# Generate computer offers

> How to create synthetic computer offers in English and French, choose their columns, catalog, market and units, write one CSV with errors, and which defects the four anomaly profiles inject.

Source: https://docs.tabalyst.com/generate/computer/ (Tabalyst 0.7.4)

The Computer example creates offers of computers for sale: laptops, desktops,
mini PCs, all-in-ones, single-board computers and servers, each with its parts,
price, stock and reviews.

```console
tabalyst generate --example computer --rows 10000 -d computer-output/
```

```text
Created: computer-output/computers-en.csv
Created: computer-output/computers-fr.csv
Created: computer-output/computers.meta.json
10,000 rows in 3.5s (2,864 rows/s, 3 processes)
```

`computers-en.csv` and `computers-fr.csv` describe the same 10,000 offers: only
the labels change (`Laptop` and `Ordinateur portable`, `Black` and `Noir`).
`computers.meta.json` records the request, the version of Tabalyst, the anomaly
profile if any, and a SHA-256 digest of every resource file used, so the
files can be reproduced. The default is 10 rows; `--rows` and `--seed` change
the count and the data. The same seed gives the same files. The times come
from one machine and are not a promise.

## One file, with or without errors

`-o` writes a single CSV, in English unless you ask for French with
`--locales fr`. With an anomaly profile, the file holds the errors and a
`.changes.csv` file beside it lists every changed cell:

```console
tabalyst generate --example computer --rows 30000 -o pcs.csv --anomaly-profile dirty_realistic
```

```text
Created: pcs.csv
Created: pcs.changes.csv
30,000 rows in 9.1s (3,286 rows/s, 3 processes), 8,506 cells changed: generating rows 7.9s, injecting errors 1.2s
```

No clean copy, summary or metadata file is written with `-o`: use `-d` to get
them. `--locales en`, `--locales fr` or `--locales en,fr` chooses the
languages; with `-d`, both are written unless you choose one.

## Columns, catalog and market

| Option | What it chooses |
| --- | --- |
| `--output-profile` | The columns: `compact` (40, the default), `standard` (70) or `extended` (111). |
| `--generation-profile` | The kind of product the catalog favors: `balanced` (the default), `consumer`, `business`, `gaming`, `creator`, `workstation`, `enterprise`, `mixed` or `portable_only`. |
| `--market` | The market of the offers: `ca` (Canadian dollars, the default) or `us` (US dollars). |
| `--unit-style` | `numeric` (plain numbers, the default) or `localized` (`64 GB` in English, `64 Go` in French). |
| `--unit-columns` | The measured columns written with units, for example `memory_gb,display_size_in`; it implies `localized`. |

The three profiles nest: `standard` has every column of `compact`, and
`extended` has every column of `standard`. The text values that name something
(categories, seller types, warehouses, availability, promotions) are translated
in the French file; technical codes such as `wifi_7` or `tpm_2_0` are the same
in both languages.

### Compact profile: 40 columns

| Group | Columns |
| --- | --- |
| Identity (2) | `product_id`, `sku` |
| Catalog (8) | `brand`, `product_family`, `model`, `generation`, `model_year`, `computer_type`, `form_factor`, `product_segment` |
| Processor (5) | `cpu_brand`, `cpu_family`, `cpu_model`, `cpu_cores`, `cpu_threads` |
| Graphics (5) | `gpu_brand`, `gpu_family`, `gpu_model`, `gpu_type`, `gpu_vram_gb` |
| Memory and storage (4) | `memory_type`, `memory_gb`, `storage_type`, `storage_gb` |
| Display (4) | `display_size_in`, `display_type`, `display_resolution`, `display_refresh_rate_hz` |
| System (3) | `operating_system`, `color`, `weight_kg` |
| Offer (9) | `currency`, `list_price`, `current_price`, `stock_quantity`, `stock_status`, `release_date`, `rating`, `review_count`, `market` |

`product_id` is unique in a file. `sku` identifies a configuration (the parts,
the color, the operating system and the market), so rows with the same
configuration share it.

### Standard profile: 70 columns, 30 more

| Group | Column | What it holds |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Product | `mpn` | Manufacturer part number: `MPN-` and a digest. Like `sku`, it identifies a configuration. |
| Product | `product_category` | One of 7 categories: laptops, desktops, mini PCs, all-in-one computers, workstations, single-board computers, servers. |
| Product | `product_subcategory` | One of 17, such as consumer laptop, gaming laptop, business laptop, small form factor PC. |
| Processor | `cpu_architecture` | `x86_64` or `arm64`. |
| Processor | `cpu_max_clock_ghz` | Maximum clock, from 2.4 to 5.6 GHz. |
| Processor | `npu_tops` | Power of the AI accelerator in TOPS; 0 without one. |
| Processor | `ai_pc_class` | `npu_capable` from 40 TOPS, otherwise `none`. |
| System | `os_family` | `windows`, `macos`, `linux` or `none`. |
| System | `keyboard_layout` | `ca_multilingual` for the `ca` market, `us_english` for `us`. |
| System | `language` | `en_fr` for the `ca` market, `en` for `us`. |
| Display | `display_brightness_nits` | Brightness, from 250 to 1,000 nits. Empty without a built-in display. |
| Display | `display_touch` | `true` or `false`; touch screens are rare. |
| Display | `display_finish` | `matte` or `glossy`. Empty without a built-in display. |
| Connectivity | `wifi_standard` | `wifi_5`, `wifi_6e`, `wifi_7` or `wifi_none`. |
| Connectivity | `bluetooth_version` | `5.0`, `5.3`, `5.4` or `none`. |
| Connectivity | `ethernet_speed` | `1_gbps`, `2.5_gbps`, `10_gbps`, `25_gbps` or `none`. |
| Ports | `usb_a_ports`, `usb_c_ports`, `hdmi_ports` | Number of ports of each kind. |
| Power | `battery_wh` | Battery capacity, from 48 to 100 Wh. Only laptops have one; empty otherwise. |
| Power | `power_adapter_w` | Rating of the adapter or power supply, from 27 to 1,600 W. |
| Chassis | `chassis_material` | `aluminum`, `steel`, `magnesium_alloy`, `aluminum_plastic`, `steel_plastic` and a few more. |
| Camera and security | `camera_type` | `none`, `1080p`, `1080p_ir` or `1440p_ir`. |
| Camera and security | `biometric_type` | `none`, `fingerprint`, `face_recognition` or a combination. |
| Offer | `discount_percent` | 0, 5, 10 or 15: the discount that turns `list_price` into `current_price`. |
| Offer | `price_tier` | `entry` below a list price of 1,500 (1,125 in US dollars), otherwise `premium`. |
| Offer | `condition` | Always `new`. |
| Offer | `warranty_period` | `12_months`, `24_months` or `36_months`. |
| Lifecycle | `product_age_months` | Months between `release_date` and the reference date. |
| Lifecycle | `product_lifecycle_status` | `current` under 24 months, `mature` after. |

### Extended profile: 111 columns, 41 more

| Group | Column | What it holds |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Display | `display_aspect_ratio` | `16:10`, `16:9` or `3:2`. Empty without a built-in display. |
| Display | `display_hdr` | `none`, `hdr10`, `displayhdr_400`, `displayhdr_1000` or `true_black_500`. Empty without a built-in display. |
| Display | `display_color_gamut` | `srgb_62`, `srgb_100` or `dci_p3_100`. Empty without a built-in display. |
| Processor | `npu_brand`, `npu_family` | The maker (Intel, AMD, Apple) and the family of the AI accelerator, such as `intel_ai_boost`. Empty without one. |
| Processor | `copilot_plus_pc` | `true` from 40 TOPS of AI accelerator, otherwise `false`. |
| Connectivity | `cellular_type` | `none` or `5g`. Only laptops can have `5g`. |
| Connectivity | `docking_support` | `none`, `usb_c`, `thunderbolt` or `thunderbolt_4`. |
| Connectivity | `ethernet_port` | `true` when `ethernet_speed` is not `none`. |
| Ports | `thunderbolt_ports`, `displayport_ports` | Number of ports of each kind. |
| Ports | `card_reader_type` | `none`, `sd`, `sdxc`, `sd_uhsii`, `microsd` or `nano_sim`. |
| Slots | `memory_slots_total`, `memory_slots_used` | Memory slots; the slots used never exceed the total. |
| Slots | `m2_slots_total`, `m2_slots_used` | M.2 storage slots, with the same rule. |
| Slots | `upgradeability_level` | `none`, `low`, `medium`, `high` or `very_high`. |
| Dimensions | `width_mm`, `depth_mm`, `height_mm` | Size of the machine, from 85 to 615, 56 to 720 and 9 to 470 mm. |
| Chassis | `chassis_finish` | The finish. In the current catalog it takes the same values as `chassis_material`. |
| Audio and input | `microphone_type` | `none`, `dual_array`, `triple_array` or `quad_array`. |
| Audio and input | `speaker_configuration` | `none`, `internal_mono`, `stereo`, `quad_speaker` or `six_speaker`. |
| Audio and input | `keyboard_type` | One of 8, such as `backlit_chiclet`, `backlit_gaming`, `external_keyboard`, `wireless_keyboard` or `none`. |
| Security | `trusted_platform` | `tpm_2_0`, `apple_secure_enclave` or `none`. |
| Promotion | `promotion_type` | No promotion, percentage discount, seasonal promotion or clearance. There is none when `discount_percent` is 0. |
| Promotion | `promotion_status` | `Active` when there is a discount, otherwise no promotion. |
| Price history | `lowest_price_30d`, `highest_price_30d`, `average_price_30d` | Computed from a short synthetic history: the current price and up to two earlier prices of the list price with a discount of 0 to 15%. |
| Price history | `price_change_30d_percent` | Change of the current price against the last earlier price of that history, in percent. |
| Lifecycle | `product_generation` | `current` under 12 months since release, `previous` under 36, `legacy` after. |
| Sales | `popularity_level` | `high` from 100 units sold in 30 days, `medium` from 30, otherwise `low`. |
| Sales | `units_sold_30d` | Units sold in 30 days: 0 to 5 when out of stock, otherwise about a third of `review_count` plus 0 to 60. |
| Sales | `sales_rank` | Rank derived from the units sold; the more units, the better (lower) the rank. |
| Sales | `conversion_rate` | Share of visits that end in a purchase, from 0.005 to 0.15; 0.005 when out of stock. |
| Sales | `return_rate` | Share of units returned, around 0.06 to 0.11; the better the rating, the lower. |
| Distribution | `seller`, `seller_type` | A seller of the market and its kind (retailer, distributor, refurbisher, authorized reseller, marketplace seller, manufacturer). A manufacturer's own store only sells its brand. |
| Distribution | `warehouse` | A warehouse of the market, such as Canada East, Central or West. |
| Distribution | `shipping_availability` | `Unavailable` when out of stock, `Limited availability` under 5 units, otherwise `Available`. |

The values follow rules of consistency, not market estimates:

- Each offer takes its parts from a catalog of brands, families, models and
  generations, and a model only has the processors, graphics, memory, storage,
  screens and operating systems that the catalog lists for it.
- A dedicated GPU has memory and an integrated one has none, and a processor
  never has fewer threads than cores.
- `current_price` never exceeds `list_price`. Prices are computed from the
  configuration (more memory, storage, cores or graphics memory cost more)
  and a discount of 0, 5, 10 or 15%; they are not real prices.
- `stock_status` is `out_of_stock` exactly when `stock_quantity` is 0.
- `release_date` falls in the model year and never after the reference date
  (`--as-of-date`, 30 September 2026 by default).
- `rating` is empty when `review_count` is 0.

Many rows share a model, since the catalog is finite: a large file repeats
configurations, each row with its own `product_id`, stock and reviews, while
`sku` and `mpn` repeat with the configuration.

## Add defects on purpose

Computer has four anomaly profiles. They keep the clean file and write an
altered copy, a change log and a summary (with `-d`), or only the altered file
and its log (with `-o`).

| Profile | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `dirty_realistic` | A few defects on a few percent of the rows (table below). |
| `dirty_stress` | The same kinds of defect on a larger share of the rows. |
| `unit_variants` | Only the units: `16` becomes `16 GB` in some memory, storage and graphics memory cells. |
| `unit_variants_extended` | The same for 14 measured columns (screen size, refresh rate, battery, weight, dimensions and more). It needs `--output-profile extended`. |

`dirty_realistic` and `dirty_stress` change the same columns:

| Column | Defect | `dirty_realistic` | `dirty_stress` |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| `memory_gb` | Emptied | 2.5% | 12% |
| `cpu_model` | Emptied | 1.5% | 8% |
| `release_date` | Written with slashes | 2% | 10% |
| `current_price` | Replaced by `N/A` | 1% | 6% |
| `stock_status` | Misspelled `in_stok` | 1.5% | 8% |
| `gpu_vram_gb` | Set to `0` on a dedicated GPU | 4% | 18% |
| `stock_quantity` | Set to `0` on an offer in stock | 3% | 15% |
| `memory_gb` | Followed by `GB` (`16 GB`) | 8% | 15% |
| `storage_gb` | Followed by `GB` | 5% | 10% |
| `gpu_vram_gb` | Followed by `GB` | 3% | 6% |

The last two columns are the share of rows each defect is requested on. A
defect with a condition (a dedicated GPU, an offer in stock) is applied only
to the rows that meet it, and the summary counts the others as skipped. Since
`stock_quantity` set to `0` while the status says `in_stock` contradicts the
rule above, such offers are real defects a profile of the file should find.

An unknown profile name stops the command with the list of available names.
To get several levels at once, name several profiles with `-d`: the rows are
generated once and each profile makes its own variant.

```console
tabalyst generate --example computer --rows 30000 -d out/ --locales en --anomaly-profile dirty_realistic,dirty_stress
```

## Large files

From 5,000 rows, Computer generates the rows in several processes, one per
spare processor and at most 6. `--workers N` sets the number, and
`--workers 1` keeps a single process. The files are the same whatever the
number, so a seed still gives the same data. On one machine with four
processors, 1,000,000 offers with an anomaly profile took about three minutes
with three processes.

In a terminal, the command shows its progress on one line with the time left;
`--no-progress` hides it. It always ends with a line giving the rows, the
total time, the rate, the changed cells and where the time went.

## Next steps

- [Tabalyst Generate](https://docs.tabalyst.com/generate.md) explains packages and how to write your own
  anomaly profile.
- The [CLI reference](https://docs.tabalyst.com/reference/cli/generate.md) lists every option.
- [Generate CRM contacts](https://docs.tabalyst.com/generate/crm.md) and
  [Generate insurance customers](https://docs.tabalyst.com/generate/insurance.md) describe the other examples.