'$RCSfile: eml-attribute.xsd,v $'
Copyright: 1997-2002 Regents of the University of California,
University of New Mexico, and
Arizona State University
Sponsors: National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis and
Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans,
University of California Santa Barbara
Long-Term Ecological Research Network Office,
University of New Mexico
Center for Environmental Studies, Arizona State University
Other funding: National Science Foundation (see README for details)
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
For Details: http://knb.ecoinformatics.org/
'$Author: obrien $'
'$Date: 2009-02-25 23:51:54 $'
'$Revision: 1.123 $'
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eml-attribute
The eml-attribute module - Attribute level information within
dataset entities
any dataset that uses dataTable, spatialRaster,
spatialVector, storedProcedure, view or otherEntity or in a custom
module where one wants to document an attribute
(variable)
yes
Attribute
Characteristics of a 'field' or 'variable' in a data
entity (ie. dataTable).
The content model for attribute is a CHOICE between
"references" and all of the elements that let you describe the
attribute (e.g., attributeName, attributeDefinition, precision). The
attribute element allows a user to document the characteristics that
describe a 'field' or 'variable' in a data entity (e.g. dataTable).
Complete attribute descriptions are perhaps the most important aspect
to making data understandable to others. An attribute element describes
a single attribute or an attribute element can contain a reference
to an attribute defined elsewhere. Using a reference means that the
referenced attribute is (semantically) identical, not just in name
but identical in its complete description. For example, if attribute
"measurement1" in dataTable "survey1" has a precision of 0.1 and
you are documenting dataTable survey2 which has an attribute called
"measurement1" but the survey2's measurement1 has a precision of
0.001 then these are different attributes and must be described
separately.
Attribute List
List of attributes
This complexType defines the structure of the
attributeList element. The content model is a choice between one or
more attribute elements, and references. References links to an
attribute list defined elsewhere.
Attribute Type
Type definition for the content of an attribute (variable)
that can be part of an entity.
Type definition for the content of an
attribute (variable) that can be part of an entity.
Attribute name
The name of the attribute
Attribute name is official name of the
attribute. This is usually a short, sometimes cryptic name
that is used to refer to the attribute. Many systems have
restrictions on the length of attribute names, and on the
use of special characters like spaces in the name, so the
attribute name is often not particularly useful for display
(use attributeLabel for display). The attributeName is
usually the name of the variable that is found in the header
of a data file.
spden
spatialden
site
spcode
Attribute label
A label for displaying an attribute name.
A descriptive label that can be used to display
the name of an attribute. This is often a longer, possibly
multiple word name for the attribute than the attributeName. It
is not constrained by system limitations on length or special
characters. For example, an attribute with a name of 'spcode'
might have an attributeLabel of 'Species Code'.
Species Density
Spatial Density
Name of Site
Species Code
Attribute definition
Precise definition of the attribute
This element gives a precise definition of
attribute in the data entity (dataTable, spatialRaster,
spatialVector, storedProcedure, view or otherEntity) being
documented. It explains the contents of the attribute fully so
that a data user could interpret the attribute accurately.
Some additional information may also be found in the
methods element as well.
"spden" is the number of individuals of all
macro invertebrate species found in the plot
Storage Type
Storage type hint for this field
This element describes the storage type,
for data in a RDBMS (or other data management system) field.
As many systems do not
provide for fine-grained restrictions on types, this type will
often be a superset of the allowed domain defined in
attributeDomain. Values for this field are by default drawn from
the XML Schema Datatypes standard values, such as: integer,
double, string, etc. If the XML Schema Datatypes are not used,
the type system from which the values are derived should be
listed in the 'typeSystem' attribute described below. This field
represents a 'hint' to processing systems as to how the attribute
might be represented in a system or language, but is distinct
from the actual expression of the domain of the attribute. The
field is repeatable so that the storageType can be indicated for
multiple type systems (e.g., Oracle data types and Java data
types).
integer
int
Storage Type System
The system used to define the storage types.
This should be an identifier of a well known and
published typing system.
The typeSystem attribute is the system
used to define the storage types. This should be an
identifier of a well known and published typing system.
The default and recommended system is the XML Schema data
type system. For details go to http://www.w3.org. If
another system is used (such as Java or C++ types),
typeSystem should be changed to match the
system.
http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-datatypes
java
C
Oracle 8i
Measurement Scale
The measurement scale for the attribute.
The measurementScale element indicates the
type of scale from which values are drawn for the
attribute. This provides information about the scale in
which the data was collected.
Nominal is used when numbers have only been assigned
to a variable for the purpose of categorizing the
variable. An example of a nominal scale is assigning the
number 1 for male and 2 for female.
Ordinal is used when the categories have a logical
or ordered relationship to each other. These types of scale
allow one to distinguish the order of values, but not the
magnitude of the difference between values. An example of an
ordinal scale is a categorical survey where you rank a variable
1=good, 2=fair, 3=poor.
Interval is used for data which consist of
equidistant points on a scale. The Celsius scale is an interval
scale, since each degree is equal but there is no natural
zero point (so, 20 C is not twice as hot as 10 C).
Ratio is used for data which consists not only of
equidistant points but also has a meaningful zero
point, which allows ratios to have meaning. An example of a
ratio scale would be the Kelvin temperature scale (200K is
half as hot as 400K), and length in
meters (e.g., 10 meters is twice as long as 5 meters).
Nominal scale
Characteristics used to define nominal
(categorical) scale attributes
This field is used for defining the
characteristics of this variable if it is a
nominal scale variable, which are variables that are
categorical in nature.
Nominal is used when numbers have only been
assigned to a variable for the purpose of categorizing the
variable. An example of a nominal scale is assigning the
number 1 for male and 2 for female.
Ordinal scale
Characteristics used to define ordinal
(ordered) scale attributes
This field is used for defining the
characteristics of this variable if it is an
ordinal scale variable, which specify ordered values
without specifying the magnitude of the difference between
values. Ordinal is used when the categories have
a logical or ordered relationship to each other. These
types of scale allow one to distinguish the order
of values, but not the magnitude of the difference
between values. An example of an ordinal scale is a
categorical survey where you rank a variable 1=good,
2=fair, 3=poor.
Interval scale
Characteristics used to define interval
scale attributes
This field is used for defining the
characteristics of this variable if it is an
interval scale variable, which specifies both the order
and magnitude of values, but has no natural zero point.
Interval is used for data which consist of
equidistant points on a scale. The Celsius scale is an
interval scale, since each degree is equal but there is
no natural zero point (so, 20 C is not twice as hot as
10 C). zero point (so, 20 C is not twice as hot as 10
C).
Ratio scale
Characteristics used to define ratio
scale attributes
This field is used for defining the
characteristics of this variable if it is a
ratio scale variable, which specifies the order and
magnitude of values and has a natural zero point, allowing
for ratio comparisons to be valid.
Ratio is used for data which consists not
only of equidistant points but also has a meaningful zero
point, which allows ratios to have meaning. An example
of a ratio scale would be the Kelvin temperature scale
(200K is half as hot as 400K), and length in meters (e.g.,
10 meters is twice as long as 5 meters).
Date/Time scale
Characteristics used to define date and
time attributes
The dateTime field is used for defining the
characteristics of the attribute if it contains
date and time values. DateTime is used when the values
fall on the Gregorian calendar system. DateTime values
are special because they have properties of interval
values (most of the time it is legitimate to treat them
as interval values by converting them to a duration from
a fixed point) but they sometimes only behave as ordinals
(because the calendar is not predetermined, for some
dateTime values one can only find out the order of
the points and not the magnitude of the duration
between those points). Thus, the dateTime scale provides
the information necessary to properly understand and
parse date and time values without improperly
labeling them under one of the more traditional scales.
Date and time values are unlike any other measured values.
Note that the dateTime field would not be used if
one is recording time durations. In that case, one should use a
standard unit such as seconds, nominalMinute or nominalDay, or a
customUnit that defines the unit in terms of its relationship to
SI second.
Date/Time Format
A format string that describes the
format for a date-time value from the Gregorian
calendar.
A format string that describes
the format for a dateTime value from the
Gregorian calendar. DateTime values should be
expressed in a format that conforms to the ISO
8601 standard. This field allows one to specify
the format string that should be used to decode
the date or time value. To describe the format
of an attribute containing dateTime values,
construct a string representation of the format
using the following symbols:
Y year
M month
W month abbreviation (e.g., JAN)
D day
h hour
m minute
s second
T time designator (demarcates date and time parts of date-time)
Z UTC designator, indicating value is in UTC time
. indicates a decimal fraction of a unit
+/- indicates a positive or negative number,
or a positive or negative time zone adjustment relative to UTC
- indicates a separator between date components
A/P am or pm designator
Any other character in the format string is interpreted as a
separator character. Here are some examples of the format
strings that can be constructed.
Format string Example value
------------------- ------------------
ISO Date YYYY-MM-DD 2002-10-14
ISO Datetime YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss 2002-10-14T09:13:45
ISO Datetime YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss-hh 2002-10-14T09:13:45-07
ISO Time hh:mm:ss 17:13:45
ISO Time hh:mm:ss.sss 09:13:45.432
ISO Time hh:mm.mm 09:13.42
Non-standard DD/MM/YYYY 14/10/2002
Non-standard MM/DD/YYYY 10/14/2002
Non-standard MM/DD/YY 10/14/02
Non-standard YYYY-MMM-DD 2002-OCT-14
Non-standard YYYYMMMDD 2002OCT14
Non-standard YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss 2002-10-14 09:13:45
Some notes about these examples. First, the ISO 8601 standard is
strict about the date components, their order, and the separators;
e.g., date parts are upper case, and time parts are lower case.
If no UTC relation information is given, the time is assumed to be in local
time. Assuming local time is ambiguous even when communicating within a
single time zone, given variations in Daylight Saving Time.
Best practice is to follow the ISO 8601 format precisely and accurately.
In particular, please note that these are all non-standard
according to ISO:
use of a slash (/) to separate date components,
a space to separate date and time components,
using a twelve-hour time with am/pm designator,
placing any of the components out of descending order
However, we recognize that existing data contain
non-standard dates, and existing equipment (e.g., sensors) may
still be producing non-standard dates.
Further, data parsers often apply individual interpretations. E.g., Java
interprets HH on a 24-hr clock and hh on a 12-hr clock, and MM as a
padded integer for month but MMM as a 3-letter abbreviation.
Consequently, the formatting string can contain characters as needed
to accommodate existing data.
Decimal dateTime values can be extended by indicating in
the format that additional decimals can be used. Only the final
unit (e.g., seconds in a time value) can use the extended digits
according to the ISO 8601 standard. For example, to show
indicate that seconds are represented to the nearest 1/1000
of a second, the format string would be "hh:mm:ss.sss".
Note that this only indicates the number of decimals used to
record the value, and not the precision of the measurement
(see dateTimePrecision for that).
Date and time values are from an interval scale, but it is extremely
complex because of the vagaries of the calendar (e.g., leap
years, and leap seconds). The duration between date and time values
in the future is not even deterministic because leap seconds are
based on current measurements of the earth's orbit. Consequently,
date and time values are unlike any other measured values. The format
string for dateTime values allows one to accurately calculate the
duration in SI second units between two measured dateTime values,
assuming that the conversion software has a detailed knowledge of
the Gregorian calendar.
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss
YYYY-MM-DD
YYYY
hh:mm:ss
hh:mm:ss.sss
DateTime Precision
An indication of the precision of a
date or time value
A quantitative indication of
the precision of a date or time measurement.
The precision should be interpreted in the
smallest units represented by the dateTime format.
For example, if a dateTime value has a format of
"hh:mm:ss.sss", then "seconds" are the smallest unit
and the precision should be expressed in seconds.
Thus, a precision value of "0.01" would mean that
measurements were precise to the nearest hundredth
of a second, even though the format string might
indicate that values were written down with 3
decimal places.
0.1
0.01
DateTime Domain
See the summary for the type: DateTimeDomainType
See the description for the type: DateTimeDomainType
Character for missing value
Character for missing value in the data of the
field
This element is to specify missing value in the
data of the field. It is repeatable to allow for multiple
different codes to be present in the attribute. Note that missing
value codes should not be considered when determining if the
observed values of an attribute all fall within the domain
of the attribute (i.e., missing value codes should be parsed out
of the data stream before examining the data for domain
violations.
The missing value code itself.
The missing value code itself.
The code element is the missing value code
itself. Each missing value code should be entered in a
separate element instance. The value entered is what is
placed into a data grid if the value is missing for some
reason.
-9999
-1
N/A
MISSING
Explanation of Missing value Code
An explanation of what the missing value code
means.
The codeExplanation element is an
explanation of the meaning of the missing value code that
was used, that is, the reason that there is a missing
value. For example, an attribute might have a missing
value code of '-99' to indicate that the data observation
was not actually taken, and a code of '-88' to indicate
that the data value was removed because of
calibration errors.
Sensor down time.
Technician error.
The accuracy of the measured attribute
The accuracy of the attribute. This information
should describe any accuracy information that is known about the
collection of this data attribute.
The accuracy element represents the accuracy of
the attribute. This information should describe any accuracy
information that is known about the collection of this data
attribute. The content model of this metadata is taken directly
from FGDC FGDC-STD-001-1998 section 2 with the exception of
processContact, sourceCitation, and timePeriodInformation which
either user XMLSchema types or use predefined EML types for these
purposes.
Attribute coverage
An explanation of the coverage of the attribute.
An explanation of the coverage of the attribute.
This specifically indicates the spatial, temporal, and taxonomic
coverage of the attribute in question when that coverage deviates
from coverages expressed at a higher level (e.g., entity or
dataset). Please see the eml-coverage module for complete
documentation.
Attribute methods
An explanation of the methods involved in the
collection of this attribute.
An explanation of the methods involved in the
collection of this attribute. These specifically supplement or
possibly override methods provided at a higher level such as
entity or dataset.
Please see the eml-methods module for complete documentation.
Semantic Annotation
A precisely-defined semantic statement for this attribute.
An annotation represents a precisely-defined semantic
statement that applies to this attribute. This semantic
statement is used to associate precise measurement semantics
with the attribute, such as the property that is being measured
(e.g., oboe:Characteristic), the entity that is being measured
(e.g., oboe:Entity), and the measurement standard for
interpreting values for this attribute (e.g., oboe:Standard).
Each annotation consists of a propertyURI and valueURI that
define the property and value of the statement. The subject
of the statement is the eml:attribute that contains the
annotation. The associated labels can be used
to display the statement to users. Each URI is
resolvable to a controlled vocabulary that provides
a definition, relationships to other terms, and multiple
labels for displaying the statement.
Attribute Accuracy Report
An explanatory report of the accuracy of the
attribute.
The attributeAccuracyReport element is an
explanation of the accuracy of the observation recorded in this
attribute. It will often include a description of the tests used to
determine the accuracy of the observation. These reports are
generally prepared for remote sensing or other measurement
devices.
Quantitative Attribute Accuracy
Assessment
A value assigned to summarize the accuracy of the
attribute.
The quantitativeAttributeAccuracyAssessment
element is composed of two parts, a value that represents the
accuracy of the recorded observation an explanation of the tests
used to determine the accuracy.
Attribute Accuracy Value
A value assigned to estimate the accuracy of the
attribute.
The attributeAccuracyValue element is an
estimate of the accuracy of the identification of the
entities and assignments of attribute values in the data set.
Attribute Accuracy Explanation
The test which yields the Attribute Accuracy
Value.
The attributeAccuracyExplanation element is
the identification of the test that yielded the Attribute
Accuracy Value.
Attribute list
A list of attributes
This is the root element of the eml-attribute module.
It is mainly used for testing, but can also be used for creating
stand-alone eml-attribute modules where a list of attributes is
needed.
Unit of measurement
Unit of measurement for data in the
field
This field identifies the unit of measurement
for this attribute. It is a choice of either a standard unit,
or a custom unit. If it is a custom unit,
the definition of the unit must be provided in the document using
the STMML syntax, and the name provided in the customUnit element must
reference the id of its associated STMML definition precisely. For
further information on STMML (http://www.xml-cml.org/stmml/) or
see stmml.xsd which is included with the EML 2.0 distribution for
details.
Standard Unit
The name of a standard unit used to make this
measurement
Use the standardUnit element if the unit for this attribute has
been defined in the Standard Unit Dictionary.
The list of "standard" units includes the SI base units and many compound units based
on SI, plus and some commonly used units which are not SI. The list is by no means
exhaustive. If the unit you need is not part of this list, then the customUnit field should be used
instead. Standard units have been described using STMML. See the documentation
for the Type for more information.
meter
second
joule
Custom Unit
The name of a custom unit used to make this
measurement.
The customUnit element is for units that are
not part of the standard list provided with EML. The customUnit
must correspond to an id in the
document where its definition is provided using the STMML
syntax. The customUnit definition will most likely be in
the additionalMetadata section.
gramsPerOneThirdMeter
Precision
The precision of the measurement.
Precision indicates how close together or how
repeatable measurements are. A precise measuring instrument will give
very nearly the same result each time it is used. This means that
someone interpreting the data should expect that if a measurement were
repeated, most measured values would fall within the interval specified
by the precision. The value of precision should be expressed in the
same unit as the measurement. For example, for an attribute with unit
"meter", a precision of "0.1" would be interpreted to mean that most
repeat measurements would fall within an interval of 1/10th of a meter.
0.1
0.5
1
Non-numeric domain
The non-numeric domain field describes the domain
of the attribute being documented. It can describe two
different types of domains: enumerated and text. Enumerated
domains are lists of values that are explicitly provided as
legitimate values. Only values from that list should occur
in the attribute. They are often used for response codes
such as "HIGH" and "LOW". Text domains are used for attributes
that allow more free-form text fields, but still permit some
specification of the value-space through pattern matching. A
text domain is usually used for comment and notes attributes,
and other character attributes that don't have a precise set of
constrained values. This is an important field for post processing
and error checking of the dataset. It represents a formal
specification of the value space for the attribute, and so there
should never be a value for the attribute that falls outside of
the set of values prescribed by the domain.
Enumerated domain
Description of any coded values associated
with the attribute.
The enumeratedDomain element describes
any code that is used as a value of an attribute. These
codes can be defined here in the metadata as a list with
definitions (preferred), can be referenced by pointing to
an external citation or URL where the codes are defined,
or can be referenced by pointing at an entity that contains
the code value and code definition as two attributes. For
example, data might have a variable named 'site' with
values 'A', 'B', and 'C', and the enumeratedDomain would
explain how to interpret those codes.
Code Definition
A codes and its definition
This element gives the value of a
particular code and its definition. It is repeatable
to allow for a list of codes to be provided.
Code
Code value allowed in the
domain
The code element specifies a
code value that can be used in the domain
1
HIGH
BEPA
24
Code definition
Definition of the associated code
The definition describes the
code with which it is associated in enough
detail for scientists to interpret the meaning
of the coded values.
high density, above 10 per square
meter
Source of code
The name of the source for this
code and its definition
The source element is the name
of the source from which this code and its
associated definition are drawn. This is
commonly used for identifying standard coding
systems, like the FIPS standard for postal
abbreviations for states in the US. In other
cases, the coding may be the researcher's
customized way of recording and classifying
their data, and no external "source" would
exist.
ISO country codes
Order
Mechanism for specifying what the
order of the code-definitions included should
be
Ordinal scale measurements have a discrete list
of values with a specific ordering of those values. This attributes
specifies that order from low to high. For example, for LOW,
MEDIUM, HIGH, the order attribute might be "LOW=1, MEDIUM=2 and
HIGH=3".
External code set
A reference to an externally defined set
of codes used in this attribute
The externalCodeSet element is a
reference to an externally defined set of codes used
in this attribute. This can either be a citation
(using the eml-citation module) or a
URL. Using an externally defined codeset (rather
than a codeDefinition) means that interpretation of the
data is dependent upon future users being able to
obtain the code definitions, so care should be taken
to only use highly standardized external code sets that
will be available for many years. If at all possible,
it is preferable to define the codes inline using the
codeDefinition element.
Code Set Name
The name of an externally defined
code set
The codesetName element is the
name of an externally defined code
set.
FIPS State Abbreviation
Codes
Citation
A citation for the code set
reference
The citation element is a
citation for the code set
reference
Code set URL
A URL for the code set
reference
The codesetURL element is a
URL for the code set
reference.
Entity Code List
A code list that is defined in a data
table
The entityCodeList is a list of
codes and their definitions in a data
entity that is present in this dataset. The fields
specify exactly which entity it is, and which
attributes of that entity contain the codes, their
definitions, and the order of the values.
Entity Reference
A reference to the id of the
entity in which the code list has been
defined
The entityReference element is
a reference to the id of the entity in which
the code list has been defined. This entity
must have been defined elsewhere in the
metadata and have an id that matches the value
of this element.
Value Attribute
Reference
A reference to the id of the
attribute that contains the list of
codes
The valueAttributeReference
element is a reference to the id of the
attribute that contains the list of codes. This
attribute must have been defined elsewhere in
the metadata and have an id that matches the
value of this element.
Definition Attribute
Reference
A reference to the id of the
attribute that contains the definition of
codes
The
definitionAttributeReference element is a
reference to the id of the attribute that
contains the definition of codes. This
attribute must have been defined elsewhere in
the metadata and have an id that matches the
value of this element.
Order Attribute
Reference
A reference to the id of the
attribute that contains the order of
codes
The orderAttributeReference element
is a reference to the id of the attribute that
contains the order of codes. The values in this
attribute are integers indicating increasing values
of the categories. This attribute must have been
defined elsewhere in the metadata and have an id that
matches the value of this element.
Enforced Domain
Indicates whether the enumerated
domain values enforced.
Indicates whether the enumerated
domain values are the only allowable values for
the domain. In some exceedingly rare cases, users may
wish to present a list of value codes in
enumeratedDomain but not formally restrict the value
space for the attribute to those values. If so, they
can indicate this by setting the enforced attribute
to the value no. Acceptable values are yes and no, and
the default value is yes.
Text domain
Description of a free-text domain pattern for
the attribute
The textDomain element describes a free
text domain for the attribute. By default, if a pattern is
missing or empty, then any text is allowed. If a pattern is
present, then it is interpreted as a regular expression
constraining the allowable character sequences for the
attribute. This domain type is most useful for describing
extensive text domains that match a pattern but do not
have a finite set of values. Another use is for
describing the domain of textual fields like comments
that allow any legal string value.
Typically, a text domain will have an empty
pattern or one that constrains allowable values. For
example, '[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{4}' allows for only
numeric digits in the pattern of a US phone
number.
Text domain definition
Definition of what this text domain
represents
The element definition provides the
text domain definition, that is, what kinds of text
expressions are allowed for this attribute. If there
is a pattern supplied, the definition element
expresses the meaning of the pattern, For example, a
particular pattern may be meant to represent phone
numbers in the US phone system format. A definition
element may also be used to extend an enumerated
domain.
US telephone numbers in the format
"(999) 888-7777"
Text pattern
Regular expression pattern constraining
the attribute
The pattern element specifies a
regular expression pattern that constrains the set of
allowable values for the attribute. This is commonly
used to define template patterns for data such as
phone numbers where the attribute is text but the
values are not drawn from an enumeration. If the
pattern field is empty or missing, it defaults to
'.*', which matches any string, including the empty
string. Repeated pattern elements are combined using
logical OR. The regular expression syntax is the same
as that used in the XML Schema Datatypes
Recommendation from the W3C.
'[0-9a-zA-Z]' matches simple
alphanumeric strings and '(\d\d\d) \d\d\d-\d\d\d\d'
represents telephone strings in the US of the form
'(704) 876-1734'
Source of text domain
The name of the source for this text
domain.
The source element is the name of
the source from which this text domain and its
associated definition are drawn. This is commonly
used for identifying standard coding systems, like
the FIPS standard for postal abbreviations for states
in the US. In other cases, the coding may be a
researcher's custom way of recording and classifying
their data, and no external "source" would
exist.
ISO country codes
Numeric Domain
Numeric domain of attribute specifying allowed
values.
The numericDomain element specifies the
minimum and maximum values of a numeric attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum observed in
a given data set (descriptive). The information in
numericDomain and in precision together constitute
sufficient information to decide upon an appropriate
system specific data type for representing a particular
attribute. For example, an attribute with a numeric domain
from 0-50,000 and a precision of 1 could be represented in
the C language using a 'long' value, but if the precision is
changed to '0.5' then a 'float' type would be needed.
number type
The type of number recorded in
this attribute. Values can be 'whole', 'natural',
'integer' or 'real'.
DateTime Domain
DateTime domain of attribute specifying allowed
values.
The DateTimeDomain specifies the
minimum and maximum values of a dateTime attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum observed in
a given data set (descriptive). The domain expressions should
be in the same dateTime format as is used in the "formatString"
description for the attribute. For example, if the format
string is "YYYY-MM-DD", then a valid minimum in the domain
would be "2001-05-29". The "bounds" element is optional, and
if it is missing then any legitimate value from the Gregorian
calendar system is allowed in the attribute as long as its
representation matches its corresponding formatString.
Bounds
Elements for specifying allowed
values range.
The bounds element contains the
minimum and maximum values of a numeric attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum observed in
a given data set (descriptive).
Bounds
Elements for specifying allowed
values range.
The bounds element in the BoundsGroup contains the
minimum and maximum values of a numeric attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum observed in
a given data set (descriptive). Either or both a minimum and maximum may
be set, and each has an attribute "exclusive" to define how the value should
be interpreted.
Minimum numeric bound
Minimum numeric bound of
attribute
The minimum element specifies the
minimum permitted value of a numeric
attribute.
Exclusive
Exclusive bounds flag
If exclusive is set to true, then
the value specifies a lower bound not including
the value itself. Setting exclusive to true is
the equivalent of using a less-than or greater-than
operator, while setting it to false is the same as
using a less-than-or-equals or greater-than-or-equals
operator. For example, if the minimum is "5" and
exclusive is false, then all values must be greater
than or equal to 5, but if exclusive is true than
all values must be greater than 5 (not including
5.0 itself).
Maximum numeric bound
Maximum numeric bound of
attribute
The maximum element specifies the
maximum permitted value of a numeric
attribute.
Exclusive
Exclusive bounds flag
If exclusive is set to true, then
the value specifies a lower bound not including
the value itself. Setting exclusive to true is
the equivalent of using a less-than or greater-than
operator, while setting it to false is the same as
using a less-than-or-equals or greater-than-or-equals
operator. For example, if the minimum is "5" and
exclusive is false, then all values must be greater
than or equal to 5, but if exclusive is true than
all values must be greater than 5 (not including
5.0 itself).
BoundsDateGroup
Elements for specifying allowed
value ranges.
The BoundsDateGroup specifies the
minimum and maximum dates allowed for a dateTime attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum observed in
a given data set (descriptive). The domain expressions should
be in the same dateTime format as is used in the attribute's "formatString".
For example, if the format
string is "YYYY-MM-DD", then a valid minimum in the domain
would be "2001-05-29". The "bounds" element is optional, and
if it is missing then any legitimate value from the Gregorian
calendar system is allowed in the attribute as long as its
representation matches its corresponding formatString.
Bounds
Elements for specifying allowed
date range.
The bounds element in the BoundsDateGroup contains the
minimum and maximum dates of a dateTime attribute. These
are theoretical or permitted values (ie. prescriptive), and
not necessarily the actual minimum and maximum observed in
a given data set (descriptive). Either or both a minimum and maximum may
be set, and each has an attribute "exclusive" to define how the value should
be interpreted.
Minimum date bound
Minimum date bound of
attribute
The minimum element specifies the
minimum permitted value of a date
attribute.
Exclusive
Exclusive bounds flag
If exclusive is set to true, then
the value specifies a lower bound not including
the value itself. Setting exclusive to true is
the equivalent of using a less-than or greater-than
operator, while setting it to false is the same as
using a less-than-or-equals or greater-than-or-equals
operator. For example, if the minimum is "5" and
exclusive is false, then all values must be greater
than or equal to 5, but if exclusive is true than
all values must be greater than 5 (not including
5.0 itself).
Maximum date bound
Maximum date bound of
attribute
The maximum element specifies the
maximum permitted value of a date
attribute.
Exclusive
Exclusive bounds flag
If exclusive is set to true, then
the value specifies a lower bound not including
the value itself. Setting exclusive to true is
the equivalent of using a less-than or greater-than
operator, while setting it to false is the same as
using a less-than-or-equals or greater-than-or-equals
operator. For example, if the minimum is "5" and
exclusive is false, then all values must be greater
than or equal to 5, but if exclusive is true than
all values must be greater than 5 (not including
5.0 itself).
This is the enumeration for the allowed values
of the element numberType.
Natural numbers
Natural numbers
The number type for this attribute consists
of the 'natural' numbers, otherwise known as the counting numbers:
1, 2, 3, 4, ...
Whole numbers
Whole numbers
The number type for this attribute consists
of the 'whole' numbers, which are the natural numbers plus the
zero value: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...
Integer numbers
Integer numbers
The number type for this attribute consists
of the 'integer' numbers, which are the natural numbers, plus the
zero value, plus the negatives of the natural numbers: ..., -4, -3,
-2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...
Real numbers
Real numbers
The number type for this attribute consists
of the 'real' numbers, which contains both the rational numbers
that can be expressed as fractions and the irrational numbers
that can not be expressed as fractions (such as the square root of 2).
4.1516
2.5
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