Features of the Query Builder
The Query Builder allows you to build queries in a graphical paradigm.
- it is very easy to build multi-table queries - tables can be joined by dragging columns between tables
- AQT can automatically join tables based on their foreign-key relationships
- columns can easily be added / excluded from the query
- you can change the order of the columns in the query plus specify more advanced aspects of the query columns. This includes column functions, column alias names, column sort order.
- you can specify Where clauses (search conditions) for the query. The Query Builder has a very full-featured ability to build Where clauses.
- you can build Summary queries
- AQT generates nicely-formatted SQL. There are many options for how the SQL is formatted.
Some of the more advanced features:
- if a join is not defined to the database a as foreign-key relationship, you can save it as user-defined relationship. AQT can then automatically rejoin the tables the next time you are building query.
- your queries can include table expressions. These are also known as inline views or sub-queries.
- you can build queries that contain multiple Unioned select statements
- your queries can use a With statement
- you can build SubSelects, included Correlated SubSelects.
AQT can reverse-engineer queries
This is a major function of the Query Builder, and one which is available in very few other products.
AQT can take an existing SQL query and display as a graphical query in the Query Builder. This allows you to open a build and save a query, then reopen it in the Query Builder at a later date.
- the query can either be one built by AQT, or some other product. It doesn't matter, as long as it clear SQL text.
- AQT can reverse-engineer most SQL queries - including those using table expressions, With statements, Unioned statements etc.
- this provides a very useful way of "visualizing" existing queries, even if you do not intend to amend them