Metric Store
Overview
Definition
A Metric Store is a connector to store and retrieve information about computed attributes of data, such as the mean of a column.
Features and promises
The Metric Store differs from an Evaluation Parameter StoreA connector to store and retrieve information about parameters used during Validation of an Expectation which reference simple expressions or previously generated metrics. in how it formats its data. Information stored in a Metric Store is kept in a format that more easily converted into tables which can be used for reports or to analyze trends. It can also be referenced as values for Evaluation ParametersA dynamic value used during Validation of an Expectation which is populated by evaluating simple expressions or by referencing previously generated metrics..
Relationship to other objects
A Metric Store can be referenced by an
Expectation SuiteA collection of verifiable assertions about
data.
to populate values for Evaluation Parameters used by
ExpectationsA verifiable assertion about data.
within that suite. Metric Stores are also used in
CheckpointsThe primary means for validating data in a
production deployment of Great Expectations.
to store
MetricsA computed attribute of data such as the mean of
a column.
that are included in the
Validation ResultsGenerated when data is Validated against an
Expectation or Expectation Suite.
which are passed to the Checkpoints'
action_list
.
Use cases
Setup |
If you intend to use a Metric Store, you can configure
it in your great_expectations.yml
file
when you configure other Stores. A Metric Store is an
optional addition to
great_expectations.yml
, and one will not
be included by default when you first initialize your
Data Context.
For more information, please see our guide on how to configure a Metric Store.
Create Expectations |
When creating Expectations, you can configure them to use your Metric Store to retrieve values for Evaluation Parameters.
Validate Data |
When a Checkpoint is run, it will use a Metric Store
to populate values for Evaluation Parameters if the
Expectation Suite being run is configured to do so.
The StoreMetricsAction
Action can also be
included in a Checkpoint's
action_list
. This will cause the
Checkpoint to use the Metric Store and store any
Metrics that were included in the Validation Results
passed to the action_list
.
Features
The Metric Store is tailored for storing and
retrieving Metrics. Although it can be used within
Great Expectations as a reference to populate
Evaluation Parameters when an Expectation Suite is
run, the fact that it doesn't include other
information found in Validation Results means you can
also use it to more easily examine trends in your
Metrics over time. To help with this, a Metric Store
will track the run_id
of a Validation and
the Expectation Suite name in addition to the metric
name and metric kwargs.
API basics
For information on how to create and use a Metric Store, please see our guide on how to configure a Metric Store.