Data types and formats
Sigma supports various data types and formats to facilitate effective analysis and reporting. Data types apply to retrieved1 and direct input2 data to determine how Sigma structures, interprets, and manipulates your data. Data formats enable you to display the data in a clear and meaningful way.
This document defines the supported data types and provides an overview of data type formats and constraints.
1Retrieved data refers to data that Sigma sources from your connected cloud data warehouse (CDW) or database management system (DBMS). Sigma retrieves and transforms data to a type corresponding to the native CDW or DBMS data type. When native data type support doesn’t exist, Sigma transforms the data to text.
2Direct input data refers to data uploaded through CSV or manually entered into input tables.
Contents
Sigma data types
Sigma supports the following data types:
 |
Text | Strings of characters that represent textual information |
 |
Number | Numerical digits that represent numeric values or quantitative information |
 |
Date | Date values that represents specific periods or points in time |
 |
Logical | Boolean values (true or false) that represent binary or conditional states |
 |
Variant | Semi-structured data that represents one or more values of other data types |
 |
Geography | Spatial data that represents geographic locations or features |
You can identify column data types in workbooks by referencing the icons in the Element properties > Columns list or the Column details modal.
Text
The text data type supports unstructured strings of characters (letters, numbers, symbols, and spaces) that represent textual information.
When Sigma retrieves data represented by a CDW or DBMS data type that isn’t supported, the data is transformed to text by default.
For a list of functions provided to operate on text data, see Text functions overview.
Number
The number data type supports structured numeric digits that represent numeric values or quantitative information.
All data represented as integers, fixed-point decimals, or floating-point numbers in your connected CDW or DBMS map to Sigma's number data type. Integers cast to int64 and can present up to 19 digits of precision, while fixed-point decimals and floating-point numbers cast to float64 and present 15-17 significant digits. Sigma also supports direct input values (using input tables) with up to 19 digits both before and after the decimal point.
When you need to display precise number values that exceed the maximum number of digits and don't require mathematical operations (for example, account numbers, serial numbers, or other identifiers), convert the column values to text strings using the Text function.
Number formats
Number data can be displayed in the following formats:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
|
Plain text |
1234.56 |
|
Number |
1,234.56 |
|
Percent |
12.34% |
|
Scientific |
1.23e4 |
|
SI units |
1.2k |
|
Currency |
$1234.56 |
|
Financial |
(1,234.56) |
|
Whole number |
1,234 |
You can also configure custom number formats based on the d3-format module.
Date
The date data type supports structured date values that represent specific points in time.
Sigma presents date and time relative to your organization’s default time zone. To display the data in a different time zone, use the ConvertTimezone function.
For a list of functions provided to operate on date data, see Date functions overview.
Date formats
Date data can be displayed in the following formats:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
|
Date |
01/31/2023 |
|
ISO date |
2023-01-31 |
|
Long date |
January 31, 2023 |
|
Month year |
Jan 2023 |
|
Date time |
01/31/2023 03:04:05 PM |
|
ISO date time |
2023-01-31 15:05:05 |
|
Time |
03:04 PM |
You can also configure custom date formats. For more information, see Define custom date formats.
Logical
The logical data type supports structured Boolean values (true or false) that represent binary or conditional states.
Logical formats
Logical data can be displayed in the following formats:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
|
Boolean |
true false |
Variant
The variant data type supports semi-structured data that represents one or more values of other data types, including text, number, and date.
All semi-structured data (including variant, array, and object types) in your connected CDW or DBMS map to Sigma’s variant data type.
Variant formats
Variant data can be displayed in the following formats:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
|
JSON |
{"name":"Alex Lee","age":30,"email":"alex@example.com"} |
|
GeoJSON |
{"type":"Feature","geometry":{"type":"Point","coordinates":[-73.98, 40.74]},"properties":{"name":"Empire State Building","category":"Landmark"}} |
Geography
The geography data type supports structured spatial data that represents geographic locations or features.
You can performs geospatial joins on geography data using the "intersect" and "within" operators:
- Intersect: returns rows from both datasets where geospatial objects intersect or overlap
- Within: returns rows where geospatial objects in one dataset are contained entirely within geospatial objects of the other
The geography data type is available with Snowflake and BigQuery connections only. Sigma retrieves WKT data and other geospatial formats (excluding GeoJSON) from other CDW or DBMS connections, but it's presented as the text data type.
For a list of functions provided to operate on geography data, see Geography functions overview.
Geography formats
Geography data can be displayed in the following formats:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
|
Well-known text (WKT) |
POINT (10 20) LINESTRING (30 40, 50 60, 70 80) POLYGON ((0 0, 10 0, 10 10, 0 10, 0 0)) MULTIPOINT (10 20, 30 40, 50 60) MULTILINESTRING ((0 0, 10 10, 20 20), (30 30, 40 40, 50 50)) MULTIPOLYGON (((0 0, 10 0, 10 10, 0 10, 0 0)), ((20 20, 30 20, 30 30, 20 30, 20 20))) |