Using Data Pills In Tableau

Data pills in Tableau are meant to help you identify the type of variable that you pull into the working area. A lot of plot types require a specific combination of variables. For instance, a bar chart requires a discrete and continuous variable. 
 
The two ways to classify variables are as follows. 
Variables can be either:

1. discrete or continuous, 
2. dimensions or measures. 

Let's define both ways of classifying variables.  

Discrete vs Continuous 

This classification is based on the mathematical description. If a variable can be considered in the form of a number line, it will be a continuous one. For instance, the profit of a store can be any number on a continuous number line. So, the profit will be a continuous variable. 
 
A variable is discrete if it can be one among a finite set of numbers. For instance, consider a variable that denotes the month in a date. The month variable can only be one of 12 values that are integers from 1 to 12, no values in between. Hence, it will be a discrete variable. 

 Dimensions and Measures  

In the next video, Sean talks about dimensions.

As you saw in the video, dimensions are qualitative variables; a dimension helps add value to quantitative data. For instance, dimensions can be the name of a person, the region of sales, etc. 
 
Now, you will learn about measures. 

As you saw in the video, measures are quantitative variables. They can be aggregated or disaggregated. Now, let’s combine all these types:

In Tableau, there can be four types of variables, which are given below. 

1. Discrete dimension: A discontinuous qualitative variable such as the color of clothes

2. Discrete measure: A discontinuous quantitative variable such as a month or a year

3. Continuous dimension: A continuous qualitative variable - it is uncommon, but a date can be considered to be a continuous quantitative variable

4. Continuous measure: A continuous quantitative variable such as the height of a student, etc

The table has a unique way of identifying dimensions or measures.

In this video, Tableau differentiates between dimensions and measures by way of the green pill and the blue pill. 

This concept is quite frequently asked in interviews. So, you will need to be confident about it. 

Additional resources

Here is a Tableau concepts page to explain the difference among the various types of variables.