title: SparkSQL, Thrift Server and Tableau
body: <p>I am wondering if there is a way that will make the <code>sparkSQL</code> table in <code>sqlContext</code> directly visible by other processes, for example Tableau.</p>
  
  <p>I did some research on thrift server, but I didn't find any specific explanation about it. Is it a middleware between Hive(database) and application(client)? If so, do I need to write into a Hive table in my spark program?</p>
  
  <p>When I use Beeline to check the tables from thrift server, there's a field <code>isTempTable</code>. Could I know what does it mean? I'm guessing it is a temp table in the <code>sqlContext</code> of thrift server, because I read something about it is a <strong>spark driver program and all cached tables are visible through multiple programs</strong>. My confusion here is, if it is a driver program, where are the workers?</p>
  
  <p>To summarize, </p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Where should I write my DataFrame, or tables in sqlContext to? Which method should I use(like <code>dataFrame.write.mode(SaveMode.Append).saveAsTable()</code>)?</li>
  <li>Should the default settings be used for the thrift server? Or are the changes necessary?</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Thanks  </p>