Repeat

Mutate

Synopsis

Repeats the string in a field a given number of times, optionally joining the copies with a delimiter.

Schema

- repeat:
    field: <ident>
    count: <numeric>
    delimiter: <string>
    description: <text>
    if: <script>
    ignore_failure: <boolean>
    ignore_missing: <boolean>
    on_failure: <processor[]>
    on_success: <processor[]>
    tag: <string>
    target_field: <ident>

Configuration

The following fields are used to define the processor:

Field	Required	Default	Description
field	Y	-	Field containing the string to repeat
count	Y	-	Number of copies. Must be between 0 and 1024; 0 is accepted and yields an empty string
delimiter	N	-	String inserted between copies. Empty by default, so the copies are concatenated
description	N	-	Explanatory note
if	N	-	Condition to run
ignore_failure	N	false	See Handling Failures
ignore_missing	N	false	If true, quietly exit if field doesn't exist
on_failure	N	-	See Handling Failures
on_success	N	-	See Handling Success
tag	N	-	Identifier
disabled	N	false	When true, the processor is skipped and the event continues to the next one. Lets you take a processor out of the path without removing its configuration
target_field	N	field	Field to store the result. Defaults to field, replacing the original

Details

The delimiter goes between copies, not after each one, so n copies carry n - 1 delimiters and the result never ends with a trailing separator.

Two counts are worth knowing:

• count: 0 produces an empty string rather than leaving the field alone. It is a valid setting, not a no-op.
• A negative count is an error, as is anything above 1024. The cap is a guard against a configuration that would otherwise build an arbitrarily large string in memory.

The field must hold a string. An array, a number or an object is an error.

Examples

Simple Repetition

Repeating a string with no delimiter...	{ "separator": "-" } - repeat: field: separator count: 20 target_field: rule
concatenates the copies:	{ "separator": "-", "rule": "--------------------" }

With a Delimiter

A delimiter is placed between copies, never after the last...	{ "placeholder": "?" } - repeat: field: placeholder count: 3 delimiter: ", " target_field: bind_list
giving two delimiters for three copies:	{ "placeholder": "?", "bind_list": "?, ?, ?" }

Zero Copies

A count of zero is legitimate and produces an empty string...	{ "padding": "*", "width": 0 } - repeat: field: padding count: 0 target_field: pad
rather than leaving the target unset:	{ "padding": "*", "width": 0, "pad": "" }