Distribution checks

Last modified on 10-Jul-24

Use a distribution check to determine whether the distribution of a column has changed between two points in time. For example, if you trained a model at a particular moment in time, you can use a distribution check to find out how much the data in the column has changed over time, or if it has changed all.

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) > 0.05:
      distribution reference file: ./cars_owned_dist_ref.yml
      method: chi_square
      # (optional) filter to a specific point in time or any other dimension 
      filter: purchase_date > 2022-10-01 and purchase_date < 2022-12-01
      # (optional) database specific sampling query for continuous columns. For 
      # example, for PostgreSQL the following query randomly samples 50% of the data 
      # with seed 61.
      sample: TABLESAMPLE BERNOULLI (50) REPEATABLE (61)

✔️    Requires Soda Core Scientific (included in a Soda Agent)
✔️    Supported in Soda Core
✔️    Supported in Soda Library + Soda Cloud
✖️    Supported in Soda Cloud Agreements + Soda Agent

✖️    Available as a no-code check

About distribution checks
Install Soda Scientific
Generate a distribution reference object (DRO)
Define a distribution check
    Distribution check details
    Bins and weights
    Define the sample size
Distribution check examples
Optional check configurations
List of comparison symbols and phrases
Troubleshoot Soda Scientific installation
Go further

About distribution checks

To detect changes in the distribution of a column between different points in time, Soda uses approaches based on hypothesis testing and based on metrics that quantify the distance between samples.

When using hypothesis testing, a distribution check allows you to determine whether enough evidence exists to conclude that the distribution of a column has changed. It returns the probability that the difference between samples taken at two points in time would have occurred if they came from the same distribution (see p-value). If this probability is smaller than a threshold that you define, the check warns you that the column’s distribution has changed.

You can use the following statistical tests for hypothesis testing in your distribution checks.

• Kolmogorov-Smirnov for continuous data
• Chi-square for categorical data

When using a metric to measure distance between samples, a distribution check returns the value of the distance metric that you chose based on samples taken at two points in time. If the value of the distance metric is larger than a threshold that you define, the check warns that the column’s distribution has changed.

You can use the following distance metrics in your distribution checks.

• Population Stability Index (PSI) for continuous or categorical data
• Standardized Wasserstein Distance (SWD) (standardized using the sample standard deviation) for continuous or categorical data
• Standardized Earth Mover’s Distance (standardized using the sample standard deviation, this metric is equal to the SWD) for continuous or categorical data

Install Soda Scientific

To use a distribution check, you must install Soda Scientific in the same directory or virtual environment in which you installed Soda Library. Best practice recommends installing Soda Library and Soda Scientific in a virtual environment to avoid library conflicts, but you can Install Soda Scientific locally if you prefer.

1. Set up a virtual environment, and install Soda Library in your new virtual environment.
2. Use the following command to install Soda Scientific.

pip install -i https://pypi.cloud.soda.io soda-scientific

Refer to Troubleshoot Soda Scientific installation for help with issues during installation.

Generate a distribution reference object (DRO)

Not yet supported in Soda Cloud

Before defining a distribution check, you must generate a distribution reference object (DRO).

When you run a distribution check, Soda compares the data in a column of your dataset with a snapshot of the same column at a different point in time. This snapshot exists in the DRO, which serves as a point of reference. The distribution check result indicates whether the difference between the distributions of the snapshot and the actual datasets is statistically significant.

To create a DRO, you use the CLI command soda update-dro. When you execute the command, Soda stores the entire contents of the column(s) you specified in local memory. Before executing the command, examine the volume of data the column(s) contains and ensure that your system can accommodate storing it in local memory.

1. If you have not already done so, create a directory to contain the files that Soda uses for a distribution check.

2. Use a code editor to create a file called distribution_reference.yml (though, you can name it anything you wish) in your Soda project directory, then add the following example content to the file.

    dataset: your_dataset_name
    column: column_name_in_dataset
    distribution_type: categorical
    # (optional) filter to a specific point in time or any other dimension 
    filter: "column_name between '2010-01-01' and '2020-01-01'"
    # (optional) database specific sampling query, for example for postgres\
    # the following query randomly samples 50% of the data with seed 61
   

   Optionally, you can define multiple DROs in your distribution_reference.yml file by naming them. The following example defines two DROs.

    dro_name1:
      dataset: your_dataset_name
      column: column_name_in_dataset
      distribution_type: categorical
    dro_name2:
      dataset: your_dataset_name
      column: column_name2_in_dataset
      distribution_type: continuous
   

3. Change the values for dataset and column to reflect your own dataset’s identifiers.
4. (Optional) Change the value for distribution_type to capture categorical or continuous data.
5. (Optional) Define the value of filter to specify the portion of the data in your dataset for which you are creating a DRO. If you trained a model on data in which the date_first_customer column contained values between 2010-01-01 and 2020-01-01, you can use a filter based on that period to test whether the distribution of the column has changed since then.
   If you do not wish to define a filter, remove the key-value pair from the file.
6. (Optional) If you wish to define multiple DROs in a single distribution_reference.yml file, change the names dro_name1 and dro_name2.

7. Save the file, then, while still in your Soda project directory, run the soda update-dro command to create a distribution reference object. For a list of options available to use with the command, run soda update-dro --help.

    soda update-dro -d your_datasource_name -c your_configuration_file.yml ./distribution_reference.yml 
   

   If you defined multiple DROs in your distribution_reference.yml file, specify which DRO you want to update using the -n argument. -n indicates name. When multiple DROs are defined in a single distribution_reference.yml file, Soda requires all of them to be named. Thus, you must provide the DRO name with the -n argument when using the soda update-dro command.

    soda update-dro -n dro_name1 -d your_datasource_name -c your_configuration_file.yml ./distribution_reference.yml 
   

8. Review the changed contents of your distribution_reference.yml file. The following is an example of the information that Soda added to the file.

    dataset: dim_customer
    column: number_cars_owned
    distribution_type: categorical
    filter: date_first_purchase between '2010-01-01' and '2020-01-01'
    distribution reference:
      weights:
        - 0.34932914953473276
        - 0.2641744211209695
        - 0.22927937675827742
        - 0.08899588833585804
        - 0.06822116425016231
      bins:
        - 2
        - 1
        - 0
        - 3
        - 4
   

   Soda appended a new key called distribution reference to the file, together with an array of bins and a corresponding array of weights. Read more about bins and weights, and how Soda computes the number of bins for a DRO.

Define a distribution check

1. If you have not already done so, create a checks.yml file in your Soda project directory. The checks YAML file stores the Soda Checks you write, including distribution checks; Soda Library executes the checks in the file when it runs a scan of your data.

2. In your new file, add the following example content.

    checks for your_dataset_name:
      - distribution_difference(column_name, dro_name) > your_threshold:
          method: your_method_of_choice
          distribution reference file: ./distribution_reference.yml
          # (optional) filter to a specific point in time, or any other dimension 
          filter: column_name > min_allowed_column_value and column_name < max_allowed_value
          # (optional) database specific sampling query for continuous columns. For 
          # example, for PostgreSQL, the following query randomly samples 50% of the data 
          # with seed 61
          sample: TABLESAMPLE BERNOULLI (50) REPEATABLE (61)
   

3. Replace the following values with your own dataset and threshold details.
   • your_dataset_name - the name of your dataset
   • column_name - the column against which to compare the DRO
   • dro_name - the name of the DRO (optional, required if distribution_reference.yml contains named DROs)
   • > your_threshold - the threshold for the distribution check that you specify as acceptable
4. Replace the value of your_method_of_choice with the type of test you want to use in the distribution check. If you do not specify a method, the distribution check defaults to ks for continuous data, or chi_square for categorical data.
   • ks for the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
   • chi_square for the Chi-square test
   • psi for the Population Stability Index metric
   • swd for the Standardized Wasserstein Distance (SWD) metric
   • semd for the Standardized Earth Mover’s Distance (SEMD) metric
     SWD and the SEMD are the same metric.
     

5. (Optional), to filter the data in the distribution check, replace the value of filter with a filter that specifies the portion of the data in your dataset for which you are checking the distribution.

6. (Optional), to sample the data in the distribution check for continuous columns only, replace the value of sample with a query that specifies the portion of the data in your dataset for which you are checking the distribution. The data source you are using must support the query you write.
   For example, for PostgreSQL, you can use the TABLESAMPLE clause to randomly sample 50% of the data with seed 61. Best practice dictates that you use sampling for large datasets that might not fit in memory. Refer to the define the sample size for details. If you do not use sample or filter in a distribution check for continuous columns, Soda fetches up to 1 million records by applying a limit clause for better memory management. For categorical columns, Soda does not support sample.

7. Run a soda scan of your data source to execute the distribution check(s) you defined.

    soda scan -d your_datasource_name checks.yml -c /path/to/your_configuration_file.yml your_check_file.yml
   

   When Soda Library executes the distribution check above, it compares the values in column_name to a sample that Soda creates based on the bins, weights, and data_type in dro_name defined in the distribution_reference.yml file. Specifically, it checks whether the value of your_method_of_choice is larger than 0.05.

Distribution check details

• For continuous columns, When you execute the soda scan command, Soda stores up to one million records in local memory. If the column has more than one million records, then Soda applies limit SQL clause to make sure that your system can accommodate storing it in local memory.

• For continuous columns, as explained in Generate a Distribution Reference Object (DRO), Soda uses bins and weights to take random samples from your DRO. Therefore, it is possible that the original dataset that you used to create the DRO resembles a different underlying distribution than the dataset that Soda creates by sampling from the DRO. To limit the impact of this possibility, Soda runs the tests in each distribution check ten times and returns the median of the results, either as a p-value or a distance metric).
  
  For example, if you use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and a threshold of 0.05, the distribution check uses the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to compare ten different samples from your DRO to the data in your column. If the median of the returned p-values is smaller than 0.05, the check issues a warning. This approach does change the interpretation of the distribution check results. For example, the probability of a type I error is multiple orders of magnitude smaller than the significance level that you choose.

• For categorical columns, Soda fetches the aggregated calculated value counts of each category. If there are more than one million distinct categories, Soda skips the distribution check and issues a warning.

Bins and weights

Soda uses the bins and weights to generate a sample from the reference distribution when it executes the distribution check during a scan. By creating a sample using the DRO’s bins and weights, you do not have to save the entire – potentially very large - sample. The distribution_type value impacts how the weights and bins will be used to generate a sample, so make sure your choice reflects the nature of your data (continuous or categorical).

To compute the number of bins for a DRO, Soda uses different strategies based on whether outlier values are present in the dataset.

By default Soda automatically computes the number of bins for each DRO by taking the maximum of Sturges and Freedman Diaconis Estimator methods. numpy.histogram_bin_edges(data, bins=’auto’) also applies this practice by default.

For datasets with outliers, such as in the example below, the default strategy does not work well. When taking the maximum of Sturges and Freedman Diaconis Estimator methods, it produces a great number of bins, 3466808, while there are only nine elements in the array. The outlier value 10e6 result in a misleading bin size.

import numpy as np
arr = np.array([0, 0, 0, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 10e6])
number_of_bins = np.histogram_bin_edges(arr, bins='auto').size # return 3466808

If the number of bins is greater than the size of data, Soda uses interquantile range (IQR) to detect and filter the outliers. Basically, for data that is greater than Q3 + 1.5 IQR and less than Q1 - 1.5 IQR Soda removes the datasets, then recomputes the number of bins with the same method by taking the maximum of Sturges and Freedman Diaconis Estimator.

After removing the outliers, if the number of bins still exceeds the size of the filtered data, Soda takes the square root of the dataset size to set the number of bins. To cover edge cases, if the square root of the dataset size exceeds one million, then Soda sets the number of bins to one million to prevent it from generating too many bins.

Define the sample size

You can add a sample parameter for both a distribution check and DRO to include a sample SQL clause that Soda passes when it executes the check during a scan.

Apply a sample to a distribution check for continuous columns

If the data to which you wish to apply distribution check does not fit in memory or involves a time constraint, use a sample to specify a SQL query that returns a sample of the data. The SQL query that you provide is specific to the type of data source you use. In the example below, the SQL query for a PostgreSQL data source randomly samples 50% of the data with seed 61. You can customize the sample SQL query to meet your needs.

Use sample for continuous values, only. For categorical values refer to Distribution check details.

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(budget) < 0.05:
      distribution reference file: ./dro_dim_customer.yml 
      method: ks
      # (optional) data source-specific sampling query; for example for postgres\
      # the following query randomly samples 50% of the data with seed 61
      sample: TABLESAMPLE BERNOULLI (50) REPEATABLE (61)

Sampling Caveats

Some data sources do not have a built-in sampling function. For example, BigQuery does not support TABLESAMPLE BERNOULLI. In such a case, add a filter parameter to randomly obtain a sample of the data. The filter parameter applies a data source-specific SQL WHERE clause to the data. In the example below, the SQL query for a BigQuery data source randomly samples 50% of the data.

Distribution Check

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) > 0.05:
      distribution reference file: ./cars_owned_dist_ref.yml 
      method: chi_square
      # (optional) data source-specific sampling query, for example for postgres\
      # the following query randomly samples 50% of the data
      filter: rand() < 0.5

DRO

dataset: your_dataset_name
column: column_name_in_dataset
distribution_type: categorical
# (optional) data source-specific sampling query; for example for postgres\
# the following query randomly samples 50% of the data
filter: rand() < 0.5

Distribution check examples

You can define multiple distribution checks in a single checks.yml file. If you create a new DRO for another dataset and column in sales_dist_ref.yml for example, you can define two distribution checks in the same checks.yml file, as per the following.

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) > 0.05:
      method: chi_square
      distribution reference file: ./cars_owned_dist_ref.yml

checks for fact_sales_quota:
  - distribution_difference(calendar_quarter) < 0.2:
      method: psi
      distribution reference file: ./sales_dist_ref.yml

Alternatively you can define two DROs in distribution_reference.yml, naming them cars_owned_dro and calendar_quarter_dro, and use both in a single checks.yml file

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned, cars_owned_dro) > 0.05:
      method: chi_square
      distribution reference file: ./distribution_reference.yml

checks for fact_sales_quota:
  - distribution_difference(calendar_quarter, calendar_quarter_dro) < 0.2:
      method: psi
      distribution reference file: ./distribution_reference.yml

You can also define multiple checks for different columns in the same dataset by generating multiple DROs for those columns. Refer to the following example.

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned, cars_owned_dro) > 0.05:
      method: chi_square
      distribution reference file: ./distribution_reference.yml
   - distribution_difference(total_children, total_children_dro) < 0.2:
      method: psi
      distribution reference file: ./distribution_reference.yml

checks for fact_sales_quota:
  - distribution_difference(calendar_quarter, calendar_quarter_dro) < 0.2:
      method: psi
      distribution reference file: ./distribution_reference.yml

Optional check configurations

Example with check name

checks for dim_customer:
- distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) > 0.05: 
    method: chi_square
    distribution reference file: dist_ref.yml
    name: Distribution check

Example with quotes

checks for dim_customer:
- distribution_difference("number_cars_owned") < 0.2:
    method: psi
    distribution reference file: dist_ref.yml
    name: Distribution check

Example with for each

for each dataset T:
    dataset:
        - dim_customer
    checks:
    - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) < 0.15:
        method: swd
        distribution reference file: dist_ref.yml

Example with in-check filter

checks for dim_customer:
- distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) < 0.05: 
    method: swd
    distribution reference file: dist_ref.yml
    filter: date_first_purchase between '2010-01-01' and '2022-01-01'

Example with dataset filter

filter dim_customer [first_purchase]:
  where: date_first_purchase between '2010-01-01' and '2022-01-01' 

checks for dim_customer [first_purchase]:
- distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) < 0.05: 
    method: swd
    distribution reference file: dist_ref.yml

Example with in-check sampling

The following example works for PostgreSQL data sources. It randomly samples 50% of the dataset with seed value 61.

checks for dim_customer:
  - distribution_difference(number_cars_owned) > 0.05:
      distribution reference file: ./cars_owned_dist_ref.yml
      method: chi_square
      sample: TABLESAMPLE BERNOULLI (50) REPEATABLE (61)

List of comparison symbols and phrases

 = 
 < 
 >
 <=
 >=
 !=
 <> 
 between 
 not between 

Troubleshoot Soda Scientific installation

While installing Soda Scientific works on Linux, you may encounter issues if you install Soda Scientific on Mac OS (particularly, machines with the M1 ARM-based processor) or any other operating system. If that is the case, consider using one of the following alternative installation procedures.

• Install Soda Scientific locally
• Use Docker to run Soda Library

Need help? Ask the team in the Soda community on Slack.

Install Soda Scientific Locally

1. Set up a virtual environment, and install Soda Library in your new virtual environment.
2. Use the following command to install Soda Scientific.

pip install -i https://pypi.cloud.soda.io soda-scientific

Use Docker to run Soda Library

Use Soda’s Docker image in which Soda Scientific is pre-installed. You need Soda Scientific to be able to use SodaCL distribution checks or anomaly detection checks.

1. If you have not already done so, install Docker in your local environment.
2. From Terminal, run the following command to pull Soda Library’s official Docker image; adjust the version to reflect the most recent release.

   docker pull sodadata/soda-library:v1.0.3
   

3. Verify the pull by running the following command.

   docker run sodadata/soda-library:v1.0.3 --help
   

   Output:

    Usage: soda [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...
   
      Soda Library CLI version 1.0.x, Soda Core CLI version 3.0.xx
   
    Options:
      --version  Show the version and exit.
      --help     Show this message and exit.
   
    Commands:
      ingest           Ingests test results from a different tool
      scan             Runs a scan
      suggest          Generates suggestions for a dataset
      test-connection  Tests a connection
      update-dro       Updates contents of a distribution reference file
   

   When you run the Docker image on a non-Linux/amd64 platform, you may see the following warning from Docker, which you can ignore.

   WARNING: The requested image's platform (linux/amd64) does not match the detected host platform (linux/arm64/v8) and no specific platform was requested
   

4. When you are ready to run a Soda scan, use the following command to run the scan via the docker image. Replace the placeholder values with your own file paths and names.

   docker run -v /path/to/your_soda_directory:/sodacl sodadata/soda-library scan -d your_data_source -c /sodacl/your_configuration.yml /sodacl/your_checks.yml
   

   Optionally, you can specify the version of Soda Library to use to execute the scan. This may be useful when you do not wish to use the latest released version of Soda Library to run your scans. The example scan command below specifies Soda Library version 1.0.0.

   docker run -v /path/to/your_soda_directory:/sodacl sodadata/soda-library:v1.0.0 scan -d your_data_source -c /sodacl/your_configuration.yml /sodacl/your_checks.yml
   

Error: Mounts denied

If you encounter the following error, follow the procedure below.

docker: Error response from daemon: Mounts denied: 
The path /soda-library-test/files is not shared from the host and is not known to Docker.
You can configure shared paths from Docker -> Preferences... -> Resources -> File Sharing.
See https://docs.docker.com/desktop/mac for more info.

You need to give Docker permission to acccess your configuration.yml and checks.yml files in your environment. To do so:

1. Access your Docker Dashboard, then select Preferences (gear symbol).
2. Select Resources, then follow the Docker instructions to add your Soda project directory – the one you use to store your configuration.yml and checks.yml files – to the list of directories that can be bind-mounted into Docker containers.
3. Click Apply & Restart, then repeat steps 2 - 4 above.

Error: Configuration path does not exist

If you encounter the following error, double check the syntax of the scan command in step 4 above.

• Be sure to prepend /sodacl/ to both the congifuration.yml filepath and the checks.yml filepath.
• Be sure to mount your files into the container by including the -v option. For example, -v /Users/MyName/soda_project:/sodacl.

Soda Library 1.0.x
Configuration path 'configuration.yml' does not exist
Path "checks.yml" does not exist
Scan summary:
No checks found, 0 checks evaluated.
2 errors.
Oops! 2 errors. 0 failures. 0 warnings. 0 pass.
ERRORS:
Configuration path 'configuration.yml' does not exist
Path "checks.yml" does not exist

Go further

• Need help? Join the Soda community on Slack.
• Reference tips and best practices for SodaCL.
• Use a freshness check to gauge how recently your data was captured.
• Use reference checks to compare the values of one column to another.

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• Suggest a docs change in GitHub.
• Share feedback in the Soda community on Slack.

Documentation always applies to the latest version of Soda products
Last modified on 10-Jul-24

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