Doc: Add tip for checking for existing field (backport to 7.13)

docs/static/best-practice.asciidoc

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [[tips]] 
-== Tips and Best Practices
+== Tips and best practices
 
 We are adding more tips and best practices, so please check back soon. 
 If you have something to add, please:
@@ -13,11 +13,11 @@ https://github.com/elastic/logstash/issues, or
 Also check out the https://discuss.elastic.co/c/logstash[Logstash discussion
 forum].
 
-[float] 
+[discrete] 
 [[tip-cli]] 
 === Command line
 
-[float] 
+[discrete] 
 [[tip-windows-cli]] 
 ==== Shell commands on Windows OS
 
@@ -38,11 +38,11 @@ Use this format on Windows systems:
 bin\logstash -e "input { stdin { } } output { stdout {} }"
 -----
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-pipelines]]
 === Pipelines
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-pipeline-mgmt]]
 ==== Pipeline management
 
@@ -55,15 +55,55 @@ no longer specify local pipeline configurations. The `pipelines.yml` file and
 settings such as `path.config` and `config.string` are inactive when centralized
 pipeline management is enabled.
 
-[float]
+
+[discrete]
+[[tip-filters]]
+=== Tips using filters
+
+[discrete]
+[[tip-check-field]]
+==== Check to see if a boolean field exists
+
+You can use the mutate filter to see if a boolean field exists.
+
+{ls} supports [@metadata] fields--fields that are not visible for output plugins and live only in the filtering state. 
+You can use [@metadata] fields with the mutate filter to see if a field exists. 
+
+[source,ruby]
+-----
+filter {
+  mutate {
+    # we use a "temporal" field with a predefined arbitrary known value that
+    # lives only in filtering stage.
+    add_field => { "[@metadata][test_field_check]" => "a null value" }
+
+    # we copy the field of interest into that temporal field.
+    # If the field doesn't exist, copy is not executed.
+    copy => { "test_field" => "[@metadata][test_field_check]" }
+  }
+
+
+  # now we now if testField didn't exists, our field will have 
+  # the initial arbitrary value
+  if [@metadata][test_field_check] == "a null value" {
+    # logic to execute when [test_field] did not exist
+    mutate { add_field => { "field_did_not_exist" => true }}
+  } else {
+    # logic to execute when [test_field] existed
+    mutate { add_field => { "field_did_exist" => true }}
+  }
+}
+-----
+
+[discrete]
 [[tip-kafka]]
 === Kafka
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-kafka-settings]]
 ==== Kafka settings
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-kafka-partitions]]
 ===== Partitions per topic
 
@@ -80,7 +120,7 @@ exceed 2000.
 Err on the side of over-partitioning up to a total 1000
 partitions overall. Try not to exceed 1000 partitions.
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-kafka-threads]]
 ===== Consumer threads
 
@@ -91,11 +131,11 @@ value of `1` then iterate your way up. The value should in general be lower than
 the number of pipeline workers. Values larger than 4 rarely result in
 performance improvement.
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-kafka-pq-persist]]
 ==== Kafka input and persistent queue (PQ)
 
-[float]
+[discrete]
 [[tip-kafka-offset-commit]]
 ===== Kafka offset commits
 
@@ -107,5 +147,3 @@ No, we can’t make that guarantee. Offsets are committed to Kafka periodically.
 writes to the PQ are slow or blocked, offsets for events that haven’t safely
 reached the PQ can be committed.
 
-
-