Pass-Through Functions (RAWSQL)
These RAWSQL pass-through functions send SQL expressions directly to the database, without first being interpreted by Tableau. If you have custom database functions that Tableau doesn't know about, you can use pass-through functions to call these custom functions.
Because Tableau doesn't interpret the expression, you must define the aggregation when necessary. You can use the RAWSQLAGG version of a function when you need to pass an aggregated expression.
RAWSQL pass-through functions may not work with federated (combined across different databases) or published data sources.
RAWSQL Syntax
RAWSQL functions have two types, disaggregated and aggregated. This is specified in the first part of the function name, RAWSQL or RAWSQLAGG. The final portion of the function name is the output type, such as BOOL, STR or INT. In all RAWSQL functions, the argument is "sql_expr", [arg1], ...[arg2]. When writing the function, you can use a substitution syntax %n to insert the correct field name or expression.
%n substitution syntax
Your database won't usually understand the field names that are shown in Tableau. Because Tableau doesn't interpret the SQL expressions in the pass-through functions, using the Tableau field names in your expression may cause errors. Use %n to insert the correct field name or expression for a Tableau calculation into pass-through SQL.
For example, if you had a function that computed the median of a set of values, you could call that function on the Tableau column [Sales] like this:
RAWSQLAGG_REAL("MEDIAN(%1)", [Sales])REALSQLAGGbecause you want to specify the aggregation.REALbecause the output is numeric and not necessarily an integer.MEDIANis the aggregation.%1is the placeholder for[Sales].
RAWSQL Functions
The SQL expression is passed directly to the underlying database. Use %n in the SQL expression as a substitution syntax for database values.
The following RAWSQL functions are available in Tableau:
RAWSQL_BOOL
| Syntax | RAWSQL_BOOL("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Boolean |
| Definition | Returns a Boolean result from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_BOOL("%1 > %2", [Sales], [Profit])In the example, %1 is equal to [Sales] and %2 is equal to [Profit]. |
RAWSQLAGG_BOOL
| Syntax | RAWSQLAGG_BOOL("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Boolean |
| Definition | Returns a Boolean result from a given aggregate SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQLAGG_BOOL("SUM( %1) >SUM( %2)", [Sales], [Profit]) In the example, %1 is equal to [Sales] and %2 is equal to [Profit]. |
RAWSQL_DATE
| Syntax | RAWSQL_DATE("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Date |
| Definition | Returns a date result from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_DATE("%1", [Order Date])In this example, %1 is equal to [Order Date]. |
RAWSQLAGG_DATE
| Syntax | RAWSQLAGG_DATE("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Date |
| Definition | Returns a date result from a given aggregate SQL expression |
| Example | RAWSQLAGG_DATE("MAX(%1)", [Order Date])In this example, %1 is equal to [Order Date]. |
RAWSQL_DATETIME
| Syntax | RAWSQL_DATETIME("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Datetime |
| Definition | Returns a datetime result from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_DATETIME("%1", [Order Date])In this example, %1 is equal to [Order Date]. |
RAWSQLAGG_DATETIME
| Syntax | RAWSQLAGG_DATETIME("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Datetime |
| Definition | Returns a datetime result from a given aggregate SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQLAGG_DATETIME("MIN(%1)", [Order Date])In this example, %1 is equal to [Order Date]. |
RAWSQL_INT
| Syntax | RAWSQL_INT("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Integer |
| Definition | Returns an integer result from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_INT("500 + %1", [Sales])In this example, %1 is equal to [Sales]. |
RAWSQLAGG_INT
| Syntax | RAWSQLAGG_INT("sql_expr", [arg1,] …[argN]) |
| Output | Integer |
| Definition | Returns an integer result from a given aggregate SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQLAGG_INT("500 + SUM(%1)", [Sales])In this example, %1 is equal to [Sales]. |
RAWSQL_REAL
| Syntax | RAWSQL_REAL("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Numeric |
| Definition | Returns a numeric result from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_REAL("-123.98 * %1", [Sales])In this example, %1 is equal to [Sales] |
RAWSQLAGG_REAL
| Syntax | RAWSQLAGG_REAL("sql_expr", [arg1,] …[argN]) |
| Output | Numeric |
| Definition | Returns a numeric result from a given aggregate SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQLAGG_REAL("SUM( %1)", [Sales])In this example, %1 is equal to [Sales]. |
RAWSQL_SPATIAL
| Syntax | RAWSQL_SPATIAL("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | Spatial |
| Definition | Returns a spatial result from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_SPATIAL("%1", [Geometry])In this example, %1 is equal to [Geometry]. |
| Note | There is no RAWSQLAGG version of this function. |
RAWSQL_STR
| Syntax | RAWSQL_STR("sql_expr", [arg1], …[argN]) |
| Output | String |
| Definition | Returns a string from a given SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQL_STR("%1", [Customer Name])In this example, %1 is equal to [Customer Name]. |
RAWSQLAGG_STR
| Syntax | RAWSQLAGG_STR("sql_expr", [arg1,] …[argN]) |
| Output | String |
| Definition | Returns a string from a given aggregate SQL expression. |
| Example | RAWSQLAGG_STR("AVG(%1)", [Discount])In this example, %1 is equal to [Discount]. |