match - script and chart function

The match function compares the first parameter with all the following ones and returns the numeric location of the expressions that match. The comparison is case sensitive.

Syntax:

match( str, expr1 [ , expr2,...exprN ])

Return data type: integer

If you want to use case insensitive comparison, use the mixmatch function. If you want to use case insensitive comparison and wildcards, use the wildmatch function.

Arguments
Argument	Description
str	The string to be evaluated.
expr1	The first expression to check for a valid number representation.
expr2	The second expression to check for a valid number representation.
expr3	The third expression to check for a valid number representation.

Example: Chart expressions
Example	Result
match( ColorCode,'Blue','Black' )	This expression returns the index of the match to the ColorCode field. If the value of ColorCode is Blue then it returns 1. If the value of ColorCode is Black then it returns 2. If no match is found then 0 is returned.
match( Region, 'North', 'East' )	This expression returns the index of the match to the Region field. If the value of Region is North then it returns 1. If the value of Region is East then it returns 2. If no match is found then 0 is returned.

Some of the examples in this topic use inline loads. For more information, see Using inline loads to load data.

Example - Categorize products using match

Overview

A data set contains product data. You want to identify and categorize products that are consumable.

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new section.

The load script contains:

A dataset which is loaded into a data table called Example.
The following fields in the data table:
- ProductID
- ProductName
- ProductCategory

Load script

Example:
LOAD * INLINE [
ProductID, ProductName, ProductCategory
1, "Laptop", "Electronics"
2, "Banana", "Fruits"
3, "Shampoo", "Toiletries"
4, "TV", "Electronics"
5, "Apple", "Fruits"
];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

ProductID
ProductName
ProductCategory

Create the following measures:

=match(ProductCategory,'Toiletries', 'Fruits'), to return the index where ProductCategory has the value Toiletries or Fruits.
=If(match(ProductCategory, 'Toiletries', 'Fruits'), 'Consumable', 'Other'), to return the index where ProductCategory has the value Toiletries or Fruits. If either are found, then Consumable is returned. Otherwise, Other is returned.

Results table
ProductID	ProductName	ProductCategory	match(ProductCategory,'Toiletries', 'Fruits')	If(match(ProductCategory, 'Toiletries', 'Fruits'), 'Consumable', 'Other')
1	Laptop	Electronics	0	Other
2	Banana	Fruits	2	Consumable
3	Shampoo	Toiletries	1	Consumable
4	TV	Electronics	0	Other
5	Apple	Fruits	2	Consumable

The match function returns the index of the search string in the first measure. In the second measure, this result is then used in an If function to categorize products as Consumable or Other.

Example - Evaluate and classify client data using match

Overview

A data set contains client data. You want to identify and categorize the clients whose region and industry category meet your classification requirements.

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new section.

The load script contains:

A dataset which is loaded into a data table called Example.
The following fields in the data table:
- ClientID
- ClientName
- Region
- Industry

Load script

Example:
LOAD * INLINE [
ClientID, ClientName, Region, Industry
1, "Acme Corp", "North", "Manufacturing"
2, "Beta Ltd", "East", "Technology"
3, "Gamma Inc", "West", "Retail"
4, "Delta LLC", "North", "Technology"
5, "Epsilon GmbH", "South", "Healthcare"
];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

ClientID
ClientName
Region
Industry

Create the following measure:

=IF(match(Region, 'North', 'East') AND match(Industry, 'Technology', 'Manufacturing'), 'Target Segment', 'Secondary Segment'), to return the index of the search string. If found, then Target Segment is returned. If not found, then Secondary Segment is returned.

Results table
ClientID	ClientName	Region	Industry	IF(match(Region, 'North', 'East') AND match(Industry, 'Technology', 'Manufacturing'), 'Target Segment', 'Secondary Segment')
1	Acme Corp	North	Manufacturing	Target Segment
2	Beta Ltd	East	Technology	Target Segment
3	Gamma Inc	West	Retail	Secondary Segment
4	Delta LLC	North	Technology	Target Segment
5	Epsilon GmbH	South	Healthcare	Secondary Segment

The match function searches for text and returns an index that can then be used to perform additional analysis and data classification. For example, Acme Corp is classified as a Target Segment because it meets the search requirements of the match function for both the Region and Industry fields.

Example: Load script using match

Overview

You can use match to load a subset of data. For example, you can return a numeric value for an expression in the function. You can then limit the data that is loaded based on the numeric value. The Match function returns 0 if there is no match. All expressions that are not matched in this example will therefore return 0 and will be excluded from the data load by the WHERE statement.

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new section.

The load script contains:

A dataset which is loaded into two data tables called:
- Transactions: Includes transaction fields
- Transaction_Buckets: Creates two new fields Customer and Color Code Blue and Black. The where statement loads the results from the match function.

Load script

Transactions:
Load * Inline [
transaction_id, transaction_date, transaction_amount, transaction_quantity, customer_id, size, color_code
3750, 20180830, 23.56, 2, 2038593, L, Red
3751, 20180907, 556.31, 6, 203521, m, orange
3752, 20180916, 5.75, 1, 5646471, S, blue
3753, 20180922, 125.00, 7, 3036491, l, Black
3754, 20180922, 484.21, 13, 049681, xs, Red
3756, 20180922, 59.18, 2, 2038593, M, Blue
3757, 20180923, 177.42, 21, 203521, XL, Black
];
 
/*
Create new table called Transaction_Buckets
Create new fields called Customer, and Color code Blue and Black
Load Transactions table.
Match returns 1 for 'Blue', 2 for 'Black'. 
Does not return a value for 'blue' because match is case sensitive.
Only values that returned numeric value greater than 0 
are loaded by WHERE statement into Transactions_Buckets table.
*/
 
Transaction_Buckets:
Load
 customer_id,
 customer_id as [Customer], 
 color_code as [Color Code Blue and Black]
Resident Transactions
Where match(color_code,'Blue','Black') > 0;

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add these fields as dimensions:

[Color Code Blue and Black]
Customer

Results table showing the output from using the match function in the load script
Color Code Blue and Black	Customer
Black	203521
Black	3036491
Blue	2038593

Example - Chart expression using match

Overview

Open the Data load editor and add the load script below to a new section.

The load script contains:

A dataset which is loaded into a data table called Example.
The following fields in the data table:
- Cities
- Count

Load script

Example:
Load * inline [
Cities, Count
Toronto, 123
Toronto, 234
Toronto, 231
Boston, 32
Boston, 23
Boston, 1341
Beijing, 234
Beijing, 45
Beijing, 235
Stockholm, 938
Stockholm, 39
Stockholm, 189
zurich, 2342
zurich, 9033
zurich, 0039];

Results

Load the data and open a sheet. Create a new table and add this field as a dimension:

Cities

Create the following measures:

=match( Cities,'Toronto','Boston','Beijing','Zurich'), to return the index of the search string.
=match( Cities,'Toronto','Boston','Beijing','Stockholm','zurich'), to return the index of the search string.
=Cities & ' - ' & match ( Cities, 'Toronto','Boston', 'Beijing','Stockholm','zurich'), to return the Cities field and the index of the search string.

The first measure in the table below returns 0 for Stockholm because Stockholm is not included in the list of expressions in the match function. It also returns 0 for Zurich because the match comparison is case sensitive.

Results table
Cities	match( Cities,'Toronto','Boston','Beijing','Zurich')	match( Cities,'Toronto','Boston','Beijing','Stockholm','zurich')	Cities & ' - ' & match ( Cities, 'Toronto','Boston', 'Beijing','Stockholm','zurich')
Beijing	3	3	Beijing - 3
Boston	2	2	Boston - 2
Stockholm	0	4	Stockholm - 4
Toronto	1	1	Toronto - 1
zurich	0	5	zurich - 5

Example - Custom sort expression using match

Overview

You can use match to perform a custom sort for an expression. This example uses the same dataset as the previous example.

By default, columns sort numerically or alphabetically depending on the data.

Results table showing the default sort order
Cities
Beijing
Boston
Stockholm
Toronto
zurich

To change the sort order, do the following:

Open the Sorting section for your chart in the Properties panel.
Turn off auto sorting for the column on which you want to do a custom sort.
Clear the Sort numerically and Sort alphabetically check boxes.
Select Sort by expression, and then enter an expression similar to the following:

=match( Cities, 'Toronto','Boston','Beijing','Stockholm','zurich')

The sort order on the Cities column changes.

Results table showing the sort order using the match function
Cities
Toronto
Boston
Beijing
Stockholm
zurich

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