Data requirements
This topic covers the input data requirements for NLG Apps and Arria Answers. If you get unexpected results, please check that your data meets the requirements stated below.
The topic is organized as follows:
Measures
A measure is a numeric, quantitative field in your data. Measures in the sample dataset include Sales and Profit.
The requirements for measures are:
Decimal numbers must use a period for the decimal separator.
If using thousand grouping separators, they must be commas.
Aggregation type must be one of the following: None, Sum, Avg, Min, Max, or Count*.
Tip
*Arria Answers does not support the Count aggregation type.
See Query types for guidance on which aggregation types are required by each type of query.
Tip
Not all aggregation and entity type combinations are supported by every NLG app. See the NLG Apps Directory for app-specific guidance.
Dimensions
A dimension is a categorical, qualitative field in your data. Dimensions in the sample dataset include Country and Product.
The values in a dimension field are known as dimension instances. For example, Canada and Germany may be instances of the Country dimension.
There are no formal restrictions for categorical dimensions. The values are typically textual or alphanumeric rather than purely numeric; however, purely numeric outputs are allowed.
In Arria for TIBCO Spotfire, the term time dimension refers to a special type of dimension that contains date values. Time dimensions are used to analyze your data by day, month, quarter, or year. The data requirements for time dimensions are described below.
Time dimensions
A time dimension is a particular type of dimension that contains date values. You can use time dimensions to analyze your data by year, quarter, month, or day.
This section provides guidance on valid column names and data values when using time dimensions with NLG Apps and Arria Answers.
Tip
When Arria for TIBCO Spotfire identifies an attribute as a time dimension, the Entity Type field is automatically set to DateTime. If necessary, you can set the entity type in the NLG Apps wizard or the Arria Answers wizard.
There are two ways to store dates in your raw data:
Dates in a single column
Date columns in your raw data can be used in two ways: as a Single date column, or as a TIBCO Spotfire date hierarchy.
Single date column
You can use a date column in your raw data as a single date column in TIBCO Spotfire — for example, see the Date column in blue, below.
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Supported column/time dimension names
A column/time dimension containing whole date values must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Column/Attribute names |
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*date* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more spaces, hyphens, or underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and the Arria Answers wizard to override date column/attribute names and comply with the naming rules.
Supported date formats
The following date formats are supported:
Pattern | Example Values |
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TIBCO Spotfire date hierarchy
You can create separate date component columns (outlined in red, below) from a date column in your raw data.
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To create date components when adding dates to the Intelligent Narratives visualization, click the Date column and select Year, Quarter, Month, or Day of Month.
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Important
Only the Year, Quarter, Month, and Day of Month components are supported as time dimensions in NLG Apps and Arria Answers. Using any other TIBCO Spotfire date component may result in inaccurate narratives or error messages.
NOTE: the Day of Month component must be renamed Day in the Display name field.
Supported column/time dimension names
Arria for TIBCO Spotfire supports the column names created by TIBCO Spotfire for Year, Quarter, and Month.
The Day of Month column must be renamed Day in the Display name field.
Dates across multiple columns
NLG Apps and Arria Answers support the following date hierarchy columns/time dimensions:
Years
Supported column/time dimension names
A column/time dimension containing year values must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
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y |
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*yr* |
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*year* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more spaces, hyphens, or underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and the Arria Answers wizard to override date column/dimension names and comply with the naming rules.
Supported values
A year value must be a two-digit or four-digit number (for example, "22" or "2022").
Quarters
Supported column/time dimension names
A column/time dimension containing quarter values must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
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q |
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*qt* |
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*qtr* |
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*quarter* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more spaces, hyphens, or underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and the Arria Answers wizard to override date column/dimension names and comply with the naming rules.
Supported values
A quarter value can be given in alphanumeric or numeric form:
Quarter | Example Alphanumeric Values† | Example Numeric Values |
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Quarter 1 |
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Quarter 2 |
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Quarter 3 |
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Quarter 4 |
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† Any combination of the strings "Q", "Qt", "Qtr", and "Quarter" plus a number, with or without spaces, is acceptable for alphanumeric values. Therefore, "Q4", "Q 4", and "4Q" are equally valid. Also, any mixture of cases is acceptable. Therefore, "QUARTER 1" and "qUARTER 1" (to give two alternatives) are valid alternatives to "Quarter 1".
Months
Supported column/time dimension names
A column/time dimension containing month values must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Field Names |
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m |
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*mon* |
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*mth* |
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*month* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more spaces, hyphens, or underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and the Arria Answers wizard to override date column/dimension names and comply with the naming rules.
Supported values
A month value can be given in text or numeric form:
Month | Example Text Values† | Example Numeric Values |
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January |
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February |
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March |
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April |
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May |
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June |
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July |
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August |
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September |
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October |
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November |
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December |
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† This requirement is case-insensitive, so "JAN", "JAn" and "jan" are valid alternatives to "Jan".
Days
Supported column/time dimension names
A column/time dimension containing day values must be named as follows:
Naming Rule | Example Values |
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d |
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*day* |
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The asterisks (*) are wildcards that represent one or more spaces, hyphens, or underscores. These rules are case-insensitive.
Tip
You can use the Alias field in the NLG Apps wizard and the Arria Answers wizard to override date column/dimension names and comply with the naming rules.
Supported values
A day value must be a one-digit or two-digit number (e.g. 5 or 05). Ordinal numbers (e.g. 5th) are invalid.
