Looker - Complete Guide to Google Looker - LookML Developer

Master Looker and LookML to create views, dashboards, and databases with the beginner to expert Looker and LookML guide

4.42 (262 reviews)
Udemy
platform
English
language
Google
category
instructor
1,543
students
7 hours
content
Feb 2024
last update
$64.99
regular price

What you will learn

Get certified in using Looker and LookML as Business Intelligence, Visualization, and Data Model tool

Get familiar with Looker's platform, interface, and terminology

Analyze data, create beautiful visualizations, and build sophisticated reports and dashboards

Use LookML to connect to underlying raw data

Use LookML to construct views, dimensions, and measures that are then used in Explores

Use LookML to join several views together into one piece of analysis or Explore

Use LookML to create actions and workflows associated with your data

Use LookML to create sophisticated modular dashboards, right from a structured language

Description

Learn from more than 7 hours of relevant instructional video content, with the only complete beginner to expert guide on Google Looker Developer (LookML). Master the concepts of LookML and apply them to real-life settings.


Explore, analyze, visualize, and access your data with Google Looker. Looker is used as a sophisticated business intelligence (BI) and visualization software similar to Power BI and Tableau. Companies deploy Looker to their employees so that they can make trusted decisions and actions based on their data.


More than 2,000 organizations use Looker. Looker is named as a Visionary in Gartner's Magic Quadrant.


Looker is officially part of Google Cloud Platform. Google bought Looker in 2020 for more than $2.6 billion. This demonstrates Google's investment that Looker will be the top tier BI and visualization software of choice for companies across the world.


This is the only complete guide to Google Looker and LookML for the Developer, from beginner to expert. This course is not only comprehensive (it covers everything you need to know right from the start / beginner level with LookML) but is also instructional in nature, meaning that as we learn new concepts, we are also integrating them in the application. Don't just learn concepts, learn how to actually apply them. This is especially important with LookML. That also means that whether you are a beginner or expert, there's something for you in this course.


This course is structured in a way that helps you learn all the concepts. For each concept, we first cover it in theory and then apply it using a real life example. We also progressively learn more and more advanced concepts, so that you never feel overwhelmed and can achieve your goals. By the end of this course, you will be writing LookML to create Explores, Looks, Reports, and Dashboards.


Note: this is the Developer series. In this course, we learn everything that a developer of Google Looker would need to know. In particular, we focus on writing LookML to create Explores that a consumer (User / Analyst) would use. We cover topics such as connecting data, defining dimensions and measures, developing views, joining two views together, coding dashboards, etc.


If you instead want to learn the consumer view of Looker (analyzing data, creating reports, creating Looks, creating dashboards, organizing and sharing reports, creating custom fields, etc.), then please take the User / Analyst course instead. Feel free to watch the free preview of the Course Overview, or message me, if you have any questions.


Again, this is the complete guide to Google Looker and LookML for the Developer - you won't ever need another course.


This course is the Developer series. If you have not already, I highly recommend taking the User / Analyst series course first to explain how a consumer would use Looker.


What is Looker?

Looker is a business intelligence software and big data analytics platform that organizations use to empower their employees to explore, analyze, and share real-time business analytics and insights. It is part of the Google Cloud Platform after Google acquired Looker for over $2.6 billion.


What makes Looker different?

Looker is regarded as more than an alternative to Power BI or Tableau. It operates 100% on the cloud and is browser-based, which means that no desktop software is required or needs to be managed. It contains a trusted data model, and a language called LookML that allows users to compile data and assign business logic across the organization. It also contains powerful APIs and third-party connectors that are used to create workflows and apps from your data.


What is LookML?

LookML is a structured language used as an alternative to your ETL layer. Simply put, LookML is code for creating views, dimensions, measures, aggregations, calculations, and data relationships to transform your raw data into an Explore. Specifically, the purpose of LookML is to translate structured language (that's easy for users to write and manage) into SQL queries (which are hard to write and manage). Additionally, it can be used as code to create sophisticated dashboards.


What is the Developer Series?

Looker is used by two groups of people:

  • User / Analyst - these are individuals who would use Looker to analyze data, build and consume reports / dashboards, create report workflows, and manage folders and boards. It is also for those people who are knew to Looker who want to understand how Looker works on the front-end before they start developing it. These are people like data analysts, business analysts, data scientists, product managers, department heads, and executives.

  • Developer - these are individuals who would be responsible for setting up Looker, and have it connect and access the underlying SQL data. These people are the ones responsible for creating the underlying data model in LookML that is used by Users and Analysts. These are people like software developers, IT administrators, and data engineers.


This course is the Developer series.


What are the main features of Looker?

  • LookML - structured model language that is used to construct SQL queries against a particular database; allows you to do complex operations such as joins, aggregations, and filters; and standardize business logic for common variables across your organization

  • Cloud-based - Looker is 100% on the cloud, which has massive benefits like not needing to manage a desktop software, ease of deployment, and streamlined standardized user experiences

  • Reports and dashboards - perform sophisticated analysis on your raw data and create related reports and dashboards to save and replay your work, with the ability to add custom filters

  • Curative and user-friendly - Looker is easy to use with its no-code features and helper tools

  • Data model - Looker lets you create a full data model in LookML that sits atop your raw data, which allows you to define relationships between all your data and standardize metrics

  • Standardize, unified, and governed business logic - Because of the integrated data model, users always have the most up-to-date definition of business logic

  • Real-time - Looker connects to your raw data directly; no need to create ETLs on a timely basis and as a result, reports and dashboard are always 100% up-to-date

  • Workflows, actions and custom application - create workflows that schedule data emails based on time or based on a condition; complex workflows with custom UI can also be made

  • Partner network - Looker has a wide third-party network allowing you to connect external apps to your reports and dashboards, like Slack or Outlook

  • Multi-DB support - Looker can be used on any underlying SQL Server (Microsoft SQL server, AWS, BigQuery, etc.), supporting a huge range of SQL dialects

  • Google - Looker is part of Google Cloud Platform, and has the full backing and investment of a trillion dollar company behind it


Why learn Looker?

  • Create structure queries - LookML allows you to manage and structure your ETL queries in a professional and easy way. You define the relationships, aggregations, and dimensions, and the Looker takes care of the rest when constructing the relevant SQL queries.

  • Standardize business logic - LoookML is used to standardize common variables across your organization, making it easy for it to perform its tasks in a consistent way. Your users will no longer fight over the exact definition and calculation of "net margin" for example, because of LookML

  • Get full access to your data - since Looker is connected directly to your raw data, there is no more information lost in the ETL layer - data as granular as transaction data can be used within Looker

  • Drive more insights - Looker is used to drive smarter outcomes for your organization from better and quicker access to data. It enables users to perform their own analysis, with the flexibility of using any dimension and measures as they see fit.

  • Create reports and dashboards - easily create sophisticated reports and dashboards with impactful visualizations, and save them for future use. These reports also have drill-down features, allowing users to get more granular data if they need to dig deeper.

  • Get hired / increase your employability - Looker is used by more than 2,000 top data-driven organizations for a reason; it enables powerful decision making - learning how to consume and create reports and dashboards is an invaluable skill to boost your pay rate and deliver value

  • Improve your toolkit - add this to your list of data analyst skills - this is very powerful in conjunction with other data analytic and business intelligence skills


Why choose this course?

  • Complete guide - this is the 100% start to finish, zero to hero, basic to advanced guide on Looker and LookML for the Developer. There is no other course like it that teaches you everything from start to finish. It contains over 8 hours of instructional content!

  • Fully instructional - we not only go through important concepts, but also apply them as we are building our reports and dashboards so that we can solidify them. This is not only a walkthrough of the Looker features, but a course that actually builds with you, so we encourage you to follow along.

  • Step by step - we go through every single concept in a sequential order (from beginner to expert). This improves your probabilities of learning Looker rather than going haphazardly through each feature.

  • Learn to learn - during the latter parts of the course, we go through situations where we encounter new features or errors, and work through how we would use the documentation to resolve them. In this way, you not only learn about Looker inside and out, but learn how to resolve your own issues as they come up

  • Teacher response - if there's anything else you would like to learn, or if there's something you cannot figure out, I'm here for you! Just shoot me a message.

  • Reference material - follow along! I provide all reference material directly to you so you can follow along in your learning journey


Course overview - Developer

  • Introduction - learn about Looker, its features, its history with Google, the course overview, and how to succeed in the course

  • Environment - create a sandbox account, create a LookML project, import data, learn how to load the sample data into Looker, and get familiar with some Looker terminology

  • Beginner - connect to database, load data, create dimensions and measures, apply filters, format fields, applying labeling, create views, create location-related fields

  • Moderate - join several views together, create groups of fields, apply advanced formatting, create explore actions, modify view settings

  • Expert - modify Explore settings, create parameters, code extensions, apply variables, work with Liquid variables, create dashboards elements and complete dashboards

  • Conclusion - earn your Looker Online certification, and read about next steps


If you want to learn Google Looker and LookML as a Developer , then this is the course for you. We're looking forward to having you in the course and hope you earn the certificate.


Music: Bensound

Content

Introduction

What is Looker?
Features of Looker
Looker vs. competitors
Reasons to learn Looker
Course overview
How to succeed
Instructor overview

Environment

Sandbox environment setup 1
Sandbox environment setup 2
Looker terminology 1
Looker terminology 2
Looker terminology 3
Looker terminology 4
All reference material files

Beginner - Connections

Setting LookML files
LookML environment walkthrough
Create a View and Explore
Connect to data
Set example data
SQL reference material file

Beginner - Fields

Dimensions introduction
Dimension types - single
Dimension types - bins
Dimension types - case
Chaining fields together
Measures - aggregations
Measures - non-aggregations
Measures - post-SQL types
Dimension groups
Filters

Beginner - Field Parameters

Labels
Descriptions
Group labels
View labels
Value formats 1
Value formats 2
Location based fields

Beginner - Explore Parameters

View name setting
Group label description
LookML Reference File (After Beginner)

Intermediate - Joins

Join data
LookML Join Reference Material
Basic join parameters
From parameter
Restricting fields
Where parameter

Intermediate - Actions

Quick start analysis
Drill fields
Links 1
Links 2
Setting actions
Adding suggestions 1
Adding suggestions 2
LookML Reference File (After Intermediate)

Expert - Extensions

Extends with explores
Extends with views
Sets
Tests
Explore fields and always_where settings
LookML Reference File (After Expert)

Expert - Dashboards

Loading updated data
Element Rental LookML Reference File
Exploring Element Rental sample data
Dashboard reference docs
Creating your first dashboard
Creating your first element
Newspaper layout - element location and size 1
Newspaper layout - element location and size 2
Other element layout types
Model and explore parameters
Type parameter
Visualization parameter
Refresh and autorun parameter
Crossfilter
Filters - adding a regular filter
Filters - activating the filter using Listen
Filters - deploying the filter
Filters - different filter types
Filters - UI multi selectors
Filters - UI single selectors
Filters - UI display parameters
Text elements
LookML Dashboard Reference File (After Dashboards)

Conclusion

Conclusion and next steps
Certification and request

BONUS - Special Access

Bonus - Special Access

Screenshots

Looker - Complete Guide to Google Looker - LookML Developer - Screenshot_01Looker - Complete Guide to Google Looker - LookML Developer - Screenshot_02Looker - Complete Guide to Google Looker - LookML Developer - Screenshot_03Looker - Complete Guide to Google Looker - LookML Developer - Screenshot_04

Reviews

Natalina
May 22, 2023
Good course - all is very well explained. 1/2 Star less than total allowed just because of the speed -> to me, it was kind of too slow but I set the speed to 1,25/1,50 and it was fine. Anyhow - I can recommend this course.
Vaibhav
April 18, 2023
explaining only basic things, as a developer we dont get these things in practical projects to work on. Looking for more pracitical examples
Gbenga
February 25, 2023
Thank you Henry for doing this. I learnt a lot, and I feel very confident saying I have well above-average knowledge of LookML by simply taking this course. I particularly like how you showed and talked through fixing the errors that showed up along the way...it was helpful.
Srinivasan
February 8, 2023
Overall course is satisfactory and He explains Low level to high level of techniques in Looker developer.
Cris
January 13, 2023
Similar to other comments, the split between user/analyst and developer course seems like a cash grab more than anything else. I appreciate and gained valuable skills in the developer course, but the oft reference to the user/analyst course seemed pretty unnecessary. Might be more useful to merge in a package together
Andrew
December 27, 2022
This course offered a great breakdown and explanation of what you can do in LookML. My only criticism would be to merge this course with the analyst course. I felt there was a lot of overlap between the two.
Lukasz
November 1, 2022
Overall very informative. Section 10 appears to be out of date in November 2022, as dashboards can be easily created in the console, so Section 10 should focus on what can be done with LookML that cannot be accomplished through the console.
Carlo
August 18, 2022
assolutamente si, davvero molto chiaro e ben fatto, peccato per la gestione sandbox che e' un po fastidiosa.
Laura
August 9, 2022
I learned a lot, good examples, good knoweledge from Henry, he gives clues to find solutions by ourselver. However, sometimes the explanations were too fast, so I had to repeat part of the lecture. But very good in general
Manuel
July 10, 2022
Mediocre course. 1. Instructor made errors live and do not bother to release a decent corrected video (it takes 2 min!), we have to waste our time too while he is figuring out the error he made. 2. Some content is deprecated (i.e. ui config). 3. Some videos literally just say: "this is the documentation page" 4. Some content is missing (i.e., liquid variables)
Marcel
June 28, 2022
Fantastic course, rich in details, with clear and logical explanations. Amazing teacher, great communicator, specialist and passionate about what he does. Congratulations Henry!
Jerimiah
June 24, 2022
It was good. Wish it would have more explanation on partitioning, setting up Looker to feed a warehouse and other advanced features. Action hub etc.
Bruno
May 27, 2022
Excellent course, very complete. However, I have 3 recommendations (that's why I didn't give 5 stars) - Time lost in videos by the teacher fixing small errors in the code. - Missed some information such as File Browser > views or File Browser > z_test. - Too much time invested in Dashboards.
Melody
May 2, 2022
I felt like this class was very introductory and I was looking for a mid level or advanced class. But the person teaching did a great job on his explanation and was easy to understand.
Sabina
February 5, 2022
Es bueno, pero no me gusta que trata que compremos el curso de Analyst, pues dice que no lo cubre, por eso no me convenció del todo.

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4483022
udemy ID
1/8/2022
course created date
1/13/2022
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