# What Is Pivot?
URL: https://pro.rv-grid.com/guides/pivot/introduction/what-is-pivot/
Source: src/content/docs/guides/pivot/introduction/what-is-pivot.mdx
Description: A conceptual introduction to Pivot tables, the mental model, and how they transform flat data into analytical insights.
A **Pivot Table** is a data summarization tool that automatically sorts, counts, totals, or averages data stored in one table and displays the results in a second, organized table.

In RevoGrid, the Pivot plugin takes a "flat" list of records and transforms it into a multidimensional view where you can see relationships between different data points at a glance.

## The Transformation: From Facts to Insights

Imagine you have a list of sales transactions. Each row represents a single event:

| Date | Region | Category | Sales |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 2024-01-01 | North | Electronics | $500 |
| 2024-01-02 | South | Electronics | $300 |
| 2024-01-03 | North | Furniture | $1,200 |
| 2024-01-04 | North | Electronics | $450 |

This "flat" view is great for data entry, but hard to read for analysis. A **Pivot** transforms it by choosing axes:

1.  **Row Axis**: Grouping data vertically (e.g., by **Region**).
2.  **Column Axis**: Grouping data horizontally (e.g., by **Category**).
3.  **Values**: The numbers you want to calculate (e.g., **Sum of Sales**).

### The Resulting Pivot View:

| Region | Electronics | Furniture | Grand Total |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **North** | $950 | $1,200 | **$2,150** |
| **South** | $300 | $0 | **$300** |
| **Grand Total** | **$1,250** | **$1,200** | **$2,450** |

## Core Axes of a Pivot

To work with Pivot, you need to think in terms of three primary axes:

### 1. Rows (The Hierarchy)
Rows define the vertical structure. If you add multiple fields to rows (e.g., `['Region', 'Manager']`), Pivot creates a nested hierarchy. Users can "drill down" from Region to see the individual Managers within that region.

### 2. Columns (The Breakdown)
Columns define the horizontal structure. Unlike normal grid columns, Pivot columns are often **generated** based on the data. If you put `Quarter` in columns, Pivot will automatically create a column for every unique quarter found in your dataset.

### 3. Values (The Measures)
Values are the "meat" of the table. They are the numeric fields that get crunched using **Aggregators** (like `sum`, `avg`, `min`, `max`, or `count`). Every cell in a Pivot table is the result of an aggregation of all raw records that match that specific row and column intersection.

## Why Use RevoGrid Pivot?

-   **Massive Data**: RevoGrid's virtualization allows you to pivot millions of rows without crashing the browser.
-   **Dynamic Discovery**: Users can drag and drop fields to explore data from different angles.
-   **Enterprise Features**: Subtotals, Grand Totals, and Drill-down are built-in and optimized.
-   **Server-Side Scaling**: For datasets too large for the browser, RevoGrid can connect to an [OLAP Backend](/guides/pivot/connect-olap-backend/) to perform the heavy lifting on the server while maintaining a smooth UI.

## Next Steps

To understand how these concepts map to actual code, read about [Dimensions](/guides/pivot/dimensions/) or explore the [Mental Model](/guides/pivot/#mental-model) in the Overview.
