A great feature of Spotfire is that it allows freeform exploration between related datasets. You can mark data in one dataset and have other visualizations built on a different data table respond. You can also filter in one data table and the filtering will map to any dependent data tables.
Later on in this chapter, we will be producing a parallel coordinate plot that enables us to look at how various columns interact within European consumer price index data. To assist with navigating through the data, it's useful if lists of regions and zones are created and related back to the retail price index data.
Two datasets are said to be related if they contain columns with the same values as each other. This is a key feature of relational databases and is known as a foreign-key relationship. Spotfire uses the concept of data table relations to represent...