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Last modified by Helena K. on 2026/06/08 15:16
From version 25.7
edited by Helena K.
on 2026/06/03 13:20
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To version 25.10
edited by Helena K.
on 2026/06/03 13:30
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95 95  * Support for [[code>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Code.WebHome]] list extension and discriminated union of [[code>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Code.WebHome]] lists
96 96  * Improvements to structure mapping
97 97  * Improvements to [[code>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Code.WebHome]] [[hierarchies>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Hierarchy.WebHome]] for data discovery
98 -* Improvements to constraints
98 +* Improvements to [[constraints>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Constraint.WebHome]]
99 99  
100 100  (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="HVersioningofStructuralMetadataArtefacts" %)
101 101  **Versioning of Structural Metadata Artefacts**
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139 139  (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="HInformationModel-1" %)
140 140  **Information Model**
141 141  
142 -* Addition of [[Dimension>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Dimension.WebHome]] (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)Constraint(%%) property to a [[Dataflow>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Dataflow.WebHome]]
142 +* Addition of [[Dimension>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Dimension.WebHome]] Constraint property to a [[Dataflow>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Dataflow.WebHome]]
143 143  * Addition of evolving structure property to a [[Data Structure Definition>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Data structure definition.WebHome]]
144 -* Remove (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)version(%%) property on [[Categorisation>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Categorisation.WebHome]]
145 -* Simplification of (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)Constraints
144 +* Remove version property on [[Categorisation>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Categorisation.WebHome]]
145 +* Simplification of Constraints
146 146  ** Removal of Advanced [[Release Calendar>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Release policy - release calendar.WebHome]]
147 -** Removal of Role, Data (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)Constraints(%%) only restrict data that can be reported
148 -** Restrict (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)constraint(%%) targets to Identifiable structures (not URLs)
149 -** Addition of Availability (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)Constraint(%%) to define actual data
147 +** Removal of Role, Data Constraints only restrict data that can be reported
148 +** Restrict constraint targets to Identifiable structures (not URLs)
149 +** Addition of Availability Constraint to define actual data
150 150  
151 151  (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="HDocumentation" %)
152 152  **Documentation**
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159 159  
160 160  == 3.1 Process Patterns ==
161 161  
162 -
163 163  [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] identifies three basic process patterns regarding the exchange of statistical data and metadata. These can be described as follows:
164 164  
165 165  1. //**[[Bilateral exchange>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Bilateral exchange.WebHome]]**~:// All aspects of the exchange process are agreed between counterparties, including the mechanism for exchange of data and metadata, the formats, the frequency or schedule, and the mode used for communications regarding the exchange. This is perhaps the most common process pattern.
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179 179  
180 180  == 3.3 Statistical Data and Metadata ==
181 181  
182 -To avoid confusion about which "data" and "metadata" are the intended content of the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] formats specified here, a statement of scope is offered. Statistical "data" are sets of often numeric observations which typically have time associated with them. They are associated with a set of metadata values, representing specific (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)concepts(%%), which act as identifiers and descriptors of the data. These metadata values and (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)concepts(%%) can be understood as the named [[dimensions>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Dimension.WebHome]] of a multi-dimensional co-ordinate system, describing what is often called a "cube" of data.
181 +To avoid confusion about which "data" and "metadata" are the intended content of the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] formats specified here, a statement of scope is offered. Statistical "data" are sets of often numeric observations which typically have time associated with them. They are associated with a set of metadata values, representing specific concepts, which act as identifiers and descriptors of the data. These metadata values and concepts can be understood as the named [[dimensions>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Dimension.WebHome]] of a multi-dimensional co-ordinate system, describing what is often called a "cube" of data.
183 183  
184 184  [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] identifies a standard technique for modelling, expressing, and understanding the structure of this multi-dimensional "cube", allowing automated processing of data from a variety of sources. This approach is widely applicable across types of data and attempts to provide the simplest and most easily comprehensible technique that will support the exchange of this broad set of data and related metadata.
185 185  
186 -The term "metadata" is very broad indeed. A distinction can be made between “structural” metadata – those (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)concepts(%%) used in the description and identification of statistical data and metadata – and “reference” metadata – the larger set of (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)concepts(%%) that describe and qualify statistical [[data sets>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Data set.WebHome]] and processing more generally, and which are often associated not with specific observations or [[series>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Series.WebHome]] of data, but with entire collections of data or even the institutions which provide that data.
185 +The term "metadata" is very broad indeed. A distinction can be made between “structural” metadata – those concepts used in the description and identification of statistical data and metadata – and “reference” metadata – the larger set of concepts that describe and qualify statistical [[data sets>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Data set.WebHome]] and processing more generally, and which are often associated not with specific observations or [[series>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Series.WebHome]] of data, but with entire collections of data or even the institutions which provide that data.
187 187  
188 188  The [[SDMX Information Model>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.SDMX Information Model.WebHome]] provides for the structuring not only of data, but also of “reference” metadata. While these [[reference metadata>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Reference metadata.WebHome]] structures exist independent of the data and its [[structural metadata>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Structural metadata.WebHome]], they are often linked. The [[SDMX Information Model>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.SDMX Information Model.WebHome]] provides for the attachment of [[reference metadata>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Reference metadata.WebHome]] to any part of the data or [[structural metadata>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Structural metadata.WebHome]], as well as for the reporting and exchange of the [[reference metadata>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Reference metadata.WebHome]] and its structural descriptions. This function of the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] standards supports many aspects of data quality initiatives, allowing as it does for the exchange of metadata in its broadest sense, of which quality-related metadata is a major part.
189 189  
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197 197  
198 198  This document specifies the [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] standards designed to facilitate exchanges based on any of these process patterns, and shows how [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] offers advantages in all cases. It is possible to agree bilaterally to use a standard format (such as [[SDMX-ML>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.SDMX-ML.WebHome]] or [[SDMX-JSON>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.SDMX-JSON.WebHome]]); it is possible for data senders in a gateway process to use a standard format for [[data exchange>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Data exchange.WebHome]] with each other, or with any [[data providers>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Data provider.WebHome]] who agree to do so; it is possible to agree to use the full set of [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]] standards to support a common data-sharing process of exchange, whether based on an [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]]-conformant registry or some other architecture.
199 199  
200 -The standards specified here specifically support a data-sharing process based on the use of central registry services. Registry services provide visibility into the data and metadata existing within the community, and support the access and use of this data and metadata by providing a set of triggers for automated processing. The data or metadata itself is not stored in a central registry – these services merely provide a useful set of metadata about the data (and additional metadata) in a known location, so that users/applications can easily locate and obtain whatever data and/or metadata is registered. The use of standards for all data, metadata, and the registry services themselves is ubiquitous, permitting a high (% style="color:#e74c3c" %)level(%%) of automation within a data-sharing community.
199 +The standards specified here specifically support a data-sharing process based on the use of central registry services. Registry services provide visibility into the data and metadata existing within the community, and support the access and use of this data and metadata by providing a set of triggers for automated processing. The data or metadata itself is not stored in a central registry – these services merely provide a useful set of metadata about the data (and additional metadata) in a known location, so that users/applications can easily locate and obtain whatever data and/or metadata is registered. The use of standards for all data, metadata, and the registry services themselves is ubiquitous, permitting a high level of automation within a data-sharing community.
201 201  
202 202  It should be pointed out that these different process models are not mutually exclusive – a single system capable of expressing data and metadata in [[SDMX>>doc:sdmx:Glossary 2\.1.Statistical data and metadata exchange.WebHome]]-conformant formats could support all three scenarios. Different standards may be applicable to different processes (for example, many registry services interfaces are used only in a data-sharing scenario) but all have a common basis in a shared information model.
203 203  
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