Data Modeling and MAQL

The logical data model that you build in the LDM Modeler is a visualization of the underlying data model, which is defined in MAQL. Short for Multi-Dimension Analytical Query Language, MAQL is the language used for the following purposes.

  • MAQL Data Definition Language: MAQL DDL is used to define the logical data model. When changes are made to the model, updates are published to the platform as a sequence of MAQL commands which, when executed, update the logical data model to the new version.

  • MAQL Data Query Language: This flavor of MAQL is used to specify metrics through the GoodData Portal. MAQL DQL is not used in the LDM Modeler.

The logical data model is used to support both variants of MAQL. At a technical level, the logical data model is used to render the MAQL queries into SQL queries that can be consumed and processed by the backend database.

For more information on terminology, see GoodData Glossary.