Platform Asset Overview
Alteryx Analytics Cloud is an open data preparation platform that enables you to connect to a wide range of data sources and run on all major cloud data platforms. You can explore the assets of the platform, create sampled data, build your output objects, run a job to transform the entire dataset, and publish the results to your specified destinations.
Asset Types
Plans
A plan is a sequence of tasks that can be triggered to execute actions inside and outside the platform. A plan is executed on a snapshot of all assets at the time that the plan is triggered. To orchestrate tasks, you build a plan. A plan can be scheduled for execution, triggered manually, or invoked via API.
Task
A task is an executable action that is taken as part of a plan's sequence. For example, task #1 could be used to import all of your source data. Task #2 could be used to clean and combine the data.
Trigger
A task is executed based on a trigger. A trigger is a condition under which a task is executed. In many cases, the trigger for a task is based on the schedule for the plan.
For more information, see Plans.
Imported datasets
An imported dataset is simply a reference to the original data; the data does not exist within the platform. An imported dataset can be a reference to a file, multiple files, database table, or other type of data.
Nota
An imported dataset is a pointer to a source of data. It cannot be modified or stored within Designer Cloud. The source data is never modified. In some cases, the source data may be copied to the base storage layer. For example, data that is uploaded from your local desktop must be copied to the base storage layer.
An imported dataset can be referenced in recipes.
Imported datasets are created through the Import Data page.
For more information on the process, see Import Basics.
Connections
A connectionis a configuration object thatprovides a personal or global integration to an external data store.
You can quickly connect to default data stores and import your file- or table-based datasets for use in the Cloud Portal. As needed, you can create connections to other data stores to which you have access and import from them. Reading data from remote sources and writing results are managed through connections. Depending on your environment, you may be able to immediately access data through the following data stores, which are represented by icons on the Import Data page.
For more information, see Connections.
Job histories
You can track the status of all of your sample jobs, and plan runs.
Flow jobs
A flow is a container for holding one or more datasets, associated recipes, and other assets.
You can track jobs for the flows to which you have access in your current environment.
Sample jobs
A sampleis typically a subset of the entire dataset. For smaller datasets, the sample may be the entire dataset.
You can track the status of all sample jobs to which you have access.
Plan runs
Plans enable you to sequence when the job runs, set outputs, and determine how alerts are sent.
You can track the status of all runs of your plans. You can only see runs for the plans to which you have access in your current environment.
For more information, see Job History.
Schedules
Schedules use triggers to execute platform actions, including jobs and plan runs. For example, in a single schedule, you can specify daily trigger times for incremental updates and monthly execution times for rollups. you can schedule the execution of recipes in your flows on a recurring basis.
Triggers
A trigger is a scheduled time of execution. When a trigger's time occurs, all of the scheduled output destinations are queued for generation.
A schedule can have multiple triggers associated with it. Therefore, a flow can be scheduled for execution at multiple intervals.
Scheduled Destinations
A scheduled destination is an output associated with a recipe. This output is generated only when the schedule for the flow is triggered.
A scheduled destination is not tied to a specific trigger. When a trigger occurs, all scheduled destinations in the flow are generated.
A scheduled destination generates one or more publishing actions (outputs) from the recipe when triggered.
A recipe can have only one scheduled destination.
Each recipe in a flow can have a scheduled destination.
If a flow has a trigger but no scheduled destination, nothing is generated at trigger time.
You can see the hierarchy within a schedule in the following table:
+ schedule for Flow 1 + trigger 1 + trigger 2 + scheduled destination a + scheduled destination b + schedule for Flow 2 + trigger 3 + scheduled destination c + scheduled destination d
For more information, see Schedules.
Uses
These asset types can be used by the applications of the Alteryx Analytics Cloud that support them.