SQL workbench & the semantic layer | ATX AnalyticsTable Handbook

SQL workbench & the semantic layerA query editor, a table browser, a saved-query library and Git — in the same window as the grid. The SQL tab carries a query editor that doubles as the formula bar, with referenced ranges highlighted on the grid in matching colours; a table browser showing schemas, tables, columns and row counts; a saved-query library that value lists and scheduled refreshes can point at; and a Git panel — status, diff, commit, push — for the project folder. Above the raw tables sits an optional semantic layer: reusable business objects with friendly names, descriptions and relationships, addressed by stable identifiers and turned into SQL by the dashboard engine — chapter 21 covers the model in full.

What it does

SQL editor with range highlighting, soft wrap and a configurable query timeout
Table browser across every configured connection: schemas, tables, columns, row counts
Saved-query library that pinned regions, value lists and schedules reference by name
Query Monitor with progress and a stop control for long-running loads
Git panel — status, diff, commit and push — operating on the project folder
Semantic objects: measures, dimensions and relationships defined once and reused — see chapter 21, the semantic model

How it works

Run opens a result as its own tab; from there it can be pinned into a sheet, exported, or bound to a dashboard widget.
A query saved to the library becomes a named object the rest of the project can depend on, so changing the definition updates every consumer.
Queries accept parameter references, and a query referencing an undefined parameter is stopped before it runs, with the offending name reported.
The Git panel commits the whole project folder, so a SQL change and the schedule that runs it land in the same reviewable commit.

Practices that keep it reliable

Promote any query used in more than one place into the saved-query library rather than copying it
Parameterise the date range instead of editing SQL each morning
Define semantic objects for the handful of measures the business argues about — one definition ends the argument

In a regulated environment

Stable semantic identifiers mean a measure can be renamed for humans without breaking what depends on it.
The formula and parameter engines evaluate expressions directly rather than compiling them to code, so the runtime contains no JavaScript compiler and the Content Security Policy can forbid eval outright.

Screens

SQL — editor, table browser, saved-query library and the project's Git panel.
The saved-query library — named queries that schedules, lists and pins all point at.
A query result opens as its own tab, ready to pin, export or bind to a widget.
Pinned queries — every live binding in the project, refreshable and schedulable from one list.

Related guides

Glossary terms on this page

KPI dashboard: definition

ATX Institute on LinkedIn

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