Example dataset views in Postman

Views use SQL to define how data is retrieved from your dataset. By default, views use SQLite-compatible syntax and functions. If a dataset has only one external data source type, such as MySQL or PostgreSQL, you can also use syntax and functions specific to that data source.

The following examples show common ways to use views with different data sources.

About the example dataset

In the following examples, assume you have a dataset with the following data sources:

• A local CSV file named users with the following data:

  1
  userId,firstName,lastName,email
  2
  1,John,Doe,john.doe@example.com
  3
  2,Jane,Smith,jane.smith@example.com
  4
  3,Bob,Johnson,bob.johnson@example.com

• A MySQL database named orders with the following data:

  | orderId | userId | amount |
  |---------|--------|--------|
  | 101     | 1      | 50.00  |
  | 102     | 2      | 75.00  |
  | 103     | 3      | 25.00  |

Select all data

You can create a view that selects all rows and columns.

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SELECT * FROM source_users;

Filter rows

You can filter rows to return only the data your workflow needs.

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SELECT email, firstName, lastName
2
FROM source_users
3
WHERE userId = '2';

Create new columns

You can create new columns using expressions and aliases in your query. This is useful when your tests or mock servers need values derived from existing data.

SQLite example:

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SELECT firstName, lastName, firstName || ' ' || lastName AS fullName
2
FROM source_users;

MySQL example:

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SELECT orderId, amount, CONCAT(orderId, ' ', amount) AS orderSummary
2
FROM source_orders;

Join multiple data sources

You can combine data from multiple data sources, such as a local CSV file and a MySQL table. This is useful when you want a consolidated view of data that’s stored in different places.

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SELECT source_users.userId, source_users.firstName, source_users.lastName, source_orders.orderId, source_orders.amount
2
FROM source_users
3
JOIN source_orders ON source_users.userId = source_orders.userId;