Skip to Content
Last modified by Artur on 2025/09/10 11:19
From version 1.8
edited by Helena
on 2025/06/16 12:56
Change comment: There is no comment for this version
To version 1.7
edited by Helena
on 2025/06/16 12:55
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

Summary

Details

Page properties
Content
... ... @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
5 5  1.
6 6  11. Introduction
7 7  
8 -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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[1~]^^>>path:#_ftn1]](%%). The purpose of the VTL in the SDMX context is to enable the:
8 +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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[1~]^^>>path:#_ftn1]](%%). The purpose of the VTL in the SDMX context is to enable the:
9 9  
10 10  * definition of validation and transformation algorithms, in order to specify how to calculate new data from existing ones;
11 11  * 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);
... ... @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
13 13  
14 14  It is important to note that the VTL has its own information model (IM), derived from the Generic Statistical Information Model (GSIM) and described in the VTL User Guide. The VTL IM is designed to be compatible with more standards, like SDMX, DDI (Data Documentation Initiative) and GSIM, and includes the model artefacts that can be manipulated (inputs and/or outputs of Transformations, e.g. "Data Set", "Data Structure") and the model artefacts that allow the definition of the transformation algorithms (e.g. "Transformation", "Transformation Scheme").
15 15  
16 -The VTL language can be applied to SDMX artefacts by mapping the SDMX IM model artefacts to the model artefacts that VTL can manipulate[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[2~]^^>>path:#_ftn2]](%%). Thus, the SDMX artefacts can be used in VTL as inputs and/or outputs of Transformations. It is important to be aware that the artefacts do not always have the same names in the SDMX and VTL IMs, nor do they always have the same meaning. The more evident example is given by the SDMX Dataset and the VTL "Data Set", which do not correspond one another: as a matter of fact, the VTL "Data Set" maps to the SDMX "Dataflow", while the SDMX "Dataset" has no explicit mapping to VTL (such an abstraction is not needed in the definition of VTL Transformations). A SDMX "Dataset", however, is an instance of a SDMX "Dataflow" and can be the artefact on which the VTL transformations are executed (i.e., the Transformations are defined on Dataflows and are applied to Dataflow instances that can be Datasets).
16 +The VTL language can be applied to SDMX artefacts by mapping the SDMX IM model artefacts to the model artefacts that VTL can manipulate[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[2~]^^>>path:#_ftn2]](%%). Thus, the SDMX artefacts can be used in VTL as inputs and/or outputs of Transformations. It is important to be aware that the artefacts do not always have the same names in the SDMX and VTL IMs, nor do they always have the same meaning. The more evident example is given by the SDMX Dataset and the VTL "Data Set", which do not correspond one another: as a matter of fact, the VTL "Data Set" maps to the SDMX "Dataflow", while the SDMX "Dataset" has no explicit mapping to VTL (such an abstraction is not needed in the definition of VTL Transformations). A SDMX "Dataset", however, is an instance of a SDMX "Dataflow" and can be the artefact on which the VTL transformations are executed (i.e., the Transformations are defined on Dataflows and are applied to Dataflow instances that can be Datasets).
17 17  
18 18  The VTL programs (Transformation Schemes) are represented in SDMX through the TransformationScheme maintainable class which is composed of Transformation (nameable artefact). Each Transformation assigns the outcome of the evaluation of a VTL expression to a result.
19 19  
... ... @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
27 27  
28 28  The alias of an SDMX artefact can be its URN (Universal Resource Name), an abbreviation of its URN or another user-defined name.
29 29  
30 -In any case, the aliases used in the VTL Transformations have to be mapped to the 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[3~]^^>>path:#_ftn3]](%%) or User Defined Operators[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[4~]^^>>path:#_ftn4]](%%) to reference SDMX artefacts. A VtlMappingScheme is a container for zero or more VtlMapping.
30 +In any case, the aliases used in the VTL Transformations have to be mapped to the 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[3~]^^>>path:#_ftn3]](%%) or User Defined Operators[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[4~]^^>>path:#_ftn4]](%%) to reference SDMX artefacts. A VtlMappingScheme is a container for zero or more VtlMapping.
31 31  
32 32  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.
33 33  
... ... @@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
39 39  
40 40  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.
41 41  
42 -The SDMX URN[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[5~]^^>>path:#_ftn5]](%%) is the concatenation of the following parts, separated by special symbols like dot, equal, asterisk, comma, and parenthesis:
42 +The SDMX URN[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[5~]^^>>path:#_ftn5]](%%) is the concatenation of the following parts, separated by special symbols like dot, equal, asterisk, comma, and parenthesis:
43 43  
44 44  * SDMXprefix
45 45  * SDMX-IM-package-name
... ... @@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
47 47  * agency-id
48 48  * maintainedobject-id
49 49  * maintainedobject-version
50 -* container-object-id [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[6~]^^>>path:#_ftn6]]
50 +* container-object-id [[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[6~]^^>>path:#_ftn6]]
51 51  * object-id
52 52  
53 53  The generic structure of the URN is the following:
... ... @@ -64,7 +64,7 @@
64 64  
65 65  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).
66 66  
67 -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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[7~]^^>>path:#_ftn7]](%%), coincides with the name of the artefact. Therefore the maintainedobject-id depends on the class of the artefact:
67 +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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[7~]^^>>path:#_ftn7]](%%), coincides with the name of the artefact. Therefore the maintainedobject-id depends on the class of the artefact:
68 68  
69 69  * if the artefact is a Dataflow, which is a maintainable class, the maintainedobject-id is the Dataflow name (dataflow-id);
70 70  * if the artefact is a Dimension, Measure, TimeDimension or DataAttribute, which are not maintainable and belong to the
... ... @@ -86,7 +86,7 @@
86 86  
87 87  * if the artefact is a Concept (the object-id is the name of the Concept)
88 88  
89 -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 1.0.0 and their Agency is AG, would be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[8~]^^>>path:#_ftn8]](%%):
89 +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 1.0.0 and their Agency is AG, would be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[8~]^^>>path:#_ftn8]](%%):
90 90  
91 91  'urn:sdmx:org.sdmx.infomodel.datastructure.Dataflow=AG:DFR(1.0.0)' <-
92 92  
... ... @@ -105,8 +105,8 @@
105 105  * The SDMXprefix can be omitted for all the SDMX objects, because it is a prefixed string (urn:sdmx:org), always the same for SDMX objects.
106 106  * 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:
107 107  ** "datastructure" for the classes Dataflow, Dimension, TimeDimension, Measure, DataAttribute, o "conceptscheme" for the class Concept, o "codelist" for the class Codelist.
108 -* 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[9~]^^>>path:#_ftn9]](%%), 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[10~]^^>>path:#_ftn10]](%%).
109 -* 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 agencyid can be omitted if it is the same as the invoking TransformationScheme and cannot be omitted if the artefact comes from another agency[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[11~]^^>>path:#_ftn11]](%%). 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).
108 +* 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[9~]^^>>path:#_ftn9]](%%), 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[10~]^^>>path:#_ftn10]](%%).
109 +* 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 agencyid can be omitted if it is the same as the invoking TransformationScheme and cannot be omitted if the artefact comes from another agency[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[11~]^^>>path:#_ftn11]](%%). 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).
110 110  * 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;
111 111  ** if the referenced artefact is a Dimension, TimeDimension, Measure,
112 112  
... ... @@ -133,7 +133,7 @@
133 133  
134 134  DFR := DF1 + DF2
135 135  
136 -The references to the Codelists can be simplified similarly. For example, given the non-abbreviated reference to the Codelist AG:CL_FREQ(1.0.0), which is[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[12~]^^>>path:#_ftn12]](%%):
136 +The references to the Codelists can be simplified similarly. For example, given the non-abbreviated reference to the Codelist AG:CL_FREQ(1.0.0), which is[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[12~]^^>>path:#_ftn12]](%%):
137 137  
138 138  'urn:sdmx:org.sdmx.infomodel.codelist.Codelist=AG:CL_FREQ(1.0.0)'
139 139  
... ... @@ -151,7 +151,7 @@
151 151  
152 152  SECTOR
153 153  
154 -For example, the Transformation for renaming the component SECTOR of the Dataflow DF1 into SEC can be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[13~]^^>>path:#_ftn13]](%%):
154 +For example, the Transformation for renaming the component SECTOR of the Dataflow DF1 into SEC can be written as[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[13~]^^>>path:#_ftn13]](%%):
155 155  
156 156  'DFR(1.0.0)' := 'DF1(1.0.0)' [rename SECTOR to SEC]
157 157  
... ... @@ -187,9 +187,9 @@
187 187  
188 188  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.
189 189  
190 -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, 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[14~]^^>>path:#_ftn14]](%%).
190 +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, 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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[14~]^^>>path:#_ftn14]](%%).
191 191  
192 -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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[15~]^^>>path:#_ftn15]]
192 +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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[15~]^^>>path:#_ftn15]]
193 193  
194 194  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, Concept) to can be deduced from the Ruleset signature.
195 195  
... ... @@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
199 199  
200 200  The mapping methods between the VTL and SDMX object classes allow transforming a SDMX definition in a VTL one and vice-versa for the artefacts to be manipulated. It should be remembered that VTL programs (i.e. Transformation Schemes) are represented in SDMX through the TransformationScheme maintainable class which is composed of Transformations (nameable artefacts). Each Transformation assigns the outcome of the evaluation of a VTL expression to a result: the input operands of the expression and the result can be SDMX artefacts. 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.
201 201  
202 -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{{footnote}}If a calculated artefact is persistent, it needs a persistent definition, i.e. a SDMX definition in a SDMX environment. In addition, possible calculated artefact that are not persistent may require a SDMX definition, for example when the result of a nonpersistent calculation is disseminated through SDMX tools (like an inquiry tool).{{/footnote}}.
202 +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 wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[16~]^^>>path:#_ftn16]](%%).
203 203  
204 204  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 ‘usage’ 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).
205 205  
... ... @@ -207,7 +207,7 @@
207 207  11.
208 208  111. General mapping of VTL and SDMX data structures
209 209  
210 -This section makes reference to the VTL "Model for data and their structure"{{footnote}}See the VTL 2.0 User Manual{{/footnote}} and the correspondent SDMX "Data Structure Definition"{{footnote}}See the SDMX Standards Section 2 – Information Model{{/footnote}}.
210 +This section makes reference to the VTL "Model for data and their structure"[[(% class="wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink wikiinternallink" %)^^~[17~]^^>>path:#_ftn17]](%%) and the correspondent SDMX "Data Structure Definition"{{footnote}}See the SDMX Standards Section 2 – Information Model{{/footnote}}.
211 211  
212 212  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).{{footnote}}Besides the mapping between one SDMX Dataflow and one VTL Data Set, it is also possible to map distinct parts of a SDMX Dataflow to different VTL Data Set, as explained in a following paragraph.{{/footnote}}
213 213  
... ... @@ -977,5 +977,9 @@
977 977  
978 978  [[~[15~]>>path:#_ftnref15]] See also the section "VTL-DL Rulesets" in the VTL Reference Manual.
979 979  
980 +[[~[16~]>>path:#_ftnref16]] If a calculated artefact is persistent, it needs a persistent definition, i.e. a SDMX definition in a SDMX environment. In addition, possible calculated artefact that are not persistent may require a SDMX definition, for example when the result of a nonpersistent calculation is disseminated through SDMX tools (like an inquiry tool).
980 980  
982 +[[~[17~]>>path:#_ftnref17]] See the VTL 2.0 User Manual
983 +
984 +
981 981  {{putFootnotes/}}