Principle:Eventual Inc Daft Table Listing
| Knowledge Sources | |
|---|---|
| Domains | Data_Engineering, Catalog_Management |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-08 00:00 GMT |
Overview
Technique for discovering available tables in the current catalog and namespace.
Description
Table listing enumerates tables visible in the current session context, with optional pattern-based filtering. The pattern syntax is catalog-dependent: native/memory and Postgres catalogs use SQL LIKE syntax (%, _, \), while other catalogs may use prefix matching or catalog-specific expressions. Pattern matching supports qualified patterns such as "ns1.table%" for cross-namespace queries.
Usage
Use table listing when you need to discover what tables are available in the current catalog. Essential for data discovery, catalog exploration, and programmatic table management workflows.
Theoretical Basis
Catalog metadata query returning table identifiers matching optional filter patterns:
list_tables(pattern=None):
tables = session.internal_list_tables(pattern)
return [Identifier.from(t) for t in tables]
# Pattern matching (catalog-dependent):
# Native: SQL LIKE syntax (% = wildcard, _ = single char)
# Iceberg: Prefix matching
# Glue: AWS Glue expression syntax
Results include both temp tables registered in the session and tables from attached catalogs.