Q Language Manual

1. Field References

• Field names are case-sensitive.
• Nested fields use . (dot) notation.

Examples:

network.is_connected
tracking.closest_gateway.rssi
tracking.location_estimate.site

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2. Comparison Operators

Fields may be compared using the following operators:

Example:

tracking.closest_gateway.rssi >= -45

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3. Boolean Evaluation

There are no true or false literals.

To evaluate a field's truthiness:

network.is_connected

To negate:

not network.is_connected

not evaluates to false or null.

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4. Logical Operators

Logical operators are case-insensitive:

• AND
• OR

Precedence

AND has higher precedence than OR.

foo AND bar OR quux AND ruu

Is equivalent to:

(foo AND bar) OR (quux AND ruu)

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5. Grouping

Parentheses may be used to control grouping:

(tracking.closest_gateway.rssi >= -45 AND network.is_connected)
OR tracking.location_estimate.site = "HQ"

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6. Literals

6.1 Numbers

• Integers are written normally:

42

• Floats must contain a decimal point:

3.14

If a field is a float, the literal must include . to be treated as a float.

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6.2 Strings

Strings are wrapped in double quotes:

tracking.location_estimate.site = "Warehouse A"

Quotes may be escaped:

"Device \"Alpha\""

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6.3 Dates (UTC)

Date literals are written without quotes:

2025-05-01T00:00:00Z

• Always interpreted as UTC.
• Must use ISO-8601 format.

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6.4 Durations

Durations are written without quotes:

5h
1h6m
10s

You may combine duration units:

• h = hours
• m = minutes
• s = seconds

Timestamp Arithmetic

• timestamp + duration → timestamp
• timestamp - duration → timestamp
• timestamp - timestamp → duration
• timestamp + timestamp → invalid

Example:

update_time - @update_time > 300

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7. Algebraic & Comparative Order of Operations

Arithmetic and comparison follow SQL-like precedence.

a = b + c

Is equivalent to:

a = (b + c)

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8. The NOW Keyword

NOW (case-insensitive) represents the current timestamp.

Example:

update_time < NOW - 5m

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9. Summary of Precedence

From highest to lowest:

1. Parentheses (...)
2. Arithmetic operations
3. Comparison operators (=, >, <, etc.)
4. AND
5. OR