. If quartz has a clever way of
> > doing
> > > that, then I'd like to see it. From a quick search, I haven't seen a
> > > scheduling example with a compact syntax that shows skipping holidays
> > with
> > > cron syntax.
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 1:29 PM, Nick Allen <n...@nickallen.org>
> wrote:
> > >
> > >> >
> > >> > - Cron syntax allows you to construct only absolute lookbacks
> (i.e.
> > >> > "every tuesday at 3PM" not "every tuesday at the current hour")
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> I think Cron would work for this. I am no expert on cron expressions,
> > but
> > >> I think the following examples would work.
> > >>
> > >> - If you want "every Tuesday at 3 PM"
> > >> - 0 0 15 ? * TUE *
> > >> - If you want "every Tuesday at current hour" then use something
> like
> > >> the "?" placeholder maybe.
> > >> - 0 0 ? ? * TUE *
> > >>
> > >> - Cron syntax allows you to specify a point in time, not a duration.
> We
> > >> > could, of course, specify a duration as another argument
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Yes, a separate argument would be necessary. We would have to allow
> the
> > >> user to specify either a "start from date/time" or the "number of
> > >> intervals
> > >> to look back".
> > >>
> > >> Cron syntax does not allow you to skip things like holidays, etc.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> I agree, out-of-the-box Cron does not solve holiday calendars. But
> this
> > >> would be a smaller problem to solve then creating our own DSL.
> > >>
> > >> There is a tradition of creating shortcuts that look something like
> > @Daily
> > >> or @Weekdays or @Tuesdays that we could also use to make things easier
> > for
> > >> users.
> > >>
> > >> I have used Quartz with cron expressions in the past and there was
> some
> > >> way
> > >> to handle holidays with that. I think you could create a custom
> > calendar
> > >> for the holidays and call it something; aka @USHolidays. And then you
> > >> would say "every Tuesday" except @USHolidays or something like that.
> > I'd
> > >> have to look into this some more.
> > >>
> > >> And there are also nice online Cron expression "translators" that we
> > could
> > >> mimic in a Metron user interface. For example, https://crontab.guru.
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 12:00 PM, Casey Stella <ceste...@gmail.com>
> > >> wrote:
> > >>
> > >> > I actually did consider cron initially but dismissed it for the
> > >> following
> > >> > reasons:
> > >> >
> > >> > - Cron syntax allows you to construct only absolute lookbacks
> (i.e.
> > >> > "every tuesday at 3PM" not "every tuesday at the current hour")
> > >> > - Cron syntax allows you to specify a point in time, not a
> > >> duration. We
> > >> > could, of course, specify a duration as another argument
> > >> > - Cron syntax does not allow you to skip things like holidays,
> etc.
> > >> >
> > >> > You could use Cron syntax as part of a broader API to specify the
> days
> > >> to
> > >> > look back and have other arguments handle the aspects that cron
> > doesn't
> > >> > support out of the box. I share your concern at making another DSL,
> > but
> > >> > cron seemed to not be a complete solution and it's syntax, despite
> > being
> > >> > well known by admins, may not be well known to analysts. Also, and
> > >> this is
> > >> > just a personal bias, I find it inscrutable without a fair amount of
> > >> > wikipedia and man page reading.
> > >> >
> > >> > On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 11:47 AM, Nick Allen <n...@nickallen.org>
> > >> wrote:
> > >> >
> > >> > > I do prefer the flexibility of the DSL, but would prefer not to
> > create
> > >> > yet
> > >> > > another DSL for our users to learn. Couldn't we somehow use cron
> > >> > > expressions for this functionality?
> > >> > >
> > >> > > On Mon, Jan 23, 2017 at 3:01 PM, Casey Stella <ceste...@gmail.com
> >
> > >> > wrote:
> > >> > >
> > >> > > > Hi All,
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > I'm planning to expand the capabilities of PROFILE_GET and
> wanted
> > to
> > >> > pass
> > >> > > > an idea past the community.
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *Current State*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Currently, the functionality of PROFILE_GET is fairly
> > >> straightforward:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - profile - The name of the profile.
> > >> > > > - entity - The name of the entity.
> > >> > > > - durationAgo - How long ago should values be retrieved from?
> > >> > > > - units - The units of 'durationAgo'.
> > >> > > > - groups_list - Optional, must correspond to the 'groupBy'
> list
> > >> used
> > >> > > in
> > >> > > > profile creation - List (in square brackets) of groupBy
> values
> > >> used
> > >> > to
> > >> > > > filter the profile. Default is the empty list, meaning
> groupBy
> > >> was
> > >> > not
> > >> > > > used
> > >> > > > when creating the profile.
> > >> > > > - config_overrides - Optional - Map (in curly braces) of
> > >> name:value
> > >> > > > pairs, each overriding the global config parameter of the
> same
> > >> name.
> > >> > > > Default is the empty Map, meaning no overrides.
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > This has the advantage of providing a relatively simple
> mechanism
> > to
> > >> > > > support the dominant use-case, gathering the profiles for a
> > trailing
> > >> > > > window. The issues, however, are a couple:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - We may need more complex semantics for specifying the
> window
> > >> > > > (motivated below)
> > >> > > > - As such, this couples the gathering of the profiles with
> the
> > >> > > > specification of the window.
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > I propose to decouple these two concepts. I propose that we
> > extract
> > >> the
> > >> > > > notion of the lookback into a separate, more featureful function
> > >> called
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK() which could be composed with an adjusted
> > >> > PROFILE_GET,
> > >> > > > whose arguments look like:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - profile - The name of the profile.
> > >> > > > - entity - The name of the entity.
> > >> > > > - timestamps - The list of timestamps to retrieve
> > >> > > > - groups_list - Optional, must correspond to the 'groupBy'
> list
> > >> used
> > >> > > in
> > >> > > > profile creation - List (in square brackets) of groupBy
> values
> > >> used
> > >> > to
> > >> > > > filter the profile. Default is the empty list, meaning
> groupBy
> > >> was
> > >> > not
> > >> > > > used
> > >> > > > when creating the profile.
> > >> > > > - config_overrides - Optional - Map (in curly braces) of
> > >> name:value
> > >> > > > pairs, each overriding the global config parameter of the
> same
> > >> name.
> > >> > > > Default is the empty Map, meaning no overrides.
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > So, PROFILE_GET would have the output of PROFILE_LOOKBACK passed
> > to
> > >> it
> > >> > as
> > >> > > > its 3rd argument (e.g. PROFILE_GET( 'my_profile', 'my_entity',
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK(...)) ).
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *Motivation for Change*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > The justification for this is that sometimes you want to compare
> > >> time
> > >> > > bins
> > >> > > > for a long duration back, but you don't want to skew the data by
> > >> > > including
> > >> > > > periods that aren't distributionally similar (due to seasonal
> > data,
> > >> for
> > >> > > > instance). You might want to compare a value to statistically
> > >> baseline
> > >> > > of
> > >> > > > the median of the values for the same time window on the same
> day
> > >> for
> > >> > the
> > >> > > > last month (e.g. every tuesday at this time).
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Also, we might want a trailing window that does not start at the
> > >> > current
> > >> > > > time (in wall-clock), but rather starts an hour back or from the
> > >> time
> > >> > > that
> > >> > > > the data was originally ingested.
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *PROFILE_LOOKBACK*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > I propose that we support the following features:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - A starting point that is not current time
> > >> > > > - Sparse bins (i.e. the last hour for every tuesday for the
> > last
> > >> > > month)
> > >> > > > - The ability to skip events (e.g. weekends, holidays)
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > This would result in a new function with the following
> arguments:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > from - The lookback starting point (default to now)
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > fromUnits - The units for the lookback starting point
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > to - The ending point for the lookback window (default to
> from
> > +
> > >> > > > binSize)
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > toUnits - The units for the lookback ending point
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > including - A list of conditions which we would skip.
> > >> > > > - weekend
> > >> > > > - holiday
> > >> > > > - sunday through saturday
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > excluding - A list of conditions which we would skip.
> > >> > > > - weekend
> > >> > > > - holiday
> > >> > > > - sunday through saturday
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > binSize - The size of the lookback bin
> > >> > > > -
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > binUnits - The units of the lookback bin
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Given the number of arguments and their complexity and the fact
> > that
> > >> > > many,
> > >> > > > many are optional, I propose that either
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - PROFILE_LOOKBACK take a Map so that we can get essentially
> > >> named
> > >> > > > params in stellar.
> > >> > > > - PROFILE_LOOKBACK accept a string backed by a DSL to express
> > >> these
> > >> > > > criteria
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Ok, so that's a lot to take in. How about we look at some
> > >> motivating
> > >> > > > use-cases.
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *Base Case: A lookback of 1 hour ago*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > As a map, this would look like:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK( { 'binSize' : 1, 'binUnits' : 'HOURS' } )
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > As a DSL this would look like:
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK( '1 hour bins from now')
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *The same time window every tuesday for the last month starting
> > one
> > >> > hour
> > >> > > > ago*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Just to make this as clear as possible, if this is run at 3PM on
> > >> Monday
> > >> > > > January 23rd, 2017, it would include the following bins:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - January 17th, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > > - January 10th, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > > - January 3rd, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > > - December 27th, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > As a map, this would look like:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK( { 'from' : 1, 'fromUnits' : 'HOURS', 'to' : 1,
> > >> > > 'toUnits'
> > >> > > > : 'MONTH', 'including' : [ 'tuesday' ], 'binSize' : 1,
> 'binUnits'
> > :
> > >> > > 'HOURS'
> > >> > > > } )
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > As a DSL this would look like:
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK( '1 hour bins from 1 hour to 1 month including
> > >> > > tuesdays')
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *The same time window every sunday for the last month starting
> one
> > >> hour
> > >> > > ago
> > >> > > > skipping holidays*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Just to make this as clear as possible, if this is run at 3PM on
> > >> Monday
> > >> > > > January 22rd, 2017, it would include the following bins:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - January 16th, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > > - January 9th, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > > - January 2rd, 2PM - 3PM
> > >> > > > - NOT December 25th
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > As a map, this would look like:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK( { 'from' : 1, 'fromUnits' : 'HOURS', 'to' : 1,
> > >> > > 'toUnits'
> > >> > > > : 'MONTH', 'including' : [ 'tuesday'], 'excluding' : [
> 'holidays'
> > ],
> > >> > > > 'binSize' : 1, 'binUnits' : 'HOURS' } )
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > As a DSL this would look like:
> > >> > > > PROFILE_LOOKBACK( '1 hour bins from 1 hour to 1 month including
> > >> > tuesdays
> > >> > > > excluding holidays')
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > *DSL vs API*
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > So, here's my personal rundown of the two approaches:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > DSL:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - PRO
> > >> > > > - Clear. As you can see, it reads like a sentence
> > >> > > > - Concise
> > >> > > > - CON:
> > >> > > > - More complex to implement
> > >> > > > - Another DSL to learn
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > API:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - PRO
> > >> > > > - Simpler to implement (though marginally so, IMO)
> > >> > > > - CON
> > >> > > > - A bit more complex to understand (also, IMO)
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > I'd like to solicit feedback from the community at this point:
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > - What do you think of this change?
> > >> > > > - Would you prefer the DSL, API or other approach?
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Thanks,
> > >> > > >
> > >> > > > Casey
> > >> > > >
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> > >
> > >> > > --
> > >> > > Nick Allen <n...@nickallen.org>
> > >> > >
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> Nick Allen <n...@nickallen.org>
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Nick Allen <n...@nickallen.org>
>
