BQL stands for Bloomberg Query Language, which is the language used to perform analytics with and retrieve data from the Bloomberg Database. Recently, Bloomberg has rolled out five new functions to its Excel Add-in that make it possible to use BQL queries in Excel:
• BQL
• BQL.Query
• BQL.Dates
• BQL.Params
• BQL.Expr
BQL for Excel is still in its early stages and complete documentation is still under development. For the most up-to-date official documentation from Bloomberg, see HELP BQLX <GO>. For additional help and resources, read our primer, Introduction to BQL.
Like the BDH and BDP functions, the BQL functions can be used to retrieve current and historic data. Uniquely, they are also capable of performing more involved tasks like interval calculations, time series, and equity screens. The new functions are advantageous to implement because they allow API users to perform data-intensive calculations and manipulations on the Bloomberg cloud.
Resources
Introduction to BQL