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Materialization

Live Query can temporarily store intermediate results so expensive operations don't have to rerun each time you interact with downstream tools. This process is called materialization.

During workflow design, Live Query reuses materialized results when you interact with downstream tools. Materialization is available for selected tools in BigQuery and Snowflake, but what is materialized and when the full input is processed differ between the 2 cloud data warehouses.

Compare Materialization

BigQuery

Snowflake

What is materialized

A sampled AI-tool preview

A result that requires full-input processing

Why

Reuse an AI preview during design

Avoid repeatedly performing an operation for which a preview limit offers no benefit

When full input is processed

When the workflow runs

Before the affected preview can be produced

Tool coverage

Selected AI tools

Selected transformation tools and modes

Workflow Refresh

Workflow Refresh refreshes the workflow's source data and marks materialized preview results as outdated. It does not immediately reprocess those results. The next time Live Query needs a preview, it recalculates the affected results using the refreshed source data.