Every variable in a Lityx dataset can hold data of a single data type. The dataset's dictionary is where formats are determined and available for viewing. The data types supported by LityxIQ are described below.
Data Types for Holding Numbers
Integer - integer data types hold data in the form of whole numbers. There are four sub-types (also called Formats in LityxIQ) that are differentiated based on the range of possible integer values that can be stored. From a technical perspective, this relates to how many bytes of data are used to store values of the variable The reason to choose wisely among these formats is that the fewer bytes used, the more efficient dataset operations will be overall, and data storage will be reduced. The right tradeoff to make is to select the smallest integer format that will store the possible values expected for that variable. If you are unsure, then the safe thing to do is use the largest format even though you might lose some efficiency (which is better than not being able to store your data).
- Values up to ± 127 - this format is a 1-byte integer format, although currently LityxIQ stores it as 2 bytes.
- Values up to ± 32,767 - this format is a 2-byte integer format.
- Values up to ± 2,147,483,647 - this format is a 4-byte integer format.
- Values over ± 2,147,483,647 - this format is an 8-byte integer format and can hold integers up to ± 9,223,372,036,854,775,807
Decimal - The decimal data type holds floating point numbers in 8-byte double precision format. It is also referred to as a "float" type.
Data Types for Holding Text
There is a single data type for storing text in a variable. It is called the string data type in LityxIQ, sometimes also referred to as "varchar" in SQL databases or "text" or "character" variables in other tools. The format of a string data type specifies the maximum number of text characters that can be stored in the string. For multi-byte characters, each byte is counted as a character in determining what format you should use. Currently, LityxIQ supports string formats up to 65,000 characters, and the length of each string variable can be one of the following:
- Extra Small (length 1)
- Small (up to 10 characters)
- Medium (up to 100 characters)
- Large (up to 1000 characters)
- Max (up to 65000 characters)
Data Types for Holding Dates and Times
There are two data types for storing dates and date/times. Technically, this data is stored by LityxIQ using an internal representation that allows for a wide variety of date and time manipulation using functions described here: https://support.lityxiq.com/206665-Date--Time-Functions.
Date - the Date data type holds dates, without a time component.
Datetime - the Datetime data type holds a date and time together.