DocumentationExperience PlatformSegmentation Service Guide

Segment definitions endpoint

Last update: Tue Jan 02 2024 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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Adobe Experience Platform allows you to create segment definitions that define a group of specific attributes or behaviors from a group of profiles. A segment definition is an object that encapsulates a query written in Profile Query Language (PQL). Segment definitions are applied to profiles to create audiences. This object (segment definition) is also called a PQL predicate. PQL predicates define the rules for the segment definition based on conditions related to any record or time-series data you supply to Real-Time Customer Profile. See the PQL guide for more information on writing PQL queries.

This guide provides information to help you better understand segment definitions and includes sample API calls for performing basic actions using the API.

Getting started

The endpoints used in this guide are part of the Adobe Experience Platform Segmentation Service API. Before continuing, please review the getting started guide for important information that you need to know in order to successfully make calls to the API, including required headers and how to read example API calls.

Retrieve a list of segment definitions list

You can retrieve a list of all segment definitions for your organization by making a GET request to the /segment/definitions endpoint.

API format

The /segment/definitions endpoint supports several query parameters to help filter your results. While these parameters are optional, their use is strongly recommended to help reduce expensive overhead. Making a call to this endpoint with no parameters will retrieve all segment definitions available for your organization. Multiple parameters can be included, separated by ampersands (&).

GET /segment/definitions
GET /segment/definitions?{QUERY_PARAMETERS}

Query parameters

Parameter
Description
Example
start
Specifies the starting offset for the segment definitions returned.
start=4
limit
Specifies the number of segment definitions returned per page.
limit=20
page
Specifies which page the results of segment definitions will start from.
page=5
sort
Specifies which field to sort the results by. Is written in the following format: `[attributeName]:[desc
asc]`.
evaluationInfo.continuous.enabled
Specifies if the segment definition is streaming-enabled.
evaluationInfo.continuous.enabled=true

Request

The following request will retrieve the last two segment definitions posted within your organization.

curl -X GET https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/definitions?limit=2 \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 200 with a list of segment definitions for the specified organization as JSON.

{
    "segments": [
        {
            "id": "3da8bad9-29fb-40e0-b39e-f80322e964de",
            "schema": {
                "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
            },
            "ttlInDays": 30,
            "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
            "sandbox": {
                "sandboxId": "28e74200-e3de-11e9-8f5d-7f27416c5f0d",
                "sandboxName": "prod",
                "type": "production",
                "default": true
            },
            "name": "segment",
            "description": "",
            "expression": {
                "type": "PQL",
                "format": "pql/json",
                "value": "{PQL_EXPRESSION}"
            },
            "mergePolicyId": "b83185bb-0bc6-489c-9363-0075eb30b4c8",
            "evaluationInfo": {
                "batch": {
                    "enabled": true
                },
                "continuous": {
                    "enabled": false
                },
                "synchronous": {
                    "enabled": false
                }
            },
            "dataGovernancePolicy": {
                "excludeOptOut": true
            },
            "creationTime": 1573253640000,
            "baselineTime": 1574327114,
            "updateEpoch": 1575588309,
            "updateTime": 1575588309000
        },
        {
            "id": "ca763983-5572-4ea4-809c-b7dff7e0d79b",
            "schema": {
                "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
            },
            "ttlInDays": 30,
            "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
            "name": "test segment",
            "description": "",
            "expression": {
                "type": "PQL",
                "format": "pql/json",
                "value": "{PQL_EXPRESSION}"
            },
            "mergePolicyId": "b83185bb-0bc6-489c-9363-0075eb30b4c8",
            "evaluationInfo": {
                "batch": {
                    "enabled": true
                },
                "continuous": {
                    "enabled": false
                },
                "synchronous": {
                    "enabled": false
                }
            },
            "dataGovernancePolicy": {
                "excludeOptOut": true
            },
            "creationTime": 1561073779000,
            "baselineTime": 1574327114,
            "updateEpoch": 1574327114,
            "updateTime": 1574327114000
        }
    ],
    "page": {
        "totalCount": 2,
        "totalPages": 1,
        "sortField": "creationTime",
        "sort": "desc",
        "pageSize": 2,
        "limit": 100
    },
    "link": {}
}

Create a new segment definition create

You can create a new segment definition by making a POST request to the /segment/definitions endpoint.

IMPORTANT
Segment definitions created through the API cannot be edited using Segment Builder.

API format

POST /segment/definitions

Request

curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/definitions
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'
 -d '{
        "name": "People who ordered in the last 30 days",
        "profileInstanceId": "ups",
        "description": "Last 30 days",
        "expression": {
            "type": "PQL",
            "format": "pql/text",
            "value": "workAddress.country = \"US\""
        },
        "evaluationInfo": {
            "batch": {
                "enabled": true
            },
            "continuous": {
                "enabled": false
            },
            "synchronous": {
                "enabled": false
            }
        },
        "schema": {
            "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
        },
        "payloadSchema": "string",
        "ttlInDays": 60
    }'
Property
Description
name
A unique name by which to refer to the segment definition.
description
(Optional.) A description of the segment definition you are creating.
evaluationInfo
(Optional.) The type of segment definition you are creating. If you want to create a batch segment, set evaluationInfo.batch.enabled to be true. If you want to create a streaming segment, set evaluationInfo.continuous.enabled to be true. If you want to create an edge segment, set evaluationInfo.synchronous.enabled to be true. If left empty, the segment definition will be created as a batch segment.
schema
The schema associated with the entities in the segment. Consists of either an id or name field.
expression
An entity that contains fields information about the segment definition.
expression.type
Specifies the expression type. Currently, only “PQL” is supported.
expression.format

Indicates the structure of the expression in value. Currently, the following format is supported:

  • pql/text: A textual representation of a segment definition, according to the published PQL grammar. For example, workAddress.stateProvince = homeAddress.stateProvince.
expression.value
An expression that conforms to the type indicated in expression.format.

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 200 with details of your newly created segment definition.

{
    "id": "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05",
    "schema": {
        "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
    },
    "ttlInDays": 60,
    "profileInstanceId": "ups",
    "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
    "sandbox": {
        "sandboxId": "28e74200-e3de-11e9-8f5d-7f27416c5f0d",
        "sandboxName": "prod",
        "type": "production",
        "default": true
    },
    "name": "People who ordered in the last 30 days",
    "description": "Last 30 days",
    "expression": {
        "type": "PQL",
        "format": "pql/text",
        "value": "workAddress.country = \"US\""
    },
    "evaluationInfo": {
        "batch": {
            "enabled": true
        },
        "continuous": {
            "enabled": false
        },
        "synchronous": {
            "enabled": false
        }
    },
    "dataGovernancePolicy": {
        "excludeOptOut": true
    },
    "creationTime": 0,
    "updateEpoch": 1579292094,
    "updateTime": 1579292094000
}
Property
Description
id
A system-generated ID of your newly created segment definition.
evaluationInfo
An object that indicates what type of evaluation the segment definition will undergo. It can be batch, streaming (also known as continuous), or edge (also known as synchronous) segmentation.

Retrieve a specific segment definition get

You can retrieve detailed information about a specific segment definition by making a GET request to the /segment/definitions endpoint and providing the ID of the segment definition you wish to retrieve in the request path.

API format

GET /segment/definitions/{SEGMENT_ID}
Parameter
Description
{SEGMENT_ID}
The id value of the segment definition you want to retrieve.

Request

curl -X GET https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/definitions/4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05 \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 200 with detailed information about the specified segment definition.

{
    "id": "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05",
    "schema": {
        "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
    },
    "ttlInDays": 60,
    "profileInstanceId": "ups",
    "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
    "sandbox": {
        "sandboxId": "28e74200-e3de-11e9-8f5d-7f27416c5f0d",
        "sandboxName": "prod",
        "type": "production",
        "default": true
    },
    "name": "People who ordered in the last 30 days",
    "description": "Last 30 days",
    "expression": {
        "type": "PQL",
        "format": "pql/text",
        "value": "workAddress.country = \"US\""
    },
    "evaluationInfo": {
        "batch": {
            "enabled": true
        },
        "continuous": {
            "enabled": false
        },
        "synchronous": {
            "enabled": false
        }
    },
    "dataGovernancePolicy": {
        "excludeOptOut": true
    },
    "creationTime": 0,
    "updateEpoch": 1579292094,
    "updateTime": 1579292094000
}
Property
Description
id
A system-generated read-only ID of the segment definition.
name
A unique name by which to refer to the segment definition.
schema
The schema associated with the entities in the segment. Consists of either an id or name field.
expression
An entity that contains fields information about the segment definition.
expression.type
Specifies the expression type. Currently, only “PQL” is supported.
expression.format

Indicates the structure of the expression in value. Currently, the following format is supported:

  • pql/text: A textual representation of a segment definition, according to the published PQL grammar. For example, workAddress.stateProvince = homeAddress.stateProvince.
expression.value
An expression that conforms to the type indicated in expression.format.
description
A human readable description of the definition.
evaluationInfo
An object that indicates what type of evaluation, batch, streaming (also known as continuous), or edge (also known as synchronous), the segment definition will undergo.

Bulk retrieve segment definitions bulk-get

You can retrieve detailed information about multiple specified segment definitions by making a POST request to the /segment/definitions/bulk-get endpoint and providing the id values of the segment definitions in the request body.

API format

POST /segment/definitions/bulk-get

Request

curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/definitions/bulk-get \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
  -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
  -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
  -d '{
        "ids": [
            {
                "id": "54669488-03ab-4e0d-a694-37fe49e32be8"
            },
            {
                "id": "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05"
            }
        ]
    }'

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 207 with the requested segment definitions.

{
    "results": {
        "54669488-03ab-4e0d-a694-37fe49e32be8": {
            "id": "54669488-03ab-4e0d-a694-37fe49e32be8",
            "schema": {
                "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
            },
            "ttlInDays": 60,
            "profileInstanceId": "ups",
            "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
            "sandbox": {
                "sandboxId": "28e74200-e3de-11e9-8f5d-7f27416c5f0d",
                "sandboxName": "prod",
                "type": "production",
                "default": true
            },
            "name": "People who ordered in the last 30 days",
            "description": "Last 30 days",
            "expression": {
                "type": "PQL",
                "format": "pql/text",
                "value": "workAddress.country = \"US\""
            },
            "evaluationInfo": {
                "batch": {
                    "enabled": true
                },
                "continuous": {
                    "enabled": false
                },
                "synchronous": {
                    "enabled": false
                }
            },
            "dataGovernancePolicy": {
                "excludeOptOut": true
            },
            "creationTime": 0,
            "updateEpoch": 1579292094,
            "updateTime": 1579292094000
        },
        "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05": {
            "id": "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05",
            "schema": {
                "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
            },
            "ttlInDays": 60,
            "profileInstanceId": "ups",
            "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
            "sandbox": {
                "sandboxId": "28e74200-e3de-11e9-8f5d-7f27416c5f0d",
                "sandboxName": "prod",
                "type": "production",
                "default": true
            },
            "name": "People who ordered in the last 30 days",
            "description": "Last 30 days",
            "expression": {
                "type": "PQL",
                "format": "pql/text",
                "value": "workAddress.country = \"US\""
            },
            "evaluationInfo": {
                "batch": {
                    "enabled": true
                },
                "continuous": {
                    "enabled": false
                },
                "synchronous": {
                    "enabled": false
                }
            },
            "dataGovernancePolicy": {
                "excludeOptOut": true
            },
            "creationTime": 0,
            "updateEpoch": 1579292094,
            "updateTime": 1579292094000
        }

    }
}
Property
Description
id
A system-generated read-only ID of the segment definition.
name
A unique name by which to refer to the segment definition.
schema
The schema associated with the entities in the segment. Consists of either an id or name field.
expression
An entity that contains fields information about the segment definition.
expression.type
Specifies the expression type. Currently, only “PQL” is supported.
expression.format

Indicates the structure of the expression in value. Currently, the following format is supported:

  • pql/text: A textual representation of a segment definition, according to the published PQL grammar. For example, workAddress.stateProvince = homeAddress.stateProvince.
expression.value
An expression that conforms to the type indicated in expression.format.
description
A human readable description of the definition.
evaluationInfo
An object that indicates what type of evaluation, batch, streaming (also known as continuous), or edge (also known as synchronous), the segment definition will undergo.

Delete a specific segment definition delete

You can request to delete a specific segment definition by making a DELETE request to the /segment/definitions endpoint and providing the ID of the segment definition you wish to delete in the request path.

NOTE
A segment definition that is used in a destination activation cannot be deleted.

API format

DELETE /segment/definitions/{SEGMENT_ID}
Parameter
Description
{SEGMENT_ID}
The id value of the segment definition you want to delete.

Request

curl -X DELETE https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/definitions/4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05 \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 200 with no message.

Update a specific segment definition

You can update a specific segment definition by making a PATCH request to the /segment/definitions endpoint and providing the ID of the segment definition you wish to update in the request path.

API format

PATCH /segment/definitions/{SEGMENT_ID}
Parameter
Description
{SEGMENT_ID}
The id value of the segment definition you want to update.

Request

The following request will update the work address country from the USA to Canada.

curl -X PATCH https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/definitions/4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05 \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}' \
 -d '
{
    "id": "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05",
    "name": "Updated people who ordered in the last 30 days",
    "profileInstanceId": "ups",
    "description": "Last 30 days",
    "expression": {
        "type": "PQL",
        "format": "pql/text",
        "value": "workAddress.country = \"CA\""
    },
    "schema": {
        "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
    },
    "payloadSchema": "string",
    "ttlInDays": 60,
    "creationTime": 0,
    "updateTime": 0,
    "updateEpoch": 0
}'

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 200 with details of your newly updated segment definition. Notice how the work address country has been updated from the USA (US) to Canada (CA).

{
    "id": "4afe34ae-8c98-4513-8a1d-67ccaa54bc05",
    "schema": {
        "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
    },
    "ttlInDays": 60,
    "profileInstanceId": "ups",
    "imsOrgId": "{ORG_ID}",
    "sandbox": {
        "sandboxId": "28e74200-e3de-11e9-8f5d-7f27416c5f0d",
        "sandboxName": "prod",
        "type": "production",
        "default": true
    },
    "name": "Updated people who ordered in the last 30 days",
    "description": "Last 30 days",
    "expression": {
        "type": "PQL",
        "format": "pql/text",
        "value": "workAddress.country = \"CA\""
    },
    "evaluationInfo": {
        "batch": {
            "enabled": true
        },
        "continuous": {
            "enabled": false
        },
        "synchronous": {
            "enabled": false
        }
    },
    "dataGovernancePolicy": {
        "excludeOptOut": true
    },
    "creationTime": 0,
    "updateEpoch": 1579295340,
    "updateTime": 1579295340000
}

Convert segment definition

You can convert a segment definition between pql/text and pql/json or pql/json to pql/text by making a POST request to the /segment/conversion endpoint.

API format

POST /segment/conversion

Request

The following request will change the segment definition’s format from pql/text to pql/json.

curl -X POST https://platform.adobe.io/data/core/ups/segment/conversion \
 -H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
 -H 'x-gw-ims-org-id: {ORG_ID}' \
 -H 'x-api-key: {API_KEY}' \
 -H 'x-sandbox-name: {SANDBOX_NAME}'
 -d '{
        "name": "People who ordered in the last 30 days",
        "profileInstanceId": "ups",
        "description": "Last 30 days",
        "expression": {
            "type": "PQL",
            "format": "pql/text",
            "value": "workAddress.country = \"US\""
        },
        "schema": {
            "name": "_xdm.context.profile"
        },
        "payloadSchema": "string",
        "ttlInDays": 60
    }'

Response

A successful response returns HTTP status 200 with details of your newly converted segment definition.

{
    "ttlInDays": 60,
    "imsOrgId": "6A29340459CA8D350A49413A@AdobeOrg",
    "sandbox": {
        "sandboxId": "ff0f6870-c46d-11e9-8ca3-036939a64204",
        "sandboxName": "prod",
        "type": "production",
        "default": true
    },
    "description": "Last 30 days",
    "expression": {
        "type": "PQL",
        "format": "pql/json",
        "value": "{\"nodeType\":\"fnApply\",\"fnName\":\"=\",\"params\":[{\"nodeType\":\"fieldLookup\",\"fieldName\":\"country\",\"object\":{\"nodeType\":\"fieldLookup\",\"fieldName\":\"workAddress\",\"object\":{\"nodeType\":\"parameterReference\",\"position\":1}}},{\"nodeType\":\"literal\",\"literalType\":\"String\",\"value\":\"US\"}]}"
    }
}

Next steps

After reading this guide you now have a better understanding of how segment definitions work. For more information on creating a segment, please read the creating a segment tutorial.

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