What is the main difference between a UNION and a JOIN in Alteryx?

The main distinction between UNION and JOIN in Alteryx lies in their functionality concerning how datasets are combined. UNION is specifically designed to append datasets, meaning it takes two or more datasets with the same structure (same columns) and stacks them vertically to create a single dataset. For example, if you have two tables showing sales data from different months, using a UNION would result in a combined dataset that includes rows from both tables sequentially.

On the other hand, JOIN operates differently; it merges datasets based on the relationships established through common fields or keys. This means that JOINs are used to combine datasets horizontally by matching rows based on specified columns, leading to a more complex dataset that consists of information from both sources corresponding to those common fields.

Therefore, the correct answer highlights that UNION serves the purpose of appending datasets, while JOIN facilitates the integration of datasets through defined relationships between fields.