Break out configuration change monitoring from materialized views

website/dbt-versions.js

@@ -177,6 +177,10 @@ exports.versionedPages = [
   {
     "page": "docs/build/saved-queries",
     "firstVersion": "1.7",
+  },
+  {
+    "page": "reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change",
+    "firstVersion": "1.6",
   }
 ]
 

website/docs/docs/build/materializations.md

@@ -109,27 +109,7 @@ When using the `table` materialization, your model is rebuilt as a <Term id="tab
 
 ### Materialized View
 
-The `materialized view` materialization allows the creation and maintenance of materialized views
-in the target database. This materialization makes use of the `on_configuration_change` config, which
-aligns with the incremental nature of the namesake database object. This setting tells dbt to attempt to
-make configuration changes directly to the object when possible, as opposed to completely recreating
-the object to implement the updated configuration. Using `dbt-postgres` as an example, indexes can
-be dropped and created on the materialized view without the need to recreate the materialized view itself.
-
-The `on_configuration_change` config has three settings:
-- `apply` (default) &mdash; attempt to update the existing database object if possible, avoiding a complete rebuild
-  - *Note:* if any individual configuration change requires a full refresh, a full refresh be performed in lieu of individual alter statements
-- `continue` &mdash; allow runs to continue while also providing a warning that the object was left untouched
-  - *Note:* this could result in downstream failures as those models may depend on these unimplemented changes
-- `fail` &mdash; force the entire run to fail if a change is detected
-
-Materialized views are implemented following this "drop through" life cycle:
-1. If an object does not exist, create a materialized view
-2. If an object exists, other than a materialized view, that object is dropped and replaced with a materialized view
-3. If `--full-refresh` is supplied, replace the materialized view regardless of changes and the `on_configuration_change` setting
-4. If there are no configuration changes, refresh the materialized view
-5. At this point there are configuration changes, proceed according to the `on_configuration_change` setting
-
+The `materialized view` materialization allows the creation and maintenance of materialized views in the target database.
 Materialized views are a combination of a view and a table, and serve use cases similar to incremental models.
 
 * **Pros:**
@@ -145,7 +125,30 @@ less configuration options available, see your database platform's docs for more
 * **Advice:**
   * Consider materialized views for use cases where incremental models are sufficient, but you would like the data platform to manage the incremental logic and refresh.
 
-**Note:** `dbt-snowflake` _does not_ support materialized views, it uses Dynamic Tables instead. For details, refer to [Snowflake specific configurations](/reference/resource-configs/snowflake-configs#dynamic-tables).
+#### Configuration Change Monitoring
+
+This materialization makes use of the [`on_configuration_change`](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change)
+config, which aligns with the incremental nature of the namesake database object. This setting tells dbt to attempt to
+make configuration changes directly to the object when possible, as opposed to completely recreating
+the object to implement the updated configuration. Using `dbt-postgres` as an example, indexes can
+be dropped and created on the materialized view without the need to recreate the materialized view itself.
+
+#### Scheduled Refreshes
+
+In the context of a `dbt run` command, materialized views should be thought of as similar to views.
+For example, a `dbt run` command is only needed if there is the potential for a change in configuration or sql;
+it's effectively a deploy action.
+By contrast, a `dbt run` command is needed for a table in the same scenarios *AND when the data in the table needs to be updated*.
+This also holds true for incremental and snapshot models, whose underlying relations are tables.
+In the table cases, the scheduling mechanism is either dbt Cloud or your local scheduler;
+there is no built-in functionality to automatically refresh the data behind a table.
+However, most platforms (Postgres excluded) provide functionality to configure automatically refreshing a materialized view.
+Hence, materialized views work similarly to incremental models with the benefit of not needing to run dbt to refresh the data.
+This assumes, of course, that auto refresh is turned on and configured in the model.
+
+:::info
+`dbt-snowflake` _does not_ support materialized views, it uses Dynamic Tables instead. For details, refer to [Snowflake specific configurations](/reference/resource-configs/snowflake-configs#dynamic-tables).
+:::
 
 ## Python materializations
 

website/docs/reference/resource-configs/bigquery-configs.md

@@ -725,18 +725,18 @@ The `grant_access_to` config is not thread-safe when multiple views need to be a
 The BigQuery adapter supports [materialized views](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/materialized-views-intro)
 with the following configuration parameters:
 
-| Parameter                                                   | Type                   | Required | Default | Change Monitoring Support |
-|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|----------|---------|---------------------------|
-| `on_configuration_change`                                   | `<string>`             | no       | `apply` | n/a                       |
-| [`cluster_by`](#clustering-clause)                          | `[<string>]`           | no       | `none`  | drop/create               |
-| [`partition_by`](#partition-clause)                         | `{<dictionary>}`       | no       | `none`  | drop/create               |
-| [`enable_refresh`](#auto-refresh)                           | `<boolean>`            | no       | `true`  | alter                     |
-| [`refresh_interval_minutes`](#auto-refresh)                 | `<float>`              | no       | `30`    | alter                     |
-| [`max_staleness`](#auto-refresh) (in Preview)               | `<interval>`           | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
-| [`description`](/reference/resource-properties/description) | `<string>`             | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
-| [`labels`](#specifying-labels)                              | `{<string>: <string>}` | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
-| [`hours_to_expiration`](#controlling-table-expiration)      | `<integer>`            | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
-| [`kms_key_name`](#using-kms-encryption)                     | `<string>`             | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
+| Parameter                                                                        | Type                   | Required | Default | Change Monitoring Support |
+|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|----------|---------|---------------------------|
+| [`on_configuration_change`](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change) | `<string>`             | no       | `apply` | n/a                       |
+| [`cluster_by`](#clustering-clause)                                               | `[<string>]`           | no       | `none`  | drop/create               |
+| [`partition_by`](#partition-clause)                                              | `{<dictionary>}`       | no       | `none`  | drop/create               |
+| [`enable_refresh`](#auto-refresh)                                                | `<boolean>`            | no       | `true`  | alter                     |
+| [`refresh_interval_minutes`](#auto-refresh)                                      | `<float>`              | no       | `30`    | alter                     |
+| [`max_staleness`](#auto-refresh) (in Preview)                                    | `<interval>`           | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
+| [`description`](/reference/resource-properties/description)                      | `<string>`             | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
+| [`labels`](#specifying-labels)                                                   | `{<string>: <string>}` | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
+| [`hours_to_expiration`](#controlling-table-expiration)                           | `<integer>`            | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
+| [`kms_key_name`](#using-kms-encryption)                                          | `<string>`             | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
 
 <Tabs
   groupId="config-languages"
@@ -757,7 +757,7 @@ with the following configuration parameters:
 models:
   [<resource-path>](/reference/resource-configs/resource-path):
     [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized): materialized_view
-    [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)on_configuration_change: apply | continue | fail
+    [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[on_configuration_change](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change): apply | continue | fail
     [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[cluster_by](#clustering-clause): <field-name> | [<field-name>]
     [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[partition_by](#partition-clause):
       - field: <field-name>
@@ -794,7 +794,7 @@ models:
   - name: [<model-name>]
     config:
       [materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized): materialized_view
-      on_configuration_change: apply | continue | fail
+      [on_configuration_change](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change): apply | continue | fail
       [cluster_by](#clustering-clause): <field-name> | [<field-name>]
       [partition_by](#partition-clause):
         - field: <field-name>
@@ -827,7 +827,7 @@ models:
 ```jinja
 {{ config(
     [materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized)='materialized_view',
-    on_configuration_change="apply" | "continue" | "fail",
+    [on_configuration_change](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change)="apply" | "continue" | "fail",
     [cluster_by](#clustering-clause)="<field-name>" | ["<field-name>"],
     [partition_by](#partition-clause)={
         "field": "<field-name>",
@@ -868,7 +868,7 @@ models:
 Many of these parameters correspond to their table counterparts and have been linked above.
 The set of parameters unique to materialized views covers [auto-refresh functionality](#auto-refresh).
 
-Find more information about these parameters in the BigQuery docs:
+Learn more about these parameters in BigQuery's docs:
 - [CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW statement](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/reference/standard-sql/data-definition-language#create_materialized_view_statement)
 - [materialized_view_option_list](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/reference/standard-sql/data-definition-language#materialized_view_option_list)
 
@@ -886,7 +886,7 @@ BigQuery only officially supports the configuration of the frequency (the "once
 however, there is a feature in preview that allows for the configuration of the staleness (the "5 minutes" refresh).
 dbt will monitor these parameters for changes and apply them using an `ALTER` statement.
 
-Find more information about these parameters in the BigQuery docs:
+Learn more about these parameters in BigQuery's docs:
 - [materialized_view_option_list](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/reference/standard-sql/data-definition-language#materialized_view_option_list)
 - [max_staleness](https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/docs/materialized-views-create#max_staleness)
 

website/docs/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change.md

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+---
+resource_types: [models]
+description: "on_configuration_change - Read this in-depth guide to learn about configuration change monitoring in dbt."
+datatype: "string"
+---
+
+:::info
+This functionality is currently only supported for [materialized views](/docs/build/materializations#materialized-view) on a subset of adapters.
+:::
+
+The `on_configuration_change` config has three settings:
+- `apply` (default) — Attempt to update the existing database object if possible, avoiding a complete rebuild.
+  - *Note:* If any individual configuration change requires a full refresh, a full refresh be performed in lieu of individual alter statements.
+- `continue` — Allow runs to continue while also providing a warning that the object was left untouched.
+  - *Note:* This could result in downstream failures as those models may depend on these unimplemented changes.
+- `fail` — Force the entire run to fail if a change is detected.
+
+<Tabs
+  groupId="config-languages"
+  defaultValue="project-yaml"
+  values={[
+    { label: 'Project file', value: 'project-yaml', },
+    { label: 'Property file', value: 'property-yaml', },
+    { label: 'Config block', value: 'config', },
+  ]
+}>
+
+
+<TabItem value="project-yaml">
+
+<File name='dbt_project.yml'>
+
+```yaml
+models:
+  [<resource-path>](/reference/resource-configs/resource-path):
+    [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized): <materialization_name>
+    [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)on_configuration_change: apply | continue | fail
+```
+
+</File>
+
+</TabItem>
+
+
+<TabItem value="property-yaml">
+
+<File name='models/properties.yml'>
+
+```yaml
+version: 2
+
+models:
+  - name: [<model-name>]
+    config:
+      [materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized): <materialization_name>
+      on_configuration_change: apply | continue | fail
+```
+
+</File>
+
+</TabItem>
+
+
+<TabItem value="config">
+
+<File name='models/<model_name>.sql'>
+
+```jinja
+{{ config(
+    [materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized)="<materialization_name>",
+    on_configuration_change="apply" | "continue" | "fail"
+) }}
+```
+
+</File>
+
+</TabItem>
+
+</Tabs>
+
+Materializations are implemented following this "drop through" life cycle:
+1. If a model does not exist with the provided path, create the new model.
+2. If a model exists, but has a different type, drop the existing model and create the new model. 
+3. If `--full-refresh` is supplied, replace the existing model regardless of configuration changes and the `on_configuration_change` setting.
+4. If there are no configuration changes, perform the default action for that type (e.g. apply refresh for a materialized view).
+5. Determine whether to apply the configuration changes according to the `on_configuration_change` setting.

website/docs/reference/resource-configs/postgres-configs.md

@@ -111,10 +111,10 @@ models:
 The Postgres adapter supports [materialized views](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/rules-materializedviews.html)
 with the following configuration parameters:
 
-| Parameter                 | Type               | Required | Default | Change Monitoring Support |
-|---------------------------|--------------------|----------|---------|---------------------------|
-| `on_configuration_change` | `<string>`         | no       | `apply` | n/a                       |
-| [`indexes`](#indexes)     | `[{<dictionary>}]` | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
+| Parameter                                                                        | Type               | Required | Default | Change Monitoring Support |
+|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|----------|---------|---------------------------|
+| [`on_configuration_change`](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change) | `<string>`         | no       | `apply` | n/a                       |
+| [`indexes`](#indexes)                                                            | `[{<dictionary>}]` | no       | `none`  | alter                     |
 
 <Tabs
   groupId="config-languages"
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ with the following configuration parameters:
 models:
   [<resource-path>](/reference/resource-configs/resource-path):
     [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized): materialized_view
-    [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)on_configuration_change: apply | continue | fail
+    [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[on_configuration_change](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change): apply | continue | fail
     [+](/reference/resource-configs/plus-prefix)[indexes](#indexes):
       - columns: [<column-name>]
         unique: true | false
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ models:
   - name: [<model-name>]
     config:
       [materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized): materialized_view
-      on_configuration_change: apply | continue | fail
+      [on_configuration_change](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change): apply | continue | fail
       [indexes](#indexes):
         - columns: [<column-name>]
           unique: true | false
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ models:
 ```jinja
 {{ config(
     [materialized](/reference/resource-configs/materialized)="materialized_view",
-    on_configuration_change="apply" | "continue" | "fail",
+    [on_configuration_change](/reference/resource-configs/on_configuration_change)="apply" | "continue" | "fail",
     [indexes](#indexes)=[
         {
             "columns": ["<column-name>"],
@@ -198,8 +198,7 @@ The [`indexes`](#indexes) parameter corresponds to that of a table, as explained
 It's worth noting that, unlike tables, dbt monitors this parameter for changes and applies the changes without dropping the materialized view.
 This happens via a `DROP/CREATE` of the indexes, which can be thought of as an `ALTER` of the materialized view.
 
-Find more information about materialized view parameters in the Postgres docs:
-- [CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-creatematerializedview.html)
+Learn more about these parameters in Postgres's [docs](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-creatematerializedview.html).
 
 <VersionBlock firstVersion="1.6" lastVersion="1.6">