SYM 408 WK4 DQ1. 150 WORDS OR MORE
Research a minimum of three data transformation tools; for each tool, explain its benefits and challenges.
REPLIES 75-100 WORDS
A Nicole Snipes
To know what types of data transformation tools there are we first need to know what data transformation in the first place is. Data transformation is the process of changing the format, structure, or values of data. The reason behind data transformation is that it makes data better organized and easier for both human and computer counterparts. Also, with data transformation when the data is properly formatted it helps to improve data quality and protect applications from landmines such as null values, duplication, incorrect indexing, and incompatibility formats (Stitch, 2023). When it comes to the several types of tools there are serval tools that can be used for data transformation such as dbt, Airflow, EasyMorph, Dataform, and Matillion just to name a few data transformation tools of today (Zola, 2022). Of the few data transformation tools, I have named I will discuss at least three to tell you what they are about and how they work for data transformation.
The first one we will discuss is dbt which is known as Data Build Tool or dbt that makes data engineering activities accessible to people with data analytics skills to transform the data in the warehouse by simply taking a statement and then creating the entire transformation process with code and (Analytics8, 2023). Dbt works by pushing down the code and doing all the database-level calculations, which makes the transformation process faster, more secure, and easier to maintain. Also, easy to use if you know how to use SQL and it operates into two core workflows which are building data models and testing data models. What dbt will do for your data is quickly and easily clean, transform the data, and ready it for analysis, then apply software engineering practices such as modular code and so on, then build reusable and modular code using Jinja. Then continue with maintaining data documentation and definition with the dbt which was to build and develop lineage graphs. Then perform simplified data refreshes within dbt Cloud and then lastly perform automated testing of data (Analytics8, 2023).
B Trevor Stoutt
1.Apache Airflow
Apache Airflow is an open-source data transformation tool that provides a web-based user interface to design and manage data flows. It is highly configurable and offers a wide range of processors to transform data.
Pros-
Ease of Use
provides detailed information about where data came from, how it was transformed, and where it was sent, making it easy to track data lineage.
Scalability
Cons-
Complexity: Although Apache NiFi is easy to use, it can be complex to configure and set up.
No versioning in data pipelines
Configuration is tricky for new users (Vogiatzis, 2022).
2.Data form
Dataform is a company that build transformation tools specifically for its customers needs, its an open source tool. It can help companies develop, test and share centralized data with anybody within the network that needs to be shared.
C Joshua Victor KiraboKisaku
- Apache Nifi:
Apache NiFi is a software project from the Apache Software Foundation based on the flow-based programming model designed to automate the flow of data between software systems. It leverages the concept of extract, transform, load (ETL), it is based on the “NiagaraFiles” software previously developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA), which is also the source of a part of its present name – NiFi. It was open-sourced as a part of NSA’s technology transfer program in 2014. (Apache NiFi Team, Apache NiFi Overview)
Benefits of using Apache Nifi:
- User-friendly interface:Apache Nifi provides a drag-and-drop interface that allows users to design data flows visually without the need for coding.
- Scalability:Apache Nifi can scale horizontally to handle large volumes of data and high-velocity data streams.
- Extensibility:Apache Nifi offers a wide range of processors, including processors for data ingestion, transformation, and output. Moreover, it supports the creation of custom processors.
(Carder, 2021)
Challenges associated with Apache Nifi include:
- Complexity:While the user interface is user-friendly, Apache Nifi can be complex to set up and configure.
- Limited support for some data formats:Apache Nifi has limited support for some data formats, which can limit its usefulness in some scenarios.
- Resource-intensive:Apache Nifi can be resource-intensive, particularly when dealing with large volumes of data.
(Leszczyński&Nazarewicz, 2020)
