Exploring Data in BigQuery

In this chapter, we will review various ways to explore your data in BigQuery and introduce the practice of data exploration. We will review examining tables and data in the BigQuery web UI, the BigQuery bq command-line interface, and exploring data with visualization tools. After learning about the different methods to access your data in BigQuery, this chapter will outline the best practices and approaches to get started.

Completing this chapter will establish a strong foundation for the topics covered in the remainder of this book. We are going to compare common data exploration techniques and begin writing SQL queries to interact with data in BigQuery. After reading this chapter, you will be prepared to start your journey of data exploration and preparation. You will be equipped to begin integrating your data in BigQuery to accelerate your data analysis capabilities and build a strong data analytics practice for yourself or your organization.

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