To retrieve data from a repository of data (a database, a SOAP web service, an XML file, etc.), you first need to create a data source in Denodo. A data source represents one repository of data. Then, you need to create one or more base views over each data source. The base views represent the entities in the source.

For example, each base view from an Excel data source is associated with a single sheet from the workbook; each base view of a JDBC data source is associated with a table or view of the database; each base view of a SOAP data source represents an operation of the web service, etc.

Creating a Base View

1. Once a data source has been created in Denodo, click Create Base View.
2. Base views can be created using different methods.
   • Select tables/views method:
     1. If the data source contains a single table/view, the base view will automatically be created.
     2. If the data source contains multiple tables/views, you will be asked to select a table/view to create the base view from.
        1. Click Create Selected.
   • Create from Query method:
     1. Click Create from Query.
     2. Enter a View name with no spaces.
        NOTE: Names will automatically be converted to lowercase.
     3. Enter a SQL query representing the base view you want created.
     4. Click OK.

Editing a Base View

1. Double-click the base view name to open it, and select Edit.
2. From here you can:
   1. Rename the view.
   2. Rename the fields.
   3. Change the field types.
   4. Define a Primary Key.
   5. Manually add descriptions to to fields.
      NOTE: see the article on Ingesting Table/Column Comments into Base Views for steps to automate this process.

The Execution Panel

1. Double-click the base view name to open it, and select Execution panel.
2. By default, the Execute button will return the first 150 rows of data. Users can adjust this limit manually or choose to Retrieve all rows.
3. To export the results to a .csv file, click Execute and download instead, and turn on the Export results to a CSV file option.