DESCRIBE

Returns an analytical description of the table. For examples, see Examples.

bSQL Syntax Conventions

Syntax

DESCRIBE { database_name | database_name.blockchain_name }
[<describe_modifier>]

<describe_modifier> ::= ALL | SCHEMA | DATA {CATEGORICAL | NUMERIC} | HISTOGRAM

Arguments

database_name
Is the name of the database to describe, if no blockchain is specified, all blockchains in the database are described.

blockchain_name
The name of the blockchain that you would like to describe.

ALL describe_modifier Returns a description of the data, schema, and histogram of each blockchain being described.

SCHEMA describe_modifier
Returns a decryption of the schema specified for each blockchain being described.

DATA CATAGORICAL describe_modifier
Returns an analytical decryption of the distribution of categorical data (columns of type STRING) stored in each of the specified blockchains. If there is no categorical data, categorical columns will not appear in the response.

DATA NUMERIC describe_modifier
Returns an analytical decryption of the distribution numeric data stored in each of the specified blockchains. If there is no numeric data, numeric columns will not appear in the response.

HISTOGRAM describe_modifier
Returns a description of the histograms, used to optimize query plans, currently built on each blockchain being described.

[IMPORTANT] HISTOGRAM and ALL descriptions aren't currently supported.

Permissions

READ permission required on the database or blockchain target.

READ permissions default to members of the admin fixed database role. Members of the admin role can transfer permissions to other users.

Examples

Category	Featured syntax elements
Describing Data	DATA
Describing Schema	SCHEMA
Describing Histogram	HIST

Describing Data

Examples in this section demonstrate using the Describe statement to describe numerical data stored in a blockchain.

A. Describing numerical data.

The following example returns a numerical description of the data stored in the products table in the main database. Only a numerical description is returned because the blockchain only stores numerical data.

CREATE BLOCKCHAIN main.products (price float64, units_sold int64);

INSERT main.products VALUES (2.50, 20), (9.99, 0), (3.25, 18), (39.99, 53), (50.00, 5), (6.99, 15), (7.99, 0);

DESCRIBE main.products DATA NUMERIC;

OUTPUT

stats_main products numerical stats profile: 2019-10-16 10:27:47.623745 | BLOCKCHAIN_NAME | COLUMNS | COUNT | MEAN | SD | MIN | MAX | 25% | 50% | 75% | |-------|-------|---------|------|---|---|---|---|---|---| |products| price |7|17.244285714285713|17.916294145787166|2.5|50|5.150787165879375|17.244285714285713|29.33778426269205| |products|uints_sold|7|15.857142857142858|16.9993997493068|0|53|4.382548026360714|15.857142857142858|27.331737687925|

B. Describing categorical data.

The following example returns a categorical description of the data stored in the dogs table in the main database. Only a categorical description is returned because the blockchain only stores categorical data, in this case strings.

DESCRIBE main.dogs DATA CATEGORICAL;

OUTPUT

stats_main dogs categorical stats profile: 2019-10-16 11:07:44.724438 | BLOCKCHAIN_NAME | COLUMNS | UNIQUE | TOP | FREQ | COUNT |-------|-------|---------|------|---|---| |dogs| name | 125 | doge | 23 | 150 | |dogs| location | 5 | the dog park | 120 | 150 |

Describing Schema

This example demonstrate using the Describe statement to describe the schema of a blockchain.

Describing schema.

The employees table is stored in the main database and stores first_name, last_name, and position.

DESCRIBE main.employees SCHEMA;

OUTPUT

BLOCKCHAIN_NAME	BLOCKCHAIN_TYPE	COLUMN_NAME	DATA_TYPE	SIZE	PACKED	CONSTRAINT	COMPOSITION	MASK
employees	TRADITIONAL	name	STRING	255	true	PRIMARY KEY	TRADITIONAL	NO MASK
employees	TRADITIONAL	email	STRING	255	true	UNIQUE	TRADITIONAL	NO MASK

Describing Histogram

This feature is yet to be implemented yet.

See Also

• BUILD STATS