Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Data visualization using Impala
Visualizing data is as important as processing it. The human brain perceives pictures
faster than reading data in tables, and because of this, data visualization provides su-
per fast understanding of large amount of data in split seconds. Reports, charts, inter-
active dashboards, and any form of infographics are all part of data visualization and
provide deeper understanding of results.
To connect with third-party applications, Cloudera provides ODBC and JDBC connect-
ors. These connectors are installed on machines where third-party applications are
running, and by configuring the correct Impala server and port details on those con-
nectors, third-party applications connect with Impala, submit those queries, and then
take results back to the application. The result is then displayed on third-party applic-
ations, where it is rendered on a graphics device for visualization, displayed in a table
format, or further processed depending on the application requirement. In this sec-
tion, we will cover a few notable third-party applications, which can take advantage of
Impala's super fast query processing and then display amazing graphical results.
Tableau and Impala
Tableau Software supports Impala by providing access to tables on Impala using the
Impala ODBC connector provided by Tableau. Tableau is one of the most prominent
data visualization software technologies in recent days and is used by thousands of
enterprises daily to get intelligence out of their data. Tableau is available for Windows
OS, and an ODBC connector is provided by Cloudera to make this connection a real-
ity. You can visit the following link to download the Impala connector for Tableau:
Once the Impala connector is installed on a machine where the Tableau software is
running and configured correctly, Tableau is ready to work with Impala. In the follow-
ing screenshot, Tableau is connected to an Impala server at port
21000
and then a
table located in Impala is selected:
