Data sources introduction
The Spotfire environment provides several ways for clients to access data. The most common ones are: opening a local file, using a Spotfire connector, or connecting through the information services function of Spotfire Server. Users can combine data from multiple sources in a single Spotfire analysis.
Connectors
Spotfire connectors are a way for installed clients and service instances to connect directly to external data sources. Spotfire includes a range of connectors, each tailored specifically for a corresponding type of data source. Depending on the connector, users can choose to import the raw data into the memory of the local computer, or to only retrieve aggregated results and push queries to the data source based on the data currently required.
Information Services
Information Services is an option for connecting to JDBC-compliant external data sources. When you use Information Services to access data, the Spotfire Server makes the connection to data source on behalf of the client, using information links saved in the Spotfire library. The raw data sets are loaded into the memory of the server.
On the Spotfire Server, you must have installed a JDBC driver and a data source template for the type of data source you want to connect to. Some drivers and templates are included in the Spotfire Server installation.