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Working with Views

Views in Lens

  • Views serve as a layer atop the data graph of tables, presenting an abstraction of the entire data model for consumers to interact.
  • They serve as a layer for defining metrics, providing a simplified interface for end-users to interact objectively with key metrics instead of the entire data model
  • View reference dimensions, measures, and segments from multiple logical tables. It doesn’t have any measure, dimension, or segment of its own.

When to Define Views?

  • Defining Metrics: Views allow you to define metrics by including measures and dimensions from different tables. This enables you to create denormalized tables that comprehensively address a specific use case. For instance, you can have a view that gives you all the dimensions and measures to understand ‘Weekly Spirits Sales in Florida’
  • Providing a Simplified Interface: By exposing only the relevant measures and dimensions, views make it easier for users to understand and query the data, reducing the complexity of the underlying data model.

How to Define Views?

views:
  - name: # name of the view 
    description: # description of the view
    public: # set this property as 'true' or 'false' to control the visibility
    meta: # metadata properties to export views to Iris board
      export_to_board: true # set this property to true if you want to export the view 
      board:
        timeseries: sales.posting_date # define a time dimension to be used to create the time-series chart
        includes: # define the list of dimensions/measures to be included in the board
        excludes: # define the list of dimensions/measures to be excluded from the board


    # An array where you can refer to multiple tables. 
    # List the tables whose measure and dimensions need to be included in the view
    tables:
      - join_path: # the name of the table
        prefix: false
        includes: # dimension/measure from the table that should be part of the view
        excludes: # dimension/measure from the table that should be part of the view

  - name: generated_sales_across_territory
    description: View containing total and average sales for different territories
    public: true
    meta:
      export_to_board: false 

    tables:
      - join_path: sales_order_header
        prefix: true
        includes:
          - total_sales_amount
          - average_order_value
          - total_orders_count
          - order_mode
          - online_sales

      - join_path: sales_person
        prefix: true
        includes: "*"
        excludes:
          - territory_id