Wide and narrow are terms used to describe two different presentations for tabular data.

Wide

Wide, or unstacked data is presented with each different data variable in a separate column.

Person	Age	Weight
Bob	32	128
Alice	24	86
Steve	64	95

Narrow

Narrow, or stacked data is presented with one column containing all the values and another column listing the context of the value

Person	Variable	Value
Bob	Age	32
Bob	Weight	128
Alice	Age	24
Alice	Weight	86
Steve	Age	64
Steve	Weight	95

This is often easier to implement, addition of a new field does not require any changes to the structure of the table, however it can be harder for people to understand.

Implementations

Many statistical and data processing systems have functions to convert between these two presentations, for instance the R programming language

R (programming language)

R is a programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics. The R language is widely used among statisticians for developing statistical software, and R is widely used for statistical software development and data analysis....

 has several packages such as melt.

See also

• Abstract data type
  Abstract data type
  In computing, an abstract data type is a mathematical model for a certain class of data structures that have similar behavior; or for certain data types of one or more programming languages that have similar semantics...
  
  
• Table (information)
  Table (information)
  A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns.Production % of goalNorth 4087102%South 4093110% The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural...
  
  
• Information graphics
  Information graphics
  Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education...
  
  
• Row (database)
  Row (database)
  In the context of a relational database, a row—also called a record or tuple—represents a single, implicitly structured data item in a table. In simple terms, a database table can be thought of as consisting of rows and columns or fields...
  
  
• Table (database)
  Table (database)
  In relational databases and flat file databases, a table is a set of data elements that is organized using a model of vertical columns and horizontal rows. A table has a specified number of columns, but can have any number of rows...
  
  
• Table (HTML)

External links

• http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/reshape