minq

Minq is a lightweight query language and runtime designed for in-memory data processing and streaming scenarios. It aims to provide a readable, SQL-inspired syntax with a small footprint, enabling users to filter, transform, and aggregate data without the overhead of a full database system. Minq emphasizes portability, deterministic performance, and ease of embedding in applications ranging from embedded devices to server-side services.

The language core centers on a familiar select-from-where structure, supplemented by optional group by, order by, and limit clauses. It includes a compact set of aggregate functions and supports basic windowing and streaming operators to handle continuous data streams. The design favors a minimal surface area to reduce learning time while still offering practical data manipulation capabilities for common tasks such as filtering logs, transforming telemetry, and performing lightweight analytics on live data.

Implementation and ecosystem support vary by platform. Reference implementations exist in languages like C and Rust, with bindings or adapters for environments such as Python, JavaScript, and Go. Minq can operate as an in-process library within an application or as a standalone interpreter for ad-hoc analysis. The runtime tends to prioritize a small memory footprint, safe execution models, and straightforward integration with existing data sources.

Use cases for Minq include log and event filtering, sensor data pipelines, and rapid prototyping of data transformations where a full database is unnecessary. It is generally positioned as a specialized query layer for streaming and in-memory workloads rather than a general-purpose database system. Related work includes SQL-inspired query languages and lightweight stream processing tools.