Header
The row at the top of a table that holds the column names. In data files it is normally the first line.
Software expects exactly one header row. Files made for people often have a title above it, or headers stacked over two rows, and both have to be flattened before the data will load correctly.
Where it comes up
- Merged and multi-row headersThe column names are spread over two or more rows, often with merged cells, so no single row names every column.
- Inconsistent column names across filesFiles that should share one layout name the same column differently, or use the same name for different things.
See also
- ColumnOne vertical slice of a table, holding the same kind of fact for every row: every customer's city, every order's total.
- SchemaThe declared structure of a dataset: its columns, their names and types, and the rules they must satisfy.
- CSVComma-separated values: a plain text file format in which each line is a row and commas separate the values in it.