Table of Contents
Cardinality #
The Cardinality of an attribute defines how many times it can or must appear. The following discrete variants are used:
1..1 Required, exactly once
0..1 Optional, at most once
1..n Required, any number (at least one)
0..n Optional, any number (or none)
1..X At most X occurrences, at least one
Examples:
- Serial Number on a Certificate is
1..1— required, only once - Inspection on a Mine Site is
0..n— any number, but can be none - Designated Minerals on a Mine Site is
1..4— at least one, at most 4
Primitive Data Types #
The number of Primitive Data Types to be used should be kept to a minimum. The Primitive types are defined from ISO 15000-5:2014, Annex B. The following are used in this standard:
| Type | Definition | Representation Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time point representing a calendar day. Should use the “Calendar date complete representation”, without time of the day. Based on ISO 8601:2004. | YYYY-MM-DD | 2024-12-22 |
| Time | Time point representing a time of day on a 24-hour clock, following ISO 8601. | ISO 8601 extended time hh:mm[:ss] with optional zone designator Z or ±hh:mm | 08:32:00 |
| Decimal | A subset of the real numbers, which can be represented by decimal numerals. | Decimal indicator as a period. No indicator for thousands or 1000x multipliers. Visual display in user interfaces can format the numbers as expected by users. | 12423.33 |
| String | A finite sequence of characters. | No inherent size restriction at semantic level. Technical implementations should impose size restrictions in implementation instructions. | abcde!23 |
| Identifier | A finite sequence of characters that adhere to a format rule. Subtype of String. | Format rules are defined per attribute. Generally: combination of digits and letters from the standard Latin alphabet. | AB123 |
| File | Describes a file that can or needs to be attached. | MIME type and size of file should be indicated specifically and should be validated at submit. | application/pdf |
| Geocoordinate | A geographic coordinate. | Using the WGS 84 format with 4 decimals, not using cardinal points (N/S/W/E) but − and + signs. | -1.9641,+30.0619 |
Implementation notes on type
- The specified format is directly transcribable in the technical representation, but can be formatted for visualisation in ways most appropriate for the consumption of the final user. For example, the Date format
YYYY-MM-DDmight be displayed differently by software applications. - When a type does not contain inherent restrictions related to its size, such as for example String, the technical implementation will require that a restriction is imposed by a rule. Such restriction can either be set in the semantic standard if it is truly justified, or in implementation instructions. The semantic standard should not be restricted by the potential technical means of implementation.
- Time representation is contextually used much more rarely than the date type, but always together with the date. Keeping Date and Time as separated types, instead of datetime, is preferable.
- The data model described in this document should be sufficient for the representation at the level of ICGLR and in relation with the member states of the data structures of the entities Mine Site and ICGLR Export Certificate.
