FnordMetric allows you to query data from a number of sources. CSV Files are one of them, but there are other backends like MySQL and the built-in statsd server. So ideally there is no "middleware step": you generate charts using only sql from your backend data source in a single step.
There really is no documentation on how to use your own database as a data source.
Am I misunderstanding what FnordMetric is meant to do? Is it meant to allow me to generate charts from my existing postgres database or is it something where I have to feed data into it?
I think we need to improve the wording in the documentation. The IMPORT statement only creates a "virtual table", it doesn't actually import any data. As much of the query as possible is pushed down into MySQL/the external data source.
1. Does IMPORT TABLE mean that it has to copy data from MySQL Database into its own storage or does it merely mean it will connect to the MySQL db and query it directly?
2. If it is a long query (e.g. a 60 second query), does FnordMetric server cache previous results?
> 1. Does IMPORT TABLE mean that it has to copy data from MySQL Database into its own storage or does it merely mean it will connect to the MySQL db and query it directly?
It will only connect to the MySQL database and won't copy any data into it's own storage. The SQL query will be pushed down into the MySQL database and the chart will be rendered from the result set that is returned by MySQL database (or other external storage system).
> 2. If it is a long query (e.g. a 60 second query), does FnordMetric server cache previous results?
Not yet but this is on the roadmap. (Pull Requests always welcome!)
