Formula function reference

Learn the operators and functions you can use to create formulas in ThoughtSpot.

ThoughtSpot allows you to create derived columns in Worksheets using formulas. You create these columns by building formulas using the Formula Assistant. An individual formula is constructed from n combination of operators and functions.

This reference lists the various operators and functions you can use to create formulas.

Operators

Operator Description Examples

and

Returns true when both conditions are true, otherwise returns false.

(1 = 1) and (3 > 2) = true

lastname = 'smith' and state ='texas'

Not available for row-level security (RLS) formulas.

if…then…else

Conditional operator

if (3 > 2) then 'bigger' else 'not bigger'

if (cost > 500) then 'flag' else 'approve'

ifnull

Returns the first value if it is not null, otherwise returns the second value.

ifnull (cost, 'unknown')

in

Takes a column name and a list of values. It checks each column value against the list of values in the formula, and returns true if the column value matches one of the values in the formula.

state in { 'texas' , 'california' }

isnull

Returns true if the value is null.

isnull (phone)

not

Returns true if the condition is false, otherwise returns false.

not (3 > 2) = false

not (state = 'texas')

or

Returns true when either condition is true, otherwise returns false.

(1 = 5) or (3 > 2) = true

state = 'california' or state ='oregon'

Aggregate functions (group aggregate)

Use the following functions to aggregate data.

Function Description Examples

average

Returns the average of all the values of a column.

average (revenue)

average_if

Returns the average of all the columns that meet a given criteria.

average_if(city = "San Francisco", revenue)

count

Returns the number of rows in the table containing the column.

count (product)

count_if

Returns the number of rows in the table containing the column.

count_if(region =’west’, region)

cumulative_average

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the average of the measure, accumulated by the attribute(s) in the order specified.

cumulative_average (revenue, order date, state)

cumulative_max

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the maximum of the measure, accumulated by the attribute(s) in the order specified.

cumulative_max (revenue, state)

cumulative_min

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the minimum of the measure, accumulated by the attribute(s) in the order specified.

cumulative_min (revenue, campaign)

cumulative_sum

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the sum of the measure, accumulated by the attribute(s) in the order specified.

cumulative_sum (revenue, order date)

group_aggregate

Takes a measure and optional attributes and filters. Used to aggregate measures with different granularities and filters than the columns used in the search. Commonly used in comparison analysis.

This formula takes the following form: group_aggregate (<aggregation(measure)>, <groupings>, <filters>)

Define lists using curly brackets, { }. Optional list functions query_groups or query_filters specify the lists or filters used in the original search. Use + (plus) and - (minus) to add or exclude specific columns for query groups. See Flexible aggregation functions.

group_aggregate (sum (revenue), {ship mode, date}, {} )

group_aggregate (sum (revenue), {ship mode , date}, {day_of_week (date) = 'friday'} )

group_aggregate (sum (revenue), query_groups(), query_filters() )

group_aggregate (sum (revenue), query_groups() + {date}, query_filters() )

group_average

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the average of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_average (revenue, customer region, state)

group_count

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the count of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_count (revenue, customer region)

group_max

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the maximum of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_max (revenue, customer region)

group_min

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the minimum of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_min (revenue, customer region)

group_stddev

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the standard deviation of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_stddev (revenue, customer region)

group_sum

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the sum of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_sum (revenue, customer region)

group_unique_count

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the unique count of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_unique_count (product , supplier)

group_variance

Takes a measure and one or more attributes. Returns the variance of the measure grouped by the attribute(s).

group_variance (revenue, customer region)

max

Returns the maximum value of a column.

max (sales)

max_if

Returns the maximum value among columns that meet a criteria.

max_if( (revenue > 10) , customer region )

min

Returns the minimum value of a column.

min (revenue)

min_if

Returns the minimum value among columns that meet a criteria.

min_if( (revenue < 10) , customer region )

moving_average

Takes a measure, two integers to define the window to aggregate over, and one or more attributes. The window is (current - Num1…Current + Num2) with both end points being included in the window. For example, “1,1” will have a window size of 3. To define a window that begins before Current, specify a negative number for Num2. Returns the average of the measure over the given window. The attributes are the ordering columns used to compute the moving average.

moving_average (revenue, 2, 1, customer region)

moving_max

Takes a measure, two integers to define the window to aggregate over, and one or more attributes. The window is (current - Num1…Current + Num2) with both end points being included in the window. For example, “1,1” will have a window size of 3. To define a window that begins before Current, specify a negative number for Num2. Returns the maximum of the measure over the given window. The attributes are the ordering columns used to compute the moving maximum.

moving_max (complaints, 1, 2, store name)

moving_min

Takes a measure, two integers to define the window to aggregate over, and one or more attributes. The window is (current - Num1…Current + Num2) with both end points being included in the window. For example, “1,1” will have a window size of 3. To define a window that begins before Current, specify a negative number for Num2. Returns the minimum of the measure over the given window. The attributes are the ordering columns used to compute the moving minimum.

moving_min (defects, 3, 1, product)

moving_sum

Takes a measure, two integers to define the window to aggregate over, and one or more attributes. The window is (current - Num1…Current + Num2) with both end points being included in the window. For example, “1,1” will have a window size of 3. To define a window that begins before Current, specify a negative number for Num2. Returns the sum of the measure over the given window. The attributes are the ordering columns used to compute the moving sum.

moving_sum (revenue, 1, 1, order date)

rank

Returns the rank for the current row. Identical values receive an identical rank. Takes an aggregate input for the first argument. The second argument specifies the order, 'asc' | 'desc'.

rank (sum (revenue) , 'asc' )

rank (sum (revenue) , ‘desc' )

rank_percentile

Returns the percentile rank for the current row. Identical values are assigned an identical percentile rank. Takes an aggregate input for the first argument. The second argument specifies the order, 'asc' | 'desc'.

rank_percentile (sum (revenue) , 'asc' )

rank_percentile (sum (revenue) , 'desc' )

stddev

Returns the standard deviation of all values of a column.

stddev (revenue)

stddev_if

Returns a standard deviation values filtered to meet a specific criteria.

stddev_if( (revenue > 10) , (revenue/10.0) )

sum

Returns the sum of all the values of a column.

sum (revenue)

sum_if

Returns sum values filtered by a specific criteria.

sum_if(region=’west’, revenue)

unique count

Returns the number of unique values of a column.

unique count (customer)

unique_count_if

Returns the number of unique values of a column provided it meets a criteria.

unique_count_if( (revenue > 10) , order date )

variance

Returns the variance of all the values of a column.

variance (revenue)

variance_if

Returns the variance of all the values of a column provided it meets a criteria.

variance_if( (revenue > 10) , (revenue/10.0) )

Conversion functions

Use these functions to convert data from one data type into another data type.

ThoughtSpot does not support date data type conversion.

Function Description Examples

to_bool

Returns the input as a boolean data type (true or false).

to_bool (0) = false

to_bool (married)

to_date

Accepts a date represented as an integer or text string, and a second string parameter that can include strptime date formatting elements. Replaces all the valid strptime date formatting elements with their string counterparts and returns the result. Does not accept epoch formatted dates as input.

to_date (date_sold, '%Y-%m-%d')

to_double

Returns the input as a double data type.

to_double ('3.14') = 3.14

to_double (revenue * .01)

to_integer

Returns the input as an integer.

to_integer ('45') + 1 = 46

to_integer (price + tax - cost)

to_string

Returns the input as a text string. To convert a date data type to a string data type, specify the date format you want to use in the second argument (for example, to_string ( <date column> , "%Y-%m-%d" )). Use strftime for the date format.

to_string (45 + 1) = '46'

to_string (revenue - cost)

to_string (date,'%m/%d/%y')

Date functions

Function Description Examples

add_days

Returns the result of adding the specified number of days to the given date.

add_days ( 01/30/2015, 5 ) = 02/04/2015

add_days ( invoiced, 30 )

add_minutes

Returns the result of adding the specified number of minutes to the given date/datetime/time.

add_minutes ( 01/30/2015 00:10:20 , 5 ) = 01/30/2015 00:15:20

add_minutes ( invoiced , 30 )

add_months

Returns the result of adding the specified number of months to the given date.

add_months ( 01/30/2015, 5 ) = 06/30/2015 add_months ( invoiced_date , 5 )

add_seconds

Returns the result of adding the specified number of seconds to the given date/ datetime/ time.

add_seconds ( 01/30/2015 00:00:00, 5 ) = 06/30/2015 00:00:05

add_seconds ( invoiced_date , 5 )

add_weeks

Returns the result of adding the specified number of weeks to the given date.

add_weeks ( 01/30/2015, 2 ) = 02/13/2015

add_weeks ( invoiced_date , 2 )

add_years

Returns the result of adding the specified number of years to the given date.

add_years ( 01/30/2015, 5 ) = 01/30/2020

add_years ( invoiced_date , 5 )

date

Returns the date portion of a given date.

date ( home visit )

day

Returns the number (1-31) of the day of the month for the given date.

day ( 01/15/2014 ) = 15

day ( date ordered )

day_number_of_quarter

Returns the number of the day in a quarter for a given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

day_number_of_quarter ( 01/30/2015 ) = 30

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

day_number_of_quarter ( 01/30/2015, 'fiscal' ) = 91

day_number_of_week

Returns the number (1-7) of the day in a week for a given date. Monday is 1, and Sunday is 7.

day_number_of_week( 01/15/2014 ) = 3

day_number_of_week ( shipped )

day_number_of_year

Returns the number (1-366) of the day in a year from a given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

day_number_of_year ( 01/30/2015 ) = 30

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

day_number_of_year ( 01/30/2015, 'fiscal' ) = 275

day_number_of_year ( invoiced )

day_of_week

Returns the day of the week for the given date.

day_of week ( 01/30/2015 ) = Friday day_of_week ( serviced )

diff_days

Subtracts the second date from the first date and returns the result in number of days, rounded down if not exact.

diff_days ( 01/15/2014, 01/17/2014 ) = -2

diff_days ( purchased, shipped )

diff_time

Subtracts the second date from the first date and returns the result in number of seconds.

diff_time ( 01/30/2014, 01/31/2014 ) = -86,400

diff_time ( clicked, submitted )

hour_of_day

Returns the hour of the day for the given date.

hour_of_day ( received )

is_weekend

Returns true if the given date falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

is_weekend ( 01/31/2015 ) = true

is_weekend ( emailed )

month

Returns the month from the given date.

month ( 01/15/2014 ) = January

month ( date ordered )

month_number

Returns the number (1-12) of the month from a given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

month_number ( 09/20/2014 ) = 9

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

month_number ( 09/20/2014, 'fiscal' ) = 5

month_number ( purchased )

month_number_of_quarter

Returns the month (1-3) number for the given date in a quarter. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

month_number_of_quarter ( 02/20/2018 ) = 2

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

month_number_of_quarter ( 02/20/2018,'fiscal' ) = 1

now

Returns the current timestamp.

now ()

quarter_number

Returns the number (1-4) of the quarter associated with the given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify 'fiscal' or 'calendar' dates. The default is 'calendar'.

quarter_number ( 04/14/2014 ) = 2

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

quarter_number ( 04/14/2014, 'fiscal' ) = 4

quarter_number ( shipped )

start_of_month

Returns MMM yyyy for the first day of the month. Your installation configuration can override this setting so that it returns a different format such as MM/dd/yyyy. Speak with your ThoughtSpot administrator for information on doing this.

start_of_month ( 01/31/2015 ) = Jan FY 2015

start_of_month ( shipped )

start_of_quarter

Returns the date for the first day of the quarter for the given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

start_of_quarter ( 04/30/2014 ) = Apr 2014

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

start_of_quarter ( 04/30/2014, 'fiscal' ) = Feb 2014

start_of_quarter ( sold )

start_of_week

Returns the date for the first day of the week for the given date.

start_of_week ( 01/31/2020 ) = 01/27/2020

start_of_week ( emailed )

start_of_year

Returns the date for the first day of the year for the given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

start_of_year ( 04/30/2014 ) returns Jan 2014

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

start_of_year ( 04/30/2014, 'fiscal' ) returns May 2013

start_of_year ( joined )

time

Returns the time portion of a given date.

time ( 1/31/2002 10:32 ) = 10:32

time ( call began )

today

Returns the current date.

today ()

week_number_of_month

Returns the week number for the given date in a month.

week_number_of_month( 03/23/2017 ) = 3

week_number_of_quarter

Returns the week number for the given date in a quarter. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

week_number_of_quarter ( 01/31/2020 ) = 5

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

week_number_of_quarter ( 05/31/2020, 'fiscal' ) = 5

week_number_of_year

Returns the week number for the given date in a year. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

week_number_of_year ( 01/17/2014 ) = 3

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year.

week_number_of_year ( 01/17/2014, 'fiscal' ) = 38

year

Returns the year from a given date. You can add an optional second parameter to specify whether a 'fiscal' or 'calendar' year is used to calculate the result. The default is 'calendar'.

year ( 01/15/2014 ) = 2014

In the following example, May 1st is the start of the fiscal year. Per standard convention, the fiscal year is defined by the year-end date.

year ( 12/15/2013, 'fiscal' ) = 2014

year ( date ordered )

Mixed functions

These functions can be used with text and numeric data types.

Function Description Examples

!=

Returns true if the first value is not equal to the second value.

3 != 2 = true

revenue != 1000000

<

Returns true if the first value is less than the second value.

3 < 2 = false

revenue < 1000000

<=

Returns true if the first value is less than or equal to the second value.

1 ⇐ 2 = true

revenue ⇐ 1000000

=

Returns true if the first value is equal to the second value.

2 = 2 = true

revenue = 1000000

>

Returns true if the first value is greater than the second value.

3 > 2 = true

revenue > 1000000

>=

Returns true if the first value is greater than or equal to the second value.

3 >= 2 = true

revenue >= 1000000

greatest

Returns the larger of the values.

greatest (20, 10) = 20

greatest (q1 revenue, q2 revenue)

least

Returns the smaller of the values.

least (20, 10) = 10

least (q1 revenue, q2 revenue)

Number functions

Function Description Examples

*

Returns the result of multiplying both numbers.

3 * 2 = 6

price * taxrate

+

Returns the result of adding both numbers.

1 + 2 = 3

price + shipping

-

Returns the result of subtracting the second number from the first.

3 - 2 = 1

revenue - tax

/

Returns the result of dividing the first number by the second.

6 / 3 = 2

markup / retail price

^

Returns the first number raised to the power of the second.

3 ^ 2 = 9

width ^ 2

abs

Returns the absolute value.

abs (-10) = 10

abs (profit)

acos

Returns the inverse cosine in degrees.

acos (0.5) = 60

acos (cos-satellite-angle)

asin

Returns the inverse sine (specified in degrees).

asin (0.5) = 30

asin (sin-satellite-angle)

atan

Returns the inverse tangent in degrees.

atan (1) = 45

atan (tan-satellite-angle)

atan2

Returns the inverse tangent in degrees.

atan2 (10, 10) = 45

atan2 (longitude, latitude)

cbrt

Returns the cube root of a number.

cbrt (27) = 3

cbrt (volume)

ceil

Returns the smallest following integer.

ceil (5.9) = 6

ceil (growth rate)

cos

Returns the cosine of an angle (specified in degrees).

cos (63) = 0.45

cos (beam angle)

cube

Returns the cube of a number.

cube (3) = 27

cube (length)

exp

Returns Euler’s number (~2.718) raised to a power.

exp (2) = 7.38905609893

exp (growth)

exp2

Returns 2 raised to a power.

exp2 (3) = 8

exp2 (growth)

floor

Returns the largest previous integer.

floor (5.1) = 5

floor (growth rate)

ln

Returns the natural logarithm.

ln (7.38905609893) = 2

ln (distance)

log10

Returns the logarithm with base 10.

log10 (100) = 2

log10 (volume)

log2

Returns the logarithm with base 2 (binary logarithm).

log2 (32) = 5

log2 (volume)

mod

Returns the remainder of first number divided by the second number.

mod (8, 3) = 2

mod ( revenue , quantity )

pow

Returns the first number raised to the power of the second number.

pow (5, 2) = 25

pow (width, 2)

random

Returns a random number between 0 and 1.

random ( ) = .457718

random ( )

round

Returns the first number rounded to the second number (the default is 1).

round (35.65, 10) = 40

round (battingavg, 100)round (48.67, .1) = 48.7

safe_divide

Returns the result of dividing the first number by the second. If the second number is 0, returns 0 instead of NaN (not a number).

safe_divide (12, 0) = 0

safe_divide (total_cost, units)

sign

Returns +1 if the number is greater than zero, -1 if less than zero, 0 if zero.

sign (-250) = -1

sign (growth rate)

sin

Returns the sine of an angle (specified in degrees).

sin (35) = 0.57

sin (beam angle)

spherical_distance

Returns the distance in km between two points on Earth.

spherical_distance (37.465191, -122.153617, 37.421962, -122.142174) = 4,961.96

spherical_distance (start_latitude, start_longitude, start_latitude, start_longitude)

sq

Returns the square of a numeric value.

sq (9) = 81

sq (width)

sqrt

Returns the square root.

sqrt (9) = 3

sqrt (area)

tan

Returns the tangent of an angle (specified in degrees).

tan (35) = 0.7

tan (beam angle)

Text functions

Function Description Examples

concat

Returns two or more values as a concatenated text string. Use single quotes around each literal string, not double quotes.

concat ( 'hay' , 'stack' ) = 'haystack'

concat (title, ' ', first_name , ' ', last_name)

contains

Returns true if the first string contains the second string, otherwise returns false.

contains ('broomstick', 'room') = true

contains (product, 'trial version')

edit_distance

Accepts two text strings. Returns the edit distance (minimum number of operations required to transform one string into the other) as an integer. Works with strings under 1023 characters.

edit_distance ('attorney', 'atty') = 4

edit_distance (color, 'red')

edit_distance_with_cap

Accepts two text strings and an integer to specify the upper limit cap for the edit distance (minimum number of operations required to transform one string into the other). If the edit distance is less than or equal to the specified cap, returns the edit distance. If it is higher than the cap, returns the cap plus 1. Works with strings under 1023 characters.

edit_distance_with_cap ('pokemon go', 'minecraft pixelmon', 3) = 4

edit_distance_with_cap (event, 'burning man', 3)

similar_to

Accepts a document text string and a search text string. Returns true if relevance score (0-100) of the search string with respect to the document is greater than or equal to 20. Relevance is based on edit distance, number of words in the query, and length of words in the query which are present in the document.

similar_to ('hello world', 'hello swirl') = true

similar_to (current team, drafted by)

similarity

Accepts a document text string and a search text string. Returns the relevance score (0-100) of the search string with respect to the document. Relevance is based on edit distance, number of words in the query, and length of words in the query which are present in the document. If the two strings are an exact match, returns 100.

similarity ('where is the burning man concert', 'burning man') = 46

similarity (tweet1, tweet2)

spells_like

Accepts two text strings. Returns true if they are spelled similarly and false if they are not. Works with strings under 1023 characters.

spells_like ('thouhgtspot', 'thoughtspot') = true

spells_like (studio, distributor)

strlen

Returns the length of the text.

strlen ('smith') = 5

strlen (lastname)

strpos

Returns the numeric position (starting from 0) of the first occurrence of the second string in the first string, or -1 if not found.

strpos ('haystack_with_needles', 'needle') = 14

strpos (complaint, 'lawyer')

substr

Returns the portion of the given string, beginning at the location specified (starting from 0), and of the given length.

substr ('persnickety', 3, 7) = snicket

substr (lastname, 0, 5)