Efficient calculations

Calculations may be constructed differently and yet accomplish the same thing, for instance:

Scenario I	Scenario II
Create a calculated field with the following code: IF SUM (Profit) > 0 THEN 'Profitable' ELSE 'Unprofitable' END Place the calculated field on the Color shelf.	Create a calculated field with the following code: SUM (Profit) > 0 Place the calculated field on the Color shelf. Right-click on True and False in the resulting legend and rename as Profitable and Unprofitable.

Since either of the preceding scenarios will return the desired results, which should be used? The deciding factor is performance. This section will explore what to do and what to avoid when creating calculated fields in order to maximize performance.

Boolean/Numbers > Date > String

As this header suggests, calculations that use Boolean values or numbers are more performant than those that use dates. Calculations that use dates, in turn...