SPLK-1002 Advanced Searching and Statistics Practice Question
Which TWO of the following commands can be used to find the most frequent value of a field within each group?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse `list()` or `values()` with `mode()`, or incorrectly think `streamstats` can replace `stats` for grouped final aggregation, when `streamstats` is designed for cumulative calculations across events, not per-group final results.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
stats mode(field) by group
`stats mode(field) by group` directly computes the most frequent value (mode) of the specified field for each group defined by the `by` clause. The `mode()` function is specifically designed to return the value that appears most often, making it the simplest and most accurate command for this task.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
stats mode(field) by group
Why this is correct
stats mode returns the mode for each group.
- ✗
stats list(field) by group | eval top = mvindex('list', 0)
Why it's wrong here
list returns values in order of appearance, not necessarily by frequency.
- ✗
streamstats mode(field) by group
Why it's wrong here
streamstats does not support the mode function.
- ✗
stats values(field) by group
Why it's wrong here
values returns all distinct values, not the most frequent.
- ✓
eventstats mode(field) by group
Why this is correct
eventstats mode computes the most frequent value per group and adds it as a field.
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