Book Image

Tableau Prep Cookbook

By : Hendrik Kleine
Book Image

Tableau Prep Cookbook

By: Hendrik Kleine

Overview of this book

Tableau Prep is a tool in the Tableau software suite, created specifically to develop data pipelines. This book will describe, in detail, a variety of scenarios that you can apply in your environment for developing, publishing, and maintaining complex Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) data pipelines. The book starts by showing you how to set up Tableau Prep Builder. You’ll learn how to obtain data from various data sources, including files, databases, and Tableau Extracts. Next, the book demonstrates how to perform data cleaning and data aggregation in Tableau Prep Builder. You’ll also gain an understanding of Tableau Prep Builder and how you can leverage it to create data pipelines that prepare your data for downstream analytics processes, including reporting and dashboard creation in Tableau. As part of a Tableau Prep flow, you’ll also explore how to use R and Python to implement data science components inside a data pipeline. In the final chapter, you’ll apply the knowledge you’ve gained to build two use cases from scratch, including a data flow for a retail store to prepare a robust dataset using multiple disparate sources and a data flow for a call center to perform ad hoc data analysis. By the end of this book, you’ll be able to create, run, and publish Tableau Prep flows and implement solutions to common problems in data pipelines.
Table of Contents (11 chapters)

Chapter 8: Data Science in Tableau Prep Builder

In this chapter, you'll learn how to go beyond the built-in capabilities in Tableau Prep Builder by extending it with R and Python code. R and Python are two of the world's most popular programming languages and can perform numerous data science functions. Tableau Prep allows you to pass your data to an R or Python script at any stage during your flow, with the exception of the input data step. When you insert a script, Tableau Prep will pass the data to R or Python using an API. The script will execute in the R or Python environment and then output the results back to Tableau Prep and your flow continues. The ability to embed scripts allows you to greatly improve the functionality of Tableau Prep and perform advanced functions that are not otherwise possible.

In this chapter, we're going to cover the following main topics:

  • Preparing Tableau Prep to work with R
  • Embedding R code in a Tableau Prep flow
  • ...