I agree.
The function of a data type is enable interpretation of a series of
bits. It expresses one facet of a semantic notion.
The function of things above (other than) the data type is to indicate
semantic notions.
Including the semantic notion of Null.
I can't understand why HL7 views Null a part of the data type specs.
It is not a good sign that HL7 keeps the Null at this place after all
these years of comments.
Gerard
?Web?
Definitions of data type on the Web:
? The properties and internal representation that characterize
data
and functions.
www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/UserInfo/Resources/Hardware/IBMp690/IBM/usr/share/
man/info/en_US/xlf/html/UG137.HTM
? A set of data with values having predefined characteristics.
Examples of data types are: integer, floating point, unit number,
character, string, and pointer. Usually a limited number of data types
are built into a programming language. The language usually specifies
the range of values for a given data type, how the computer processes
the values, and how they are stored.
usnet03.uc-council.org/glossary/
? classification of data as either qualitative or quantitative
ori.dhhs.gov/education/products/n_illinois_u/data_management/
datamanagement/dmglossary.html
? Indicates the nature of the data found in the content portion
of a
data element. If applicable, Data Type is expressed as MIME type.
Examples of data types identified to date (04/97) include:
memory.loc.gov/ammem/techdocs/repository/attdefs.html
? A coding scheme recognized by system software for representing
organizational data.
www.cbu.edu/~lschmitt/I351/glossary.htm
? Go to Top of Document - CONTENTS Data Type describes the format
of
the data element. The current Data Types in DOEInfo are as follows:
Character Numeric Date Element Name: Data_Type Table: MetaData Length:
30 Data Type: Character
https://mis.doe.gov/doeinfo/infoTerm.cfm
? The characteristic of a data element that describes whether it
is
numeric, alphabetic, or alphanumeric.
www.oregoninnovation.org/pressroom/glossary.d-f.html
? (n.) a named category of data that is characterized by a set of
values, together with a way to denote those values and a collection of
operations that interpret and manipulate the values. For an intrinsic
data type, the set of data values depends on the values of the type
parameters.
www.hpc.nw.ru/ENG/COURSES/fortgloss.html
? The characteristic of a field that determines what type of data
it
can hold. Data types include Boolean, Integer, Long, Currency, Single,
Double, Date, String, and Variant (default).
www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/sts/2001/all/proddocs/en-us/
siteadmin/wsagloss.mspx
? Structural metadata associated with digital data that indicates
the
digital format or the application used to process the data.
www.cs.cornell.edu/wya/DigLib/new/glossary.html
? The attribute of a field that determines the kind of data the
field
can contain.
www.nova.edu/techtrain/apptrain/access/accessglossary.html
? This indicates the structural format of data contained in the
field. For example: N=Numeric A=Alphabetic AN=Alphanumeric
criminaljustice.state.ny.us/dict/intro_details2.htm
? In programming, classification of a particular type of
information.
It is easy for humans to distinguish between different types of data.
We can usually tell at a glance whether a number is a percentage, a
time, or an amount of money. We do this through special symbols -- %,
:, and $ -- that indicate the data's type. Similarly, a computer uses
special internal codes to keep track of the different types of data it
processes.
www.angelfire.com/anime3/internet/programming.htm
? Unit of data storage in a software system. Some of Oracle's
built-in data types are: NUMBER, CHAR, VARCHAR2, DATE, BLOB, CLOB, etc.
Abstract data types can also be defined.
orafaq.cs.rmit.edu.au/glossary/faqglosd.htm
? a set of values and one or more operations on the values.
Examples
include integer, real, rational, character, string, and list.
www.cs.utexas.edu/users/novak/cs307vocab.html
? Classifications of data, including text, number, currency,
dates,
logical operators, and files.
www.jqjacobs.net/edu/cis105/concepts/CIS105_concepts_13.html
? Each attribute has a data type that specifies what kind of data
will be stored and the size, if appropriate. The default type is text
with a default size of 50 bytes. Data types include: text, currency,
integer, date/time, auto number and memo.
bus.tsud.edu/cis3330/protected/glossary.htm
? characterizes (a subset of) data by the number of object
classes
and the attribute types of the attributes (that exist in this subset).
Typical data types are rectangular and multi relational.
atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~doug/magdon/terms.html
? Any one of several different types of data, such as integer,
real,
double precision, complex, logical, and Hollerith. Each has a different
mathematical or logical significance and may have different internal
representation.
www.control.co.kr/dic/dic-d.htm
? The kind of data being stored or manipulated. In programming,
the
data type specifies the range of values that a variable or constant can
hold, and how that information is stored in the computer memory. There
are four basic types: Floating-point, Integer, Double and the
String/character data type.
www.angelfire.com/ny3/diGi8tech/DGlossary.html
? The kind of data stored in a field. NUMERIC, COMPUTED, and
WORD-PROCESSING are examples of VA FileMan DATA TYPEs.
www.hardhats.org/fileman/u1/glossary.htm
? A set of values. Optionally may include the set of operators
used
for manipulating those values. declaration statement - A statement that
is used to specify the attributes (ie, properties) of an identifier.
cisnet.baruch.cuny.edu/friedman/cplusplus/glossary.htm
? Total value of landings
www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X2465E/x2465e0g.htm
? The type of value represented by a constant, variable, or some
other program object. Java data types include the integer types byte,
short, int, and long; the floating-point types float and double; the
character type char; and the Boolean type boolean.
docs.rinet.ru/KofeynyyPrimer/ch38.htm
? A description on a field that determines what kind of
information
you can enter in the field. Field data types include Text, Memo, and
Number.
www.cs.rtu.lv/PharePub/Microsoft%20Access%2097%20Quick%20Reference/htm/
ch09.htm
? On computer science, a datatype (often simply type) is a name
or
label for a set of values and some operations which can be performed on
that set of values. Programming languages implicitly or explicitly
support one or more datatypes; these types may act as a statically or
dynamically checked constraint on the programs that can be written in a
given language.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_type
-- <private> --
Gerard Freriks, arts
Huigsloterdijk 378
2158 LR Buitenkaag
The Netherlands
+31 252 544896
+31 654 792800
On 08 Apr 2005, at 23:27, Sam Heard wrote:
> Dear All
>
> A reminder on why flavour of null is at the ELEMENT level: it allows a
> composition with mandatory data to be saved even if the data is not
> available, or allows a reason to be stated for data that is missing.
> It also allows us to deal with the HL7 flavour of null on the data
> types.
>
> I am concerned that the flavour of null is set to DV_CODED_TEXT and
> not DV_TEXT (ie. it has to be coded from a terminology). I agree that
> some systems will want things coded for safety in some situations, but
> I believe that this should be handled through archetypes and
> templates.
>
> Laboratories will want to use this for all sorts of reasons, one clear
> example is when an electrolyte sample has haemolysed - and they cannot
> give a potassium reading (they do not want to omit it!)
>
> So I want to propose that the flavour of null is set to DV_TEXT.
>
> Cheers
> Sam Heard
> -
> If you have any questions about using this list,
> please send a message to d.lloyd at openehr.org
>
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