Organizing a Snowflake database

The data objects stored by Snowflake—optimized and compressed in an internal columnar format—are not directly visible nor accessible by customers; they are only accessible through SQL query operations. The customer only manages the logical grouping of database objects into schemas and databases. As described in Chapter 3, Mastering Snowflake’s Architecture, in Snowflake cloud architecture, data is shared virtually without needing to be physically replicated. Therefore, unlike traditional database platforms, the database structure in Snowflake is less concerned with the colocation of physical data and more with the logical grouping of objects—allowing for simple discovery and fine-tuning of access controls.

What does this look like in practice?

Organization of databases and schemas

All Snowflake objects are assigned to a schema upon creation and form a logical hierarchy from object to schema to database. This tiered...