Table Structure Summary

When we wish to build familiarity with a new dataset, rather than running multiple queries to get the table’s size, column names, and column data types individually, it would be efficient if we can obtain a consolidated summary covering these common table structure aspects in one place. Luckily, BigQuery provides all this information in the console. We simply navigate to the table and click on its name.

Schema

Schema tab shows the name, data type, and description for all the columns in the table. It also includes the mode which can take one of the following values:

  • Nullable: Column allows NULL values (default).
  • Required: NULL values are not allowed.
  • Repeated: Column contains an array of values of the specified type.

inspecting-schema

Details

Details tab provides info about the metadata of the table such as size and number of rows.

inspecting-details

Preview

Some BigQuery pricing model depends on the size of the data. We can get a glimpse of the data using the preview tab without incurring any costs.

inspecting-preview

SQL
I/O