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What are Identifiers?

Identifiers represent real-world concepts within a business context, like customers, transactions, or ad campaigns. Analyses frequently revolve around specific identifiers, for example, in customer churn analysis or annual recurring revenue modeling. In semantic models, these identifiers are represented by ID columns, which act as join keys to link different semantic models within the semantic graph. Identifiers offer a clear structure to the underlying data, enabling more coherent and insightful analysis.

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How to Define Identifiers

Every identifier requires a name and type. The name can reference the key column name from the data table, or function as an alias with the column name referenced in the expr parameter.

Name

Refers to the key column name from the underlying data table or serves as an alias if the actual column name is specified in the expr parameter.

Type

Defines the identifier’s role in join logic and determines the join type (e.g., Primary, Foreign, Unique).

Expression (optional)

Specifies the underlying column for the identifier. If omitted, it defaults to the identifier’s name.

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How to create and edit an identifier

In the Catalog section, select the table for which you want to set up an identifier. Then, navigate to the Entities tab.

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Specification for Identifiers

Identifiers are defined using the following parameters: 
identifiers:
  - name: [name]
    type: [Primary or Natural or Foreign or Unique]
    description: [description of the field or role]
    expr: [column name or expression, defaults to the name if not provided]
For example, in a semantic model for sales data, identifiers could be defined as follows: 
identifiers:
  - name: transaction
    type: primary
    expr: id_transaction
  - name: order
    type: foreign
    expr: id_order
  - name: user
    type: foreign
    expr: substring(id_order from 2)

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Identifier Types and Join Logic

Findly uses different join logic based on the identifier type:
A primary identifier indicates that each row in the table represents a unique record, encompassing all records in the data platform.

Identifiers (join keys) within a semantic model are identified by their name. Names must be unique within a specific model but can be reused across different models.

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Utilizing Identifiers as Dimensions

Identifiers can also serve as dimensions, allowing metrics to be aggregated to the identifier’s level of granularity.

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Wrapping up

Identifiers are foundational elements that establish relationships and ensure seamless data analysis. By understanding identifiers and their applications, businesses can derive richer insights and make more informed data-driven decisions.