PDI is a multiplatform tool, meaning that it can be installed and used under any operating system. The only prerequisite is to have JVM 1.8 installed. You will also need a good text editor, for example, Sublime III or Notepad ++. It's also recommended that you have access to a relational database. The examples in the book were built with PostgreSQL syntax, but you can adapt them to any other engine, as soon as there is a JDBC driver for it.
Throughout the chapters, several internet links are provided to complement what is explained. Therefore, having an internet connection while reading is highly recommended.
To get the most out of this book
Download the example code files
You can download the example code files for this book from your account at www.packtpub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files emailed directly to you.
You can download the code files by following these steps:
- Log in or register at www.packtpub.com.
- Select the SUPPORT tab.
- Click on Code Downloads & Errata.
- Enter the name of the book in the Search box and follow the onscreen instructions.
Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the latest version of:
- WinRAR/7-Zip for Windows
- Zipeg/iZip/UnRarX for Mac
- 7-Zip/PeaZip for Linux
The code bundle for the book is also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Pentaho-Data-Integration-Quick-Start-Guide. In case there's an update to the code, it will be updated on the existing GitHub repository.
We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!
Download the color images
We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/PentahoDataIntegrationQuickStartGuide_ColorImages.pdf.
Conventions used
There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.
CodeInText: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "You should specify the full path, for instance: C:/Pentaho/data/ny_cities."
A block of code is set as follows:
SELECT full_name
, injury_type
, to_char(start_date_time, 'yyyy-mm-dd') as injury_date
FROM injury_phases i
JOIN display_names n ON i.person_id = n.id AND entity_type = 'persons'
AND start_date_time BETWEEN '2007-07-01' AND '2007-07-31'
ORDER BY full_name, injury_type
Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see onscreen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "You can save time by clicking the Get fields to select button, which fills the grid with all the incoming fields."