What is the consequence of removing a step referenced by another step in a recipe?

When a step is removed from a recipe that is referenced by another step, the dependent step will generate an error because it lacks the necessary input or context required to execute properly. Recipes often consist of a sequence of operations where each step can depend on the output, data, or logic of preceding steps.

If a step that provides essential data or a result needed by another step is eliminated, the system will not be able to find the referenced information. This missing information leads to an inability for the dependent step to execute as intended, resulting in an error. This behavior reflects proper error handling and validation mechanisms built into many analytics and data processing workflows, ensuring that dependencies are properly respected.

Other options do not accurately depict the scenario: the recipe will not run smoothly, as removing a key step introduces issues, and it won't cause the entire recipe to fail completely either, as some parts may still execute if they do not depend on the removed step. Therefore, the best consequence in this situation is that the dependent step will generate an error due to the absence of the necessary referenced step.