Learn KNIME / A Low-Code Platform
Quick Introduction of Knime as a low to no-code platform for data ETL
As promised initially when we started with this newsletter, we will be slowly introducing other useful tools that are currently on markets that help with the process of transformation of data. Today’s newsletter will be about Knime, which is a free and open-source data analytics, reporting and integration platform1 .
In plain terms, Knime is an open source tool that helps with transforming data as part of low-code platforms. With Knime you can create data flows which are being applied in steps using nodes. Let’s say you have a Sales report which you send out to the sales people on daily basis. Once you download the source, every step will be repetitive on day to day basis. While using programming languages such as Python or any other language that works with data manipulation, usually it requires learning about that programming language which as a process might take a little longer. With tools such as Knime, most of the nodes you will be using are no-code nodes with drag&drop option so you can immediately see results.
Some of the available nodes within Knime are as per below:
adding, deleting, renaming rows/columns,
joining, splitting, converting, grouping rows/columns,
reading csv, excel, pdf and a lot more file types,
creating variables which will make the process of creating a use case much faster,
manipulating strings, dates, numbers, strings etc.,
find the list will all the nodes here.
What are some other alternatives for Knime?
Although each platform has its own specifications, people have been using other platforms to get similar results. Some of the other low to no-code alternatives for Knime are Alteryx, QlikSense, OrangeStudio, RapidMiner, etc.
What are the best resources to learn Knime?
A good practice when trying to learn about specific software or a programming language would be checking the official documentation. They have done a really good job in documenting all of the processes you can do with Knime from installing it to the last deployment steps in Server and maintaining it.
If you are not in a mood for reading and you like watching videos instead, check their official YouTube channel.
Here is the official guide on Building your first Workflow.
As you feel like you got the idea of what you can achieve with Knime, I would highly recommend taken their self-paced courses which are offered for free here.
In the upcoming email, we will start digging into tips and tricks as well as best practices of using Knime, followed with HowTo tutorials.
Cheers!
The official definition taken from knime.com