Types of Data

Overview

Not all types of data and information are displayed in the same way in Fabric. Fabric groups information into three groups: data (raw data and code), metadata (logical & physical), and all other information.

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Types of Data Resources

Data

• Raw Data
  Raw data are the contents of the underlying data assets. This includes content like the values within a data table or semi-structured data resource.
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• Code
  Code refers to assets such as SQL queries, scripts, and API resources. The distinction between raw data and code may sometimes be blurry.

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Metadata

• Physical Metadata
  Physical metadata includes all of the information about an underlying data object that is stored in or derived from the data asset itself. This includes information such as file name, data type, creation date, etc.
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• Logical Metadata
  Logical metadata refers to the information resources about an underlying data object that are created and managed in a tool or file separate from the data object itself. This includes all custom fields, descriptions, flags, and other layers of information that Alation provides on top of raw data assets in the Catalog.

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All Other Information

• As Alation and Fabric grow to support more types of information, not everything fits neatly in the "data" and "metadata" groups. These may include information such as written Articles or Conversations that do not require direct reference to data objects, and thus may not neatly be classed as "metadata."

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Styling Types of Data

Consult the table below for how to style different types of text data, and data in tables.

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Text

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Tables

Most content in tables should be displayed using a Platform Table or Tree Table. However, if the table is displaying exclusively raw data (e.g. column profile, or query results) then a source table should be used.

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Common Confusions

Name vs. Title

Object pages in Alation often have two primary identifying labels: Name and Title.

• Name is physical metadata value stored in the underlying data object, displayed in code font.
• Title is a logical metadata value stored in Alation, displayed in human font.