Great Expectations (GX is an open-source data validation framework designed to help data teams ensure the quality and reliability of their data. By defining "Expectations"—verifiable assertions about data—GX enables automated testing and documentation, fostering confidence in data pipelines and facilitating collaboration between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Key Features and Functionality:
- Expectations: Define clear, human-readable assertions about your data, such as value ranges or data types, to validate data quality.
- Automated Data Profiling: Analyze and summarize data characteristics automatically, aiding in the quick identification of potential quality issues.
- Data Validation: Apply defined Expectations to data batches to verify compliance, receiving detailed reports on validation outcomes.
- Data Docs: Generate comprehensive, human-readable documentation of Expectations and validation results, serving as an up-to-date data quality report.
- Integration with Various Data Sources: Support for multiple data sources, including Pandas DataFrames, Spark DataFrames, and SQL databases, allowing flexibility in data validation processes.
- Checkpoints: Create reusable validation workflows that specify which Expectations to run against which data assets, streamlining the validation process.
Primary Value and Problem Solved:
Great Expectations addresses the critical need for data quality assurance in modern data pipelines. By automating data validation and providing clear documentation, GX reduces manual effort, minimizes errors, and ensures that data meets predefined standards. This leads to more reliable data for analysis and decision-making, enhances collaboration between data teams and business stakeholders, and fosters a culture of data confidence within organizations.