About functions

Indicator formulas and attribute formulas produce values based on the use of functions or formula elements. Functions are mathematical or spatial calculations that can range from simple addition or subtraction to complex analysis such as “standard deviation” or “overlap weighted average”. Many functions can be used within one formula. Scenario 360 provides dozens of functions.

You can customize the list of functions displayed in the Formula Editor using the Or select a group drop-down list in the Formula Editor.

For a complete list of functions available, click the Or select a group drop-down list in the Formula Editor and select All Functions.

Function Group	Description	Functions
Math and Trigonometry	Traditional mathematical and trigonometric functions.	Cosine Sine Tangent Arc Cosine Arc Sine Arc Tangent Hyperbolic Cosine Hyperbolic Sine Hyperbolic Tangent Exponential Ceiling Floor Absolute Value Round Truncate Natural Log (ln) Log Log Base 10 Square Root Count Maximum Mean Median Minimum Standard Deviation Sum Variance
Conditional	Tests or conditions. ("If-Then" statements)	If If Then Else True = 1, False = 0 Else Then Where
Statistics	Information about collections of numbers, shapes, or values.	Count Maximum Mean Median Minimum Standard Deviation Sum Variance
Lookup	Retrieve information from another place, such as a table listing road surface type with their associated cost per linear unit.	Get Get From Closest Overlap Weighted Average
Spatial Numeric	Numeric computations on map shapes, such as feature area, size, or proximity.	Minimum Distance Overlap Area Area Length Count
Spatial Boolean	True/False determinations regarding map shapes, such as whether shapes overlap.	Center Contains Contains Intersects Is Center Contained In Is Contained In
User Input	Methods of prompting a user for information during a calculation. For example, when a feature is added to the map, prompt for an attribute value.	User Choice User Choice Get User Input User Input Boolean User Input String
Custom Scripts	Launches a custom VBA script.	Custom Script Custom Script Boolean
Random Numbers	Ways of creating random numbers that adhere to particular statistical rules.	Random Random Integer Random Gaussian

Function types

Functions and formulas must use a consistent type. A yes/no function, for example, cannot add 23 and 36. Similarly, a numeric attribute cannot have a true/false value. When you write formulas, the program will check for type-consistency and prompt you if types do not match.

Terms used in functions

Example

The following example formula can help illustrate these terms. A map layer called “Buildings” includes polygons representing the footprints of several buildings. The area of each building footprint is an attribute called SIZE, whose formula is

Another example might be a user-variable assumption called "Roofing Unit Cost", which gives the cost of roofing per square meter of building. You could create a new attribute in the Buildings attribute table called "Building Roof Cost". Its formula could be

Return	Functions are said to return a value when they are evaluated.
Host	Another name for current feature or current layer.
Current	The feature, layer, or element to which a value is being assigned by a formula.
Target	A feature, layer, or element whose characteristics are evaluated by a function.
Argument	The argument of a function is the set of information upon which it operates. In a formula, the argument is shown in parentheses after the name of the function.