Book Image

Learning Tableau 10 - Second Edition

Book Image

Learning Tableau 10 - Second Edition

Overview of this book

Tableau has for some time been one of the most popular Business Intelligence and data visualization tools available. Why? Because, quite simply, it’s a tool that’s responsive to the needs of modern businesses. But it’s most effective when you know how to get what you want from it – it might make your business intelligent, but it isn’t going to make you intelligent… We’ll make sure you’re well prepared to take full advantage of Tableau 10’s new features. Whether you’re an experienced data analyst that wants to explore 2016’s new Tableau, or you’re a beginner that wants to expand their skillset and bring a more professional and sharper approach to their organization, we’ve got you covered. Beginning with the fundamentals, such as data preparation, you’ll soon learn how to build and customize your own data visualizations and dashboards, essential for high-level visibility and effective data storytelling. You’ll also find out how to so trend analysis and forecasting using clustering and distribution models to inform your analytics. But it’s not just about you – when it comes to data it’s all about availability and access. That’s why we’ll show you how to share your Tableau visualizations. It’s only once insights are shared and communicated that you – and your organization – will start making smarter and informed decisions. And really, that’s exactly what this guide is for.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Learning Tableau 10 Second Edition
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface

Performance considerations


When working with a small dataset and an efficient database, you often won't notice inefficient calculations. With larger datasets, the efficiency of your calculations can start to make a fairly dramatic difference to the speed at which a view is rendered.

Here are some tips for getting the most efficiency in your calculations:

  • Boolean and numeric calculations are faster than string calculations. If possible, avoid string manipulation and use aliasing or formatting to provide user-friendly labels. For example, don't write this code: IF [value] == 1 THEN "Yes" ELSE "No" END. Instead, simply write [value] == 1 and then edit the aliases of the field and set True to "Yes" and False to "No".

  • Always look for ways to increase the efficiency of a calculation. If you find yourself writing a long IF...ELSEIF statement with lots of conditions, see if there are one or two conditions that you can check first to eliminate checks of all the other conditions. For example, let's consider...