Row vs Column – Difference Between Them (2024)

By : Richard Peterson

Updated

Key Difference between Rows and Column

  • A row is a series of data put out horizontally in a table or spreadsheet, while a column is a vertical series of cells in a chart, table, or spreadsheet.
  • Rows go across from left to right. On the other hand, Columns are arranged from up to down.
  • In a spreadsheet such as MS Excel WPS, LibreOffice, or Google Sheets, the row heading is indicated by numbers, whereas column headings are denoted by letters.
  • You can define the row as an order in which objects are placed alongside or horizontally, while you can define a column as a vertical division of objects based on category.
  • In the database, information like name, gender, and names, are placed in the rows, while the column contains information about someone who you are mentioning in the rows.

What is Row?

A row is a series of data placed out horizontally in a table or spreadsheet. It is a horizontal arrangement of the objects, words, numbers, and data. In Row, data objects are arranged face-to-face with lying next to each other on the straight line.

What is Column?

A column is a vertical series of cells in a spreadsheet, chart, table, or spreadsheet. It is an arrangement of figures, facts, words, etc.

Columns are mostly placed one after another in the continuous sequence. In a table, columns are mostly separated from each other by lines, which help to enhance readability and attractiveness.

Difference between Row and Column

Here are the main differences between Rows and Columns

RowColumn
A row is a series of data banks put out horizontally in a table or spreadsheet.A column is a vertical series of cells in a chart, table, or spreadsheet.
Rows go across left to rightColumns are arranged from up to down.
In a spreadsheet such as MS Excel WPS, LibreOffice, or Google sheet, the row heading is indicated by numbers.In spreadsheet programs like excel, LiberOfifce column headings are denoted by letters.
Total number of Row is placed in the extreme right corner of the respective Row.The total numbers of the column are shown at the bottom.
You can define the Row as an order in which objects are placed alongside or horizontally.You can define a column as a vertical division of objects based on category.
A stub that is the farthest left part of the table describes the Row.A caption that is the topmost of the table describes the column.
In DBMS, rows are known as records that contain fields.In DBMS, columns are called fields which contain the collection of characters.
In a matrix, the horizontal arrays are also called rows.In a matrix, the vertical arrays are also called columns.
In the database, the information like name, gender, names, are placed in the rows.The column contains information about someone who you are mentioning in the rows.

Row Examples:

Here are real-life examples of Row:

  • The children are standing one after another.
  • Group of people standing in a row at the back of the room.
  • Building a row of houses alongside the river.
  • Students are standing on the front row of the stalls.

Column Examples:

Here are real-life examples of the column:

  • Weekly recipe Item
  • Pillar in the front of a building
  • A facade with marble columns

When to Use Row-Oriented Storage

Here are some common uses of row storages:

  • Row-oriented storage is good if you need to touch one Row.
  • This type of storage is also beneficial when most columns of a row need to be read or written.
  • Reads are done page-wise so not many rows may fit on a page when rows are big
  • Pages are normally not filled, which leads to reading lots of unused and unwanted areas.
  • Row storage should be used when recorded headers need to be read too but do not contain actual row data

When to use Column-oriented storage

Here are some common uses of column storage:

  • Column helps you to make a side-by-side comparison between two columns.
  • Column-oriented databases primarily work on columns
  • It is benefited if you want to store the value of a single column
  • It helps array-processing the value of a column
  • It helps you to improve the performance of queries that only touch a small amount of columns.

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Row vs Column – Difference Between Them (2024)
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