RETRIEVING DATA FROM AN EXTERNAL DATA SOURCE

1 . A method comprising:

receiving metadata from a first external data source, the metadata indicating types of fields stored by the first external data source;

generating a signal configured to cause a display to generate a metadata graphical user interface (GUI) presenting the types of fields to a user;

receiving a signal indicating a selection of at least a first type of field and a second type of field by the user via the metadata GUI;

receiving data from the first external data source; and

converting a type of at least a first field of the received data into the first type and a type of at least a second field of the received data into the second type.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the metadata includes receiving the metadata from the first external data source, the metadata indicating the types of fields and a number of fields stored by the first external data source.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the data includes receiving the data in a plurality of fields, all of the plurality of fields having a same type.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the data includes receiving the data in a plurality of fields, all of the plurality of fields being string fields.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a signal configured to cause the display to generate a source GUI presenting available data sources to the user;

receiving a signal indicating a selection of the first external data source by the user via the source GUI; and

requesting the metadata from the first external data source based on the signal indicating the selection of the external data source.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising joining at least the first converted field and the second converted field with fields from a local data source.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a signal configured to cause the display to generate a connection GUI requesting a selection of a connection type by the user;

wherein the receiving the metadata includes receiving the metadata from the first external data source using the selected connection type; and

wherein the receiving the data includes receiving the data from the first external data source using the selected connection type.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

mapping the types of fields indicated by the metadata received from the first external data source into predetermined field types;

wherein the converting the type includes converting the type of at least the first field of the received data into a first predetermined field type and converting the type of at least the second field of the received data into a second predetermined field type.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving metadata from a second external data source; and

receiving data from the second external data source.

10 . An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, are configured to cause the apparatus to at least:

receive metadata from a first external data source, the metadata indicating types of fields stored by the first external data source;

generate a signal configured to cause a display to generate a metadata graphical user interface (GUI) presenting the types of fields to a user;

receive a signal indicating a selection of at least a first type of field and a second type of field by the user via the metadata GUI;

receive data from the first external data source; and

convert a type of at least a first field of the received data into the first type and a type of at least a second field of the received data into the second type.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the receiving the metadata includes receiving the metadata from the first external data source, the metadata indicating the types of fields and a number of fields stored by the first external data source.

12 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the receiving the data includes receiving the data in a plurality of fields, all of the plurality of fields having a same type.

13 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the receiving the data includes receiving the data in a plurality of fields, all of the plurality of fields being string fields.

14 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the apparatus to:

generate a signal configured to cause the display to generate a source GUI presenting available data sources to the user; and

receive a signal indicating a selection of the first external data source by the user via the source GUI; and

requesting the metadata from the first external data source based on the signal indicating the selection of the external data source.

15 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the apparatus to join at least the first converted field and the second converted field with fields from a local data source.

16 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the apparatus to:

generate a signal configured to cause the display to generate a connection GUI requesting a selection of a connection type by the user;

wherein the receiving the metadata includes receiving the metadata from the first external data source using the selected connection type; and

wherein the receiving the data includes receiving the data from the first external data source using the selected connection type.

17 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the apparatus to:

map the types of fields indicated by the metadata received from the first external data source into predetermined field types;

wherein the converting the type includes converting the type of at least a first field of the received data into the first predetermined field type and converting the type of at least a second field of the received data into the second predetermined field type.

18 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computing system to at least:

receive metadata from a first external data source, the metadata indicating types of fields stored by the first external data source;

generate a signal configured to cause a display to generate a metadata graphical user interface (GUI) presenting the types of fields to a user;

receive a signal indicating a selection of at least a first type of field and a second type of field by the user via the metadata GUI;

receive data from the first external data source; and

convert a type of at least a first field of the received data into the first type and a type of at least a second field of the received data into the second type.

19 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the computing system to:

generate a signal configured to cause the display to generate a source GUI presenting available data sources to the user; and

receive a signal indicating a selection of the first external data source by the user via the source GUI; and

requesting the metadata from the first external data source based on the signal indicating the selection of the external data source.

20 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the computing system to:

map the types of fields indicated by the metadata received from the first external data source into predetermined field types;

wherein the converting the type includes converting the type of at least a first field of the received data into the first predetermined field type and converting the type of at least a second field of the received data into the second predetermined field type.