Gestión de Tablas 1

Understanding Tables in Data Management

Basic Structure of Tables

• Tables are one of the three fundamental data types, alongside entity classes and image datasets. They consist of rows and columns used to store descriptive information.

• Each row in a table represents an object, while the fields (columns) contain properties that describe these objects.

• The basic structure includes records (rows), fields (columns), and unique field names. Tables can store various data types such as dates, numeric values, and text.

Spatial vs Non-Spatial Data

• Any table storing spatial data must have at least two columns: one for a unique identifier and another for the geometry of entities.

• In entity classes, each row is considered an entity with its geometry stored in a specific column. Conversely, independent tables do not include a shape field and are classified as non-spatial.

Importance of Non-Spatial Tables

• Non-spatial tables are equally important as spatial ones; they can hold attributes like location coordinates or address data.

File-Based Tabular Data Sources

• Examples of file-based tabular data sources include:

• Base tables used in save file formats

• Text files created with editors that are comma or tab-delimited

• Various types of tables that may be utilized within different applications