The terms "count" and "calculate" refer to two different types of operations:
- Count: To count means to determine the number of items in a set or group. It typically involves enumerating elements or occurrences. For example, counting the number of rows with non-blank values in a column is a counting operation. Counting can refer to discrete values, such as numbers, dates, or strings, but does not include logical values unless specified by a related function.
- Calculate: To calculate means to perform mathematical operations or computations on numbers or values to derive a result. Calculation can be simple arithmetic like addition or multiplication, or more complex operations like calculating percentages, durations, or body mass index.
Counting is often a specific form of calculation focused on quantity or frequency, whereas calculating more broadly involves applying mathematical formulas or functions to values. In summary, counting is about determining quantity or number of items, while calculating is about performing mathematical computations to obtain results based on those or other values.