Editing Table (information)

{{Short description|Arrangement of information or data, typically in rows and columns}}
{{Self-reference|For sortable tables in Wikipedia, see [[Help:Sorting (disambiguation)]]}}
{{Self-reference|For information on table syntax in Wikipedia, see [[Help:Table]]}}
[[File:Table-sample-appearance-default-params-values-01.gif|thumb|300px|An example table [[Browser engine#Layout and rendering|rendered]] in a [[web browser]] using [[HTML]]]]
A '''table''' is an arrangement of [[information]] or [[data]], typically in rows and columns, or possibly in a more complex structure. Tables are widely used in [[communication]], [[research]], and [[data analysis]]. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural ornamentation, traffic signs, and many other places. The precise conventions and terminology for describing tables vary depending on the context. Further, tables differ significantly in variety, structure, flexibility, notation, representation and use.<ref name="Fink000">{{cite book | last = Fink | first = Arlene | title = How to Conduct Surveys | publisher = Sage Publications | location = Thousand Oaks | year = 2005 | isbn = 1-4129-1423-X }}
</ref><ref name="Mcnabb000">{{cite book | last = McNabb | first = David | title = Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management | publisher = M.E. Sharpe | location = Armonk | year = 2002 | isbn = 0-7656-0957-6 }}
</ref><ref name="Morgan000">{{cite book | last = Morgan | first = George | title = Spss for Introductory Statistics | publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum | location = Hillsdale | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-8058-4789-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/spssforintroduct0000unse }}
</ref><ref name="Robey000">{{cite book | last = Robey | first = David | title = Sound and Structure in the Divine Comedy | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford Oxfordshire | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-19-818498-0 }}
</ref><ref name="Zielinski000">{{cite book | last = Zielinski | first = Krzysztof | title = Software Engineering: Evolution and Emerging Technologies | publisher = IOS Press | location = Amsterdam | year = 2006 | isbn = 1-58603-559-2 }}</ref> Information or data conveyed in table form is said to be in '''tabular''' format ([[wikt:tabular#Adjective|adjective]]). In books and technical articles, tables are typically presented apart from the main text in numbered and captioned [[floating block]]s.

== Basic description ==
A table consists of an ordered arrangement of '''rows''' and '''columns'''. This is a simplified description of the most basic kind of table. Certain considerations follow from this simplified description:

* the term '''[[Row (database)|row]]''' has several common synonyms (e.g., [[Record (computer science)|record]], k-[[tuple]], n-tuple, vector);
* the term '''[[Column (database)|column]]''' has several common synonyms (e.g., field, parameter, property, attribute, stanchion);
* a column is usually identified by a name;
* a column name can consist of a word, phrase or a numerical index;
* the intersection of a row and a column is called a [[table cell|cell]].

The elements of a table may be grouped, segmented, or arranged in many different ways, and even nested [[Recursion|recursively]]. Additionally, a table may include [[metadata]], [[annotations]], a header,<ref name="header">see e.g., [[Page header]] or [[Header (computing)]]</ref> a [[Page footer|footer]] or other ancillary features.<ref name="Zielinski000" />

=== Simple table ===
The following illustrates a simple table with four columns and nine rows. The first row is not counted, because it is only used to display the column names. This is called a "header row".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Age table
|-
! First name !! Last name !! Age !! Gender
|-
| Tinu || Elejogun || 14 || F
|-
| Javier || Zapata || 28 || M
|-
| Lily || McGarrett || 18 || F
|-
| Olatunkbo || Chijiaku || 22 || M
|-
| Adrienne || Anthoula || 22 || M
|-
| Axelia || Athanasios || 22 || M
|-
| Jon-Kabat || Zinn || 22 || M
|-
| Thabang || Mosoa || 15 || F
|-
| Rhian || Ellis || 12 || M
|-
|}

=== Multi-dimensional table ===
[[File:Rollup table.png|thumb|An example of a table containing rows with summary information. The summary information consists of subtotals that are combined from previous rows within the same column.]]

The concept of '''dimension''' is also a part of basic terminology.<ref>The concept of "dimension" is often applied to tables in different contexts and with different meanings. For example, what is described as a "Simple Table" in this article is alternatively described as a "two dimensional array". This is distinct from "multi-dimensional table" as presented in this article.</ref> Any "simple" table can be represented as a "multi-dimensional"
table by [[Database normalization|normalizing]] the data values into ordered [[hierarchies]]. A common example of such a table is a [[multiplication table]].

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ style="white-space:nowrap" |Multiplication table
|-
!×!! 1 !! 2 !! 3
|-
! 1
| 1 || 2 || 3
|-
! 2
| 2 || 4 || 6
|-
! 3
| 3 || 6 || 9
|}

In multi-dimensional tables, each cell in the body of the table (and the value of that cell) relates to the values at the beginnings of the column (i.e. the header), the row, and other structures in more complex tables. This is an [[injective function|injective relation]]: each combination of the values of the headers row (row 0, for lack of a better term) and the headers column (column 0 for lack of a better term) is related to a unique cell in
the table:

* Column 1 and row 1 will only correspond to cell (1,1);
* Column 1 and row 2 will only correspond to cell (2,1) etc.

The first column often presents information dimension description by which the rest of the table is navigated. This column is called "stub column". Tables may contain three or multiple dimensions and can be classified by the number of dimensions. Multi-dimensional tables may have super-rows - rows that describe additional dimensions for the rows that are presented below that row and are usually grouped in a tree-like structure.  This structure is typically visually presented with an appropriate number of white spaces in front of each stub's label.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Milosevic N, Gregson C, Hernandez R, Nenadic G | title = Disentangling the Structure of Tables in Scientific Literature | journal = Proceedings of 21st International Conference on Applications of Natural Language to Information Systems (NLDB 2016) | series = Lecture Notes in Computer Science | pages = 162–174 | date = June 2016 | volume = 9612 | doi = 10.1007/978-3-319-41754-7_14| isbn = 978-3-319-41753-0 | s2cid = 19538141 | url = https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/41051279/Disentangling_the_Structure_of_Tables_in_Scientific_Literature.pdf }}</ref>

In literature tables often present numerical values, cumulative statistics, categorical values, and at times parallel descriptions in form of text.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Milosevic N, Gregson C, Hernandez R, Nenadic G | title = A framework for information extraction from tables in biomedical literature | journal = International Journal on Document Analysis and Recognition | volume = 22 | issue = 1 | pages = 55–78 | date = February 2019 | doi = 10.1007/s10032-019-00317-0 | arxiv = 1902.10031 | s2cid = 62880746 }}</ref> They can condense large amount of information to a limited space and therefore they are popular in scientific literature in many fields of study.
[[File:Philosophical_Transactions_-_Volume_001.djvu|thumb|right|page=60|[[Adrien Auzout]]'s "A TABLE of the Apertures of Object-Glasses" from [[:s:Philosophical Transactions/Volume 1/Number 4#56|a 1665 article]] in ''[[Philosophical Transactions]]'']]

==Generic representation==
As a communication tool, a table allows a form of [[generalization]] of information from an unlimited number of different social or scientific contexts. It provides a familiar way to convey information that might otherwise not be obvious or readily understood.

For example, in the following diagram, two alternate representations of the same information are presented side by side. On the left is the NFPA 704 standard "[[fire diamond]]" with example values indicated and on the right is a simple table displaying the same values, along with additional information. Both representations convey essentially the same information, but the tabular representation is arguably more comprehensible to someone who is not familiar with the NFPA 704 standard. The tabular representation may not, however, be ideal for every circumstance (for example because of space limitations, or safety reasons).
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; text-align:center;"
|+[[Fire diamond]]
|-
! Standard Representation
! Tabular Representation
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |{{NFPA 704 diamond | H= 3 | F= 2 | R= 1}}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
|+ style="white-space:nowrap" |Risk levels of hazardous materials in this facility
|-
! Health Risk !! Flammability !! Reactivity !! Special
|-
| Level 3 || Level 2 || Level 1 ||
|}
|}

==Specific uses==
There are several specific situations in which tables are routinely used as a matter of custom or formal convention.

===Publishing===
* Cross-reference ([[Table of contents]])

===Mathematics===
{{main|Mathematical table}}
* Arithmetic ([[Multiplication table]])
* Logic ([[Truth table]])

===Natural sciences===
* Chemistry ([[Periodic table]])
* Oceanography ([[tide table]])

===Information technology===
====Software applications====
Modern software applications give users the ability to generate, format, and edit tables and tabular data for a wide variety of uses, for example:
*[[word processing]] applications;
*[[spreadsheet]] applications;
*[[presentation software]];
*tables specified in [[HTML]] or another [[markup language]]

==== Software development ====
Tables have uses in software development for both high-level specification and low-level implementation.
Usage in software specification can encompass ad hoc inclusion of simple [[decision table]]s in textual documents through to the use of tabular specification methodologies, examples of which include Software Cost Reduction<ref name="Heitmeyer000">{{Cite web|last=Heitmeyer|first=Constance L.|title=Software Cost Reduction|url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA465161|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312075923/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA465161|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 12, 2012|publisher=Naval Research Laboratory|location=Washington D.C.|year=2002}}</ref> and Statestep.<ref name="Breen000">{{Cite journal|last=Breen|first=Michael|title=Experience of using a lightweight formal specification method for a commercial embedded system product line|url=http://mbreen.com/experience.pdf|journal=Requirements Engineering Journal|volume=10|issue=2|doi=10.1007/s00766-004-0209-1|year=2005|pages=161–172|s2cid=16928695}}</ref>
Proponents of tabular techniques, among whom [[David Parnas]] is prominent, emphasize their understandability, as well as the quality and cost advantages of a format allowing systematic inspection,<ref name="Janicki000">{{Cite book|last1=Janicki|first1=Ryszard|last2=Parnas|first2=David Lorge|last3=Zucker|first3=Jeffery|chapter=Tabular representations in relational documents|editor1-last=Brink|editor1-first=C.|editor2-last=Kahl|editor2-first=W.|editor3-last=Schmidt|editor3-first=G.|title=Relational Methods in Computer Science|publisher=Springer Verlag|isbn=3-211-82971-7|year=1997}}</ref> while corresponding shortcomings experienced with a graphical notation were cited in motivating the development of at least two tabular approaches.<ref name="Breen000"/><ref name="Leveson000">{{Cite book|last1= Leveson|first1=Nancy G.|last2=Heimdahl|first2=Mats P. E.|last3=Reese|first3=Jon Damon|year=1999|chapter=Designing Specification Languages for Process-Control Systems: Lessons Learned and Steps to the Future|title=Seventh ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations on Software Engineering|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|volume=1687|pages=127–146|doi=10.1007/3-540-48166-4_9|hdl=11299/217294|isbn=978-3-540-66538-0|url=http://www.umsec.umn.edu/sites/all/files/publications/draft4.pdf}}</ref>

At a programming level, software may be implemented using constructs generally represented or understood as tabular, whether to store data (perhaps to [[Memoization|memoize]] earlier results), for example, in [[Array data structure|arrays]] or [[hash table]]s, or [[control table]]s determining the flow of program execution in response to various events or inputs.

==== Databases ====
Database systems often store data in structures called tables; in which [[column (database)|columns]] are data fields and [[row (database)|rows]] represent data records.

==Historical relationship to furniture==
In medieval [[counting house]]s, the [[table (furniture)|tables]] were covered with a piece of [[Check (fabric)|checkered]] cloth, to count money.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Baxter |first=W. T. |title=Early Accounting: The Tally and Checkerboard |date=1989 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40697984 |journal=The Accounting Historians Journal |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=43–83 |doi=10.2308/0148-4184.16.2.43 |jstor=40697984 |issn=0148-4184|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Exchequer: a chequered history? - History of government |url=https://history.blog.gov.uk/2013/08/14/the-exchequer-a-chequered-history/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=history.blog.gov.uk |date=14 August 2013 |language=en}}</ref>''[[Exchequer]]'' is an archaic term for the English institution which accounted for money owed to the [[monarch]]. Thus the [[checkerboard]] tables of stacks of coins are a concrete realization of this [[information]].{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

==See also==
* [[Chart]]
* [[Diagram]]
* [[Abstract data type]]
* [[Column (database)]]
* [[Information graphics]]
* [[Periodic table]]
* [[Reference table]]
* [[Row (database)]]
* [[Table (database)]]
* [[HTML element#Tables|Table (HTML)]]
* [[Tensor]]
* [[Dependent and independent variables]]
* [[Zebra striping]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{wiktionary|table}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Tables (information)}}

{{Visualization}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Infographics]]
[[Category:Data modeling]]
[[Category:Tables (information)| ]]