# Array slicing

[Read this page in HTML](https://www.scopedb.io/docs/reference/functions/semi-structured-data/slice)

Returns a contiguous range of array elements.

## Syntax

```scopeql
<array>[<start>:<end>]
<array>[:<end>]
<array>[<start>:]
<array>[:]
```

## Arguments

| Argument  | Type             | Description                                                                                                                  |
| --------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `<array>` | `array` or `any` | Array to slice, or an `any` value containing an array.                                                                       |
| `<start>` | `int`            | Optional inclusive position, starting at 0. Negative values count from the end. Omitted or NULL starts at the first element. |
| `<end>`   | `int`            | Optional exclusive position. Negative values count from the end. Omitted or NULL continues to the end.                       |

## Returns

Returns the same type as `<array>`: an `array`, or an `any` value containing an array.

Bounds are limited to 0 through the array length after resolving negative indices. If the resulting start index is greater than or equal to the end index, returns an empty array.

Returns NULL if the input is NULL or an `any` value does not contain an array.

## Examples

Select the first two and last two steps from an ordered event journey.

```scopeql
VALUES (['cart_viewed', 'checkout_started', 'payment_failed', 'payment_completed'])
SELECT $0 AS journey
SELECT journey[:2] AS opening_steps, journey[-2:] AS closing_steps
```

```text
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| opening_steps                      | closing_steps                          |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| ["cart_viewed","checkout_started"] | ["payment_failed","payment_completed"] |
+------------------------------------+----------------------------------------+
```

The end index is exclusive. Negative indexes make the closing slice independent of the journey length.