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You can analyze queries by commands that instruct to return plan-related information for a database administrator or analyst to evaluate. The results of these commands are vital in performance optimization activities on an Ocient System. Ocient supports SQL DDL commands to terminate running queries and distributed tasks. These commands provide administrative control over query execution and are distinct from programmatic cancellation methods in JDBC and pyocient drivers.

EXPLAIN

EXPLAIN shows the optimized query plan. The database optimizes the query normally, but it does not execute. Instead, the database returns the query plan in the specified format. Syntax
SQL
This table defines the explain plan formats. Examples This example shows the optimized plan for the query SELECT * FROM names in JSON format.
SQL
This EXPLAIN example generates a lengthy output showing the execution plan for the query. This execution plan shows how the database scans the tables referenced by the statement and calculates the memory usage and total execution cost. This example shows the optimized plan for the query SELECT * FROM names in DEBUG format, which produces a more compact execution plan.
SQL
Output
Text

EXPLAIN PIPELINE

EXPLAIN PIPELINE shows the pipeline the system uses for compiling a query. The system compiles the pipeline for the specified segments, and if no segment is specified, it picks random segments with the tables. To explain a pipeline, you must be a system-level user or possess the SELECT TABLE privilege for the table used in the query. Syntax
SQL
Examples This example shows the pipeline on the query SELECT * FROM names for a random segment.
SQL
This example shows the pipeline for the segment with the identifier 529a2e9d-d06c-46cd-a93b-624d3bed1c08.
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This example shows the pipeline for segments with these identifiers: 529a2e9d-d06c-46cd-a93b-624d3bed1c08, 378eac93-2e3d-4ce6-bf1f-d8b7a78fe585.
SQL
All the examples generate lengthy output that includes the execution plan for the query for the specified segments. This execution plan shows how the database scans the tables referenced by the statement and calculates the memory usage and total execution cost. SQL Reference
Last modified on May 20, 2026