Sigma data and column types
1. Sigma data and column types
Welcome to the course Calculations in Sigma! In this course, we'll learn about Sigma functions, their syntax, and how to combine them to perform a variety of calculations.2. Welcome!
I'm your instructor, Mandy Gray with Aimpoint Digital. Aimpoint Digital is a leading analytics advisory and solution engineering firm,3. Welcome!
trusted by Sigma as a key strategic training and implementation partner. We help organizations turn data into scalable, user-centric, and insight-driven solutions that deliver measurable business impact.4. Welcome!
Together with my colleague and co-developer Jenny Li, we look forward to guiding you through your Sigma journey.5. Oakmark Bank needs your help
Throughout the course, we'll take on the role of a Sigma Expert for a hypothetical business, Oakmark Bank. You've been hired by Oakmark to translate their raw data into concise, insightful dashboards.6. How does Sigma classify data types?
First, let's discuss how Sigma classifies data types. Knowing how data is stored in Sigma will help us write functions that work properly. Certain data types, like numeric data, can be used in mathematical calculations, while text data cannot. A column's type also impacts its sorting behavior and appearance.7. How does Sigma classify data types?
Sigma classifies data as one of six types - Text,8. How does Sigma classify data types?
Number,9. How does Sigma classify data types?
Date,10. How does Sigma classify data types?
Logical (sometimes called Boolean),11. How does Sigma classify data types?
Variant (which is often JSON or GeoJSON),12. How does Sigma classify data types?
or Geography.13. How does Sigma classify data types?
In this course we'll focus on the first four data types.14. Text data in Sigma
Text data can be any string of characters including numbers, letters, spaces and symbols.15. Numeric data in Sigma
Numeric data contains only numbers and decimal points. It cannot contain hard-coded currency symbols or commas, but Sigma's formatting options can add them for increased legibility. The precision of numeric data is inherited from your data platform, but decimal places can be added or removed with Sigma formatting options.16. Date data in Sigma
Date data represents dates, with or without timestamps and time zones. Sigma's column formatting menus can also change the appearance of dates on screen; but under the hood, Sigma is always storing your full original date.17. Logical data in Sigma
Finally, the logical data type represents Boolean data - which just means true or false data. Sigma accepts ones and zeros or the words "true" and "false" as boolean data. Now let's see how data types are visible in Sigma.18. DEMO
Pay close attention to the icons next to column names in element Properties panels, they indicate the column's type. Column types can be changed using any column's drop-down, but beware, you could end up with a column of null values if the transformation doesn't make logical sense, such as changing this text column to a numeric type. Now that we understand how data is classified in Sigma, let's review how functions are written. Sigma functions are written in the formula bar, which is accessible when creating new calculated columns, writing dynamic text or defining workflow actions. Unlike Excel, Sigma does not require starting functions with an equal sign. Let's create a column which combines the customer first and last names. As you type, colorful highlighting indicates correct syntax. If we make a mistake, red underlining or a caution symbol indicates that you've written the syntax incorrectly, made a non-existent reference or mismatched your operators and data types. Hovering over the warning will describe the specific error. Sigma adds square brackets around column names referenced in your function, and when typing a text entry into a function, such as "High" in this example, single or double quotes must surround the text. Finally, remember that when you create a new calculated column in Sigma, it will automatically be named "Calc" until you double-click to rename it. Let's try some exercises to get comfortable with Sigma formulas and data types. In these videos and exercises, you'll see and use a sandbox version of Sigma unique to this DataCamp course. It's possible that the appearance of the course version of Sigma differs slightly from your organization's version of Sigma. Don't worry - the overall experience will be very similar.19. Let's practice!
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