Documentation created on 24. Sep. 2003 9:54; last update: 2005-03-30, email address revised 2010-08-05.
By G. Hagedorn, 2003
This document contains a complete list of all entities and attributes used in the information model of this application module. It is primarily intended as a technical reference. It can also be helpful, however, in understanding the scope and usage of certain attributes. When you have a question like 'where does this information fit in', reading the attribute description may help you.
Besides the human readable documentation provided below, three additional technical documents are provided:
(You can click on the entities to go to the attribute tables.)
| GeoPlaceName_Africa GeoPlaceName_AmNC GeoPlaceName_AmS GeoPlaceName_Asia |
GeoPlaceName_OcAnt GeoNameAnalysis GeoPlaceAnalysis GeoPlaceType |
GeoExternalDatabase GeoString_Enums |
See also the separate alphabetical index to attribute names.
Place name, preferred name, place type and hierarchy in several languages. The PlaceNameID can be used to further analyze the geographical place in GeoNameAnalysis and GeoPlaceAnalysis.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer (only for the Getty TGN this is identical with the external ID, always use the analysis table to find coordinates, source, and original ID!). | R | I (P) |
| PlaceName | Text | A place name in one of the supported languages. | R | I |
| Preferred_PlaceName | Text | The preferred place name, usually in the local language (e.g. Deutschland instead of Germany). Empty if PlaceName = Preferred_PlaceName. | - | - |
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Number referring to a list of defined place types (foreign key, PlaceType.PlaceTypeID). | - | - |
| HierarchyList | Text | A list defining the hierarchy of geographical places above the current place, necessary to distinguish synonymous place names. | - | - |
| HierarchyTopID | Integer | The highest element of the hierarchy is identified through an ID to save storage space and allow simple analysis queries (foreign key). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PlaceName: | PlaceName (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
... for North and Central America.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer (only for the Getty TGN this is identical with the external ID, always use the analysis table to find coordinates, source, and original ID!). | R | I (P) |
| PlaceName | Text | A place name in one of the supported languages. | R | I |
| Preferred_PlaceName | Text | The preferred place name, usually in the local language (e.g. Deutschland instead of Germany). Empty if PlaceName = Preferred_PlaceName. | - | - |
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Number referring to a list of defined place types (foreign key, PlaceType.PlaceTypeID). | - | - |
| HierarchyList | Text | A list defining the hierarchy of geographical places above the current place, necessary to distinguish synonymous place names. | - | - |
| HierarchyTopID | Integer | The highest element of the hierarchy is identified through an ID to save storage space and allow simple analysis queries (foreign key). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PlaceName: | PlaceName (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
... for South America.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer (only for the Getty TGN this is identical with the external ID, always use the analysis table to find coordinates, source, and original ID!). | R | I (P) |
| PlaceName | Text | A place name in one of the supported languages. | R | I |
| Preferred_PlaceName | Text | The preferred place name, usually in the local language (e.g. Deutschland instead of Germany). Empty if PlaceName = Preferred_PlaceName. | - | - |
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Number referring to a list of defined place types (foreign key, PlaceType.PlaceTypeID). | - | - |
| HierarchyList | Text | A list defining the hierarchy of geographical places above the current place, necessary to distinguish synonymous place names. | - | - |
| HierarchyTopID | Integer | The highest element of the hierarchy is identified through an ID to save storage space and allow simple analysis queries (foreign key). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PlaceName: | PlaceName (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
... for Asia.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer (only for the Getty TGN this is identical with the external ID, always use the analysis table to find coordinates, source, and original ID!). | R | I (P) |
| PlaceName | Text | A place name in one of the supported languages. | R | I |
| Preferred_PlaceName | Text | The preferred place name, usually in the local language (e.g. Deutschland instead of Germany). Empty if PlaceName = Preferred_PlaceName. | - | - |
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Number referring to a list of defined place types (foreign key, PlaceType.PlaceTypeID). | - | - |
| HierarchyList | Text | A list defining the hierarchy of geographical places above the current place, necessary to distinguish synonymous place names. | - | - |
| HierarchyTopID | Integer | The highest element of the hierarchy is identified through an ID to save storage space and allow simple analysis queries (foreign key). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PlaceName: | PlaceName (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
... for Europe.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer (only for the Getty TGN this is identical with the external ID, always use the analysis table to find coordinates, source, and original ID!). | R | I (P) |
| PlaceName | Text | A place name in one of the supported languages. | R | I |
| Preferred_PlaceName | Text | The preferred place name, usually in the local language (e.g. Deutschland instead of Germany). Empty if PlaceName = Preferred_PlaceName. | - | - |
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Number referring to a list of defined place types (foreign key, PlaceType.PlaceTypeID). | - | I |
| HierarchyList | Text | A list defining the hierarchy of geographical places above the current place, necessary to distinguish synonymous place names. | - | - |
| HierarchyTopID | Integer | The highest element of the hierarchy is identified through an ID to save storage space and allow simple analysis queries (foreign key). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| GeoPlaceName_EuroPlaceTypeID: | PlaceTypeID (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PlaceName: | PlaceName (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
| Relation type: | Attributes involved | |||
| Referential integrity, one-to-one | GeoNameAnalysis.NameID « GeoPlaceName_Euro.NameID | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoPlaceType.PlaceTypeID « GeoPlaceName_Euro.PlaceTypeID | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoTopHierarchy.TopID « GeoPlaceName_Euro.HierarchyTopID | |||
... for Oceania and Antarctica.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer (only for the Getty TGN this is identical with the external ID, always use the analysis table to find coordinates, source, and original ID!). | R | I (P) |
| PlaceName | Text | A place name in one of the supported languages. | R | I |
| Preferred_PlaceName | Text | The preferred place name, usually in the local language (e.g. Deutschland instead of Germany). Empty if PlaceName = Preferred_PlaceName. | - | - |
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Number referring to a list of defined place types (foreign key, PlaceType.PlaceTypeID). | - | - |
| HierarchyList | Text | A list defining the hierarchy of geographical places above the current place, necessary to distinguish synonymous place names. | - | - |
| HierarchyTopID | Integer | The highest element of the hierarchy is identified through an ID to save storage space and allow simple analysis queries (foreign key). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PlaceName: | PlaceName (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
A translation of internal DiversityGazetteer name IDs to place IDs (each place may have several names) and to name IDs in external databases (compare GeoExternalDatabase).
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NameID | Long | The ID of a name in the DiversityGazetteer (foreign key + part of primary key). Validation rule: Not -2147483647, validation message: (The ID '-2147483647' is reserved for special use). |
R | I (P) |
| PlaceID | Long | The ID of a place in the DiversityGazetteer (foreign key). | R | - |
| ExternalDatabaseID | Byte+ | The ID of an external geographical data collection as defined in GeoExternalDatabase (foreign key). | R | - |
| ExternalNameID | Long | An ID number for a place name as defined in the external database (foreign key to separate module). | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PrimaryKey: | NameID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
| Relation type: | Attributes involved | |||
| Referential integrity, one-to-one | GeoNameAnalysis.NameID « GeoPlaceName_Euro.NameID | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoPlaceAnalysis.PlaceID « GeoNameAnalysis.PlaceID | |||
Geographical coordinates for places and place IDs in external databases (compare GeoExternalDatabase).
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlaceID | Long | ID within the DiversityGazetteer for a place (which may have several names). | R | I (P) |
| NumLat | Double | Latitude as decimal number (double precision floating point, S negative, N positiv). | - | I |
| NumLong | Double | Longitude as decimal number (double precision floating point, W negative, E positive). | - | I |
| ExternalDatabaseID | Byte+ | The ID of an external geographical data collection as defined in GeoExternalDatabase (foreign key + part of primary key). | R | I |
| ExternalPlaceID | Long | An ID number for geographical place (which may have several names) as defined in the external database. | - | - |
| StateOrProvince | Long | PlaceID of federal state or province (where available) Currently a TopID, use GeoTopHierarchy table to find PlaceID! May later be changed, after checking associations in GeoTopHierarchy! |
- | - |
| Country | Long | PlaceID of political country Currently a TopID, see above! |
- | - |
| Region | Long | PlaceID of region or continent Currently a TopID, see above! |
- | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| GeoPlaceAnalysisExternalDat...: | ExternalDatabaseID (Duplicates OK) | |||
| NumLat: | NumLat (Duplicates OK) | |||
| NumLong: | NumLong (Duplicates OK) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | PlaceID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
| Relation type: | Attributes involved | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoExternalDatabase.ExternalDatabaseID « GeoPlaceAnalysis.ExternalDatabaseID | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoPlaceAnalysis.PlaceID « GeoNameAnalysis.PlaceID | |||
A list of place types used in the PlaceName table. Place types help to identify places correctly and distinguish between homonymous place names.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlaceTypeID | Integer | Internal ID for a place type (primary key). The ID has no meaning outside the DiversityGazetteer, i.e. it is not identical with an ID in a source data collection. | R | I (P) |
| PlaceType | Text | Description or name of a place type. | R | I (U) |
| DisplayEnable | Boolean | The place type name is displayed in the default picklist if marked here. Default value: -1 |
R | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PlaceType: | PlaceType (Unique values) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | PlaceTypeID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
| Relation type: | Attributes involved | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoPlaceType.PlaceTypeID « GeoPlaceName_Euro.PlaceTypeID | |||
The highest geographical elements are normalized into this separate table. All are present in the PlaceName table, but joining with that table would provide very bad performance.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TopID | Integer | An ID for a place used in the geographical hierarchy of place names (primary key). | R | I (P) |
| NameOri | Text | The name in the preferred (mostly local) language. | R | I (U) |
| NameEn | Text | The name in English. | R | I (U) |
| CountryTopID | Integer | If TopID refers to a state within a federal state (e.g. for U.S. and Germany) this ID refers to the true CountryID. Field is Null if Name itself is a country! | - | - |
| RegionTopID | Integer | The region as TopID (North & Central, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, Antarctica). | - | - |
| PlaceID | Long | GeoPlaceAnalysis.PlaceID corresponding to TopID (short integer). An association with the TGN place IDs is preferred; associations prefer nations over region. Historic problems may have to be checked, please inform us about problems you encounter! | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| NameEn: | NameEn (Unique values) | |||
| NameOri: | NameOri (Unique values) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | TopID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
| Relation type: | Attributes involved | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoTopHierarchy.TopID « GeoPlaceName_Euro.HierarchyTopID | |||
Description of data collections (Getty TGN, GN250, etc.) from which DiversityGazetteer names originate or which have been linked to these names.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExternalDatabaseID | Byte+ | An ID to identify an external data collection of geographical names, places, or information (primary key, the ID has no meaning outside of the DiversityGazetteer). | R | I (P) |
| ExternalDatabaseName | Text | The name of the data collection that has been integrated or can be linked to for further analysis. | R | - |
| ExternalDatabaseVersion | Text | The version of this data collection (either official version number, or dates when the collection was integrated). | R | - |
| ExternalAttribute_NameID | Text | The table and field name to which GeoNameAnalysis.ExternalNameID refers in the external data collection. | - | - |
| ExternalAttribute_PlaceID | Text | The table and field name to which GeoPlaceAnalysis.ExternalPlaceID refers in the external data collection. | - | - |
| ExternalCoordinatePrecision | Text | Free-text description of the precision and method with which coordinates are provided by external database. | - | - |
| InternalNotes | Memo | Additional notes concerning this data collection. | - | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| PrimaryKey: | ExternalDatabaseID (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
| Relation type: | Attributes involved | |||
| Referential integrity | GeoExternalDatabase.ExternalDatabaseID « GeoPlaceAnalysis.ExternalDatabaseID | |||
Generic collection of enumerations and descriptions of objects which are identified through a text code. Such enumeration are frequently used to translate code values to user-readable text in reports and pick lists.
| Name | Type | Description / Default value & validation | Rqrd./Index | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enumeration | Text | A text string defining a group of values (= enumeration) for a specific use (part of primary key). | R | I(PM) |
| Code | Text | A text code that uniquely identifies each object in the enumeration (primary key). This value may not be changed, because the application may depend upon it. | R | I(PM) |
| Abbreviation | Text | Short abbreviated description of the object, displayed in the user interface. | R | - |
| Description | Text | Description of enumerated object, displayed in the user interface. | R | - |
| InternalNotes | Text | Internal development notes about usage, definition, etc. of an enumerated object. | - | - |
| DisplayOrder | Long | The order in which the entries are displayed. The order may be changed at any time, but all values must be unique. Default value: CLng(80000*(Now()-37225)) |
R | I (U) |
| DisplayEnable | Boolean | Enumerated objects can be hidden from the user interface if this attribute is set to false (= unchecked check box). Default value: -1 |
R | - |
| Index name: | Attributes & index properties | |||
| DisplayOrder: | DisplayOrder (Unique values) | |||
| PrimaryKey: | Enumeration; Code (Primary key; Unique values) | |||
Footnotes: The following abbreviations have been used in the tables: R: It is required to enter data in this field. I: The field is indexed to enable faster searching. Different types of indices are denoted by additional letters in parentheses: P = attribute is part of the primary key (values in the index must be unique), U = values in the index must be unique, N = Null values are ignored in the index, M = the index contains more than one attribute, + = the attribute is involved in more than one multiple-field index. The names of attributes that are part of the primary key are underlined in the first column.
Attribute names of system fields and logging fields (record creation or updating) are enclosed in square brackets: [].
Data types: 'Text (255)' indicates a text of varying length for which no specific design restrictions have been formulated. 255 characters should be read as a proposed technical maximum limit, that can be changed if required by the database management system. In contrast, 'Memo' is explicitly defined as text of unlimited length. All text is Unicode text. Numeric types: BigInt = 8 byte integer, Long = 4 byte integer, Integer or Int = 2 byte integer, Byte = 1 byte integer. A + (e.g. Byte+) indicates that the integer is unsigned and only positive values are allowed.
We are interested in your opinion. If you see any problems with the model that you would like to bring to our attention, please contact us by sending an email to name@gmail.com, please replace name with g.m.hagedorn!
Documentation created on 24. Sep. 2003 9:54; last update: 2005-03-30, email address revised 2010-08-05.