Input Tables Deep Dive Part 1: Translating Spreadsheets into SQL

Sigma has developed a tool called "input tables" to bring the flexibility of spreadsheets to cloud data warehouses, allowing users to input data directly into a warehouse as easily as typing in a spreadsheet cell. This innovation addresses the challenge of translating the fixed grid model of spreadsheets into SQL's unordered "bag of rows" model by tagging each row with a unique ID and a fractional index to maintain a stable order. The unique ID ensures that rows can be individually identified and updated, while the fractional index allows for stable sorting and easy insertion of new rows. This solution overcomes the limitations of traditional SQL querying, where rows cannot be easily updated or ordered without complex workarounds, enabling users to make small data changes without extracting or isolating subsets of data from the warehouse.