Build a templatized data pipeline

Applications are powerful, reusable sub-flows that bundle multiple Components into a single visual unit within your Flow Graph. They allow you to package complex logic into modular, reusable building blocks that simplify your data pipelines.

This guide shows you how to create reusable data transformations using Ascend's Simple Application. The Simple Application is a pre-built Ascend solution that enables you to define parameterized Transforms with Jinja templating, creating flexible and maintainable data pipelines.

Want to learn more about Ascend-native Applications? Check out this concept guide.

Build a Simple Application

The Simple Application uses SQL or Python templates (or both) with Jinja to create parameterized Components. This guide demonstrates both approaches.

SQL templates

This implementation uses SQL templates to build a straightforward filtering Application.

Set up your project structure

Create a template directory structure in your project to organize your SQL templates:

my_project/
├── templates/
│   └── flows/
│       └── basic_filter/
│           └── filter.sql

Create your SQL template

Add a .sql file with placeholders for parameters:

filter.sql

SELECT *
FROM {{ ref(input_table) }}
WHERE {{ filter_column }} > {{ filter_value }}
LIMIT {{ row_limit }}

Configure the Application

Create a YAML configuration file that references the SQL template and defines parameter values:

basic_filter.yaml

component:
  application:
    application_id: simple  # Simple Application
    config:
      template_path: templates/flows/basic_filter  # Directory with your templates
      parameters:
        input_table: YOUR_INPUT_TABLE
        filter_column: YOUR_COLUMN_NAME
        filter_value: 100
        row_limit: 1000

When Ascend processes this configuration, it generates a SQL Transform Component that filters your data based on the specified parameters.

SQL and Python templates

This implementation uses both SQL and Python templates to build a data diff Application that identifies differences between two tables.

Set up your project structure

Create a template directory structure in your project to organize your templates:

my_project/
├── templates/
│   └── flows/
│       └── data_diff/
│           ├── a.sql
│           ├── b.sql
│           ├── diff.py
│           └── flagged.py

Create your templates

Add each template file with the following content:

First table query template (a.sql)

This template retrieves data from the first table with any configured filters for comparison:

a.sql

SELECT
   *
FROM
   {{ ref(a.get("name"), flow=a.get("flow")) }}
{%- if where %}
WHERE
   {{ where }}
{%- endif %}

Second table query template (b.sql)

This template retrieves data from the second table with any configured filters for comparison:

b.sql

SELECT
 *
FROM
   {{ ref(b.get("name"), flow=b.get("flow")) }}
{%- if where %}
WHERE
   {{ where }}
{%- endif %}

Data comparison logic (diff.py)

This template contains the core comparison logic that:

• Dynamically compares schemas of two input tables
• Joins on all string/timestamp columns and selects all columns from both sides
• Raises an error if schemas don't match

diff.py

import ibis
from ascend.application.context import ComponentExecutionContext
from ascend.common.events import log
from ascend.resources import application_subcomponent_name, application_subcomponent_ref, transform
from ibis import ir


@transform(
    name=application_subcomponent_name("diff"),
    inputs=[
        application_subcomponent_ref("a", alias="a"),
        application_subcomponent_ref("b", alias="b"),
    ],
)
def diff(a: ir.Table, b: ir.Table, context: ComponentExecutionContext) -> ir.Table:
    """
    Dynamically compares schemas of two tables, joins on all string/timestamp columns, and selects all columns from both sides.
    Raises an error if schemas do not match.
    Uses alias names for inputs if provided, otherwise defaults to 'a' and 'b'.
    """
    # Get aliases from parameters (default to 'a' and 'b')
    app_context = context.application_component_context
    params = app_context.config["parameters"]
    a_alias = params["a"].get("alias", "a")
    b_alias = params["b"].get("alias", "b")
    threshold = params.get("value_threshold", 0)
    exclude_columns = set(params.get("exclude_columns", []))

    numeric_types = {"int", "integer", "bigint", "smallint", "tinyint", "float", "double", "real", "decimal", "numeric"}

    # Get schemas as dicts: {colname: dtype}, excluding columns in exclude_columns
    a_schema = {col: str(dtype) for col, dtype in zip(a.schema().names, a.schema().types) if col not in exclude_columns}
    b_schema = {col: str(dtype) for col, dtype in zip(b.schema().names, b.schema().types) if col not in exclude_columns}

    log(f"Schema {a_alias} (filtered): {a_schema}")
    log(f"Schema {b_alias} (filtered): {b_schema}")

    # Identify join keys: all columns that are string or timestamp, and not excluded
    join_types = {"string", "timestamp", "date", "datetime"}
    id_cols = [col for col, dtype in a_schema.items() if any(t in dtype.lower() for t in join_types)]
    if not id_cols:
        raise ValueError("No string or timestamp columns found for join keys after excluding columns.")
    log(f"Join keys: {id_cols}")

    join_condition = None
    for col in id_cols:
        dtype = a_schema[col]
        cond = a[col] == b[col]
        join_condition = cond if join_condition is None else (join_condition & cond)

    # Perform full outer join (no suffixes argument in Ibis)
    joined = a.join(b, join_condition, how="outer")
    select_exprs = [joined[col] for col in id_cols]

    # Add 'exists' column: struct with a_alias and b_alias fields, true if the first join key is not null in each input
    presence_col = id_cols[0]
    exists_struct = ibis.struct(dict(**{a_alias: a[presence_col].notnull(), b_alias: b[presence_col].notnull()})).name("EXISTS")
    select_exprs.append(exists_struct)

    # Add Missing column: indicates which dataset is missing the row, or if present in both
    missing_expr = (
        ibis.case()
        .when(~exists_struct[a_alias], ibis.literal(f"Dataset {a_alias} Missing Row"))
        .when(~exists_struct[b_alias], ibis.literal(f"Dataset {b_alias} Missing Row"))
        .else_(ibis.literal("Row Not Missing"))
        .end()
        .name("MISSING")
    )
    select_exprs.append(missing_expr)

    # Add DIFF_COLUMNS: array of {column, diff} for numeric columns where diff is not null and >= threshold
    diff_columns_array = []
    for col, dtype in a_schema.items():
        if col not in id_cols and col not in exclude_columns:
            is_numeric = any(t in dtype.lower() for t in numeric_types)
            if is_numeric:
                left_expr = a[col]
                right_expr = b[col]
                diff_value = (left_expr - right_expr).abs()
                include_expr = diff_value.notnull() & (diff_value != 0)
                diff_struct = ibis.ifelse(include_expr, ibis.struct({"column": ibis.literal(col), "diff": diff_value}), None)
                diff_columns_array.append(diff_struct)
    if diff_columns_array:
        diff_columns_array_expr = ibis.array(diff_columns_array).name("DIFF_COLUMNS")
    else:
        diff_columns_array_expr = ibis.literal([], type="array<struct<column: string, diff: double>>").name("DIFF_COLUMNS")
    select_exprs.append(diff_columns_array_expr)

    # For non-key columns, output a struct with a_alias, b_alias, diff, diff_abs, and diff_pct fields
    diff_pct_abs_exprs = []
    for col, dtype in a_schema.items():
        if col not in id_cols and col not in exclude_columns:
            is_numeric = any(t in dtype.lower() for t in numeric_types)
            left_expr = a[col]
            right_expr = b[col]
            if is_numeric:
                # Calculate absolute percent difference: abs(a-b)/((abs(a)+abs(b))/2)*100
                numerator = (left_expr - right_expr).abs()
                denominator = ((left_expr.abs() + right_expr.abs()) / 2).nullif(0)
                abs_pct_diff_expr = (numerator / denominator).coalesce(0.0)
                # Only include if above threshold
                include_expr = numerator >= threshold
                filtered_pct_diff_expr = ibis.ifelse(include_expr, abs_pct_diff_expr, 0.0)
                diff_pct_abs_exprs.append(filtered_pct_diff_expr)
                # Only use zero for missing side if the other side has a value; otherwise, keep null
                both_null = left_expr.isnull() & right_expr.isnull()
                diff_expr = ibis.ifelse(both_null, ibis.literal(None), left_expr.coalesce(0) - right_expr.coalesce(0))
                diff_abs_expr = diff_expr.abs()
                diff_pct_expr = abs_pct_diff_expr
                left_struct_expr = ibis.ifelse(left_expr.isnull() & right_expr.notnull(), 0, left_expr)
                right_struct_expr = ibis.ifelse(right_expr.isnull() & left_expr.notnull(), 0, right_expr)
            else:
                diff_expr = ibis.literal(None)
                diff_abs_expr = ibis.literal(None)
                diff_pct_expr = ibis.literal(None)
                left_struct_expr = left_expr
                right_struct_expr = right_expr
            struct_expr = ibis.struct(
                dict(
                    **{a_alias: left_struct_expr, b_alias: right_struct_expr},
                    diff=diff_expr,
                    diff_abs=diff_abs_expr,
                    diff_pct=diff_pct_expr,
                )
            ).name(col)
            select_exprs.append(struct_expr)

    # Add diff_score column: 1 if either input does not exist, else sum of abs(diff_pct) for all numeric columns
    exists_a = exists_struct[a_alias]
    exists_b = exists_struct[b_alias]
    if diff_pct_abs_exprs:
        sum_diff_pct_abs = diff_pct_abs_exprs[0].coalesce(0.0)
        for expr in diff_pct_abs_exprs[1:]:
            sum_diff_pct_abs = sum_diff_pct_abs + expr
        sum_diff_pct_abs = sum_diff_pct_abs.coalesce(0.0)
    else:
        sum_diff_pct_abs = ibis.literal(0.0)
    diff_score_expr = ibis.case().when(~exists_a | ~exists_b, 1.0).else_(sum_diff_pct_abs).end().coalesce(0.0).name("DIFF_SCORE")
    select_exprs.insert(len(id_cols), diff_score_expr)

    log(f"Output columns: {[str(e.get_name()) for e in select_exprs]}")
    log(f"Using aliases: {a_alias} (for 'a'), {b_alias} (for 'b')")

    result = joined.select(select_exprs)
    return result

Filtered results (flagged.py)

This template filters the output from diff.py, keeping only rows where the DIFF_SCORE (representing the degree of difference for each row) exceeds a configurable threshold:

flagged.py

from ascend.application.context import ComponentExecutionContext
from ascend.common.events import log
from ascend.resources import (
    application_subcomponent_name,
    application_subcomponent_ref,
    transform,
)
from ibis import ir


@transform(
    name=application_subcomponent_name("flagged"),
    inputs=[
        application_subcomponent_ref("diff"),
    ],
)
def flagged(diff: ir.Table, context: ComponentExecutionContext) -> ir.Table:
    """
    Filters by DIFF_SCORE threshold
    """
    app_context = context.application_component_context
    threshold = app_context.config["parameters"]["percent_threshold"]
    log(f"Filtering rows with DIFF_SCORE > {threshold}")

    # Filter rows using Ibis expressions
    filtered = diff.filter(diff.DIFF_SCORE > threshold)

    log("Ibis filtering complete")

    return filtered

Configure the Application

Create a YAML configuration file that references the templates and defines parameter values:

builder_sessions.yaml

component:
  application:
    application_id: simple # Simple Application
    config:
      template_path: templates/flows/data_diff # Directory containing all templates
      parameters:
        a:
          flow: data_quality
          name: builder_sessions
          alias: table_1
        b:
          name: simple__builder_sessions
          alias: table_2
        where: | # Date filter
          TO_DATE(session_start_time) IN ('2022-10-15', '2025-03-01')
        percent_threshold: 0.001 # Relative/percent difference threshold
        value_threshold: 0.001 # Absolute difference threshold
        exclude_columns:
          - SESSION_ID

When Ascend processes this configuration, it generates SQL and Python Transform Components that compare your tables based on the specified parameters.

🎉 Congratulations! You've successfully created a Simple Application that can be reused across different datasets and scenarios.