Environmental Data Coding Specification (EDCS)

10 Guidelines for registration and modification proposals

10.1 Introduction and table of contents

10.1.1 Table of contents

Table 10.1 — Table of contents
10 Guidelines for registration and modification proposals 10.5.2 Guidelines for citations 10.10 Guidelines for EUs
10.1 Introduction and table of contents 10.5.3 Guidelines for reference types 10.11 Guidelines for EQs
10.1.1 Table of contents 10.5.4 Guidelines for references 10.12 Guidelines for EOs
10.1.2 Introduction 10.5.5 Guidelines for supplemental references 10.13 Guidelines for EGs
10.2 Guidelines for concept definitions 10.5.6 Guidelines for figures 10.14 Guidelines for abbreviated terms
10.3 Guidelines for dictionary entry labels 10.6 Guidelines for ECs 10.15 Guidelines for abbreviations used in labels
10.4 Rules for assigning codes 10.7 Guidelines for EAs 10.16 Guidelines for EDCS profiles
10.5 Guidelines for citations, reference types, references, supplemental references, and figures 10.8 Guidelines for EVs  
10.5.1 Introduction 10.9 Guidelines for EEs  

10.1.2 Introduction

This International Standard specifies the rules and guidelines that shall be followed in preparing proposals for registration and modification of EDCS items. Proposals include required information for concepts in each EDCS dictionary, as well as accompanying administrative information (see Annex I). The guidelines in 10.2 through 10.5 shall apply to all items. The additional guidelines in 10.6 through 10.16 shall apply only to the indicated classes of items.

10.2 Guidelines for concept definitions

The concept definitions in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Concept definition proposals for EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. A concept definition shall be provided for each EDCS dictionary entry. This definition shall contain at least one of: a word, a number, an expression, or a formula.
  2. Concept definitions shall be clear and concise, containing only the content necessary to specify the concept.
  3. Complete sentences shall be used except when either a single word or a single phrase is unambiguous.
  4. A single sentence shall be used except when multiple sentences are necessary to add significantly to the clarity and completeness of the definition.
  5. Words and/or short phrases that are not used in the concept definition and that compactly denote the concept and may be useful in EDCS label formation may be included at the end of the definition. If such words and/or short phrases are included, they shall be separated from the remainder of the concept definition by a semicolon. If the concept definition for an entry does not contain either the exact or the approximate key words that were used to form the EDCS label for the concept, then those words shall be included at the end of the concept definition.

    EXAMPLE 1    The concept definition for EC HAYSTACK is "A regular pile of hay built in the open air; haystack."

  6. In some cases, a concept may be used in the concept definition of another concept. If an EC is used in the concept definition of another concept, this use shall be represented in the concept definition by placing the EDCS label for that EC in single angle brackets (< >) in the concept definition. Because ECs are used in concept definitions in a manner similar to nouns, only noun usage is represented by single angle brackets.

    EXAMPLE 2    EC WATER is used as a noun in the concept definition of EC ICE: 'Frozen <WATER>; ice [SOED, "ice", 1.a].' while the word "water" is used as an adjective in the concept definition of EA WATER_VAPOUR_PRESSURE: "The partial pressure of water vapour in an <ATMOSPHERE>."

    If an EA is used in the concept definition of another concept, this use shall be represented in the concept definition by placing the EDCS label for that EA in double angle brackets (<< >>) in the concept definition.

    EXAMPLE 3    The concept definition of EA HAIL_SIZE is: "The <<OUTSIDE_DIAMETER>> of the largest <HAIL> observed; hail size."

  7. If an EE concept is used in the concept definition of another EE concept of the same EA, this use shall be represented in the concept definition by placing the label for that EE in triple angle brackets (<<< >>>) in the concept definition.
  8. The concept definition of an EE for a given EA shall not reference an EE which is an EE of a different EA.
  9. If a concept definition includes a list of exemplars of the concept, that list shall be placed at the end of the concept definition in a separate sentence beginning on a new line that begins with either "EXAMPLE" or "EXAMPLES".

    EXAMPLE 4    The concept definition for EE INERT_TERRAIN_MATERIAL is:

    "Inert <MATERIAL>s composing the <TERRAIN>. 
    EXAMPLES   <SAND>, <SOIL>, gravel, <SNOW_GROUND_COVER>."

  10. If a concept definition includes a list of exemplars for a sub-concept used in the concept definition, that list shall be placed in parentheses immediately following the sub-concept, and the text within the parentheses shall begin with "for example: ". The exemplars shall be separated by commas, with the word "or" prior to the final entry in the list if the list is intended to be exclusive and the word "and/or" otherwise.

    EXAMPLE 5    If the sub-concept "inert terrain material" appears within a concept definition, it may be followed by exemplars in the form "(for example: <SAND>, <SOIL>, gravel, and/or <SNOW_GROUND_COVER>)".

  11. Concept definitions shall be unambiguous and worded to clearly express a single concept.
  12. Where a set is being defined, the EC SET shall be used.

    EXAMPLE 6    "A <SET> of one or more <AERIAL_CABLE>s".

  13. Jargon shall not be used.
  14. Abbreviations shall be used only if they are defined in Table 3.3 or have been registered. If an abbreviation is not in Table 3.3 or has not been registered, it may be registered in conjunction with the new definition (see 10.14).
  15. A phrase that exists in this International Standard and has not been abbreviated in Table 3.3 shall not be registered as an abbreviation.
  16. If an abbreviation is defined in Table 3.3 or has been registered, it shall be used wherever the phrase would have appeared. That is, the phrase shall not be used except in Table 3.3 or as listed in the register; wherever the phrase might have appeared, the abbreviation shall be used instead.
  17. No units of measure shall be abbreviated.
  18. Unit symbols shall not be used except in the concept definitions of concepts in the EU Dictionary.

    EXAMPLE 7    Use "metres per second" instead of "m/s".

  19. References shall not be embedded in concept definitions with two exceptions:
    1. Where a reference is used not as the source of a concept definition, but rather to define the format and/or values of an EA whose EDCS attribute value type is either CONSTRAINED_STRING, STRING, or KEY, that reference may be part of the concept definition.
    2. Where a reference is used to cite the source of the words used in a concept definition.
  20. Concept definitions shall be atomic, self-contained and independent of all other entries in the same EDCS dictionary with two exceptions:
    1. An EE concept definition is dependent on the definition of its corresponding EA. The context of the corresponding EA shall be used to interpret an EE concept definition.
    2. An EG concept definition is dependent on the definition of its corresponding EO. The context of the corresponding EO shall be used to interpret an EG concept definition.
  21. Concept definitions shall be unique within the same EDCS dictionary.
  22. The use of units of measure in the concept definition fields of EC dictionary entries is discouraged.
  23. Units of measure shall not be used in the concept definition fields of either ES, EQ, EO, or EG dictionary entries.
  24. Terms appearing in units of measure may be used in concept definitions where appropriate.

    EXAMPLE 8    "Tesla coil" and "metre stick".

  25. The word "that" shall be used only to introduce restrictive clauses, that is, clauses that are an essential part of a concept definition where if the clause is eliminated, the meaning of the concept definition changes. Restrictive clauses shall not be separated from the remainder of the concept definition by a comma.
  26. The word "which" shall be used only to introduce non-restrictive clauses, that is, clauses that are not an essential part of a concept definition where if the clause is eliminated, the meaning of the concept definition does not change. Non-restrictive clauses shall be separated from the remainder of the concept definition by a comma.
  27. If the reference type for an EDCS dictionary entry is either AR or PR, the concept definition shall be derived from the definition of the cited concept in the referenced document. In cases where the full definition in its entirety is too complex to repeat in this International Standard, the concept definition may include "See [R].". "R" shall be a well-formed citation (see 10.5.2) of a concept in an external document. This document shall be either listed in Clause 2 or specified in the registration proposal.
  28. This International Standard uses the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary [SOED] as the dictionary for determining the meanings of words. Specialized dictionaries may be used to determine the meaning of technical terms. Such dictionaries shall be explicitly cited.
  29. When a single word is used as a concept definition and that word can be used as more than one part of speech, a noun definition shall be used unless otherwise stated.
  30. The requirements specified in 10.5.4 for citations within the text of a concept definition shall be followed.

10.3 Guidelines for dictionary entry labels

The labels in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Label proposals for EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. A label shall be provided for each EDCS dictionary entry.
  2. Labels shall be character strings.
  3. Labels shall begin with an alphabetic character (and therefore labels shall contain at least one character).
  4. Labels shall contain only uppercase characters (A-Z), numerals and the underscore character ("_"), with two exceptions:
    1. relational operators ("gt", "lt", "ge", "le", "eq", and "ne"); and
    2. the radix delimiter symbol "r".
  5. Labels shall not contain spaces.
  6. Labels may be either a single word or may be composed of a series of components each of which is either a word or an abbreviation.
  7. The underscore character ("_") shall be used to concatenate the components of a label.
  8. Labels should be as short as possible while capturing either a commonly used descriptive word or phrase representative of the concept.
  9. The length of a label shall not exceed fifty-nine (59) characters.
  10. To facilitate the direct use of labels in programming language bindings where there are restrictions on the length and uniqueness of symbolic constants, the label and/or the initial portion of the label shall be unique within the set of all EDCS dictionaries in the following manner:
    1. EELs shall be unique within the set of EELs of the same EA.

      EXAMPLE 1    The same label could also be used for an EEL of a different EA.

    2. EGLs shall be unique within the set of EGLs of the same EO.
    3. All other labels shall be unique within the set of labels of concepts in the same EDCS dictionary.
    4. Within the set of EELs of the same EA, EELs shall be unique in the first nineteen (19) characters.
    5. Within the set of EGLs of the same EO, EGLs shall be unique in the first nineteen (19) characters.
    6. All other labels shall be unique in the first twenty-seven (27) characters.

The components of a label shall be chosen according to the following guidelines:

  1. The order of the components in a label shall be in the natural order in which the components are likely to be used within an English phrase.
  2. Components of labels shall not be used with a different meaning from how that component is used elsewhere in either this International Standard or in previously registered EDCS dictionary entries.
  3. Verbs, articles, conjunctions, negations, and prepositions shall not be used as components of a label except where required for clarity.
  4. Abbreviations of words and phrases should only be used where necessary to meet the uniqueness criteria of labels.
  5. When abbreviating, if a word and/or phrase to be abbreviated appears in Annex G, the given abbreviation for that word and/or phrase shall be used.
  6. When abbreviating, if a word and/or phrase to be abbreviated does not appear in Annex G; the proposed abbreviation should be consistent in style with those specified in Annex G, if possible.

Abbreviations for words and phrases may be used as components of a label based on the following guidelines:

  1. A single word or phrase, if abbreviated, shall have a single abbreviation.
  2. If a word or phrase is abbreviated in one label, it is not required to be abbreviated in other labels.
  3. For each EA of EDCS attribute value type ENUMERATION, abbreviations shall be used consistently across all labels within its set of EEs. Either a word and/or phrase is always abbreviated or it is never abbreviated within the set of EEs of that EA.
  4. New abbreviations may be registered if necessary to create a label whose length meets the criteria defined in (i) and (j) in the first list in this subclause. Such a new abbreviation shall be registered as part of the registration process for the entity being registered using the template for registration of abbreviations used in labels.
  5. Jargon shall not be used.
  6. An abbreviation in a label shall not be, by itself, a word with a different meaning than that of the word or phrase that it replaces.

    EXAMPLE 2    The abbreviation LOST should not be used for the phrase "Line of Sight Type".

Units of measure or abbreviations for units of measure shall not be used as components of labels with three exceptions:

  1. labels of EUs,
  2. labels of EEs, and
  3. labels in which the unit of measure or its abbreviation is not used as a unit of measure such as either "TESLA_COIL" or "METRE_STICK".

10.4 Rules for assigning codes

Codes not assigned in this International Standard are reserved for either future standardization or for registration. Assigned codes include the codes assigned to deprecated concepts in Annex A. Codes shall be assigned by the International Registration Authority for Items according to these rules:

  1. Nothing should be assumed about the relationship among EDCS dictionary entries from the numerical relationships of their corresponding codes. The numerical sequencing of codes does not impose any sequential ordering to the concepts denoted by those codes.
  2. Signed integers are used to represent codes even though only positive integer values shall ever be assigned in either this International Standard or through registration. This allows non-positive integer values to be used experimentally in applications, even though such use of non-positive integer values is not in conformance to this International Standard.
  3. The International Registration Authority for Items shall assign codes for entries in each EDCS dictionary in increasing order beginning at the first available positive integer value and skipping no positive integer value.
  4. The International Registration Authority for Items shall coordinate the assignment of codes with future revisions of this International Standard to ensure that no code shall be assigned more than once by either standardization or registration.

10.5 Guidelines for citations, reference types, references, supplemental references, and figures

10.5.1 Introduction

Two broad types of references are recognized in International Standards. The first broad type of reference is a normative reference [ISOD2]. Identified provisions of a normative reference are incorporated by reference (not by inclusion) and "become" part of the subject standard. Therefore having a copy of the normative reference is indispensable for understanding and applying the subject standard. 4.3.4.2 specifies two EDCS reference types that may be associated with normative references: the authoritative reference (AR) and the prescriptive reference (PR). Normative references play a key role in ensuring the consistency of the body of International Standards by allowing work done by others to be reused without modification. The second broad type of reference is an informative reference [ISOD2]. Identified provisions of an informative reference are cited as being either the source of or providing additional information about text in the subject standard, but the identified provisions of the document are not themselves directly incorporated into the subject standard. 4.3.4.2 specifies one EDCS reference type that may be associated with an informative reference, the informative reference (IR).

The reference type, reference, and supplemental references fields for the EDCS dictionaries EC, EA, EE, EV, and EG are specified in Annexes to this International Standard. The reference type, reference, and supplemental references fields for the EDCS dictionaries EU, ES, EQ, and EO are specified in the main body of this International Standard.

10.5.2 Guidelines for citations

References in this International Standard are specified by giving a citation to the appropriate portion of the referenced document. The citations in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Citation proposals specified for use in the reference field, the supplemental references field, or in the concept definition of EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. Each citation shall consist of an identifier and an optional location enclosed in square brackets ( [ ] ) with the identifier listed first, followed by a comma, followed by the location.
  2. The identifier specifies the referenced document and shall appear in either Clause 2 or the Bibliography and shall be specified within the proposal.
  3. The location specifies the portion of the referenced document that is cited.
  4. Whenever possible, the location shall be specified in accordance with the requirements in [ISOD2]. When a referenced document lacks a clause structure, the location may be specified in a convenient and natural format depending on the organization of the referenced document.

    EXAMPLE 1     [FACC, Annex A: AK120]

    EXAMPLE 2     [S32, "tidal basin"]

  5. If the reference is to a dictionary, there are two alternative styles of citation:
    1. If a dictionary entry contains a single part, the format of the location shall be the name of the dictionary entry.

      EXAMPLE 3    [APDS, "Geiger counter"]

    2. If a dictionary entry contains multiple parts, the format of the location shall include additional information. In such cases, the location in the citation shall be subdivided into two sub-fields, <word-or-term> and <definition-number>. The citation for such a dictionary reference shall be of the form "[<identifier>, <word-or-term>, <definition-number>]".

      EXAMPLE 4    Since the concept <ATTIC> is defined to be identical to the SOED <word-or-term> "attic" with <definition-number> "B.2", the citation is '[SOED, "attic", B.2].'

  6. International standards published by ISO and IEC are cited differently from other references [ISOD2]. Citations to International Standards are not enclosed in square brackets and no identifier is used. Instead the standard designation is given first and is optionally followed by the location within the International Standard, if appropriate.

    EXAMPLE 5     IEC 80000-6:2008, item 6-24.a

  7. All requirements specified in 4.3.4 shall be met.

10.5.3 Guidelines for reference types

The reference types in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Reference type proposals for EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. If the reference type field of an EDCS dictionary entry is not blank, it shall contain exactly one of the three EDCS reference types: AR, PR, or IR (see Table 4.3). 

    NOTE    The EDCS Unit Equivalence Dictionary has no reference type, reference, or supplemental references fields.

  2. If the reference field of an EDCS dictionary entry is not blank, a reference type shall be provided to clarify the nature of the citation in the reference field.

  3. If the concept was copied from and/or is based on a concept defined in another specification, is intended to represent the same concept as defined in that specification, and the source specification is suitable for referencing from an International Standard, the reference type shall be either AR or PR. The current edition of [ISOD2] may be consulted to determine if a specification is suitable for normative referencing from an International Standard.

  4. If the source specification in (c) is not suitable for normative referencing, the reference type shall be IR.

  5. If the concept in (c) is not intended to be the same concept in the source document in (c), the reference type shall be IR.

  6. An EE concept may be defined entirely by the use of an EC concept. In this case, no reference or reference type is necessary because the EDCS dictionary entry for the EC concept includes them. This case is represented in this International Standard by presenting such fields in grey to signify that the reference and reference type are the same as those of the defining EC concept.

  7. The requirements specified in 4.3.4 shall be met.

10.5.4 Guidelines for references

The references in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Reference proposals for EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. The primary source from which a concept in this International Standard was adapted shall be identified by the citation in the reference field of its EDCS dictionary entry.
  2. The primary source from which a concept in this International Standard was copied (if any) shall be identified by citation in the concept definition field of its EDCS dictionary entry.
  3. The reference field may be blank if and only if the proposed EDCS dictionary entry both represents a commonly understood concept and no reference documents were consulted in preparing the proposed EDCS dictionary entry.
  4. The citation in the reference field is adequate to also give credit to the referenced document as the source of the concept definition. The referenced document shall not be cited again within the text in the concept definition field itself.
  5. The following guidelines apply to the use of the SOED as a reference:
    1. The SOED may be used as the reference of reference type IR for an EDCS dictionary entry if and only if the SOED was the original source of the concept.
    2. If the actual wording in the concept definition field for an EDCS dictionary entry was copied or adapted from an entry in the SOED, the SOED shall be cited as the source within the text of the concept definition field.
  6. No general purpose dictionary other than the SOED shall be used as a reference of reference type IR unless the SOED does not contain an acceptable definition for the concept. In this case, reference of reference type IR to another general-purpose dictionary is acceptable.
  7. The reference field shall contain only a single value.
  8. If an EDCS dictionary entry was copied and/or adapted from more than one source, all sources shall be identified by providing a citation to the primary source in the reference field and citation(s) to all other sources within the text of the concept definition field itself.
  9. Where possible, references should be chosen from either Clause 2 or the Bibliography.
  10. If no reference in either Clause 2 or the Bibliography is suitable, a new reference may be specified. The specification of the reference shall include both a short identifier for the reference and a full bibliographic entry formatted in conformance to the rules in ISO 690:2010.
  11. It may be determined that a new or replacement primary reference is needed for an existing or a registered item. This can occur under one of the following conditions:
    1. The reference field is blank and an authoritative reference that covers the concept is identified.
    2. A reference is identified that is more authoritative than the existing reference and suitably covers the concept.
    3. The current primary reference becomes unavailable and a new primary reference is needed.
    4. The current primary reference becomes obsolete and a new version is available to replace the obsolete version. (This only applies if the reference citation contains a version identifier.)
    In these cases, a new reference for an existing or a registered item may be registered. The reference type shall follow the guidelines for reference type (10.5.3).
  12. The requirements specified in 4.3.4 shall be met.

10.5.5 Guidelines for supplemental references

The supplemental references in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Supplemental reference proposals for EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. Supplemental references are always informative.
  2. Supplemental references are optional and need not be provided.
  3. One or more supplemental references that give additional information useful for understanding an EDCS dictionary entry may be provided.
  4. The reference (see 4.3.4.3) for an EDCS dictionary entry always provides additional context for understanding that concept. It shall not be repeated in the supplemental references field.
  5. The requirements specified in 4.3.4 shall be met.

10.5.6 Guidelines for figures

Figures help to illustrate a concept. The figures in this International Standard were selected by applying the following set of guidelines. Figure proposals for EDCS dictionary entries shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. Figures shall illustrate the concept with which they are associated.
  2. Figures shall be in PNG or JPEG format.
  3. Colour figures or images shall be readable if rendered as grey scale.
  4. The figure's largest dimension shall not be greater than 512 pixels.
  5. A narrative describing the image, which may include other relevant information about the image (for example, granted permissions, date, location or other special data), shall be provided, if appropriate.

10.6 Guidelines for ECs

No additional guidelines shall apply to EC Dictionary entry proposals.

10.7 Guidelines for EAs

The EA Dictionary entries in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of additional guidelines. EA Dictionary entry proposals shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. If the EDCS attribute value type is ENUMERATION, at least one EE corresponding to that EA shall also be registered. If a set of EEs corresponding to the same EA is registered at the same time, the EEs shall be listed in a natural order.
  2. If the EDCS attribute value type is REAL and the EQ appropriate for the specification of the values of the EA is not previously defined in either this International Standard or by registration, one EQ and one EU that is a member of that EQ shall also be registered.
  3. The choice of attribute value type shall be in accordance with the requirements specified in Table 4.4.

10.8 Guidelines for EVs

No additional guidelines shall apply to EV Dictionary entry proposals.

10.9 Guidelines for EEs

The EE Dictionary entries in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of additional guidelines. EE Dictionary entry proposals shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. Concept definitions of EEs shall not repeat any portion of the concept definition of the corresponding EA, unless such repetitions significantly enhance the readability of the EE concept definition.

    EXAMPLE 1    An EA whose concept definition is "The function of a building." shall not have an EE whose concept definition is "An administrative building."

  2. EEs of different EAs may have identical text in the concept definition field and/or identical labels.
  3. No deprecated unit of measure (identified in A.6) shall be used, with the following two exceptions:
    1. When a unit appearing in Annex A is needed to ensure clarity for a community of EDCS users, it shall appear in parentheses following a unit of measure that is consistent with an entry in the EDCS Unit Dictionary.

      EXAMPLE 2    "12,2 metres (40 feet)"

    2. The use of the term "approximately" associated with a value and a deprecated unit of measure for that value within parentheses is acceptable, but not necessary.

      EXAMPLE 3    "12,5 metres (approximately 41 feet)"

  4. Units of measure may be used in EAs, where they are used to specify the conditions under which an attribute value pertains, but this use should be avoided where possible.
  5. When an EA of EDCS attribute value type ENUMERATION is intended to be used to specify the format of instances of other EAs of EDCS attribute value type CONSTRAINED_STRING, then one EE of this EA shall have the label "UNCONSTRAINED" and shall be defined as: "A Basic Latin string whose contents are not further constrained."

10.10 Guidelines for EUs

The EU Dictionary entries in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of additional guidelines. EU Dictionary entry proposals shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. Entries in the symbol, quantity, and concept definition fields should be derived in accordance with the requirements in ISO 80000, including how quantities, multiplication, division, and logarithms are specified.
  2. Concepts incorporating the symbols for EDCS unit scales in their concept definitions are acceptable; however:
    1. If a "pure" equivalent non-scaled unit of measure concept is not already an EU concept, it shall be registered. The EQL for the newly registered non-scaled unit of measure concept shall be used as the EQL for the newly registered scaled unit of measure concept.
    2. The EU concept should be defined in terms of the "pure" non-scaled unit of measure concept by including an equation of the general form "<scale definition><non-scaled unit symbol>".
    3. The EU's symbol should include the symbols for the scaled unit(s), as appropriate.
  3. If neither any standardized nor any registered EQ concept is appropriate for the EU concept being registered, an appropriate EQ concept shall also be registered.

10.11 Guidelines for EQs

No additional guidelines shall apply to EQ Dictionary entry proposals.

10.12 Guidelines for EOs

No additional guidelines shall apply to EO Dictionary entry proposals.

10.13 Guidelines for EGs

The EG Dictionary entries in this International Standard were created by applying the following additional guideline. EG Dictionary entry proposals shall conform to this guideline. EG concepts that are members of different EOs may have identical text in the concept definition field and/or identical labels.

10.14 Guidelines for abbreviated terms

The abbreviated terms in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Abbreviated term proposals specified for use in concept definitions shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. A single word or phrase, if abbreviated, shall have a single abbreviation.
  2. Jargon shall not be used.
  3. An abbreviation shall not be, by itself, a word with a different meaning than that of the word or phrase that it replaces.

    EXAMPLE     The abbreviation LOST should not be used for the phrase "Line of Sight Type".

10.15 Guidelines for abbreviations used in labels

The abbreviations used in labels in this International Standard were created by applying the following set of guidelines. Abbreviation proposals specified for use in labels shall conform to these guidelines:

  1. A single word or phrase, if abbreviated, shall have a single abbreviation.
  2. If an abbreviation can be used for multiple terms, the shortest term is listed first and then the remaining terms are given by placing the additional letter(s) in brackets after the first term.

    EXAMPLE 1    hemispher[e][ical]  HMISPH.

  3. Jargon shall not be used.
  4. An abbreviation shall not be, by itself, a word with a different meaning than that of the word or phrase that it replaces.

    EXAMPLE 2    The abbreviation LOST should not be used for the phrase "Line of Sight Type".

10.16 Guidelines for EDCS profiles

EDCS profiles shall be created by applying the following set of additional guidelines:

  1. EDCS profile labels shall conform to the following guidelines:
    1. Labels shall be of the form "EDCS_e_a_XXXX_PROFILE", where "e_a" denotes the combination of the edition number and the highest-numbered amendment from which the content of the profile is obtained, and "XXXX" denotes a word or phrase that identifies the profile and results in a unique profile label.
    2. If no profile content is obtained from an amendment, "e_a" shall be specified as "e_0".
    3. Labels shall be character strings.
    4. Labels shall contain only uppercase characters (A-Z), numerals, and the underscore character ("_").
    5. Labels shall not contain spaces.
    6. "XXXX" may be either a single word or may be composed of a series of components each of which is either a word or an abbreviation, and such components may be concatenated using the underscore character ("_").
    7. "XXXX" may contain user-specific version numbering information.
    8. Labels should be as short as possible while capturing either a commonly used descriptive word or phrase representative of the profile.
    9. The length of a label shall not exceed sixty-three (63) characters, and shall be unique within the first thirty-one (31) characters.
  2. An EDCS profile constraint may restrict:
    1. the EDCS representation types (see 9.2) for implementing abstract elements of this International Standard,
    2. the values and/or range of values of an EA, and
    3. in the case of an EA of EDCS attribute value type REAL, the EUs and ESs that may be used with that EA.
  3. An EDCS profile constraint may restrict the EDCS representation type used for implementing EDCS attribute value types as follows:
    1. If the EDCS attribute value type is either STRING, CONSTRAINED_STRING, or KEY, an EDCS profile constraint may restrict:
      1. string length either to a fixed number of characters or to a length between a specified minimum and a specified maximum length, and
      2. string value to only contain characters from a restricted subset of the characters specified in ISO/IEC 10646:2012.
    2. If the EDCS attribute value type is either REAL, INTEGER, COUNT, INDEX, ENUMERATION, BOOLEAN, or NULL, the EDCS representation type shall not be constrained.
  4. An EDCS profile constraint may restrict the values and/or the ranges of values of EAs as follows:
    1. If the EDCS attribute value type is either REAL, INTEGER, COUNT, or INDEX, an EDCS profile constraint may restrict the allowed values to a specified subset of the allowed values and/or to a range of allowed values.
    2. If the EDCS attribute value type is either STRING, CONSTRAINED_STRING, or KEY, an EDCS profile constraint may restrict string values to a specified subset of the allowed values.
    3. If the EDCS attribute value type is ENUMERATION, an EDCS profile constraint may restrict the allowed values to a specified subset of the EEs for that EA.
    4. If the EDCS attribute value type is BOOLEAN, an EDCS profile constraint may exclude one of the possible values.
    5. If the EDCS attribute value type is NULL, the values cannot be constrained.
  5. An EDCS profile constraint may restrict the EUs and ESs that may be used with an EA as follows:
    1. Restrict the allowed EUs to a specified subset of the EUs that are members of the EQ associated with the EA.
    2. Restrict the allowed ESs to a specified subset of the ESs specified in Table 7.9 and Table 7.10.