Data basics

Grain

What one row of a table represents.

  • Data basics

Definition

What one row of a table represents. For example, one order, one order line or one product per month. Every row in a table should have the same grain.

Also called

Granularity

Example

Suppose one row in Nord Signal's pass table is one scheduled contracted pass. Then the 2025 table holds 291,160 rows. A row that holds a whole day of passes would break the grain.

Nord Signal AB is a fictional company created for Insyt.

For your role

Choose your role to see what this term means in your work.

Why it matters

Joining tables with different grains is the most common cause of totals that double.

Where it is used

Data models, reporting tables and joins.