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Unique

Definition

Asserts that every value held by a field appears only once. If multiple fields are specified, then every combination of values of the fields should appear only once.

Field Scope

Multi: The rule evaluates multiple specified fields.

Accepted Types

Type
Date
Timestamp
Integral
Fractional
String
Boolean

General Properties

Name Supported
Filter
Allows the targeting of specific data based on conditions
Coverage Customization
Allows adjusting the percentage of records that must meet the rule's conditions

The filter allows you to define a subset of data upon which the rule will operate.

It requires a valid Spark SQL expression that determines the criteria rows in the DataFrame should meet. This means the expression specifies which rows the DataFrame should include based on those criteria. Since it's applied directly to the Spark DataFrame, traditional SQL constructs like WHERE clauses are not supported.

Examples

Direct Conditions

Simply specify the condition you want to be met.

Correct usage 
O_TOTALPRICE > 1000

C_MKTSEGMENT = 'BUILDING'
Incorrect usage 
WHERE O_TOTALPRICE > 1000

WHERE C_MKTSEGMENT = 'BUILDING'

Combining Conditions

Combine multiple conditions using logical operators like AND and OR.

Correct usage 
O_ORDERPRIORITY = '1-URGENT' AND O_ORDERSTATUS = 'O'

(L_SHIPDATE = '1998-09-02' OR L_RECEIPTDATE = '1998-09-01') AND L_RETURNFLAG = 'R'
Incorrect usage 
WHERE O_ORDERPRIORITY = '1-URGENT' AND O_ORDERSTATUS = 'O'

O_TOTALPRICE > 1000, O_ORDERSTATUS = 'O'

Utilizing Functions

Leverage Spark SQL functions to refine and enhance your conditions.

Correct usage 
RIGHT(
    O_ORDERPRIORITY,
    LENGTH(O_ORDERPRIORITY) - INSTR('-', O_ORDERPRIORITY)
) = 'URGENT'

LEVENSHTEIN(C_NAME, 'Supplier#000000001') < 7
Incorrect usage 
RIGHT(
    O_ORDERPRIORITY,
    LENGTH(O_ORDERPRIORITY) - CHARINDEX('-', O_ORDERPRIORITY)
) = 'URGENT'

EDITDISTANCE(C_NAME, 'Supplier#000000001') < 7

Using scan-time variables

To refer to the current dataframe being analyzed, use the reserved dynamic variable {{ _qualytics_self }}.

Correct usage 
O_ORDERSTATUS IN (
    SELECT DISTINCT O_ORDERSTATUS
    FROM {{ _qualytics_self }}
    WHERE O_TOTALPRICE > 1000
)
Incorrect usage 
O_ORDERSTATUS IN (
    SELECT DISTINCT O_ORDERSTATUS
    FROM ORDERS
    WHERE O_TOTALPRICE > 1000
)

While subqueries can be useful, their application within filters in our context has limitations. For example, directly referencing other containers or the broader target container in such subqueries is not supported. Attempting to do so will result in an error.

Important Note on {{ _qualytics_self }}

The {{ _qualytics_self }} keyword refers to the dataframe that's currently under examination. In the context of a full scan, this variable represents the entire target container. However, during incremental scans, it only reflects a subset of the target container, capturing just the incremental data. It's crucial to recognize that in such scenarios, using {{ _qualytics_self }} may not encompass all entries from the target container.

Anomaly Types

Type Supported
Record
Flag inconsistencies at the row level
Shape
Flag inconsistencies in the overall patterns and distributions of a field

Example

Objective: Ensure that each combination of C_NAME and C_ADDRESS in the CUSTOMER table is unique.

Sample Data

C_CUSTKEY C_NAME C_ADDRESS
1 Customer_A 123 Main St
2 Customer_B 456 Oak Ave
3 Customer_A 123 Main St
4 Customer_C 789 Elm St 
{
    "description": "Ensure that each combination of C_NAME and C_ADDRESS in the CUSTOMER table is unique",
    "coverage": 1,
    "properties": null,
    "tags": [],
    "fields": ["C_NAME", "C_ADDRESS"],
    "additional_metadata": {"key 1": "value 1", "key 2": "value 2"},
    "rule": "unique",
    "container_id": {container_id},
    "template_id": {template_id},
    "filter": "1=1"
}

Anomaly Explanation

In the sample data above, the entries with C_CUSTKEY 1 and 3 have the same C_NAME and C_ADDRESS, which violates the rule because this combination of keys should be unique.

graph TD
A[Start] --> B[Retrieve C_NAME and C_ADDRESS]
B --> C{Is the combination unique?}
C -->|Yes| D[Move to Next Record/End]
C -->|No| E[Mark as Anomalous]
E --> D
-- An illustrative SQL query to find non-unique C_NAME and C_ADDRESS combinations.
select
    c_custkey,
    c_name,
    c_address
from customer 
group by c_name, c_address
having count(*) > 1;

Potential Violation Messages

Shape Anomaly

In C_NAME and C_ADDRESS, 25.000% of 4 filtered records (1) are not unique.