Explore Data 360 Query Editor
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Describe the core functions and benefits of using Data 360 Query Editor.
- Identify the types of Data 360 objects you can query.
- Explain how Query Editor helps validate data and troubleshoot issues.
What Is the Data 360 Query Editor?
Welcome to Data 360 Query Editor! If you’re a data analyst or developer working with Data 360, Query Editor is your essential tool for understanding and working with your customer data.
With Query Editor you can directly query the data in Data 360 using Data 360 SQL (Structured Query Language). Think of it as a workbench where you can write and run custom queries to explore your data objects. It’s powerful and helps you get immediate answers about your data.
For example, meet Cara Ng, a business analyst at AW Computing. Her team just launched a new customer engagement data stream, and she wants to confirm it's flowing correctly before her Q3 leadership review. Instead of waiting on a report request, Cara opens Query Editor, writes a quick SQL query against the new stream, and gets her answer in minutes.
Key Use Cases of Query Editor
Query Editor is designed to support several critical jobs you need to do with your customer data. It’s more than just a place to write SQL—it’s a way to explore, validate, and troubleshoot your data.
Ad-Hoc Analysis and Data Exploration
Need to quickly check the average lifetime value of your unified customer profiles? Query Editor is perfect for ad-hoc analysis. It gives you a complete view of your unified customer profiles and all connected data. You can quickly write and execute SQL queries to answer specific business questions or investigate data patterns. This helps you understand exactly what data you have in Data 360.
Data Validation and Integrity
This is exactly the situation Cara ran into. Whenever you set up a new data stream or transformation, you need to be sure the data is flowing correctly. You can use Query Editor to run specific SQL queries to verify that the data is processed as expected—which is how Cara confirmed her new engagement stream was ready ahead of her Q3 review. This is crucial for ensuring data integrity.
Troubleshoot Data Issues
When you encounter an unexpected data issue, Query Editor becomes your detective tool. You can query the raw and transformed data directly. This allows you to quickly pinpoint and diagnose discrepancies, missing data, or unexpected values.
Build and Test SQL
If you’re developing complex logic for things like custom segments or calculated insights, test your SQL first. Query Editor lets you test and refine your Data 360 SQL. This way, you can build and test the SQL logic before implementing it in other features or external systems.
Data Objects You Can Query
The Data 360 Query Editor allows you to query several key types of Data 360 objects.
- Data lake objects (DLOs): These are the raw, ingested data objects.
- Data model objects (DMOs): These are the harmonized objects that form your unified data model.
- Calculated insights objects (CIOs): These contain aggregated or calculated metrics derived from your data.
- Data graphs: These represent the relationships between your data objects.
Considerations for Data Cloud One Companion Orgs
If you’re using Query Editor within a Data Cloud One companion org, notice that it has the same features as Query Editor in Data 360. However, Query Editor can only access data spaces shared with the companion org, and workspaces are not synced between orgs. You can only create new query workspaces in data spaces that are synchronized with the companion org—you can't create a workspace in a data space that hasn't been shared. Review the Salesforce Help documentation for more information about Data Cloud One Companion Orgs.
Other Ways to Query Data 360
Query Editor is one of several ways to work with your data in Data 360. Depending on your use case, you can also connect apps, websites, and third-party tools using the Connect API; connect custom applications with Data 360 language-specific client libraries; write Data 360 SQL directly; or use query federation to query partner-managed compute without duplicating your data into Data 360. Each option suits a different need—Query Editor for visual, ad-hoc exploration; the Connect API for app and website integrations; SQL and client libraries for programmatic access; and query federation when you want to keep your data in place.
Next Up
Now you have a solid understanding of what the Data 360 Query Editor is and why it's so important! In the next unit, follow Cara as she creates a workspace and runs her first query to validate that new engagement stream before her Q3 review.