Summary

This chapter covered key concepts of how Tableau works with data. Although you will not usually be concerned with what queries Tableau generates to query underlying data engines, having a solid understanding of Tableau's paradigm will greatly aid you as you analyze data.

We looked at multiple examples of different connections to different data sources, considered the benefits and potential drawbacks of using data extracts, considered how to manage metadata, and considered options for filtering data.

Working with data is fundamental to everything you do in Tableau. Understanding how to connect to various data sources, when to work with extracts, and how to customize metadata will be key as you begin deeper analysis and more complex visualizations, such as those covered in Chapter 3, Moving Beyond Basic Visualizations.