Implementing R functionality

Now that we have successfully connected Tableau with R, let’s write some code in Tableau to invoke R. Within Tableau, open the Calculated Field Editor. Notice the class of functions beginning with SCRIPT_, as shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 15.8: SCRIPT_ functions

The SCRIPT_ functions are used by Tableau to invoke R. The function names communicate the data type of the returned results; SCRIPT_REAL returns float values, SCRIPT_BOOL returns true or false values, and so forth.

The syntax of a SCRIPT_ function is represented in the following diagram:

Figure 15.9: R script syntax

The preceding example code calculates the average profit, but we will get to more examples in the next sections. Let’s start by reproducing Tableau functionality using the R integration and hence prove that R is working properly.

Reproducing native Tableau functionality in R

For our first exercise, we will use the AVG,...