# Stdev - script function

Stdev() returns the standard deviation of the values given by the expression over a number of records as defined by a group by clause.

Syntax:

Stdev([distinct] expr)

Return data type: numeric

Arguments:

Stdev arguments

| Argument | Description |
| --- | --- |
| expr | The expression or field containing the data to be measured. |
| distinct | If the word distinct<br>occurs before the expression, all duplicates will be disregarded. |

Examples and results:

Add the example script to your app and run it. Then build a straight table with ` Type  `and `MyStdev` as dimensions.

Examples and results

| Example | Result |
| --- | --- |
| `Table1:`<br>`crosstable LOAD recno() as ID, * inline [`<br>`Observation\|Comparison`<br>`35\|2`<br>`40\|27`<br>`12\|38`<br>`15\|31`<br>`21\|1`<br>`14\|19`<br>`46\|1`<br>`10\|34`<br>`28\|3`<br>`48\|1`<br>`16\|2`<br>`30\|3`<br>`32\|2`<br>`48\|1`<br>`31\|2`<br>`22\|1`<br>`12\|3`<br>`39\|29`<br>`19\|37`<br>`25\|2 ] (delimiter is '\|');` `Stdev1:``LOAD Type,``  Stdev(Value) as MyStdev ``Resident Table1 Group By Type;` | The results of the Stdev() calculation are:<br><br><ul> <li> <code>Type </code>		is <code>MyStdev</code></li> <li> <code>Comparison	</code> is <span>14.61245</span></li> <li> <code>Observation	</code>is <span>12.507997</span></li> </ul> |