Overview

When you have business acronyms, verbiage, or language that is only typically sensical to humans when asked but you need the speed and reliability of a machine – that is where the data catalog helps out.

How it works

Using Definitions you can improve query accuracy and produce a helpful resource your team by creating a record of all associated terms. You can also tell the data catalog what to do when certain terms are used.

Create a definition

1. Navigate to the data catalog for the base you want to work in.
2. Click 'Add Entry' in the top right corner.
3. Enter the main term as the 'Name'.
4. Enter all associated terms under 'Other Names'.
5. Provide any instructions for what to do when the main term gets mentioned under 'Description'.
6. Save your changes.

Example #1

Instead of listing every animal type every time, I can tell the data catalog that when I say "pets" I mean all of the animal types listed and that "domestic animals" should get the same treatment.

Example #2

Here's one that we've found really useful at Outerbase - anytime someone mentions the word "users" in their queries, we want to omit any accounts that have an @outerbase.com email address so we get more accurate results.

So when I ask EZQL "give me a list of new users from the last week", any @outerbase.com accounts are already excluded.