Data types

There are four simple data types that represent how information is internally stored in the 1010data Insights Platform.

The integer data type is often used to hold information like transaction IDs and store numbers. Integers are also used to represent date or time values, using the date, month, quarter, and time forms. For instance, the date 12/10/2013 is stored as the integer 20131210. The time 10:25:30 is stored as the integer 102530. For more information, see Integer.

The big integer data type supports whole number values that exceed the range that is supported by the integer data type. Most commonly, big integer columns are used in links, selections, and tabulations, since data such as keys and IDs are often stored in columns of this type. For more information, see Big integer.

The decimal data type may contain values such as sales prices, unemployment rates, interest rates, and floating-point values. In the 1010data Insights Platform, a decimal data type can also hold a value that contains a combination of date and time information. For more information, see Decimal.

The text data type is used for alphanumeric values that may include symbols, and spaces, such as customer IDs, product names, sizes, ZIP codes, or geographic locations. For more information, see Text.

In the Insights Platform, the data types are represented in various ways.

Data type	Type name	Sigil	Description
integer	integer int	i	Whole numbers between -2,147,483,646 and 2,147,483,646
big integer	big integer bigint int64	j	Whole numbers between -9,223,372,036,854,775,806 and 9,223,372,036,854,775,806
decimal	decimal dec real double	f	64-bit floating-point values
text	text alpha	a	String values that contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, spaces, and symbols

The data type of a column is referred to by its type name or its sigil in different contexts. Different interfaces may tend to use one or the other or both.

Data types are different from display formats, which control how values are displayed within columns.