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... ... @@ -13,8 +13,10 @@
13 13  
14 14  == 1.1 Purpose ==
15 15  
16 -The intention of this document is to document certain aspects of SDMX that are important to understand and will aid implementation decisions. The explanations here supplement the information documented in the SDMX XML schema and the Information Model.
16 +The intention of this document is to document certain aspects of SDMX that are important to understand and will aid implementation decisions. The explanations here supplement the information documented in the SDMX XML schema and the
17 17  
18 +Information Model.
19 +
18 18  == 1.2 Structure ==
19 19  
20 20  This document is organized into the following major parts:
... ... @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
39 39  
40 40  == 3.2 SDMX Information Model for Format Implementers ==
41 41  
42 -=== 3.2.1 Introduction ===
44 +=== 3.2.1 Introduction ===
43 43  
44 44  The purpose of this sub-section is to provide an introduction to the SDMX-IM relating to Data Structure Definitions and Data Sets for those whose primary interest is in the use of the XML or EDI formats.  For those wishing to have a deeper understanding of the Information Model, the full SDMX-IM document, and other sections in this guide provide a more in-depth view, along with UML diagrams and supporting explanation. For those who are unfamiliar with DSDs, an appendix to the SDMX-IM provides a tutorial which may serve as a useful introduction.
45 45  
... ... @@ -47,12 +47,16 @@
47 47  
48 48  The Data Structure Definition and Data Set parts of the information model are consistent with the GESMES/TS version 3.0 Data Model (called SDMX-EDI in the SDMX standard), with these exceptions:
49 49  
50 -* the “sibling group” construct has been generalized to permit any dimension or dimensions to be wildcarded, and not just frequency, as in GESMES/TS. It has been renamed a “group” to distinguish it from the “sibling group” where only frequency is wildcarded. The set of allowable partial “group” keys must be declared in the DSD, and attributes may be attached to any of these group keys;
51 -* furthermore, whilst the “group” has been retained for compatibility with version 2.0 and with SDMX-EDI, it has, at version 2.1, been replaced by the “Attribute Relationship” definition which is explained later
52 -* the section on data representation is now a convention, to support interoperability with EDIFACT-syntax implementations ( see section 3.3.2);
52 +the “sibling group” construct has been generalized to permit any dimension or dimensions to be wildcarded, and not just frequency, as in GESMES/TS. It has been renamed a “group” to distinguish it from the “sibling group” where only frequency is wildcarded. The set of allowable partial “group” keys must be declared in the DSD, and attributes may be attached to any of these group keys;
53 53  
54 -DSD-specific data formats are derived from the model, and some supporting features for declaring multiple measures have been added to the structural metadata descriptions Clearly, this is not a coincidence. The GESMES/TS Data Model provides the foundation for the EDIFACT messages in SDMX-EDI, and also is the starting point for the development of SDMX-ML.
54 +furthermore, whilst the “group” has been retained for compatibility with version 2.0 and with SDMX-EDI, it has, at version 2.1, been replaced by the “Attribute Relationship” definition which is explained later
55 55  
56 +the section on data representation is now a convention, to support interoperability with EDIFACT-syntax implementations ( see section 3.3.2);
57 +
58 +DSD-specific data formats are derived from the model, and some supporting features for declaring multiple measures have been added to the structural metadata descriptions
59 +
60 +Clearly, this is not a coincidence. The GESMES/TS Data Model provides the foundation for the EDIFACT messages in SDMX-EDI, and also is the starting point for the development of SDMX-ML.
61 +
56 56  Note that in the descriptions below, text in courier and italicised are the names used in the information model (e.g. //DataSet//).
57 57  
58 58  == 3.3 SDMX-ML and SDMX-EDI: Comparison of Expressive Capabilities and Function ==
... ... @@ -59,16 +59,22 @@
59 59  
60 60  SDMX offers several equivalent formats for describing data and structural metadata, optimized for use in different applications. Although all of these formats are derived directly from the SDM-IM, and are thus equivalent, the syntaxes used to express the model place some restrictions on their use. Also, different optimizations provide different capabilities. This section describes these differences, and provides some rules for applications which may need to support more than one SDMX format or syntax. This section is constrained to the Data Structure Definitionand the Date Set.
61 61  
62 -=== 3.3.1 Format Optimizations and Differences ===
68 +=== 3.3.1 Format Optimizations and Differences ===
63 63  
64 64  The following section provides a brief overview of the differences between the various SDMX formats.
65 65  
66 -Version 2.0 was characterised by 4 data messages, each with a distinct format: Generic, Compact, Cross-Sectional and Utility. Because of the design, data in some formats could not always be related to another format. In version 2.1, this issue has been addressed by merging some formats and eliminating others. As a result, in SDMX 2.1 there are just two types of data formats: //GenericData// and //StructureSpecificData// (i.e. specific to one Data Structure Definition).
72 +Version 2.0 was characterised by 4 data messages, each with a distinct format: Generic, Compact, Cross-Sectional and Utility. Because of the design, data in some formats could not always be related to another format. In version 2.1, this issue has been addressed by merging some formats and eliminating others. As a result, in
67 67  
74 +SDMX 2.1 there are just two types of data formats: //GenericData// and
75 +
76 +//StructureSpecificData// (i.e. specific to one Data Structure Definition).
77 +
68 68  Both of these formats are now flexible enough to allow for data to be oriented in series with any dimension used to disambiguate the observations (as opposed to only time or a cross sectional measure in version 2.0). The formats have also been expanded to allow for ungrouped observations.
69 69  
70 -To allow for applications which only understand time series data, variations of these formats have been introduced in the form of two data messages; //GenericTimeSeriesData// and //StructureSpecificTimeSeriesData//. It is important to note that these variations are built on the same root structure and can be processed in the same manner as the base format so that they do NOT introduce additional processing requirements.
80 +To allow for applications which only understand time series data, variations of these formats have been introduced in the form of two data messages;
71 71  
82 +//GenericTimeSeriesData// and //StructureSpecificTimeSeriesData//. It is important to note that these variations are built on the same root structure and can be processed in the same manner as the base format so that they do NOT introduce additional processing requirements.
83 +
72 72  === //Structure Definition// ===
73 73  
74 74  The SDMX-ML Structure Message supports the use of annotations to the structure, which is not supported by the SDMX-EDI syntax.
... ... @@ -77,8 +77,10 @@
77 77  
78 78  === //Validation// ===
79 79  
80 -SDMX-EDI – as is typical of EDIFACT syntax messages – leaves validation to dedicated applications (“validation” being the checking of syntax, data typing, and adherence of the data message to the structure as described in the structural definition.)
92 +SDMX-EDI – as is typical of EDIFACT syntax messages – leaves validation to dedicated applications (“validation” being the checking of syntax, data typing, and adherence of the data message to the structure as described in the structural
81 81  
94 +definition.)
95 +
82 82  The SDMX-ML Generic Data Message also leaves validation above the XML syntax level to the application.
83 83  
84 84  The SDMX-ML DSD-specific messages will allow validation of XML syntax and datatyping to be performed with a generic XML parser, and enforce agreement between the structural definition and the data to a moderate degree with the same tool.
... ... @@ -89,13 +89,17 @@
89 89  
90 90  === //Character Encodings// ===
91 91  
92 -All SDMX-ML messages use the UTF-8 encoding, while SDMX-EDI uses the ISO 8879-1 character encoding. There is a greater capacity with UTF-8 to express some character sets (see the “APPENDIX: MAP OF ISO 8859-1 (UNOC) CHARACTER SET (LATIN 1 OR “WESTERN”) in the document “SYNTAX AND DOCUMENTATION VERSION 2.0”.) Many transformation tools are available which allow XML instances with UTF-8 encodings to be expressed as ISO 8879-1-encoded characters, and to transform UTF-8 into ISO 8879-1. Such tools should be used when transforming SDMX-ML messages into SDMX-EDI messages and vice-versa.
106 +All SDMX-ML messages use the UTF-8 encoding, while SDMX-EDI uses the ISO 8879-1 character encoding. There is a greater capacity with UTF-8 to express some character sets (see the “APPENDIX: MAP OF ISO 8859-1 (UNOC) CHARACTER
93 93  
108 +SET (LATIN 1 OR “WESTERN”) in the document “SYNTAX AND
109 +
110 +DOCUMENTATION VERSION 2.0”.) Many transformation tools are available which allow XML instances with UTF-8 encodings to be expressed as ISO 8879-1-encoded characters, and to transform UTF-8 into ISO 8879-1. Such tools should be used when transforming SDMX-ML messages into SDMX-EDI messages and vice-versa.
111 +
94 94  === //Data Typing// ===
95 95  
96 96  The XML syntax and EDIFACT syntax have different data-typing mechanisms. The section below provides a set of conventions to be observed when support for messages in both syntaxes is required. For more information on the SDMX-ML representations of data, see below.
97 97  
98 -==== 3.3.2 Data Types ====
116 +==== 3.3.2 Data Types ====
99 99  
100 100  The XML syntax has a very different mechanism for data-typing than the EDIFACT syntax, and this difference may create some difficulties for applications which support both EDIFACT-based and XML-based SDMX data formats. This section provides a set of conventions for the expression in data in all formats, to allow for clean interoperability between them.
101 101  
... ... @@ -111,8 +111,7 @@
111 111  1*. Maximum 70 characters.
112 112  1*. From ISO 8859-1 character set (including accented characters)
113 113  1. **Descriptions **are:
114 -1*. Maximum 350 characters;
115 -1*. From ISO 8859-1 character set.
132 +1*. Maximum 350 characters;  From ISO 8859-1 character set.
116 116  1. **Code values** are:
117 117  1*. Maximum 18 characters;
118 118  1*. Any of A..Z (upper case alphabetic), 0..9 (numeric), _ (underscore), / (solidus, slash), = (equal sign), - (hyphen);
... ... @@ -121,43 +121,37 @@
121 121  
122 122  A..Z (upper case alphabetic), 0..9 (numeric), _ (underscore)
123 123  
124 -**5. Observation values** are:
141 +1. **Observation values** are:
142 +1*. Decimal numerics (signed only if they are negative);
143 +1*. The maximum number of significant figures is:
144 +1*. 15 for a positive number
145 +1*. 14 for a positive decimal or a negative integer
146 +1*. 13 for a negative decimal
147 +1*. Scientific notation may be used.
148 +1. **Uncoded statistical concept** text values are:
149 +1*.
150 +1**. Maximum 1050 characters;
151 +1**. From ISO 8859-1 character set.
152 +1. **Time series keys**:
125 125  
126 -* Decimal numerics (signed only if they are negative);
127 -* The maximum number of significant figures is:
128 -* 15 for a positive number
129 -* 14 for a positive decimal or a negative integer
130 -* 13 for a negative decimal
131 -* Scientific notation may be used.
154 +In principle, the maximum permissible length of time series keys used in a data exchange does not need to be restricted. However, for working purposes, an effort is made to limit the maximum length to 35 characters; in this length, also (for SDMXEDI) one (separator) position is included between all successive dimension values; this means that the maximum length allowed for a pure series key (concatenation of dimension values) can be less than 35 characters.  The separator character is a colon (“:”) by conventional usage.
132 132  
133 -**6. Uncoded statistical concept** text values are:
134 -
135 -* Maximum 1050 characters;
136 -* From ISO 8859-1 character set.
137 -
138 -**7. Time series keys**:
139 -
140 -In principle, the maximum permissible length of time series keys used in a data exchange does not need to be restricted. However, for working purposes, an effort is made to limit the maximum length to 35 characters; in this length, also (for SDMXEDI) one (separator) position is included between all successive dimension values; this means that the maximum length allowed for a pure series key (concatenation of dimension values) can be less than 35 characters. The separator character is a colon (“:”) by conventional usage.
141 -
142 142  == 3.4 SDMX-ML and SDMX-EDI Best Practices ==
143 143  
144 -=== 3.4.1 Reporting and Dissemination Guidelines ===
158 +=== 3.4.1 Reporting and Dissemination Guidelines ===
145 145  
146 -==== 3.4.1.1 Central Institutions and Their Role in Statistical Data Exchanges ====
160 +**3.4.1.1 Central Institutions and Their Role in Statistical Data Exchanges **Central institutions are the organisations to which other partner institutions "report" statistics. These statistics are used by central institutions either to compile aggregates and/or they are put together and made available in a uniform manner (e.g. on-line or on a CD-ROM or through file transfers). Therefore, central institutions receive data from other institutions and, usually, they also "disseminate" data to individual and/or institutions for end-use.  Within a country, a NSI or a national central bank (NCB) plays, of course, a central institution role as it collects data from other entities and it disseminates statistical information to end users. In SDMX the role of central institution is very important: every statistical message is based on underlying structural definitions (statistical concepts, code lists, DSDs) which have been devised by a particular agency, usually a central institution. Such an institution plays the role of the reference "structural definitions maintenance agency" for the corresponding messages which are exchanged. Of course, two institutions could exchange data using/referring to structural information devised by a third institution.
147 147  
148 -Central institutions are the organisations to which other partner institutions "report" statistics. These statistics are used by central institutions either to compile aggregates and/or they are put together and made available in a uniform manner (e.g. on-line or on a CD-ROM or through file transfers). Therefore, central institutions receive data from other institutions and, usually, they also "disseminate" data to individual and/or institutions for end-use.  Within a country, a NSI or a national central bank (NCB) plays, of course, a central institution role as it collects data from other entities and it disseminates statistical information to end users. In SDMX the role of central institution is very important: every statistical message is based on underlying structural definitions (statistical concepts, code lists, DSDs) which have been devised by a particular agency, usually a central institution. Such an institution plays the role of the reference "structural definitions maintenance agency" for the corresponding messages which are exchanged. Of course, two institutions could exchange data using/referring to structural information devised by a third institution.
149 -
150 150  Central institutions can play a double role:
151 151  
152 152  * collecting and further disseminating statistics;
153 153  * devising structural definitions for use in data exchanges.
154 154  
155 -==== 3.4.1.2 Defining Data Structure Definitions (DSDs) ====
167 +**3.4.1.2 Defining Data Structure Definitions (DSDs)**
156 156  
157 157  The following guidelines are suggested for building a DSD. However, it is expected that these guidelines will be considered by central institutions when devising new DSDs.
158 158  
159 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="HDimensions2CAttributesandCodeLists" %)
160 -__Dimensions, Attributes and Code Lists__
171 +=== Dimensions, Attributes and Code Lists ===
161 161  
162 162  **//Avoid dimensions that are not appropriate for all the series in the data structure definition.//**  If some dimensions are not applicable (this is evident from the need to have a code in a code list which is marked as “not applicable”, “not relevant” or “total”) for some series then consider moving these series to a new data structure definition in which these dimensions are dropped from the key structure. This is a judgement call as it is sometimes difficult to achieve this without increasing considerably the number of DSDs.
163 163  
... ... @@ -187,8 +187,7 @@
187 187  
188 188  The same code list can be used for several statistical concepts, within a data structure definition or across DSDs. Note that SDMX has recognised that these classifications are often quite large and the usage of codes in any one DSD is only a small extract of the full code list. In this version of the standard it is possible to exchange and disseminate a **partial code list** which is extracted from the full code list and which supports the dimension values valid for a particular DSD.
189 189  
190 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="HDataStructureDefinitionStructure" %)
191 -__Data Structure Definition Structure__
201 +=== Data Structure Definition Structure ===
192 192  
193 193  The following items have to be specified by a structural definitions maintenance agency when defining a new data structure definition:
194 194  
... ... @@ -218,7 +218,7 @@
218 218  * code list name
219 219  * code values and descriptions
220 220  
221 -Definition of data flow definitions. Two (or more) partners performing data exchanges in a certain context need to agree on:
231 +Definition of data flow definitions.  Two (or more) partners performing data exchanges in a certain context need to agree on:
222 222  
223 223  * the list of data set identifiers they will be using;
224 224  * for each data flow:
... ... @@ -225,12 +225,10 @@
225 225  * its content and description
226 226  * the relevant DSD that defines the structure of the data reported or disseminated according the the dataflow definition
227 227  
228 -==== 3.4.1.3 Exchanging Attributes ====
238 +**3.4.1.3 Exchanging Attributes**
229 229  
230 -===== //3.4.1.3.1 Attributes on series, sibling and data set level // =====
240 +**//3.4.1.3.1 Attributes on series, sibling and data set level //**//Static properties//.
231 231  
232 -//Static properties//.
233 -
234 234  * Upon creation of a series the sender has to provide to the receiver values for all mandatory attributes. In case they are available, values for conditional attributes  should also be provided. Whereas initially this information may be provided by means other than SDMX-ML or SDMX-EDI messages (e.g. paper, telephone) it is expected that partner institutions will be in a position to provide this information in SDMX-ML or SDMX-EDI format over time.
235 235  * A centre may agree with its data exchange partners special procedures for authorising the setting of attributes' initial values.
236 236  * Attribute values at a data set level are set and maintained exclusively by the centre administrating the exchanged data set.
... ... @@ -423,7 +423,7 @@
423 423  
424 424  This is used to unambiguously state that a date-time represents an observation at a single point in time. Therefore, if one wants to use SDMX for data which is measured at a distinct point in time rather than being reported over a period, the date-time representation can be used.
425 425  
426 -Representation: xs:dateTime (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[1~]^^>>path:#_ftn1]]
434 +Representation: xs:dateTime (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[1~]^^>>path:#_ftn1]]
427 427  
428 428  ==== 4.2.6 Standard Reporting Period ====
429 429  
... ... @@ -491,7 +491,7 @@
491 491  
492 492  Representation: common:ReportingWeekType (YYYY-Www, e.g. 2000-W53)
493 493  
494 -Notes: There are either 52 or 53 weeks in a reporting year. This is based on the ISO 8601 definition of a week (Monday - Saturday), where the first week of a reporting year is defined as the week with the first Thursday on or after the reporting year start day.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[2~]^^>>path:#_ftn2]](%%) The reporting week is always represented as two digits, therefore 1-9 are 0 padded (e.g. 01). This allows the values to be sorted chronologically using textual sorting methods.
502 +Notes: There are either 52 or 53 weeks in a reporting year. This is based on the ISO 8601 definition of a week (Monday - Saturday), where the first week of a reporting year is defined as the week with the first Thursday on or after the reporting year start day.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[2~]^^>>path:#_ftn2]](%%) The reporting week is always represented as two digits, therefore 1-9 are 0 padded (e.g. 01). This allows the values to be sorted chronologically using textual sorting methods.
495 495  
496 496  **Reporting Day**:
497 497  
... ... @@ -548,7 +548,7 @@
548 548  111. If the [PERIOD_INDICATOR] is D, the [PERIOD_DURATION] is P1D.
549 549  1. **Determine [PERIOD_START]:**
550 550  
551 -Subtract one from the [PERIOD_VALUE] and multiply this by the [PERIOD_DURATION]. Add[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[3~]^^>>path:#_ftn3]](%%) this to the [REPORTING_YEAR_BASE]. The result is the [PERIOD_START].
559 +Subtract one from the [PERIOD_VALUE] and multiply this by the [PERIOD_DURATION]. Add[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[3~]^^>>path:#_ftn3]](%%) this to the [REPORTING_YEAR_BASE]. The result is the [PERIOD_START].
552 552  
553 553  1. **Determine the [PERIOD_END]:**
554 554  
... ... @@ -1244,7 +1244,7 @@
1244 1244  
1245 1245  == 10.1 Introduction ==
1246 1246  
1247 -The Validation and Transformation Language (VTL) supports the definition of Transformations, which are algorithms to calculate new data starting from already existing ones[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[4~]^^>>path:#_ftn4]](%%). The purpose of the VTL in the SDMX context is to enable the:
1255 +The Validation and Transformation Language (VTL) supports the definition of Transformations, which are algorithms to calculate new data starting from already existing ones[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[4~]^^>>path:#_ftn4]](%%). The purpose of the VTL in the SDMX context is to enable the:
1248 1248  
1249 1249  * definition of validation and transformation algorithms, in order to specify how to calculate new data  from existing ones;
1250 1250  * exchange of the definition of VTL algorithms, also together the definition of the data structures of the involved data (for example, exchange the data structures of a reporting framework together with the validation rules to be applied, exchange the input and output data structures of a calculation task together with the VTL Transformations describing the calculation algorithms);
... ... @@ -1268,7 +1268,7 @@
1268 1268  
1269 1269  In any case, the aliases used in the VTL transformations have to be mapped to the
1270 1270  
1271 -SDMX artefacts through the VtlMappingScheme and VtlMapping classes (see the section of the SDMX IM relevant to the VTL). A VtlMapping allows specifying the aliases to be used in the VTL transformations, rulesets[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[5~]^^>>path:#_ftn5]](%%) or user defined operators[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[6~]^^>>path:#_ftn6]](%%)  to reference SDMX artefacts. A VtlMappingScheme is a container for zero or more VtlMapping. 
1279 +SDMX artefacts through the VtlMappingScheme and VtlMapping classes (see the section of the SDMX IM relevant to the VTL). A VtlMapping allows specifying the aliases to be used in the VTL transformations, rulesets[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[5~]^^>>path:#_ftn5]](%%) or user defined operators[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[6~]^^>>path:#_ftn6]](%%)  to reference SDMX artefacts. A VtlMappingScheme is a container for zero or more VtlMapping. 
1272 1272  
1273 1273  The correspondence between an alias and a SDMX artefact must be one-to-one, meaning that a generic alias  identifies one and just one SDMX artefact while a SDMX artefact is identified by one and just one alias. In other words, within a VtlMappingScheme an artefact can have just one alias and different artefacts cannot have the same alias.
1274 1274  
... ... @@ -1278,7 +1278,7 @@
1278 1278  
1279 1279  This approach has the advantage that in the VTL code the URN of the referenced artefacts is directly intelligible by a human reader but has the drawback that the references are verbose.
1280 1280  
1281 -The SDMX URN[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[7~]^^>>path:#_ftn7]](%%) is the concatenation of the following parts, separated by special symbols like dot, equal, asterisk, comma, and parenthesis:^^ ^^
1289 +The SDMX URN[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[7~]^^>>path:#_ftn7]](%%) is the concatenation of the following parts, separated by special symbols like dot, equal, asterisk, comma, and parenthesis:^^ ^^
1282 1282  
1283 1283  * SDMXprefix                                                                                   
1284 1284  * SDMX-IM-package-name             
... ... @@ -1286,7 +1286,7 @@
1286 1286  * agency-id                                                                          
1287 1287  * maintainedobject-id
1288 1288  * maintainedobject-version
1289 -* container-object-id [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[8~]^^>>path:#_ftn8]]
1297 +* container-object-id [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[8~]^^>>path:#_ftn8]]
1290 1290  * object-id
1291 1291  
1292 1292  The generic structure of the URN is the following:
... ... @@ -1305,7 +1305,7 @@
1305 1305  
1306 1306  The **agency-id** is the acronym of the agency that owns the definition of the artefact, for example for the Eurostat artefacts the agency-id is “ESTAT”). The agency-id can be composite (for example AgencyA.Dept1.Unit2).
1307 1307  
1308 -The **maintainedobject-id** is the name of the maintained object which the artefact belongs to, and in case the artefact itself is maintainable[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[9~]^^>>path:#_ftn9]](%%), coincides with the name of the artefact. Therefore the maintainedobject-id depends on the class of the artefact:
1316 +The **maintainedobject-id** is the name of the maintained object which the artefact belongs to, and in case the artefact itself is maintainable[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[9~]^^>>path:#_ftn9]](%%), coincides with the name of the artefact. Therefore the maintainedobject-id depends on the class of the artefact:
1309 1309  
1310 1310  * if the artefact is a ,,Dataflow,,, which is a maintainable class,  the maintainedobject-id is the Dataflow name (dataflow-id);
1311 1311  * if the artefact is a Dimension, MeasureDimension, TimeDimension, PrimaryMeasure or DataAttribute, which are not maintainable and belong to the ,,DataStructure,, maintainable class, the maintainedobject-id is the name of the DataStructure (dataStructure-id) which the artefact belongs to;
... ... @@ -1325,7 +1325,7 @@
1325 1325  
1326 1326  * if the artefact is a ,,Concept ,,(the object-id is the name of the ,,Concept,,)
1327 1327  
1328 -For example, by using the URN, the VTL transformation that sums two SDMX dataflows DF1 and DF2 and assigns the result to a third persistent dataflow DFR, assuming that DF1, DF2  and  DFR are the maintainedobject-id of the three dataflows, that their version is 1.0 and their Agency is AG, would be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[10~]^^>>path:#_ftn10]](%%):
1336 +For example, by using the URN, the VTL transformation that sums two SDMX dataflows DF1 and DF2 and assigns the result to a third persistent dataflow DFR, assuming that DF1, DF2  and  DFR are the maintainedobject-id of the three dataflows, that their version is 1.0 and their Agency is AG, would be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[10~]^^>>path:#_ftn10]](%%):
1329 1329  
1330 1330  ‘urn:sdmx:org.sdmx.infomodel.datastructure.Dataflow=AG:DFR(1.0)’  <-
1331 1331  
... ... @@ -1343,8 +1343,8 @@
1343 1343  * The **SDMX-IM-package-name **can be omitted as well because it can be deduced from the class-name that follows it (the table of the SDMX-IM packages and classes that allows this deduction is in the SDMX 2.1 Standards - Section 5 -  Registry Specifications, paragraph 6.2.3). In particular, considering the object classes of the artefacts that VTL can reference, the package is: 
1344 1344  ** “datastructure” for the classes Dataflow, Dimension, MeasureDimension, TimeDimension, PrimaryMeasure, DataAttribute,  
1345 1345  ** “conceptscheme” for the classes Concept and ConceptScheme o “codelist” for the class Codelist.
1346 -* The **class-name** can be omitted as it can be deduced from the VTL invocation.  In particular, starting from the VTL class of the invoked artefact (e.g. dataset, component, identifier, measure, attribute, variable, valuedomain),  which is known given the syntax of the invoking VTL operator[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[11~]^^>>path:#_ftn11]](%%), the SDMX class can be deduced from the mapping rules between VTL and SDMX (see the section “Mapping between VTL and SDMX” hereinafter)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[12~]^^>>path:#_ftn12]](%%).
1347 -* If the **agency-id** is not specified, it is assumed by default equal to the agency-id of the TransformationScheme, UserDefinedOperatorScheme or RulesetScheme from which the artefact is invoked. For example, the agency-id can be omitted if it is the same as the invoking T,,ransformationScheme,, and cannot be omitted if the artefact comes from another agency.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[13~]^^>>path:#_ftn13]](%%)  Take also into account that, according to the VTL consistency rules, the agency of the result of a ,,Transformation,, must be the same as its ,,TransformationScheme,,, therefore the agency-id can be omitted for all the results (left part of ,,Transformation,, statements).
1354 +* The **class-name** can be omitted as it can be deduced from the VTL invocation.  In particular, starting from the VTL class of the invoked artefact (e.g. dataset, component, identifier, measure, attribute, variable, valuedomain),  which is known given the syntax of the invoking VTL operator[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[11~]^^>>path:#_ftn11]](%%), the SDMX class can be deduced from the mapping rules between VTL and SDMX (see the section “Mapping between VTL and SDMX” hereinafter)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[12~]^^>>path:#_ftn12]](%%).
1355 +* If the **agency-id** is not specified, it is assumed by default equal to the agency-id of the TransformationScheme, UserDefinedOperatorScheme or RulesetScheme from which the artefact is invoked. For example, the agency-id can be omitted if it is the same as the invoking T,,ransformationScheme,, and cannot be omitted if the artefact comes from another agency.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[13~]^^>>path:#_ftn13]](%%)  Take also into account that, according to the VTL consistency rules, the agency of the result of a ,,Transformation,, must be the same as its ,,TransformationScheme,,, therefore the agency-id can be omitted for all the results (left part of ,,Transformation,, statements).
1348 1348  * As for the **maintainedobject-id**, this is essential in some cases while in other cases it can be omitted: o if the referenced artefact is a ,,Dataflow,,, which is a maintainable class, the maintainedobject-id is the dataflow-id and obviously cannot be omitted;
1349 1349  ** if the referenced artefact is a Dimension, MeasureDimension, TimeDimension, PrimaryMeasure, DataAttribute, which are not maintainable and belong to the ,,DataStructure,, maintainable class, the maintainedobject-id is the dataStructure-id and can be omitted, given that these components are always invoked within the invocation of a ,,Dataflow,,, whose dataStructure-id can be deduced from the
1350 1350  
... ... @@ -1371,11 +1371,11 @@
1371 1371  
1372 1372  DFR  :=  DF1 + DF2
1373 1373  
1374 -The references to the ,,Codelists,, can be simplified similarly. For example, given the non-abbreviated reference to the ,,Codelist,,  AG:CL_FREQ(1.0), which is[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[14~]^^>>path:#_ftn14]](%%):
1382 +The references to the ,,Codelists,, can be simplified similarly. For example, given the non-abbreviated reference to the ,,Codelist,,  AG:CL_FREQ(1.0), which is[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[14~]^^>>path:#_ftn14]](%%):
1375 1375  
1376 1376  ‘urn:sdmx:org.sdmx.infomodel.codelist.Codelist=AG:CL_FREQ(1.0)’
1377 1377  
1378 -if the ,,Codelist,, is referenced from a ruleset scheme belonging to the agency AG, omitting all the optional parts, the abbreviated reference would become simply[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[15~]^^>>path:#_ftn15]](%%):
1386 +if the ,,Codelist,, is referenced from a ruleset scheme belonging to the agency AG, omitting all the optional parts, the abbreviated reference would become simply[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[15~]^^>>path:#_ftn15]](%%):
1379 1379  
1380 1380  CL_FREQ
1381 1381  
... ... @@ -1385,7 +1385,7 @@
1385 1385  
1386 1386  SECTOR
1387 1387  
1388 -For example, the transformation for renaming the component SECTOR of the dataflow DF1 into SEC can be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[16~]^^>>path:#_ftn16]](%%):
1396 +For example, the transformation for renaming the component SECTOR of the dataflow DF1 into SEC can be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[16~]^^>>path:#_ftn16]](%%):
1389 1389  
1390 1390  ‘DFR(1.0)’ := ‘DF1(1.0)’ [rename SECTOR to SEC]
1391 1391  
... ... @@ -1419,9 +1419,9 @@
1419 1419  
1420 1420  The VTL Rulesets have a signature, in which the Value Domains or the Variables on which the Ruleset is defined are declared, and a body, which contains the rules. 
1421 1421  
1422 -In the signature, given the mapping between VTL and SDMX better described in the following paragraphs, a reference to a VTL Value Domain becomes a reference to a SDMX Codelist or to a SDMX ConceptScheme (for SDMX measure dimensions), while a reference to a VTL Represented Variable becomes a reference to a SDMX Concept, assuming for it a definite representation[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[17~]^^>>path:#_ftn17]](%%).
1430 +In the signature, given the mapping between VTL and SDMX better described in the following paragraphs, a reference to a VTL Value Domain becomes a reference to a SDMX Codelist or to a SDMX ConceptScheme (for SDMX measure dimensions), while a reference to a VTL Represented Variable becomes a reference to a SDMX Concept, assuming for it a definite representation[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[17~]^^>>path:#_ftn17]](%%).
1423 1423  
1424 -In general, for referencing SDMX Codelists and Concepts, the conventions described in the previous paragraphs apply. In the Ruleset syntax, the elements that reference SDMX artefacts are called “valueDomain” and “variable” for the Datapoint Rulesets and “ruleValueDomain”, “ruleVariable”, “condValueDomain” “condVariable” for the Hierarchical Rulesets). The syntax of the Ruleset signature allows also to define aliases of the elements above, these aliases are valid only within the specific ruleset definition statement and cannot be mapped to SDMX.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[18~]^^>>path:#_ftn18]](%%)
1432 +In general, for referencing SDMX Codelists and Concepts, the conventions described in the previous paragraphs apply. In the Ruleset syntax, the elements that reference SDMX artefacts are called “valueDomain” and “variable” for the Datapoint Rulesets and “ruleValueDomain”, “ruleVariable”, “condValueDomain” “condVariable” for the Hierarchical Rulesets). The syntax of the Ruleset signature allows also to define aliases of the elements above, these aliases are valid only within the specific ruleset definition statement and cannot be mapped to SDMX.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[18~]^^>>path:#_ftn18]](%%)
1425 1425  
1426 1426  In the body of the Rulesets, the Codes and in general all the Values can be written without any other specification, because the artefact  which the Values are referred (Codelist, ConceptScheme, Concept) to can be deduced from the Ruleset signature.
1427 1427  
... ... @@ -1435,15 +1435,15 @@
1435 1435  
1436 1436  Every time a SDMX object is referenced in a VTL Transformation as an input operand, there is the need to generate a VTL definition of the object, so that the VTL operations can take place. This can be made starting from the SDMX definition and applying a SDMX-VTL mapping method in the direction from SDMX to VTL. The possible mapping methods from SDMX to VTL are described in the following paragraphs and are conceived to allow the automatic deduction of the VTL definition of the object from the knowledge of the SDMX definition. 
1437 1437  
1438 -In the opposite direction, every time an object calculated by means of VTL must be treated as a SDMX object (for example for exchanging it through SDMX), there is the need of a SDMX definition of the object, so that the SDMX operations can take place.  The SDMX definition is needed for the VTL objects for which a SDMX use is envisaged[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[19~]^^>>path:#_ftn19]](%%).
1446 +In the opposite direction, every time an object calculated by means of VTL must be treated as a SDMX object (for example for exchanging it through SDMX), there is the need of a SDMX definition of the object, so that the SDMX operations can take place.  The SDMX definition is needed for the VTL objects for which a SDMX use is envisaged[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[19~]^^>>path:#_ftn19]](%%).
1439 1439  
1440 1440  The mapping methods from VTL to SDMX are described in the following paragraphs as well, however they do not allow the complete SDMX definition to be automatically deduced from the VTL definition,  more than all because the former typically contains additional information in respect to the latter. For example, the definition of a SDMX DSD includes also some mandatory information not available in VTL (like the concept scheme to which the SDMX components refer, the assignmentStatus and attributeRelationship for the DataAttributes and so on). Therefore the mapping methods from VTL to SDMX provide only a general guidance for generating SDMX definitions properly starting from the information available in VTL, independently of how the SDMX definition it is actually generated (manually, automatically or part and part). 
1441 1441  
1442 1442  === 10.3.2 General mapping of VTL and SDMX data structures ===
1443 1443  
1444 -This section makes reference to the VTL “Model for data and their structure”[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[20~]^^>>path:#_ftn20]](%%) and the correspondent SDMX “Data Structure Definition”[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[21~]^^>>path:#_ftn21]](%%).
1452 +This section makes reference to the VTL “Model for data and their structure”[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[20~]^^>>path:#_ftn20]](%%) and the correspondent SDMX “Data Structure Definition”[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[21~]^^>>path:#_ftn21]](%%).
1445 1445  
1446 -The main type of artefact that the VTL can manipulate is the VTL Data Set, which in general is mapped to the SDMX Dataflow. This means that a VTL Transformation, in the SDMX context, expresses the algorithm for calculating a derived Dataflow starting from some already existing Dataflows (either collected or derived).[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[22~]^^>>path:#_ftn22]](%%)
1454 +The main type of artefact that the VTL can manipulate is the VTL Data Set, which in general is mapped to the SDMX Dataflow. This means that a VTL Transformation, in the SDMX context, expresses the algorithm for calculating a derived Dataflow starting from some already existing Dataflows (either collected or derived).[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[22~]^^>>path:#_ftn22]](%%)
1447 1447  
1448 1448  While the VTL Transformations are defined in term of Dataflow definitions, they are assumed to be executed on instances of such Dataflows, provided at runtime to the VTL engine (the mechanism for identifying the instances to be processed are not part of the VTL specifications and depend on the implementation of the VTL-based systems).  As already said, the SDMX Datasets are instances of SDMX Dataflows, therefore a VTL Transformation defined on some SDMX Dataflows can be applied on some corresponding SDMX Datasets.
1449 1449  
... ... @@ -1453,7 +1453,7 @@
1453 1453  
1454 1454  SDMX DimensionComponent can be a Dimension, a TimeDimension or a MeasureDimension. Correspondingly, in the SDMX implementation of the VTL, the VTL Identifiers can be (optionally) distinguished in three sub-classes (Simple Identifier, Time Identifier, Measure Identifier) even if such a distinction is not evidenced in the VTL IM. 
1455 1455  
1456 -However, a VTL Data Structure can have any number of Identifiers, Measures and Attributes, while a SDMX 2.1 DataStructureDefinition can have any number of Dimensions and DataAttributes but just one PrimaryMeasure[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[23~]^^>>path:#_ftn23]](%%). This is due to a difference between SDMX 2.1 and VTL in the possible representation methods of the data that contain more measures.
1464 +However, a VTL Data Structure can have any number of Identifiers, Measures and Attributes, while a SDMX 2.1 DataStructureDefinition can have any number of Dimensions and DataAttributes but just one PrimaryMeasure[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[23~]^^>>path:#_ftn23]](%%). This is due to a difference between SDMX 2.1 and VTL in the possible representation methods of the data that contain more measures.
1457 1457  
1458 1458  As for SDMX, because the data structure cannot contain more than one measure component (i.e., the primaryMeasure), the representation of data having more measures is possible only by means of a particular dimension, called MeasureDimension, which is aimed at containing the name of the measure concepts, so that for each observation the value contained in the PrimaryMeasure component is the value of the measure concept reported in the MeasureDimension component. 
1459 1459  
... ... @@ -1543,7 +1543,7 @@
1543 1543  
1544 1544  This mapping method cannot be applied for SDMX 2.1 if the VTL data structure has more than one measure component, given that the SDMX 2.1 DataStructureDefinition allows just one measure component (the
1545 1545  
1546 -PrimaryMeasure). In this case it becomes mandatory to specify a different 1958 mapping method through the VtlMappingScheme and VtlDataflowMapping 1959 classes.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[24~]^^>>path:#_ftn24]](%%)
1554 +PrimaryMeasure). In this case it becomes mandatory to specify a different 1958 mapping method through the VtlMappingScheme and VtlDataflowMapping 1959 classes.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[24~]^^>>path:#_ftn24]](%%)
1547 1547  
1548 1548  1960 Please note that the VTL measures can have any name while in SDMX 2.1 the 1961 MeasureComponent has the mandatory name “obs_value”, therefore the name of the VTL measure name must become “obs_value” in SDMX 2.1. 
1549 1549  
... ... @@ -1660,15 +1660,15 @@
1660 1660  
1661 1661   The VtlMappingScheme is a container for zero or more VtlDataflowMapping (besides possible mappings to artefacts other than dataflows).
1662 1662  
1663 -=== 10.3.6 Mapping dataflow subsets to distinct VTL data sets[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^**~[25~]**^^>>path:#_ftn25]](%%) ===
1671 +=== 10.3.6 Mapping dataflow subsets to distinct VTL data sets[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^**~[25~]**^^>>path:#_ftn25]](%%) ===
1664 1664  
1665 1665  Until now it as been assumed to map one SMDX Dataflow to one VTL dataset and vice-versa. This mapping one-to-one is not mandatory according to VTL because a VTL data set is meant to be a set of observations (data points) on a logical plane, having the same logical data structure and the same general meaning, independently of the possible physical representation or storage (see VTL 2.0 User Manual page
1666 1666  
1667 1667  24), therefore a SDMX Dataflow can be seen either as a unique set of data observations (corresponding to one VTL data set) or as the union of many sets of data observations (each one corresponding to a distinct VTL data set).
1668 1668  
1669 -As a matter of fact, in some cases it can be useful to define VTL operations involving definite parts of a SDMX Dataflow instead than the whole.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[26~]^^>>path:#_ftn26]](%%)
1677 +As a matter of fact, in some cases it can be useful to define VTL operations involving definite parts of a SDMX Dataflow instead than the whole.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[26~]^^>>path:#_ftn26]](%%)
1670 1670  
1671 -Therefore, in order to make the coding of  VTL operations simpler when applied on parts of SDMX Dataflows, it is allowed to map distinct parts of a SDMX Dataflow to distinct VTL data sets according to the following rules and conventions. This kind of mapping is possible both from SDMX to VTL and from VTL to SDMX, as better explained below.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[27~]^^>>path:#_ftn27]](%%)
1679 +Therefore, in order to make the coding of  VTL operations simpler when applied on parts of SDMX Dataflows, it is allowed to map distinct parts of a SDMX Dataflow to distinct VTL data sets according to the following rules and conventions. This kind of mapping is possible both from SDMX to VTL and from VTL to SDMX, as better explained below.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[27~]^^>>path:#_ftn27]](%%)
1672 1672  
1673 1673   Given a SDMX Dataflow and some predefined Dimensions of its
1674 1674  
... ... @@ -1680,14 +1680,14 @@
1680 1680  
1681 1681  In practice, this kind mapping is obtained like follows:
1682 1682  
1683 -* For a given SDMX dataflow, the user (VTL definer) declares  the dimension components on which the mapping will be based, in a given order.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[28~]^^>>path:#_ftn28]](%%) Following the example above, imagine that the user declares the dimensions INDICATOR and COUNTRY.
1691 +* For a given SDMX dataflow, the user (VTL definer) declares  the dimension components on which the mapping will be based, in a given order.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[28~]^^>>path:#_ftn28]](%%) Following the example above, imagine that the user declares the dimensions INDICATOR and COUNTRY.
1684 1684  * The VTL dataset is given a name using a special notation also called “ordered concatenation” and composed of the following parts: 
1685 1685  ** The reference to the SDMX dataflow (expressed according to the rules described in the previous paragraphs, i.e. URN, abbreviated
1686 1686  
1687 -URN or another alias); for example DF(1.0); o a slash (“/”) as a separator; [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[29~]^^>>path:#_ftn29]]
1695 +URN or another alias); for example DF(1.0); o a slash (“/”) as a separator; [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[29~]^^>>path:#_ftn29]]
1688 1688  
1689 1689  *
1690 -** The reference to a specific part of the SDMX dataflow above, expressed as the concatenation of the values that the SDMX dimensions declared above must have, separated by dots (“.”) and written in the order in which these dimensions are defined[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[30~]^^>>path:#_ftn30]](%%) . For example  POPULATION.USA would mean that such a VTL dataset is mapped to the SDMX observations for which the dimension  //INDICATOR// is equal to POPULATION and the dimension //COUNTRY// is equal to USA.
1698 +** The reference to a specific part of the SDMX dataflow above, expressed as the concatenation of the values that the SDMX dimensions declared above must have, separated by dots (“.”) and written in the order in which these dimensions are defined[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[30~]^^>>path:#_ftn30]](%%) . For example  POPULATION.USA would mean that such a VTL dataset is mapped to the SDMX observations for which the dimension  //INDICATOR// is equal to POPULATION and the dimension //COUNTRY// is equal to USA.
1691 1691  
1692 1692  In the VTL transformations, this kind of dataset name must be referenced between single quotes because the slash (“/”) is not a regular character according to the VTL rules.
1693 1693  
... ... @@ -1705,7 +1705,7 @@
1705 1705  
1706 1706  Let us now analyse the different meaning of this kind of mapping in the two mapping directions, i.e. from SDMX to VTL and from VTL to SDMX.
1707 1707  
1708 -As already said, the mapping from SDMX to VTL happens when the VTL datasets are operand of VTL transformations, instead the mapping from VTL to SDMX happens when the VTL datasets are result of VTL transformations[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[31~]^^>>path:#_ftn31]](%%) and need to be treated as SDMX objects. This kind of mapping can be applied independently in the two directions and the Dimensions on which the mapping is based can be different in the two directions: these Dimensions are defined in the ToVtlSpaceKey and in the FromVtlSpaceKey classes respectively.
1716 +As already said, the mapping from SDMX to VTL happens when the VTL datasets are operand of VTL transformations, instead the mapping from VTL to SDMX happens when the VTL datasets are result of VTL transformations[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[31~]^^>>path:#_ftn31]](%%) and need to be treated as SDMX objects. This kind of mapping can be applied independently in the two directions and the Dimensions on which the mapping is based can be different in the two directions: these Dimensions are defined in the ToVtlSpaceKey and in the FromVtlSpaceKey classes respectively.
1709 1709  
1710 1710  First, let us see what happens in the mapping direction from SDMX to VTL, i.e. when parts of a SDMX dataflow (e.g. DF1(1.0)) need to be mapped to distinct VTL datasets that are operand of some VTL transformations.
1711 1711  
... ... @@ -1715,7 +1715,7 @@
1715 1715  
1716 1716  //COUNTRYvalue//. For example, the VTL dataset ‘DF1(1.0)/POPULATION.USA’ would contain all the observations of DF1(1.0) having INDICATOR = POPULATION and COUNTRY = USA.
1717 1717  
1718 -In order to obtain the data structure of these VTL datasets from the SDMX one, it is assumed that the SDMX dimensions on which the mapping is based are dropped, i.e. not maintained in the VTL data structure; this is possible because their values are fixed for each one of the invoked VTL datasets[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[32~]^^>>path:#_ftn32]](%%). After that, the mapping method from SDMX to VTL specified for the dataflow DF1(1.0) is applied (i.e. basic, pivot …). 
1726 +In order to obtain the data structure of these VTL datasets from the SDMX one, it is assumed that the SDMX dimensions on which the mapping is based are dropped, i.e. not maintained in the VTL data structure; this is possible because their values are fixed for each one of the invoked VTL datasets[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[32~]^^>>path:#_ftn32]](%%). After that, the mapping method from SDMX to VTL specified for the dataflow DF1(1.0) is applied (i.e. basic, pivot …). 
1719 1719  
1720 1720  In the example above, for all the datasets of the kind
1721 1721  
... ... @@ -1735,7 +1735,7 @@
1735 1735  
1736 1736  …   …   …
1737 1737  
1738 -In fact the VTL operator “sub” has exactly the same behaviour. Therefore, mapping different parts of a SDMX dataflow to different VTL datasets in the direction from SDMX to VTL through the ordered concatenation notation is equivalent to a proper use of the operator “**sub**” on such a dataflow. [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[33~]^^>>path:#_ftn33]]
1746 +In fact the VTL operator “sub” has exactly the same behaviour. Therefore, mapping different parts of a SDMX dataflow to different VTL datasets in the direction from SDMX to VTL through the ordered concatenation notation is equivalent to a proper use of the operator “**sub**” on such a dataflow. [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[33~]^^>>path:#_ftn33]]
1739 1739  
1740 1740  In the direction from SDMX to VTL it is allowed to omit the value of one or more Dimensions on which the mapping is based, but maintaining all the separating dots (therefore it may happen to find two or more consecutive dots and dots in the beginning or in the end). The absence of value means that for the corresponding Dimension all the values are kept and the Dimension is not dropped.
1741 1741  
... ... @@ -1758,12 +1758,12 @@
1758 1758  
1759 1759  For example, let us assume that the VTL programmer wants to calculate the SDMX dataflow DF2(1.0) having the Dimensions TIME_PERIOD, INDICATOR, and COUNTRY and that such a programmer finds it convenient to calculate separately the parts of DF2(1.0) that have different combinations of values for INDICATOR and COUNTRY:
1760 1760  
1761 -* each part is calculated as a  VTL derived dataset, result of a dedicated VTL transformation; [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[34~]^^>>path:#_ftn34]](%%)
1762 -* the data structure of all these VTL datasets has the TIME_PERIOD identifier and does not have the INDICATOR and COUNTRY identifiers.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[35~]^^>>path:#_ftn35]]
1769 +* each part is calculated as a  VTL derived dataset, result of a dedicated VTL transformation; [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[34~]^^>>path:#_ftn34]](%%)
1770 +* the data structure of all these VTL datasets has the TIME_PERIOD identifier and does not have the INDICATOR and COUNTRY identifiers.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[35~]^^>>path:#_ftn35]]
1763 1763  
1764 -Under these hypothesis, such derived VTL datasets can be mapped to DF2(1.0) by declaring the Dimensions INDICATOR and COUNTRY as mapping dimensions[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[36~]^^>>path:#_ftn36]](%%).
1772 +Under these hypothesis, such derived VTL datasets can be mapped to DF2(1.0) by declaring the Dimensions INDICATOR and COUNTRY as mapping dimensions[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[36~]^^>>path:#_ftn36]](%%).
1765 1765  
1766 -The corresponding VTL transformations, assuming that the result needs to be persistent, would be of this kind:^^ ^^[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[37~]^^>>path:#_ftn37]]
1774 +The corresponding VTL transformations, assuming that the result needs to be persistent, would be of this kind:^^ ^^[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[37~]^^>>path:#_ftn37]]
1767 1767  
1768 1768  ‘DF2(1.0)///INDICATORvalue//.//COUNTRYvalue//’  <-  expression
1769 1769  
... ... @@ -1830,9 +1830,9 @@
1830 1830  
1831 1831  …);
1832 1832  
1833 -In other words, starting from the datasets explicitly calculated through VTL (in the example ‘DF2(1.0)/GDPPERCAPITA.USA’ and so on), the first step consists in calculating other (non-persistent) VTL datasets (in the example DF2bis_GDPPERCAPITA_USA and so on) by adding the identifiers INDICATOR and COUNTRY with the desired values (//INDICATORvalue// and //COUNTRYvalue)//. Finally, all these non-persistent data sets are united and give the final result DF2(1.0)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[38~]^^>>path:#_ftn38]](%%), which can be mapped one-to-one to the homonymous SDMX dataflow having the dimension components TIME_PERIOD, INDICATOR and COUNTRY.
1841 +In other words, starting from the datasets explicitly calculated through VTL (in the example ‘DF2(1.0)/GDPPERCAPITA.USA’ and so on), the first step consists in calculating other (non-persistent) VTL datasets (in the example DF2bis_GDPPERCAPITA_USA and so on) by adding the identifiers INDICATOR and COUNTRY with the desired values (//INDICATORvalue// and //COUNTRYvalue)//. Finally, all these non-persistent data sets are united and give the final result DF2(1.0)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[38~]^^>>path:#_ftn38]](%%), which can be mapped one-to-one to the homonymous SDMX dataflow having the dimension components TIME_PERIOD, INDICATOR and COUNTRY.
1834 1834  
1835 -Therefore, mapping different VTL datasets having the same data structure to different parts of a SDMX dataflow, i.e. in the direction from VTL to SDMX, through the ordered concatenation notation is equivalent to a proper use of the operators “calc” and “union” on such datasets. [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[39~]^^>>path:#_ftn39]](%%)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[40~]^^>>path:#_ftn40]]
1843 +Therefore, mapping different VTL datasets having the same data structure to different parts of a SDMX dataflow, i.e. in the direction from VTL to SDMX, through the ordered concatenation notation is equivalent to a proper use of the operators “calc” and “union” on such datasets. [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[39~]^^>>path:#_ftn39]](%%)[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[40~]^^>>path:#_ftn40]]
1836 1836  
1837 1837  It is worth noting that in the direction from VTL to SDMX it is mandatory to specify the value for every Dimension on which the mapping is based (in other word, in the name of the calculated VTL dataset is not possible to omit the value of some of the Dimensions).
1838 1838  
... ... @@ -1881,7 +1881,7 @@
1881 1881  
1882 1882  Domain) is not identifiable. As a consequence, the definition of the VTL rulesets, which in VTL can refer either to enumerated or non-enumerated value domains, in SDMX can refer only to enumerated Value Domains (i.e. to SDMX Codelists). 
1883 1883  
1884 -As for the mapping between VTL variables and SDMX Concepts, it should be noted that these artefacts do not coincide perfectly. In fact, the VTL variables are  represented variables, defined always on the same Value Domain (“Representation” in SDMX) independently of the data set / data structure in which they appear[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[41~]^^>>path:#_ftn41]](%%), while the SDMX Concepts can have different Representations in different DataStructures.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[42~]^^>>path:#_ftn42]](%%) This means that one SDMX Concept can correspond to many VTL Variables, one for each representation the Concept has.
1892 +As for the mapping between VTL variables and SDMX Concepts, it should be noted that these artefacts do not coincide perfectly. In fact, the VTL variables are  represented variables, defined always on the same Value Domain (“Representation” in SDMX) independently of the data set / data structure in which they appear[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[41~]^^>>path:#_ftn41]](%%), while the SDMX Concepts can have different Representations in different DataStructures.[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[42~]^^>>path:#_ftn42]](%%) This means that one SDMX Concept can correspond to many VTL Variables, one for each representation the Concept has.
1885 1885  
1886 1886  Therefore, it is important to be aware that some VTL operations (for example the binary operations at data set level) are consistent only if the components having the same names in the operated VTL data sets have also the same representation (i.e. the same Value Domain as for VTL).   For example, it is possible to obtain correct results from the VTL expression
1887 1887  
... ... @@ -2226,7 +2226,7 @@
2226 2226  |N|fixed number of digits used in the preceding  textual representation of the month or the day
2227 2227  | |
2228 2228  
2229 -The default conversion, either standard or customized, can be used to deduce automatically the representation of the components of the result of a VTL transformation. In alternative, the representation of the resulting SDMX Dataflow can be given explicitly by providing its DataStructureDefinition. In other words, the representation specified in the DSD, if available, overrides any default conversion[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[43~]^^>>path:#_ftn43]](%%).
2237 +The default conversion, either standard or customized, can be used to deduce automatically the representation of the components of the result of a VTL transformation. In alternative, the representation of the resulting SDMX Dataflow can be given explicitly by providing its DataStructureDefinition. In other words, the representation specified in the DSD, if available, overrides any default conversion[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[43~]^^>>path:#_ftn43]](%%).
2230 2230  
2231 2231  === 10.4.5 Null Values ===
2232 2232