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SIGN Function

Computes the positive or negative sign of a given numeric value. The value can be a Decimal or Integer literal, a function returning Decimal or Integer, or a reference to a column containing numeric values.

  • For positive values, this function returns 1.

  • For negative values, this function returns -1.

  • For the value 0, this function returns 0.

Wrangle vs. SQL: This function is part of Wrangle, a proprietary data transformation language. Wrangle is not SQL. For more information, see Wrangle Language.

Basic Usage

Column reference example:

sign(MyInteger)

Output: Returns the sign of the value found in the MyInteger column.

Numeric literal example:

(sign(MyInteger) == -1)

Output: Returns true if the sign of the entry in the MyInteger column is -1.

Syntax and Arguments

sign(numeric_value)

Argument

Required?

Data Type

Description

numeric_value

Y

Decimal or Integer

Decimal or Integer literal, function returning Decimal or Integer, or name of column to apply to the function

For more information on syntax standards, see Language Documentation Syntax Notes.

numeric_value

Numeric literal, function returning numeric literal, or name of the column containg values the sign of which are to be computed.

  • Missing input values generate missing results.

  • Literal numeric values should not be quoted. Quoted values are treated as strings.

  • Multiple columns and wildcards are not supported.

Usage Notes:

Required?

Data Type

Example Value

Yes

String (column reference) or Integer or Decimal value

-10.5

Examples

Astuce

For additional examples, see Common Tasks.

Example - Basic SIGN function

Source:

Your source data looks like the following, which measures coordinate distances from a fixed point on a grid:

X

Y

-2

4

-6.2

-2

0

-4.2

4

4

15

-0.05

Transformation:

You can use the following transform to derive the sign values of these columns:

Transformation Name

New formula

Parameter: Formula type

Single row formula

Parameter: Formula

sign(X)

Parameter: New column name

'signX'

Transformation Name

New formula

Parameter: Formula type

Single row formula

Parameter: Formula

sign(Y)

Parameter: New column name

'signY'

Using these two columns, you can assign each set of coordinates into a quadrant. For ease of reading, the following has been broken into two separate tranformations:

Transformation Name

Conditional column

Parameter: Condition type

Case on custom conditions

Parameter: Case 01 - Condition

(signX == 1) && (signY == -1)

Parameter: Case 01 - Value

'lower-right'

Parameter: Case 02 - Condition

(signX == 1) && (signY == 1)

Parameter: Case 02 - Value

'upper-right'

Parameter: Default value

'line'

Parameter: New column name

'q1'

Transformation Name

Conditional column

Parameter: Condition type

Case on custom conditions

Parameter: Case 01 - Condition

(signX == -1) && (signY == -1)

Parameter: Case 01 - Value

'lower-left'

Parameter: Case 02 - Condition

(signX == -1) && (signY == 1)

Parameter: Case 02 - Value

'upper-left'

Parameter: Default value

'line'

Parameter: New column name

'q2'

Then, you can merge the two columns together:

Transformation Name

Merge columns

Parameter: Columns

q1,q2

Parameter: Separator

''

Parameter: New column name

'quadrant'

Results:

X

Y

signX

signY

quadrant

-2

4

-1

1

upper-left

-6.2

-2

-1

-1

lower-left

0

-4.2

0

-1

line

4

4

1

1

upper-right

15

-0.05

1

-1

lower-right