Descriptors, Descriptor Templates and Patterns

The purpose of the | Reference set descriptor| is to describe the format of all other reference sets that may be included in a release. A Descriptor held within the | Reference set Descriptor| describes the referencedComponentIdfield and the additional fields for the reference sets it describes. Each field is described using a concept in the metadata. The type of each field is also described in the same way.
Patterns allow a number of different types of reference set to be defined, each of which will conform to the specified pattern, having the same release file format. The file format of each reference set pattern is described by a Descriptor Template. This Descriptor Template describes the format and number of additional fields held against members of reference sets conforming to the pattern, and provides an envelope within which those additional fields may be further refined for each reference set conforming to the pattern. The Descriptor Template for each pattern is provided in the section describing that pattern.
Each defined reference set that conforms to a pattern will have its own Descriptor, that describes its own specific properties, and although reference set field types must still conform to the Descriptor Template for the pattern, each field type may be further constrained using data sub-types specified in the metadata hierarchy. This provides some level of refinement to the constraints that may be applied to a reference set conforming to a particular pattern.

Figure 3. Graphical view of Relationships between patterns, reference sets, Descriptor Templates and Descriptors

Patterns and Use Cases

The next table summarizes the use cases for reference sets (one per row) that are described in the following sections, and shows which reference set patterns are used in each case:

Note: The letters shown after each pattern indicate the type and number of additional fields held against each member of a reference set conforming to that pattern, where 'C' is short for component, 'S' is short for String and 'I' is short for Integer .
Example: Reference sets conforming to the | Attribute value type| (C) pattern will have one additional field held against each member, a component reference; reference sets conforming to the |Simple type| pattern will have no additional fields held against each member.

Metadata Supporting Reference Sets

Reference sets are described by concepts under the | Reference set | sub-hierarchy .

• 900000000000455006 $$ reference set $$
  • 900000000000456007 $$ reference set descriptor $$
  • 900000000000480006 $$ attribute value type $$ ...
  • 900000000000496009 $$ simple map $$ ...
  • 900000000000506000 $$ language type $$ ...
  • 900000000000512005 $$ query specification type $$ ...
  • 900000000000516008 $$ annotation type $$ ...
  • 900000000000521006 $$ association type $$ ...
  • 900000000000534007 $$ module dependency $$
  • 900000000000538005 $$ description format $$

Figure 4. Reference Sets in the Metadata Hierarchy
Values that can be used within reference set fields are described in the | Reference set attribute | sub-hierarchy .

• 900000000000457003 $$ reference set attribute $$
  • 900000000000458008 $$ attribute description $$
  • 900000000000459000 $$ attribute type $$ ...
  • 900000000000479008 $$ attribute order $$
  • 900000000000491004 $$ attribute value $$ ...
  • 900000000000499002 $$ scheme value $$
  • 900000000000500006 $$ map source concept $$
  • 900000000000501005 $$ map group $$
  • 900000000000502003 $$ map priority $$
  • 900000000000503008 $$ map rule $$
  • 900000000000504002 $$ map advice $$
  • 900000000000505001 $$ map target $$
  • 900000000000510002 $$ description in dialect $$
  • 900000000000511003 $$ acceptability $$ ...
  • 900000000000514006 $$ generated reference set $$
  • 900000000000515007 $$ query $$
  • 900000000000518009 $$ annotated component $$
  • 900000000000519001 $$ annotation $$ ...
  • 900000000000532006 $$ association source component $$
  • 900000000000533001 $$ association target component $$
  • 900000000000535008 $$ dependency target $$
  • 900000000000536009 $$ source effective time $$
  • 900000000000537000 $$ target effective time $$
  • 900000000000539002 $$ description format $$ ...
  • 900000000000544009 $$ description length $$

Figure 5. Reference Set Attributes Metadata Hierarchy
The way that each of the concepts shown in this metadata hierarchy is used is described in each of the following sections.

Naming Conventions for Reference Sets

National Release Centres and others may create additional reference sets. A namespace is required to create a new reference set, as each reference set is defined by a Concept. The Concept 's FSN and a Synonym are used to name the reference set. Where a new reference set is created against an existing pattern, then the following naming convention should be used (where the text "My particular" should be replaced by the name of the reference set ):
Attribute value type reference set (pattern)
FSN = My particular attribute value reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = My particular reference set
Simple Map type reference set (pattern)
FSN = My particular simple map reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = My particular simple map
Complex Map type reference set (pattern)
FSN = My particular complex map reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = My particular complex map
Language type reference set (pattern) - for a Language refset
FSN = English - ISO 639-1 code 'en' language reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = English
Language type reference set (pattern) - for a Dialect RefSet
FSN = GB English language reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = GB English
Query specification type reference set (pattern)
FSN = My particular query specification reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = My particular query specification reference set
Annotation type reference set (pattern)
FSN = My particular annotation reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = My particular annotation reference set
Association type reference set (pattern)
FSN = My particular association reference set (foundation metadata concept )
PT = My particular association reference set