Timetables in MATLAB

🕒 Timetables in MATLAB (Advanced)

They extend tables by using datetime as row times, making them ideal for sensor data, logs, financial data, experiments, and signals.
MATLAB is developed by MathWorks.

🔹 What Is a Timetable?

A timetable:

• Stores data indexed by time

• Each row has a timestamp

• Each column is a variable (numeric, categorical, string, etc.)

📌 Think of a timetable as a table + time axis.

1️⃣ Creating a Timetable

🔸 Basic Creation

Output

2️⃣ Accessing Timetable Data

🔹 Access Variables

🔹 Access Rows by Time

📌 Powerful feature: index directly by time.

🔹 Access Data Content

3️⃣ Time-Based Indexing (Very Important)

📌 Extracts data between two timestamps.

4️⃣ Sorting & Checking Time

5️⃣ Resampling Time-Series — retime()

Used to change time resolution.

🔸 Hourly → Daily Average

📌 Extremely common in sensor & finance data.

6️⃣ Filling Missing Time Data

📌 Interpolates missing values.

7️⃣ Synchronizing Multiple Timetables

Used when you have multiple sensors.

📌 Aligns data based on time.

8️⃣ Plotting Timetable Data

📌 Timetables integrate directly with plots.

9️⃣ Adding & Removing Variables

🔟 Convert Between Table & Timetable

🔸 Table → Timetable

🔸 Timetable → Table

⚠️ Important Notes

• Row times must be datetime or duration

• retime() is exclusive to timetables

• Best data type for time-series analysis

• Works perfectly with plots & statistics

🎯 Interview Questions: Timetables (Advanced)

🔹 Q1. What is the main difference between table and timetable?

Answer:
Timetable uses time as row index.

🔹 Q2. Which data type is used as row time?

Answer:
datetime or duration.

🔹 Q3. How do you resample time-series data?

Answer:
Using retime().

🔹 Q4. How do you align two timetables?

Answer:
Using synchronize().

🔹 Q5. Which function extracts data between two times?

Answer:
Time-based indexing (TT(t1:t2,:)).

🔹 Q6. Where are timetables commonly used?

Answer:
Sensors, finance, logs, experiments, signals.

✅ Summary

• Timetables are best for time-series data

• Support time-based indexing & resampling

• Powerful functions: retime, synchronize

• Essential for advanced MATLAB analytics