SPLK-1001 Inequality operator (!=) Practice Question
An analyst wants to find all events where the field 'status' is not 200. Which search is correct?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates may think that only one form (e.g., `status!=200` without spaces) is correct, but both `status != 200` with spaces and `NOT status=200` are also valid. The key is to recognize that multiple SPL syntaxes can achieve the same result.
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
✓
status != 200
All three options A, B, and C are valid searches to find events where the status field is not 200. In SPL, the `!=` operator can be written with or without spaces (options A and C), and the `NOT` keyword can be used to negate a condition (option B). Option D uses an invalid operator `-neq`, which is not recognized in Splunk SPL.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
status != 200
Why this is correct
In SPL, spaces around the `!=` operator are allowed; `status != 200` correctly filters events where status does not equal 200.
- ✓
NOT status=200
Why this is correct
The `NOT` keyword negates the condition `status=200`, so `NOT status=200` correctly returns events where status is not 200.
- ✓
status!=200
Why this is correct
The standard syntax `status!=200` without spaces is also correct and is the most concise way to express inequality.
- ✗
status -neq 200
Why it's wrong here
The operator `-neq` is not valid in SPL; searches using it will not produce the expected results.
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About these practice questions
This SPLK-1001 question is part of Courseiva's 502-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SPLK-1001 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Splunk certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SPLK-1001 exam.