Beyond ETL / ELT

ETLX is not just an ETL / ELT engine.

It is a declarative specification for describing how modern data workflows should be built, executed, documented, audited, and governed — in a way that is transparent, portable, and self-documented.

In ETLX, the pipeline is the documentation.

From Pipelines to Specifications

Traditional data platforms tend to:

  • Hide logic inside closed-source binaries

  • Spread business rules across:

    • SQL files
    • Python scripts
    • Airflow DAGs
    • Wiki pages
    • Spreadsheets

  • Separate execution, documentation, validation, and governance into disconnected systems

ETLX takes the opposite approach.

Everything that matters is declared explicitly, in one place, and in plain text.

ETLX as a Declarative Workflow Language

An ETLX project describes the entire lifecycle of a data workflow:

  • Data ingestion (ETL / ELT)
  • Transformations (including complex, documented queries)
  • Data quality rules
  • Exports and report generation
  • Document and template rendering (Excel, HTML, Markdown, XML)
  • File transfers and external actions
  • Logging, observability, and audit trails

All of this is expressed using:

  • Markdown structure
  • YAML metadata
  • SQL blocks
  • Explicit ordering and dependencies

No hidden code paths. No implicit behavior.

Beyond ETL: Core Use Cases

📊 Reporting & Analytics

ETLX can be used to generate:

  • Daily / monthly management reports
  • KPI summaries
  • Aggregated dashboards (as tables or files)
  • Regulatory extracts

Using:

  • EXPORTS
  • MULTI_QUERIES
  • Template-based Excel or text exports

The same SQL used for transformation can be reused directly for reporting — no duplication.

📄 Document Generation

ETLX supports structured document generation using:

  • Excel templates
  • Text-based templates (HTML, Markdown, XML, TXT)

With:

  • SQL as the data source
  • Go templates + Sprig functions for rendering

This enables:

  • Automated reports
  • Data dictionaries
  • Lineage documentation
  • Audit and compliance documents

Generated documents are deterministic, versionable, and traceable to the pipeline that produced them.

📦 Structured Exports & Regulatory Workflows

Many real-world pipelines are not about analytics — they are about delivery:

  • Files for regulators
  • Submissions to partners
  • Periodic data drops
  • Certified reports

ETLX supports:

  • Controlled exports
  • Repeatable file layouts
  • Deterministic naming (e.g. YYYYMMDD)
  • Full traceability via logs

Every export step is declared, logged, and auditable.

🧪 Data Quality as a First-Class Concept

In ETLX, data quality is not an afterthought.

Validation rules:

  • Are declared explicitly
  • Run as part of the pipeline
  • Can be enforced, logged, and optionally fixed

This turns quality checks into contractual guarantees, not best-effort scripts.

The Pipeline Is the Documentation

A key design principle of ETLX is:

If it is not declared, it does not exist.

This means:

  • No logic hidden in binaries
  • No undocumented transformations
  • No tribal knowledge required to understand the pipeline

By reading the ETLX configuration, you can understand:

  • What data is loaded
  • Where it comes from
  • How it is transformed
  • How it is validated
  • Where it is exported
  • What actions are executed
  • What is logged and audited

Without running a single line of code.

Transparency Over Abstraction

ETLX intentionally avoids:

  • Magical defaults
  • Implicit behavior
  • Framework-specific DSLs

Instead, it favors:

  • SQL you already know
  • Explicit metadata
  • Simple, composable blocks

This makes ETLX:

  • Easier to audit
  • Easier to review
  • Easier to reason about
  • Easier to explain to non-engineers

A Specification, Not Just a Runtime

ETLX can be:

  • Executed as a CLI
  • Embedded as a library
  • Integrated into CI/CD
  • Reviewed as plain text

But regardless of how it is executed, the specification remains the source of truth.

This allows teams to:

  • Treat pipelines as code
  • Version workflows safely
  • Review changes via pull requests
  • Share pipelines across teams and environments

When ETLX Makes the Most Sense

ETLX shines when you need:

  • End-to-end transparency
  • Auditable pipelines
  • Strong governance
  • SQL-first workflows
  • Deterministic outputs
  • Minimal runtime dependencies

Especially in:

  • Regulated environments
  • Data engineering teams
  • Analytics platforms
  • Reporting-heavy organizations

Summary

ETLX goes beyond ETL by:

  • Treating pipelines as living documentation
  • Making every step explicit and declarative
  • Unifying execution, governance, and reporting
  • Replacing hidden binaries with readable specifications

It is not just an engine.

It is a modern way to describe data workflows — as they should be built today.

Edit this page

Last updated 06 Jan 2026, 20:05 -01 . history

Was this page helpful?