RAQL is based on SQL, which is the common standard for querying structured data. RAQL provides the common subset of SQL functionality for reading and exploring data, including for example filtering, joining, and aggregation. It also includes extensions in the form of additional analytics functions so that users have a rich set of options for exploring and analyzing data. RAQL offers as well a straight-forward way to provide your own user-defined functions to meet new or unique analysis needs.