Key data concept – data types
Another key data concept that is important to mention at this point is that of data type. This concept is equally important in spreadsheets; it's just that spreadsheets don't generally force you to declare the data type, and they allow you to mix and match data types under individual columns. In data tables, each column must have a single data type for all the values in all rows.
So what does data type mean? There are, in essence, three types of data:
- Numbers
- Dates
- Text
They are defined as such because they have distinct properties. Numbers can be used in calculations, and the vast array of mathematical functions and operators can be brought to bear on them. Text can be parsed, concatenated, counted, and arranged into ...
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