Document Details
Control Flow Expression Language Functions
This page contains Windows bias
About This Page
This page is part of the Azure documentation. It contains code examples and configuration instructions for working with Azure services.
Bias Analysis
Detected Bias Types
windows_tools
windows_first
Summary
The documentation is largely platform-neutral in its examples and explanations, focusing on Azure Data Factory/Synapse expression syntax and JSON. However, there is a recurring Windows bias in the references to time zone names and formatting: the documentation repeatedly refers users to 'Microsoft Time Zone Values' and links to Windows-specific time zone documentation. The time zone names used in examples (e.g., 'Pacific Standard Time') are Windows-style, and there is no mention of IANA/Olson time zone identifiers, which are standard on Linux and other non-Windows systems. This may cause confusion or extra work for Linux users. There are no PowerShell or Windows command-line examples, but the time zone handling is Windows-centric.
Recommendations
- Document whether only Windows time zone names are supported, or if IANA/Olson time zone identifiers can be used. If so, provide Linux-friendly examples.
- If only Windows time zones are supported, explicitly state this limitation and provide guidance for Linux users on how to map IANA time zones to Windows time zones (e.g., via a mapping table or link to a converter).
- Where time zone names are referenced, mention both Windows and IANA/Olson equivalents, or provide a cross-reference.
- Review all links and references to ensure they are not exclusively Windows-focused when cross-platform alternatives exist.
- Consider adding a note or section clarifying time zone handling for users on Linux or macOS environments.
Create Pull Request
Scan History
| Date | Scan | Status | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-12 23:44 | #41 | cancelled |
Biased
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| 2025-07-12 00:58 | #8 | cancelled |
 Clean
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| 2025-07-10 05:06 | #7 | processing |
Clean
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Flagged Code Snippets
{
"type": "@{if(equals(1, 2), 'Blob', 'Table' )}",
"name": "@{toUpper('myData')}"
}
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description | | --------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- | | <*timestamp*> | Yes | String | The string that contains the timestamp | | <*interval*> | Yes | Integer | The number of specified time units to add | | <*timeUnit*> | Yes | String | The unit of time to use with *interval*: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year" | | <*format*> | No | String | Either a [single format specifier](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) or a [custom format pattern](/dotnet/standard/base-types/custom-date-and-time-format-strings). The default format for the timestamp is ["o"](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) and preserves time zone information. | ||||| | Return value | Type | Description | | ------------ | ---- | ----------- | | <*updated-timestamp*> | String | The timestamp plus the specified number of time units | |||| *Example 1* This example adds one day to the specified timestamp:
And returns this result: `"aGVsbG8="` <a name="base64ToBinary"></a> ### base64ToBinary Return the binary version for a base64-encoded string.
And returns this result: `"HelloWorld"` <a name="contains"></a> ###
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description | | --------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- | | <*timestamp*> | Yes | String | The string that contains the timestamp | | <*destinationTimeZone*> | Yes | String | The name for the target time zone. For time zone names, see [Microsoft Time Zone Values](/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/default-time-zones#time-zones), but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name. | | <*format*> | No | String | Either a [single format specifier](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) or a [custom format pattern](/dotnet/standard/base-types/custom-date-and-time-format-strings). The default format for the timestamp is ["o"](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) and preserves time zone information. | ||||| | Return value | Type | Description | | ------------ | ---- | ----------- | | <*converted-timestamp*> | String | The timestamp converted to the target time zone | |||| *Example 1* This example converts a timestamp to the specified time zone:
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description | | --------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- | | <*timestamp*> | Yes | String | The string that contains the timestamp | | <*sourceTimeZone*> | Yes | String | The name for the source time zone. For time zone names, see [Microsoft Time Zone Values](/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/default-time-zones#time-zones), but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name. | | <*destinationTimeZone*> | Yes | String | The name for the target time zone. For time zone names, see [Microsoft Time Zone Values](/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/default-time-zones#time-zones), but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name. | | <*format*> | No | String | Either a [single format specifier](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) or a [custom format pattern](/dotnet/standard/base-types/custom-date-and-time-format-strings). The default format for the timestamp is ["o"](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) and preserves time zone information. | ||||| | Return value | Type | Description | | ------------ | ---- | ----------- | | <*converted-timestamp*> | String | The timestamp converted to the target time zone | |||| *Example 1* This example converts the source time zone to the target time zone:
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description | | --------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- | | <*timestamp*> | Yes | String | The string that contains the timestamp | | <*sourceTimeZone*> | Yes | String | The name for the source time zone. For time zone names, see [Microsoft Time Zone Values](/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/default-time-zones#time-zones), but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name. | | <*format*> | No | String | Either a [single format specifier](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) or a [custom format pattern](/dotnet/standard/base-types/custom-date-and-time-format-strings). The default format for the timestamp is ["o"](/dotnet/standard/base-types/standard-date-and-time-format-strings) (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) and preserves time zone information. | ||||| | Return value | Type | Description | | ------------ | ---- | ----------- | | <*converted-timestamp*> | String | The timestamp converted to UTC | |||| *Example 1* This example converts a timestamp to UTC:
And returns this result: `15` <a name="dayOfWeek"></a> ###
Return a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded version for a string by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters. Consider using [uriComponent()](#uriComponent), rather than `encodeUriComponent()`. Although both functions work the same way, `uriComponent()` is preferred.
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
| --------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- |
| <*value*> | Yes | String | The string with the JSON object to convert <p>The JSON object must have only one root property, which can't be an array. <br>Use the backslash character (\\) as an escape character for the double quotation mark ("). |
|||||
| Return value | Type | Description |
| ------------ | ---- | ----------- |
| <*xml-version*> | Object | The encoded XML for the specified string or JSON object |
||||
*Example 1*
This example creates the XML version for this string,
which contains a JSON object:
`xml(json('{ \"name\": \"Sophia Owen\" }'))`
And returns this result XML:
| Parameter | Required | Type | Description |
| --------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- |
| <*xml*> | Yes | Any | The XML string to search for nodes or values that match an XPath expression value |
| <*xpath*> | Yes | Any | The XPath expression used to find matching XML nodes or values |
|||||
| Return value | Type | Description |
| ------------ | ---- | ----------- |
| <*xml-node*> | XML | An XML node when only a single node matches the specified XPath expression |
| <*value*> | Any | The value from an XML node when only a single value matches the specified XPath expression |
| [<*xml-node1*>, <*xml-node2*>, ...] </br>-or- </br>[<*value1*>, <*value2*>, ...] | Array | An array with XML nodes or values that match the specified XPath expression |
||||
*Example 1*
Following on Example 1, this example finds nodes that match the
`<count></count>` node and adds those node values with the `sum()` function:
`xpath(xml(parameters('items')), 'sum(/produce/item/count)')`
And returns this result: `30`
*Example 2*
For this example, both expressions find nodes that match the
`<location></location>` node, in the specified arguments,
which include XML with a namespace. The expressions use the backslash
character (\\) as an escape character for the double quotation mark (").
* *Expression 1*
`xpath(xml(body('Http')), '/*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"]')`
* *Expression 2*
`xpath(xml(body('Http')), '/*[local-name()=\"file\" and namespace-uri()=\"http://contoso.com\"]/*[local-name()=\"location\"]')`
Here are the arguments:
* This XML, which includes the XML document namespace, `xmlns="http://contoso.com"`: