MinString() finds string values in the expression or field and returns the first text value in alphabetical sort order.
Syntax:
MinString({[SetExpression] [TOTAL [<fld {, fld}>]]} expr)
Return data type: dual
Arguments:
| Argument | Description |
|---|---|
| expr | The expression or field containing the data to be measured. |
| SetExpression | By default, the aggregation function will aggregate over the set of possible records defined by the selection. An alternative set of records can be defined by a set analysis expression. |
| TOTAL |
If the word TOTAL occurs before the function arguments, the calculation is made over all possible values given the current selections, and not just those that pertain to the current dimensional value, that is, it disregards the chart dimensions. By using TOTAL [<fld {.fld}>], where the TOTAL qualifier is followed by a list of one or more field names as a subset of the chart dimension variables, you create a subset of the total possible values. |
Examples and results:
| SalesGroup | Amount | MinString(Team) | MinString(Date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | 14000 | Delta | 2013/08/01 |
| East | 20000 | Beta | 2013/05/01 |
| East | 25000 | Alpha | 2013/07/01 |
| West | 14000 | Eta | 2013/10/01 |
| West | 17000 | Epsilon | 2013/09/01 |
| West | 19000 | Zeta | 2013/06/01 |
| West | 23000 | Theta | 2013/12/01 |
| Examples | Results |
|---|---|
|
MinString(Team) |
There are three values of 20000 for the dimension Amount: two of Gamma (on different dates), and one of Beta. The result of the measure MinString (Team) is therefore Beta, because this is the first value in the sorted strings. |
|
MinString(Date) |
2013/11/01 is the earliest Date value of the three associated with the dimension Amount. This assumes your script has the SET statement SET DateFormat='YYYY-MM-DD';' |
Data used in example:
TeamData:
LOAD * inline [
SalesGroup|Team|Date|Amount
East|Gamma|01/05/2013|20000
East|Gamma|02/05/2013|20000
West|Zeta|01/06/2013|19000
East|Alpha|01/07/2013|25000
East|Delta|01/08/2013|14000
West|Epsilon|01/09/2013|17000
West|Eta|01/10/2013|14000
East|Beta|01/11/2013|20000
West|Theta|01/12/2013|23000
] (delimiter is '|');