A data analyst needs to join together a table data source and a web API...

This question falls under theData Acquisition and Preparationdomain of CompTIA Data+ DA0-002, which involves acquiring and combining data from different sources, such as a database and a web API, using tools like Python. The task requires joining the data, which in Python often involves using pandas DataFrames.

Convert the data from the API and database to a varchar format and convert them to pandas DataFrames that are then merged together (Option A): VARCHAR is a databasedata type for strings, not a format for data exchange or merging in Python, making this incorrect.

Convert the data from the API and database to a JSON format and convert them to pandas DataFrames that are then merged together (Option B): Web APIs commonly return data in JSON format, and databases can export data as JSON. In Python, JSON data can be easily converted to pandas DataFrames using pandas.read_json() or pandas.DataFrame(), and then merged using pandas.merge() on a common key, making this the best approach.

Convert the data from the API and database to a TXT format and convert them to pandas DataFrames that are then merged together (Option C): TXT is a generic text format that lacks structure, making it less efficient for merging compared to JSON.

Convert the data from the API and database to a string format and convert them to pandas DataFrames that are then merged together (Option D): Converting to a string format is vague and not a standard approach for structured data merging in Python.

The DA0-002 Data Acquisition and Preparation domain includes "executing data manipulation," such as combining data from APIs and databases, and JSON is a standard format for this purpose in Python.