Enclosure (1) to COMDTINST 5230.42A
Comment: Use of multiple Class Words creating multiple ideas - Data element names
containing two or more separate ideas must be broken down into individual data
elements containing one idea and one Class Word.
Example 4: EVENT INITIATION DATE AND TIME
(Mod
/Class
/Class)
Definition: The date and time at which an event is initiated.
Reconstructed DE: EVENT INITIATION DATE
(Prime/Mod
/Class)
Reconstructed DE: EVENT INITIATION TIME
(Prime/Mod
/Class)
Rule 4: Each data element name shall have ONE Prime Word selected from a pre-defined
Prime Word list. The Prime Word must be positioned as the first or second word in the data
element name.
Comment: By requiring a data element to have one Prime Word, it is formulated to
explicitly describe only one concept. Missing Prime Words are derived from the
definition and properly inserted into the data element name.
Example 1: CITY NAME
(Mod
/Class)
Definition: The city name of a CG's unit geographic location as defined by the U.S.
Postal Service.
This definition is sufficient to create a generic standard data element name if we
make "CITY" the Prime Word. There would, however, be many aliases because
many applications/systems use this kind of information. It is better to construct
the data element so that it retains enough generality to be used across applications,
but specific enough as to be practical for effective corporate data administration.
Reconstructed DE: UNIT LOCATION CITY NAME
(Mod/Prime
/Mod
/Class)
Example 2: DISTANCE MILES
(Class
/Qual)
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