Table functions

When working with data in Ply, it’s important to understand the difference between items and tables.

An item is a single object, like a task.

A table is a collection of objects of the same kind, like a task list.

A contact is an item, and a contact list is a table. A row is an item, and a spreadsheet is a table. You get the picture.

An easy way to understand the difference is by looking at an actual table:

Tasks

Task number	Task due date	Assignee	Instructions
1	January 1st, 2022	John Smith	Take out the trash!
2	December 15th, 2021	Jane Doe	Buy milk!
3	May 22nd, 2018	Mary Lamb	Mow the lawn!

Each row in this table corresponds to an item because each row shows data on a single task.

The entire table is a table of tasks.

Properties and column headers

Let’s say we’re looking at one item from this table.

Task number: 1

Task due date: January 1st, 2022

Assignee: John Smith

Instructions: Take out the trash!

“Task number”, “Task due date”, “Assignee”, and “Instructions” are properties, labelling the different pieces of information on the task.

When looking at items in a table, it makes sense to refer to properties as column headers because pieces of information with the same property are in a column.

Special cases

A table can contain multiple items, one item, or no items.

Let's say we have a feature that searches for all the tasks that were created today and shows them in an interface. Some days, it will find a table with multiple tasks, like the one above. On days where just 1 task was created, it will find a table with just 1 task. On days where no task was created, it will find an empty table.

You can use branches if you want your feature to work differently depending on how many items a table has.

Working with items and tables

You can use the following helpers to manipulate tables of data:

• Add a column to a table Adds a column to a table.

• Add an item to a table Adds an item to a table.

• Compare tables Filters a table based on a table of values – useful for finding the overlap between two tables, their difference, and other relations.

• Count items Gets the number of items in a table.

• Filter items Finds items in a table that match a specified filtering condition.

• Get an item from a table Gets an item from a table.

• Join tables Joins two tables based on matching or non-matching values in specified columns.

• Remove columns from a table Removes specified columns from a table.

• Sort items Sorts items in a table by their values in a specified column (ascending or descending order).

You can also use formulas to get data from items inside a table. For example, if you insert a column header into a field for item data, you can Extract the first item from the table and use its value in the selected column.

We are always adding new helpers; let us know if you need a new helper to build your features.