J on the Beach 2017 (https://jonthebeach.com/)
Even the best, biggest, beachiest data out there is useless if users can't easily search and analyze it. Under the right circumstances, a custom query language can be a powerful interface to that data, but only if that interface is chosen and developed consciously, with top priority given to creating a fitting domain abstraction, a first-class user experience, and a simple yet flexible implementation that doesn't reinvent the wheel.
These are takeaways from the real-world experiences of ÜberResearch and Valo: two different companies with very different needs, which nevertheless ended up taking similar approaches to the selection and creation of query languages as data interfaces. From the lessons they've learned -- some more painfully than others -- we'll construct a roadmap for choosing, designing, and implementing a custom query language that lets your users interact with your big, beautiful data in all its glory.