Column
One vertical slice of a table, holding the same kind of fact for every row: every customer's city, every order's total.
A well-behaved column holds one variable in one data type. Most cleaning work is done a column at a time for that reason.
Where it comes up
- Inconsistent column names across filesFiles that should share one layout name the same column differently, or use the same name for different things.
- Multiple values in one cellA single cell holds a list, or two different facts, joined by a comma, slash, or line break.
See also
- FieldA single named piece of information in a record, such as the email address of one customer. The word is also used loosely to mean the whole column.
- RecordOne row of a table: the set of values that together describe a single thing, such as one customer or one transaction.
- Data typeThe kind of value a column holds, such as text, whole number, decimal, date, or true and false. The type decides what operations make sense.