# Advanced Pentaho Data Integration topics

The following topics help to extend your knowledge of PDI beyond basic setup and use:

* [PDI and Hitachi Content Platform (HCP)](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/pdi-and-hitachi-content-platform-hcp.md)

  You can use PDI transformation steps to improve your HCP data quality before storing the data in other formats, such as JSON , XML, or Parquet.
* [Hierarchical data](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/hierarchical-data.md)

  You can manipulate structured, complex, and nested data types, and load filtered subsets of large JSON files.
* [PDI and Snowflake](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/pdi-and-snowflake-cp.md)

  Using PDI job entries for Snowflake, you can load your data into Snowflake and orchestrate warehouse operations.
* [Metadata discovery](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/copybook-steps-in-pdi-cp/metadata-discovery.md)

  You can use to automate the tedious process of manually identifying and determining metadata from Cobol Copybook and databases.
* [Use Streamlined Data Refinery (SDR)](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/work-with-the-streamlined-data-refinery.md)

  You can use SDR to build a simplified and specific ETL refinery composed of a series of PDI jobs that take raw data, augment and blend it through the request form, and then publish it to use in Analyzer.
* [Use Command Line Tools](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/use-command-line-tools-to-run-transformations-and-jobs.md)

  You can use PDI's command line tools to execute PDI content from outside of the PDI client.
* [Metadata Injection](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/pdi-transformation-steps-reference-overview/etl-metadata-injection.md)

  You can insert data from various sources into a transformation at runtime.
* [Use Carte Clusters](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/use-carte-clusters.md)

  You can use Carte to build a simple web server that allows you to run transformations and jobs remotely.
* [Connecting to a Hadoop cluster with the PDI client](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/connecting-to-a-hadoop-cluster-with-the-pdi-client-article.md)

  Use transformation steps to connect to a variety of Big Data data sources, including Hadoop, NoSQL, and analytical databases such as MongoDB.
* [Partition Data](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/partitioning-data.md)

  Split a data set into a number of sub-sets according to a rule that is applied on a row of data.
* [Use a Data Service](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/pentaho-data-services.md)

  Query the output of a step as if the data were stored in a physical table by turning a transformation into a data service.
* [Use Data Lineage](broken://pages/UIVH7gpBZmc74uQLRHxJ)

  Track your data from source systems to target applications and take advantage of third-party tools, such as Meta Integration Technology (MITI) and yEd, to track and view specific data.
* [Use the Marketplace](/pdia-data-integration/10.2-data-integration/advanced-topics-pentaho-data-integration-overview/use-the-pentaho-marketplace-to-manage-plugins.md)

  Download, install, and share plugins developed by Pentaho and members of the user community.

**Note:** If you want to develop custom plugins that extend PDI functionality or embed the engine into your own Java applications, see the **Administer Pentaho Data Integration and Analytics** document.


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