Using CREATE in DQL Mode › Planning the Query

Planning the Query

When you create a new query, whether you use GUIDE, CREATE, the DRAW command, or simply edit an existing query, you should have a general idea about what you want to accomplish.

Prerequisites

You should know:

• What data you want to report.
• Whether you want to see only certain rows (for instance, only the data for certain zip codes).
• Whether you want to make calculations (adding, multiplying, dividing or averaging) based on the existing information.
• Whether you want to total any data.

Objectives

Important things to find out by using the online database information are:

• Which database tables contain the data you need.
• Whether you need to search more than one table to retrieve all the information you require.
• If you search more than one table, which keys or columns will join the tables.

You can obtain a CA Datacom Datadictionary report from your CA Dataquery Administrator that lists database table and column names, along with other pertinent information, or you can display this information online as you create your query. Background information about this capability can be found in Displaying Database Names and Structures.