Dates and times
The following generators produce datetime values. Note that there are also category-specific generators that produce datetime values, such as a car model year or an IPO date.
Datetime
Populates the column with a datetime value.
From the Type dropdown, select the type of datetime value to generate:
Absolute - A datetime or date value.
Relative - A datetime or date value that occurs within a specified range of another datetime column.
Series - Populates the values as a series. For example, the timestamp for each subsequent row might occur 20 minutes after the previous row.
For all of the types, to only populate dates and exclude the times, check Date Only.
Configuring an absolute datetime value
For an absolute datetime value:
From the Distribution dropdown list, select how to distribute the datetimes across the data. The available options are Normal and Uniform.
For a uniform distribution:
Under Start, select the earliest datetime to use.
Under End, select the latest datetime to use.
For a normal distribution:
Under Centered on, select the datetime to use as the basis for the distribution.
Under Min, select the minimum gap between the datetimes. The gap uses the value selected from Units.
Under Mean, select the mean gap between the datetimes. The gap uses the value selected from Units.
From the Units dropdown list, select the unit to use for the distribution.
Under Std Dev, select the standard deviation for the gap between the datetimes. The gap uses the value selected from Units.
Under Max, select the maximum gap between the datetimes. The gap uses the value selected from Units.
Configuring a relative datetime value
A relative datetime value sets the datetime relative to another datetime column. For example, set the end-date column within 6-12 months after the start-date column.
If the table does not contain another datetime column to use as the basis for the relative value, then you cannot use the relative datetime option.
For a relative datetime value, under Range:
Set the minimum and maximum amount of time difference from the base datetime column.
Select the unit of time to use for the time difference.
Select whether the datetime for the current column occurs before or after the base datetime column.
Select the datetime column to use as the base column.
Configuring a series datetime value
A series datetime value creates a regular series across the rows. For example, your table might represent a series of jobs that occur at regular intervals.
Selecting the starting point
First, select the starting point for the series.
To use a specific datetime as the starting point:
From the Start At dropdown list, select Fixed.
Set the start date and time.
To use the value of another datetime column as the starting point:
From the Start At dropdown list, select from column.
Select the datetime column to use. If the table does not contain another datetime column, then you cannot use the from column option.
Partitioning the data and setting the row order
You can partition the data. The time series is then within each partition. For example, you might want a separate series of datetimes for different departments or locations.
The order is used to sort the rows. The first row gets the earliest datetime in the series, the second row gets the next datetime, and so on.
To set up the partition:
From the Partition By dropdown list, select the column to use to partition the data.
From the Order By dropdown list, select the column to use to order the rows. If you partition the data, then the order is within the partition.
Setting the series interval
The Interval configuration determines the gap between the series values.
From the Distribution dropdown list, select the type of interval.
Fixed indicates an exact amount of time between each datetime.
Normal indicates a normal distribution of datetime values.
Uniform indicates a uniform distribution of the datetime values.
For all of the distribution types, from the Unit dropdown list, select the unit to use to set the amount of time between the values.
For a fixed distribution, in the Exactly field, specify the exact amount of time between each value. For example, the series values might be exactly 5 minutes apart.
For a normal distribution:
In the Minimum field, set the minimum amount of time between values.
In the Mean field, set the mean amount of time between values.
In the Standard Deviation field, set the standard deviation for the amount of time between values.
In the Maximum field, set the maximum amount of time between values.
Timezone (Global)
Populates the column with the name of a time zone from anywhere in the world. For example, Europe/Paris.
Timezone (US)
Populates the column with the name of a time zone that occurs in the United States. For example, US/Central.
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