What is schema introspection?
Schema introspection is the process of automatically reading a data source's structure — its tables, columns, types and relationships — directly from the source itself. iDBQuery introspects every source you connect, so it understands your data's shape without you having to describe or document it.
Before any tool can answer a question about your data, it has to know how that data is organised. Schema introspection is how iDBQuery learns that automatically: rather than asking you to map out your tables or upload documentation, it queries the source directly to discover its structure.
When you connect a database, spreadsheet, document set or API, iDBQuery introspects it — discovering which tables and fields exist, what type each holds, and how they relate — and saves that as a schema memory it uses to write correct queries.
Schema introspection is what makes iDBQuery fast to set up and reliable to query:
- No manual mapping — you don't define your schema by hand; iDBQuery reads it for you.
- Accurate query generation — knowing the real structure means the SQL it writes targets the right tables and joins.
- Works on unfamiliar data — you can connect a database you've never seen and start asking questions immediately.
Introspection captures the raw structure; a semantic layer then adds meaning on top, mapping cryptic names to the business terms you use. Together they let iDBQuery go from "connect a source" to "answer a plain-language question" in seconds, even when the underlying schema is large, obscure or undocumented.
Updated 2026-06-22