CartoDB is an infrastructure that allows for the publication of large datasets as live, API-accessible databases. With CartoDB, users can import their data into a PostgreSQL database table and access it directly via SQL queries or through the GUI's SQL pane. Public tables in CartoDB allow unauthenticated access to database read operations, making it easy to publish data online. The tool is particularly useful for large datasets like NYC's PLUTO dataset, which can be accessed and queried using SQL API calls. This enables users to download specific subsets of the data in various formats, such as CSV or GeoJSON, without needing to write custom code. CartoDB also provides a catalog of public tables on user profiles and allows integration with standards-compliant metadata platforms like CKAN. By publishing datasets through CartoDB, users can make their data easily accessible and discoverable online.