The path analysis functions automate path analysis. They are useful for clickstream analysis of web site traffic and other sequence/path analysis tasks, such as advertisement or referral attribution.
The function descriptions use these terms:
- Path: An ordered, start-to-finish series of actions, such as the page views of a user from the start to the end of a session. For example, if the user visits page a, page b, and page c, in that order, the path is: a,b,c
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Sequence: A path in this format:
^,path
The carat (^) indicates that a path follows. For example: ^,a,b,c
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Subsequence or prefix: For a given sequence, a possible subset of steps that start with the initial step. For example, the subsequences for the path a,b,c are:
^,a ^,a,b ^,a,b,c
- Exit subsequence or prefix: A subsequence or prefix that is the same as its sequence, indicated by a final dollar sign ($). For example: ^,a,b,c$
- Depth: The number of steps in a sequence or subsequence. For example, the immediately preceding subsequences have depths 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
- Node: A single step on a path. For example, one web page that the user visits during the session.
- Parent: The path the user traveled to a given node. For example, the parent of c is ^,a,b.
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Child: A path the user traveled from a given node. For example, the children of ^,a are:
^,a,b ^,a,b,c
The functions are:
- Path_Generator, which takes a set of paths and outputs the sequence and all possible subsequences.
- Path_Summarizer, which takes Path_Generator output and returns, for each prefix in the input table, the parent and children, and number of times each of its subsequences was traveled.
- Path_Start, which takes Path_Summarizer output and returns, for each parent in the input table, the parent and children and the number of times that each of its subsequences was traveled.
- Path_Analyzer, which runs the preceding path analysis functions in the order shown, using the output of Path_Generator as input to Path_Summarizer and the output of Path_Summarizer as the input to Path_Start.