READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW¶

Scalar function that returns the YAML representation of a stored semantic view definition. The output is suitable for round-trip import via CREATE SEMANTIC VIEW ... FROM YAML.

Added in version 0.7.0.

Syntax¶

SELECT READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW('<view_name>')

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Description
`<view_name>`	VARCHAR	The name of the semantic view to export. Supports unqualified (`my_view`), schema-qualified (`main.my_view`), and catalog-qualified (`memory.main.my_view`) names. The function resolves the bare view name from the last component.

Output¶

Returns a single VARCHAR value containing the YAML representation of the semantic view definition. The YAML includes all user-declared clauses: tables, relationships, facts, dimensions, metrics, and materializations with their full configuration (comments, synonyms, access modifiers, NON ADDITIVE BY, window specs).

Field Stripping¶

Internal fields populated at define time are stripped from the YAML output before serialization. These fields are repopulated automatically when the definition is imported into a new environment:

Stripped Field	Reason
`column_type_names`	Column name list from DDL-time type inference. Regenerated at import time.
`column_types_inferred`	Column type IDs from DDL-time type inference. Regenerated at import time.
`created_on`	Creation timestamp. Set to the import time on re-creation.
`database_name`	Connection-specific database context. Set from the target connection.
`schema_name`	Connection-specific schema context. Set from the target connection.

Examples¶

Export a semantic view to YAML:

CREATE SEMANTIC VIEW order_metrics AS
TABLES (
    o AS orders PRIMARY KEY (id)
)
DIMENSIONS (
    o.region AS o.region
)
METRICS (
    o.revenue AS SUM(o.amount)
);

SELECT READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW('order_metrics');

Sample output:

tables:
  - alias: o
    table: orders
    pk_columns:
      - id
dimensions:
  - name: region
    expr: o.region
    source_table: o
metrics:
  - name: revenue
    expr: SUM(o.amount)
    source_table: o

Save YAML to a file:

COPY (SELECT READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW('order_metrics'))
TO '/path/to/order_metrics.yaml' (FORMAT CSV, HEADER FALSE, QUOTE '');

Schema-qualified view name:

SELECT READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW('main.order_metrics');

Round-trip (export then import):

-- Export
COPY (SELECT READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW('analytics'))
TO '/tmp/analytics.yaml' (FORMAT CSV, HEADER FALSE, QUOTE '');

-- Import into a new view
CREATE SEMANTIC VIEW analytics_copy FROM YAML FILE '/tmp/analytics.yaml'

Error Cases¶

View does not exist:

SELECT READ_YAML_FROM_SEMANTIC_VIEW('nonexistent');

Error: semantic view 'nonexistent' does not exist