# Get Column Count

### Overview

This procedure gets the number of columns in a table and is useful for understanding the table’s structure. You can use it to check if a table has the expected number of fields, validate schema changes, or make sure a table meets certain requirements before running other steps in a process. It’s also helpful when working with dynamic tables where the column count might change over time.

### Input Concepts

| Concept | Type  | Description                                      | Default    | Required |
| ------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------------ | ---------- | -------- |
| `table` | table | The table whose column count is to be retrieved. | No default | Yes      |

### Output Concepts

| Concept        | Description                         |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `column count` | The number of columns in the table. |

### Examples

#### 1. Get the Column Count of a Sample Table

In this example, `the table` refers to the following table, which can be generated using the `create a sample table` procedure:

| Name | Number             | Address          | City          |
| ---- | ------------------ | ---------------- | ------------- |
| john | + 1 (415) 691 9426 | 123 east street  | San Francisco |
| joe  | + 1 (415) 691 1234 | 321 west street  | San Jose      |
| jack | + 1 (415) 691 4595 | 213 north street | San Francisco |

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Automation" %}

```
get the table's column count
```

{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Results" %}
4
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}