Views

Amorphic Views is a feature that allows users to create views on structured data. These views can be shared with other authorized users and groups in the organization.

info

You can now create multiple views with the same name in the Amorphic application. However, each view must have a unique name within a specific domain, and the domain name will be visible with the view name.

The Amorphic Views page lets you look at different views, make a new view, and see more information about a view. You can use the domain filters to help you find the view you want.

Create New Views

You can create new Views in Amorphic by using the “New View” functionality of Amorphic application.

In order to create a new view, you would require information like Domain, Target Location, View Type etc. An amorphic view can only be created on structured datasets that the user has access to.

The following information is needed to create a new view:

Properties	Details
View Name	View name must be 3-50 alphanumeric, _ characters only, and unique under a given Domain.
Description	Description of the view being created.
View Type	Type of view. Eg: Standard, Materialized.
Domain	Logical grouping of views used as schema name in datawarehouse.
Target Location	Type of datawarehouse where you want to create the view.
Assume Role	Enable to use user IAM role to run the query for creating view. Applicable only for views with target location - athena. Cannot be used for creating views on system datasets or when user has more than 220 datasets and views
Auto Refresh	Materialized views are the only type of view for which auto refresh is available in Redshift. You can enable or disable auto refresh, or manually refresh the view yourself.
Keywords	Keywords indexed & searchable in app. Choose meaningful keywords to flag related datasets & easily find them later.
Data Classifications	List of classifications created based on different categories to protect the data more efficiently.
Sql statement	Sql statement used to create a view or edit a view Eg: create view as select * from amorphic.tables;

For a Multi tenancy deployment, you can use Amorphic to run queries and create views across different tenants or databases. To access an object from another tenant or database, you need to use the full path notation, which includes the tenant name, schema name, and object name. (e.g. tenant.schema.object.)

For cross-tenant view creation , you have to use 'with no schema binding' at the end of the query. (e.g. create view {domain1}.{viewName} as select * from {tenant2}.{domain_2}.{datasetName} with no schema binding).

To access a particular column, use tenant_name.schema_name.object_name.column_name.

View Details

Standard Views:

From the details tab, you can access view details. Some important fields to consider in view details are:

• IsActive: Determine if there is a valid view on the data warehouse that the user can query.
• View Status: Status can be create_complete, create_failed, update_rollback_complete, update_complete, create_in_progress, update_in_progress.
• Schema Details: Showing underlying schema of the views.

While creating the view:

• If a view is successfully created IsActive is marked yes and View Status will be create_complete
• If a view is fails to get created IsActive is marked no, View Status will be create_failed and Error Message is displayed

Materialized Views:

Apart from basic view details, Important fields to consider in materialized view details are:

• AutoRefresh: Redshift performs refresh on the view based on workload. It can be either enabled or disabled. You will still be able to perform manual refresh.
• RefreshStatus: The status of the refresh. For example statuses, check the Refresh Status documentation.
• LastRefreshCompletionTime: Time when the materialized view completed the last refresh.

Edit Views

Standard Views:

To edit a view being with the statement CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW.

While updating the view:

• If an update fails on a failed view IsActive will stay no and View Status will be create_failed and Error Message is displayed
• If an update is successful on a failed view IsActive will change to yes and View Status will be create_complete
• If an update fails on a successful view IsActive will stay yes and View Status will be update_rollback_complete and Error Message is displayed
• If an update is successful on a successful view IsActive will stay yes and View Status will be update_complete

A view cannot be edited or deleted when the View Status is create_in_progress or update_in_progress.

Materialized Views:

A materialized view is a type of database view that stores the results of a query. To edit a materialized view, it must not be active. Start by typing create materialized view and then make changes to the view. If the materialized view is active, you can only update its metadata fields.

While updating the view:

• If an update fails on a failed view IsActive will stay no and View Status will be create_failed and Error Message is displayed
• If an update is successful on a failed view IsActive will change to yes and View Status will be create_complete
• If an update is successful on a successful view IsActive will stay yes and View Status will be update_complete

A materialized view cannot be edited or deleted when the View Status is create_in_progress or update_in_progress.

Note

If you don't finish an action like creating or updating something within 15 minutes, it will fail and you will get an error message saying "Request Timed Out". If this happens, you need to check the problem and try again. For example, if you are creating a view and it takes too long, you will get a time out error. You need to fix the query and try creating again.

Refresh Materialized View

It can be refreshed manually or by selecting the auto-refresh option. If the auto-refresh option is included in the SQL statement and is selected when the view is created or updated, the auto-refresh option will take priority.

You can enable or disable auto-refresh on a materialized view at any time by editing the view.

Views use case

An example of using Amorphic Views could be for a situation where:

A company where various departments such as finance, sales, and marketing need to access and analyze sales data. Each department may have unique reporting requirements and use different filters, sorts, and aggregations on the same data.

With Amorphic Views, the departments can create their own views on the sales data, apply the necessary filters and sorts, and share them with other authorized members within their department. This allows each department to quickly access the data they need without having to create their own separate reports every time.

The domain name ensures that each view is unique and easily distinguishable, making it easier for users to find and access the right view for their needs.