Polaris SQL Introduction. Michael Fields Central Library Consortium

Transcription

1 Polaris SQL Introduction Michael Fields Central Library Consortium

2 Topics Covered Connecting to your Polaris SQL server Basic SQL query syntax Frequently used Polaris tables Using your SQL queries inside the Polaris client

3 Connecting to your Polaris SQL Server

4 Connecting to your Polaris SQL Server Tools Server hostname/ip address Access Authentication Permissions

5 Tools SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) Connect to SQL server and perform queries w=sql-server-2017 SQL Complete - Optional free addon Better Intellisense/automatic code completion Automatic code formatting Keyboard shortcut to run only current statement Polaris Database Help File &page=1&position=1

6 SQL Server Management Studio (or Ctrl + N) (or F5 or Ctrl + E) (or Alt + Break)

7 Server Hostname/IP Address See site manager or IT staff Use test/train environment for complex queries

8 Access Gaining access to your SQL server Outside scope of this presentation Contact your IT staff

9 Authentication Two types Windows Authentication Preferred in this scenario Access can be granted to Active Directory group instead of individual users Uses credentials of currently logged in Windows user May require Run as depending on account structure Admin vs Personal user accounts SQL Authentication Log-in using supplied username/password Use Windows Authentication unless directed otherwise Configured by site manager/it staff

10 Permissions Controls access to the actual database (Polaris, PolarisTransactions, etc) Consider read-only access If using Windows auth, groups are better than assigning permissions to users directly

11 Connecting to your Polaris SQL Server 1. Open SSMS a. Use Run as if necessary 2. Enter hostname/ip address 3. Select proper type of authentication a. Enter username/password if necessary 4. Hit OK

12 Basic SQL Query Syntax

13 Basic SQL Query Syntax Keywords Comparison operators Built-in functions Data types NULL values

14 Basic SQL Query Syntax - Example SELECT ItemRecordID FROM polaris.polaris.circitemrecords cir WHERE cir.assignedcollectionid is null

15 Keywords - SELECT Comma separated list of columns to output Can be renamed in output using column alias SELECT table.field [MyAlias], table.field2 [OtherAlias] Especially useful when using functions as the column will default to no name Asterisk selects all Use top to limit results SELECT top 100 * Remember to remove when running for real ONLY ID column for SQL searches

16 Keywords - FROM Table you re selecting from Use table aliases to make your life easier SELECT * FROM Table tablealias Using first letter of each word of the table name is a good convention Prefix fields with the table alias to get a clear, short list of columns via Intellisense SELECT cir.itemrecordid from CircItemRecords cir

17 Keywords - WHERE Filter criteria for query Can chain multiple clauses together with AND and OR Use care when combining ANDs with ORs A = 1 and B = 2 or C = 3 Results in ALL rows where C = 3 no matter the value of A or B Use parentheses to group AND clauses A = 1 and (B = 2 or C = 3)

18 Comparison Operators Equal = Not equal!= <> Greater than > Less than <

19 Comparison Operators In Between Compare multiple values at once Field in (value1, value2, value3, etc) Can use results from another query Field in (select otherfield from Table) Can also use not in Looks for values in a range Includes range boundaries in results To include an entire day use midnight (or no time) of the NEXT day for the range end Field between and

20 Comparison Operators Like Match a pattern within a string Supports wildcards % - Matches any string of any length, including zero WHERE field LIKE %example% _ - Matches any single character WHERE field LIKE _xample [] - Matches any character in the brackets, [abc] WHERE name LIKE terr[iy] [^] - Matches any character NOT in the brackets, [^abc] WHERE name LIKE terr[^iy]

21 Keywords - ORDER BY Sort query by one or more fields Separate multiple sort fields with commas Sorts ascending by default Include desc after sort field to sort descending ORDER BY field1 desc CANNOT be used in SQL searches

22 Keywords - JOIN Combine rows of two tables Several types Inner Most commonly used Rows must exist in both tables Left Rows only exist in left table (table being selected from) Right Confusing, avoid these Rows only exist in right table (table being joined) ID value vs Text value Efficiency Faster queries Smaller value to store Easy to rename, one change vs 1,000s+

23 Keywords - JOIN SELECT cir.itemrecordid, cir.barcode, c.name FROM Polaris.Polaris.CircItemRecords cir JOIN Polaris.Polaris.Collections c ON c.collectionid = cir.assignedcollectionid ON determines which fields are used to join the tables Normally will be an ID (CollectionID, MaterialTypeID, PatronID, etc) Can join table on multiple fields If tables share multiple keys you must join on all of them (not common in basic Polaris tables)

24 Built-in Functions GETDATE() Gets current date and time DATEADD(datepart, number, date) Adds the number of dateparts (day, month, year, etc) to the given date COUNT([DISTINCT] field) Returns the number of records returned by the query Does NOT count null values Use distinct to count the number of unique rows CAST(value as datatype) Converts the passed in value to the specified data type Useful for converting DATETIMEs to DATEs for comparisons ISNULL(value, alternative_value) Returns alternative_value when value is null LEN(value) Returns the length of the input string

25 Data Types DATETIME DATE A date and time - 01/01/ :11 AM A date, with no time - 01/01/2001 BIT Boolean - 0 (False) or 1 (True)

26 NULL Values Absence of a value, not merely nothing or empty Doesn t play nicely with comparison operators Cannot use = or!= to check for null Must use is null or is not null Field!= something will NOT return null rows where Field is null Use ISNULL(Field, ) or Field!= something or Field is null Can cause unexpected behavior with functions Excluded entirely from COUNT, SUM, and similar functions LEN will return a value of NULL

27 Frequently Used Polaris Tables qh57-z6jw/

28 Using SQL Queries Inside Polaris Desktop client Leap Open find tool (patron, item record, bib record, etc) Change Search Mode radio button from Normal to SQL Paste SQL into text area Only ID field in select list Remove ORDER BY clause, if present Optionally, save the search with a descriptive name Open find tool Change to correct record type (patron, item record, bib record, etc) Change Basic Search dropdown to SQL Search Paste SQL into small text box Click down arrow in textbox to expand the text field Same rules from above apply here Optionally, use save icon next to down arrow in textbox to save the search

29 Other Resources

30 Next Steps GROUP BY HAVING Self join tables to compare settings between branches Make sure to join on all keys Variables Easily change values in multiple places with one change Building reports with Report Builder

31 Questions?