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How to dynamically load evaluation parameters from a database

This guide will help you create an ExpectationA verifiable assertion about data. that loads part of its Expectation configuration from a database at runtime. Using a dynamic Evaluation ParameterA dynamic value used during Validation of an Expectation which is populated by evaluating simple expressions or by referencing previously generated metrics. makes it possible to maintain part of an Expectation SuiteA collection of verifiable assertions about data. in a shared database.

Prerequisites: This how-to guide assumes you have:

Steps​

1. Add a new SqlAlchemy Query Store to your Data Context​

A SqlAlchemy Query StoreA connector to store and retrieve information about metadata in Great Expectations. acts as a bridge that can query a SqlAlchemy-connected database and return the result of the query to be available for an evaluation parameter.

Find the stores section in your great_expectations.yml file, and add the following configuration for a new store called "my_query_store". You can add and reference multiple Query Stores with different names.

  my_query_store:
    class_name: SqlAlchemyQueryStore
    credentials: ${rds_movies_db}
    queries:
      current_genre_ids: "SELECT id FROM genres;"  # The query name and value can be replaced with your desired query

By default, query results will be returned as a list. If instead you need a scalar for your expectation, you can specify the return_type

  my_query_store:
    class_name: SqlAlchemyQueryStore
    credentials: ${rds_movies_db}
    queries:
      current_ratings_max:
        query: "SELECT MAX(rating) FROM ratings;"
        return_type: "scalar"  # return_type can be either "scalar" or "list" or omitted
      current_genre_ids:
        query: "SELECT id FROM genres;"
        return_type: "list"  # return_type can be either "scalar" or "list" or omitted

Ensure you have added valid credentials to the config-variables.yml file:

    rds_movies_db:
      drivername: postgresql
      host: <<hostname>>  # Update with your hostname
      port: 5432
      username: testuser  # Update with your username
      password: <<password>>  # Update with your password
      database: testdb  # Update with your database

2. In a notebook, get a test Batch of data to use for Validation​

import great_expectations as gx
context = gx.get_context()

batch_kwargs = {
    "datasource": "movies_db",
    "table": "genres_movies"
}
expectation_suite_name = "genres_movies.fkey"
context.create_expectation_suite(expectation_suite_name, overwrite_existing=True)
batch = context.get_batch(
    batch_kwargs=batch_kwargs,
    expectation_suite_name=expectation_suite_name
)

3. Define an Expectation that relies on a dynamic query​

Great Expectations recognizes several types of Evaluation Parameters that can use advanced features provided by the Data ContextThe primary entry point for a Great Expectations deployment, with configurations and methods for all supporting components.. To dynamically load data, we will be using a store-style URN, which starts with urn:great_expectations:stores. The next component of the URN is the name of the store we configured above (my_query_store), and the final component is the name of the query we defined above (current_genre_ids):

batch.expect_column_values_to_be_in_set(
    column="genre_id",
    value_set={"$PARAMETER": "urn:great_expectations:stores:my_query_store:current_genre_ids"}
)

The SqlAlchemyQueryStore that you configured above will execute the defined query and return the results as the value of the value_set parameter to evaluate your Expectation:

{
  "meta": {
    "substituted_parameters": {
      "value_set": [
        1,
        2,
        3,
        4,
        5,
        6,
        7,
        8,
        9,
        10,
        11,
        12,
        13,
        14,
        15,
        16,
        17,
        18
      ]
    }
  },
  "result": {
    "element_count": 2891,
    "missing_count": 0,
    "missing_percent": 0.0,
    "unexpected_count": 0,
    "unexpected_percent": 0.0,
    "unexpected_percent_nonmissing": 0.0,
    "partial_unexpected_list": []
  },
  "success": true,
  "exception_info": null
}