Long format
A table layout with one row per observation, in which a repeated measurement gets a row each time: one row for each store in each month.
Long tables look repetitive and are easy to filter, group, and chart. Adding another month means adding rows, not changing the columns.
Where it comes up
- Wide tables that should be longValues of one variable, such as months or years, are spread across the column headers instead of being stored in a column of their own.
See also
- Wide formatA table layout in which repeated measurements of the same thing are spread across columns: one row per store, with a separate sales column for each month.
- Tidy dataA table layout in which each row is one observation, each column is one variable, and each cell holds one value.
- PivotReshaping a table by turning the values of one column into new column headers, for example one row per store per month into one row per store with a column for each month.