Tableau offers us the ability to connect to nearly any data source. It does so using a unique paradigm that allows it to leverage the power and efficiency of existing database engines with an option to extract data locally. This chapter focuses on the foundational concepts of how Tableau works with data; we will also cover the following topics:

• The Tableau paradigm
• Connecting to data
• Managing data source metadata
• Working with extracts instead of live connections
• Tableau file types
• Joins and blends
• Filtering data