EDCS Reference Manual
Concept Mapping from EDCS 3.x to EDCS 4.x

This document describes how environmental concepts are mapped from the EDCS Version 3.x (including, in particular, EDCS Version 3.1) to EDCS Version 4.x.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Concept Mapping from EDCS Version 3.x to Version 4.x

  1. Denoting Concepts
  2. Attribute Value Characteristics
  3. EDCS Data Types
  4. Mapping Concepts

Part 2: Mapping Tables for EDCS Version 3.x to EDCS Version 4.x

Part 3: Mapping API for EDCS Version 3.x to EDCS Version 4.x

  1. Mapping API Functions
  2. Mapping API Data Structures
  3. Mapping API Use Examples

Part 1: Concept Mapping from EDCS Version 3.x to Version 4.x

1. Denoting Concepts

The EDCS Version 4.x has no significant changes from EDCS Version 3.x in the manner in which EDCS concepts (classifications, attributes, enumerants, and units of measure) are denoted -- i.e., how each unique concept may be referenced by either humans or software.

2. Attribute Value Characteristics

In EDCS Version 3.x, there was a dictionary called the EDCS Attribute Value Metadata dictionary that contained concepts which were descriptions of the attribute data value rather than the attribute data value itself.

In EDCS Version 4.x, the EDCS Attribute Value Metadata dictionary has been renamed to the EDCS Attribute Value Characteristics Dictionary, but the meaning of the concepts within the dictionary remain the same. Also, one concept has been removed from the dictionary (SIGNFICANT_DIGITS), and others have had their codes changed. See the mapping tables for the EDCS Attribute Value Metadata concepts.

3. EDCS Data Types

With EDCS Version 4.x, several additional datatypes have been added to help store the various types of values are associated with EDCS Attributes. For a full description of the data types and where they are used see the EDCS 4.x Types HTML documentation.

4. Mapping Concepts

While the concepts encoded using the EDCS Version 3.x are encoded the same way for EDCS Version 4.x, many of the concepts themselves have had their labels and/or codes changed. However, essentially all concepts supported by EDCS Version 3.x are also supported by EDCS Version 4.x, albeit sometimes using a combination of several EDCS Version 4.x "atomic" concepts. In many cases the EDCS 3.1 concept label will be exactly the same as the EDCS 4.x concept label, but the code for those labels will be different.

The tables at the end of this section document the mapping of concepts from EDCS Version 3.x to EDCS Version 4.x. In the significant majority of cases, the concept mapping is one-to-one and direct. In some cases, however, the mapping is more complex.

These tables document the mappings for each of the concept types in EDCS Version 3.x: classifications, attributes, enumerants, groups, and metadata. In addition to listing the "EDCS 3.1 Code" and "EDCS 3.1 "Label"" for each concept, each table includes the columns "EDCS 4.x Concept Mapping Type", "EDCS 4.x Concept Mapping Information", and "Additional Notes".

The Concept Mapping Types are as follows:

When the Concept Mapping Type is ONE_TO_ONE or CHANGE_IN_DATATYPE, then the "EDCS 4.x Concept Mapping Information" column has very specific formatted information in it. It will be one or more of the following possibilities (multiple concepts will be of this form, separated by semicolons):


Part 2: Mapping Tables for EDCS Version 3.1 to EDCS Version 4.x


Part 3: Mapping API for EDCS Version 3.x to EDCS Version 4.x

This section describes the EDCS Version 3.x to EDCS Version 4.x Mapping API functions, data structures, and use examples.

1. Mapping API Functions

2. Mapping API Data Structures

3. Mapping API Use Examples


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