Alation Compose

What is Alation Compose?

Alation Compose adds intelligence to SQL programming so that even those without SQL skills can query data. It guides users as they write SQL queries to improve the accuracy and trustworthiness of results. It also enables users to publish queries for broader use and collaboration and to reduce duplication of effort. 

What is SQL?

Traditionally, data is stored in relational databases with rows and columns representing different attributes. It’s a way to structure information and establish relationships, or joins, between data and tables, making it easier to understand how data interacts. 

A simple example of a relational database would be a list of personal contacts with columns for first name, email address, and abbreviated state of residence and rows for each person’s information. A second table of state abbreviations shows columns for state full name and state abbreviation with each state in a row, for example, Maine as the state full name and ME as the state abbreviation. The two tables would “join” at the state abbreviation so if a contact had a state of “ME” it would reference “Maine” in the second table.

SQL, or structured query language, is a common programming language used to manage and manipulate data stored in relational databases. It allows users to query or request data to be returned, inserted, updated, deleted, or have other processing applied, such as defining structures or controlling access.

However, even though SQL is considered relatively simple, it is still a programming language and requires special skills to understand and write. Valid SQL statements are then interpreted by software applications, which review the data based on the SQL commands and return appropriate results.

A simple example of a SQL query to return the first name and email from the Contacts table and sort the results alphabetically by name would look like this, with “ASC” denoting ascending sort order: 

SELECT first_name, email 

FROM Contacts

ORDER BY first_name ASC;

Benefits of Alation Compose

Bringing more intelligence to SQL query writing enables everyone across an organization to write queries faster and get the desired results confidently, regardless of their technical or programming skills. Additional benefits of Alation Compose include:

• Real-time guidance to the most appropriate data and away from potentially inappropriate data. Color coding adds data quality insights and points users to recommended data based on popularity and with guardrails to improve compliance.

• Publish, share, and reuse queries to colleagues to reduce duplicate work and save time and effort.

• Improve self-sufficiency by empowering business users to create SQL queries without analysts and data scientists, including interactive forms and dropdown menus to enable custom queries.

• Collaborate with teams across the organization via connections to data experts and experienced SQL writers for assistance with additional compliance and governance.

Since Alation Compose is part of the Alation Agentic Data Intelligence Platform, SQL processes connect with Alation’s robust search and discovery, data governance, data lineage, data quality, and other capabilities.

Key Features of Alation Compose

Alation Compose offers a wide range of capabilities to democratize data access and contribute to a thriving data culture. Here are a few specific features of Alation Compose that enhance how organizations use data to reach goals:

• Offers a single query tool with dozens of data sources to encourage query reuse and sharing, accelerate the onboarding of new analysts, increase data self-service, and streamline access to the data workers need.

• Incorporates Alation Trustcheck to provide real-time alerts as queries are composed, bringing data governance to every query.

• Features SmartSuggest to insert SQL code suggestions as the user types, providing a fast and convenient way for even novice users to find the right data for a specific need without extensive training.

• Enables shortcuts for long “where” clauses—used to filter records by finding matching conditions, for example, “Where state=ME”—to accelerate query creation and increase analyst efficiency.

• Allows users to query using natural language terminology that resolves to SQL automatically, speeding adoption, reducing training needs, and increasing efficiency.

• Turns queries into user-friendly forms that empower any user to quickly run queries without SQL skills to decrease demands on IT and improve efficiency and self-service.

• Provides data previews as SQL queries are typed to accelerate time to insights.

How Alation Compose Supports a Data Culture

As organizations work to become more data-driven and extract more value from data assets, a data culture helps guide leaders in those pursuits. 

Some examples of how Alation Compose catalyzes data cultures by giving more workers access to data are as follows:

• Schedule queries to run at preset times so workers can access results when needed and don’t need to sit idle during long-running queries.

• Version queries so users know how queries have been adapted or improved over time for more visibility into reusable queries and more control over query usage.

• Publish queries in the Alation Data Catalog and share via email or other channels with a simple link, giving collaborators query descriptions, access to data stewards, and additional documentation.

• Collaborate with others when creating and adapting queries to improve efficiency and share knowledge.

Alation Compose for User-Friendly SQL

Alation Compose adds simplicity and intelligence to SQL editing so users of all skill levels and from across the organization can maximize the value of SQL, find the data they need, and galvanize a data culture. Its real-time guidance, sharing, and collaboration capabilities help more users tackle even the most complex queries with confidence, trust, and compliance.

Next Steps: Learn More About Alation Compose

Discover how Alation Compose wrings more value from SQL with the following resources: