ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 11179-5
Third edition
2015-04-01
Information technology — Metadata
registries (MDR) —
Part 5:
Naming principles
Technologies de l’information — Registres de métadonnées (RM) —
Partie 5: Principes de dénomination
Reference number
ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2015

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ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015(E)

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ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Conformance . 1
2.1 Conformity for registries . 1
2.1.1 Rules for a conforming registry . 1
2.1.2 Rules for a strictly conforming registry . 1
2.2 Conformity for systems . 2
2.2.1 Rules for a conforming system. 2
2.2.2 Rules for a strictly conforming system . 2
3 Normative references . 2
4 Terms and definitions . 3
5 The relationship of names and identifiers within a registry . 6
6 Names . 6
7 Naming conventions . 7
8 Classes in the metamodel . 7
8.1 Namespace class . 7
8.1.1 Relationship of scoped identifiers and names . 7
8.1.2 Uniqueness. 7
8.2 Naming convention class . 8
9 Development of naming conventions . 8
9.1 Introduction . 8
9.2 Scope principle. 9
9.3 Authority principle . 9
9.4 Semantic principle . 9
9.5 Syntactic principle . 9
9.6 Lexical principle . 9
9.7 Uniqueness principle . 9
10 Concept system relationship to names .10
10.1 Concepts as higher-level classes .10
10.2 Concepts as classification system .10
Annex A (informative) Example naming conventions for names within an MDR registry .11
Annex B (informative) Example naming conventions for Asian languages .21
Annex C (informative) Concordance table for item names .24
Bibliography .25
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ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction
and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT), see the following URL: Foreword — Supplementary information.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, SC 32, Data
Management and Interchange.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO/IEC 11179-5:2005), which has been
technically revised.
ISO/IEC 11179 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information Technology — Metadata
registries (MDR):
— Part 1: Framework
— Part 2: Classification
— Part 3: Registry metamodel and basic attributes
— Part 4: Formulation of data definitions
— Part 5: Naming principles
— Part 6: Registration
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ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015(E)

Introduction
This part of ISO/IEC 11179 contains both principles and rules. Principles establish the premises on which
the rules are based. Registry users may enforce rules as an application of this part of ISO/IEC 11179.
A naming convention is a convention (a set of rules) about names. Many naming conventions have much
in common, whether it is defining a method of specifying names for common usage across application
systems, or developing an organization’s internal policy on the choice of XML tags for data interchange.
A naming convention may be based on principles. In addition, it may contain formal and informal inputs,
such as guidelines, recommendations, company policies, programming conventions, specifications,
procedures, and so on. The purpose of this part of ISO/IEC 11179 is to describe and specify these common
features of naming conventions. This part of ISO/IEC 11179 is intended to have broad applicability,
including areas outside of Metadata Registries.
The goal of any naming convention is to allow development of names for items that have maximum clarity
and transparency of meaning, combined with concision, demanding minimal effort of interpretation by
the end user, subject to the constraints of the system under which the items are processed. A naming
convention can be used to form names by which information about the data is expressed, in a simplified
but still understandable grammar compared to natural language rules. Ideally, the names resemble
summaries of the formal definition of the information being named.
In a metadata registry, one name may be designated as the “registry name,” derived by describing the
content of a metadata item in a structured way, using a set of rules, i.e. by application of a formalized naming
convention. Other names for the same metadata entity may occur in any context. For example, these may be
— software system names,
— programming language names,
— report header names,
— data interchange (e.g. XML) names, and
— names in other natural languages.
Names may have varying levels of rigor applied to their formation and usage. The collection and display of
all names used by any single metadata item can be a major benefit of a metadata registry. The process of
deriving names from concept systems and arranging semantic components with a naming convention forms
a set of consistent, meaningful registry names. Names from other contexts, which may or may not have
been formed with naming conventions, and therefore may have little or no semantic content, are collected
and related to the registry name, thus, contributing in a valuable way to enterprise data management.
Edition 3 of ISO/IEC 11179-3 uses the term designation in reference to most metamodel items except
for the classes Namespace and Naming Convention. The designations for these classes were adopted in
deference to commonly accepted usage. This part of ISO/IEC 11179 will continue to use the term name
for constructs that, for purposes of this part of ISO/IEC 11179, are interchangeable with designation.
NOTE Items from the metamodel described in Edition 3 of ISO/IEC 11179-3 are italicized in this part of
ISO/IEC 11179. Most multi-word designations also contain underscores between words in ISO/IEC 11179-3; the
underscores have been omitted in this part of ISO/IEC 11179 for readability.
The naming principles and rules described in this part of ISO/IEC 11179 apply primarily to names of
concepts, data element concepts, conceptual domains, data elements, and value domains, but can be
extended to any registry content. Differing naming conventions may be applied to different sets of
designatable items. This part of ISO/IEC 11179 should be used in conjunction with those which establish
1)
rules and procedures for attributing, classifying, defining, and registering items .
1) Refer to 11179-6 Ed. 3 for a discussion of identification.
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This part of ISO/IEC 11179 may be used for applications that are unrelated to ISO/IEC 11179-3, i.e. this
part of ISO/IEC 11179 has broad applicability for use in describing naming conventions for almost any
need or purpose. The same principles apply.
In Annex A, all of the examples are given with English terminologies. However, there is an intention that
those rules be effective in other natural languages, even in those languages that use ideographs such as
Japanese, Chinese, or Korean, when the terminologies used in the name are controlled properly. Annex B
contains a version of the rules for Asian languages.
It is out of scope of the naming rules to establish semantic equivalence of names among different
languages. Naming must be supplemented by other methods such as ontologies or controlled vocabularies
in establishing semantic equivalence.
This part of ISO/IEC 11179 may be applied to ISO/IEC 11179-3, i.e. describing naming conventions
associated with designations of designatable items and other features of the metamodel. The following
are examples of designations in the metamodel: the designation of a data element (class name:
Designation; attribute: sign); the designation of classification scheme name; etc. Annex C contains a
Concordance Table relating items in this part of ISO/IEC 11179 to items in ISO/IEC 11179-3.
This part of ISO/IEC 11179 does not make requirements on any specific set of conventions, e.g. specific
semantic, syntactic, or lexical requirements for names.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 11179-5:2015(E)
Information technology — Metadata registries (MDR) —
Part 5:
Naming principles
1 Scope
This part of ISO/IEC 11179 provides instruction for naming of the following items, as defined in
ISO/IEC 11179-3: concept, data element concept, conceptual domain, data element, and value domain.
This part of ISO/IEC 11179 describes naming in a metadata registries (MDR); includes principles and
rules by which naming conventions can be developed; and provides examples of naming conventions.
2 Conformance
2.1 Conformity for registries
2.1.1 Rules for a conforming registry
A registry containing a namespace associated with a set of designatable items which conform to naming
conventions so that:
— each item shall be named in accordance with a naming convention,
— each naming convention shall have its scope documented,
— each naming convention shall have its authority documented,
— each naming convention should have its semantic rules documented,
— each naming convention should have its syntactic rules documented,
— each naming convention should have its lexical rules documented, and
— each naming convention should have its uniqueness rules documented,
then that namespace is in conformance with this part of 11179.
A registry in which every namespace conforms to this part of 11179 is a conforming registry.
2.1.2 Rules for a strictly conforming registry
A registry containing a namespace associated with a set of designatable items which conform to naming
conventions so that:
— each item shall be named in accordance with a naming convention,
— each naming convention shall have its scope documented,
— each naming convention shall have its authority documented,
— each naming convention shall have its semantic rules documented,
— each naming convention shall have its syntactic rules documented,
— each naming convention shall have its lexical rules documented, and
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— each naming convention shall have its uniqueness rules documented,
then that namespace is in strict conformance with this part of 11179.
A registry in which every namespace strictly conforms to this part of 11179 is a strictly conforming registry.
2.2 Conformity for systems
2.2.1 Rules for a conforming system
A system containing a namespace associated with a set of objects which conform to naming
conventions so that:
— each item shall be named in accordance with a naming convention,
— each naming convention shall have its scope documented,
— each naming convention shall have its authority documented,
— each naming convention should have its semantic rules documented,
— each naming convention should have its syntactic rules documented,
— each naming convention should have its lexical rules documented, and
— each naming convention should have its uniqueness rules documented,
then that namespace is in conformance with this part of 11179.
A system in which every namespace conforms to this part of 11179 shall be a conforming system.
2.2.2 Rules for a strictly conforming system
A system containing a namespace associated with a set of objects which conform to naming
conventions so that:
— each item shall be named in accordance with a naming convention,
— each naming convention shall have its scope documented,
— each naming convention shall have its authority documented,
— each naming convention shall have its semantic rules documented,
— each naming convention shall have its syntactic rules documented,
— each naming convention shall have its lexical rules documented, and
— each naming convention shall have its uniqueness rules documented,
then that namespace is in strict conformance with this part of 11179.
A system in which every namespace strictly conforms to this part of 11179 shall be a strictly
conforming system.
3 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
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ISO/IEC 11179-3, Information technology — Metadata registries (MDR) — Part 3: Registry metamodel and
basic attributes
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
4.1
administered item
registered item (4.22) for which administrative information is recorded
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.2
characteristic
abstraction of a property (4.19) of an object (4.15) or of a set of objects
Note 1 to entry: Characteristics are used for describing concepts (4.3).
[SOURCE: ISO 1087-1:2000]
4.3
concept
unit of knowledge created by a unique combination of characteristics (4.2)
Note 1 to entry: Concepts are not necessarily bound to particular languages. They are, however, influenced by the
social or cultural background which often leads to different categorizations.
[SOURCE: ISO 1087-1:2000]
4.4
context
setting in which a designation (4.6) or definition is used
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.5
designatable item
identified item which can have designations (4.5) and/or definitions
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.6
designation
representation of a concept (4.3) by a sign (4.29) which denotes it
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.7
general concept
concept (4.3) which corresponds to two or more objects (4.15) which form a group by reason of
common properties
Note 1 to entry: Examples of general concepts are “planet”, “tower”.
[SOURCE: ISO 1087-1:2000]
4.8
lexical
pertaining to words or the vocabulary of a language as distinguished from its grammar and construction
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4.9
metadata item
instance of a metadata object
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.10
metadata registry
information system for registering metadata
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.11
name
designation (4.6) of an object (4.15) by a linguistic expression
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.12
name part
part of name
discrete term that is used as part of a name (4.11) of a designatable item (4.5)
4.13
namespace
set of designations (4.6) and/or scoped identifiers (4.26) for a particular business need
Note 1 to entry: The term namespace is used in this International Standard because it is in common use, even
though the concept is being applied to identifiers as well as names.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.14
naming convention
specification of how signs (4.29) of designations (4.6) and/or scoped identifiers (4.26) are formulated
Note 1 to entry: A naming convention can apply to scoped identifiers when they are included in the associated
namespace.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.15
object
anything perceivable or conceivable
Note 1 to entry: Objects may be material (e.g. an engine, a sheet of paper, a diamond), immaterial (e.g. conversion
ratio, a project plan), or imagined (e.g. a unicorn).
[SOURCE: ISO 1087-1:2000, 3.1.1, modified]
4.16
object class
set of ideas, abstractions or things in the real world that are identified with explicit boundaries and
meaning and whose properties (4.19) and behaviour follow the same rules
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.17
object class term
part of the name (4.11) of a designatable item (4.5) which represents the object class (4.16) to which it
belongs, for those designatable items containing object classes
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4.18
principle
fundamental, primary assertion which constitutes a source of action determining particular
objectives or results
Note 1 to entry: A principle is usually supported through one or more rules.
4.19
property
quality common to all members of an object class (4.16)
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.20
property term
part of the name of a designatable item (4.5) that expresses a property (4.19) of an object class (4.16), for
those designatable items containing property classes
4.21
qualifier term
word or words that help define and differentiate a concept (4.3)
4.22
registered item
metadata item (4.9) that is recorded and managed in a metadata registry (4.10)
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.23
representation class
classification of a type of representation
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC/TR 20943-1:2003]
Note 1 to entry: Examples of representation include name, identifier, code, and quantity.
4.24
representation term
designation (4.6) of an instance of a representation class (4.23)
4.25
rule
statement governing conduct, procedure, conditions, and/or relations
4.26
scoped identifier
identifier of an identified item within a specified namespace (4.13)
Note 1 to entry: A namespace provides the scope within which the scoped identifier uniquely identifies the
identified item.
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.27
semantics
branch of linguistic science that deals with the meanings of words
4.28
separator
symbol or space enclosing or separating a part within a name (4.11); a delimiter
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4.29
sign (noun)
textual string or symbol that can be used to denote a concept (4.3)
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]
4.30
subject field
domain
field of special knowledge
Note 1 to entry: The borderlines of a subject field are defined from a purpose-related point of view.
[SOURCE: ISO 1087-1:2000]
4.31
structure set
concepts (4.3) in an area of discourse, with their relationships to other concepts
Note 1 to entry: Examples include data models, information models, taxonomies, and ontologies.
4.32
syntax
relationships among characters or groups of characters, independent of their meanings or the manner
of their interpretation and use
Note 1 to entry: More specifically, the structure of expressions in a language, and the rules governing the structure
of a language
4.33
term
verbal designation (4.6) of a general concept (4.7) in a specific subject field
Note 1 to entry: A term may contain symbols and can have variants, e.g. different forms of spelling.
[SOURCE: ISO 1087-1:2000]
5 The relationship of names and identifiers within a registry
Any metadata item in a registry may be one or more of the following types [ISO/IEC 11179-3:2013]:
— identified item: an item that is to be retrieved directly, and therefore needs to be referenced
— designatable item: an identified item that is to be designated (named) and/or defined
— classifiable item: an item that is to be classified in a classification scheme
At least one identifier is assigned for each identified item in the registry. Concurrently, or thereafter, the
item may be specified, classified, named, and registered according to the relevant part of ISO/IEC 11179.
6 Names
In Edition 3 of ISO/IEC 11179-3, sign has replaced name as the attribute of the class Designation that is
used to designate an object or concept. A sign may be a string denoting a word or phrase in a natural
language, a string denoting a term in a special language, or an icon or other symbol. A name is considered
to be language-dependent; that is, a linguistic expression. The output of a naming convention is a set of
names and (possibly) symbols, such as dollar signs.
As this Part of ISO/IEC 11179 discusses the classes Namespace and Naming Convention in Edition 3 of
ISO/IEC 11179-3, this Part will refer to the product of a naming convention as a name.
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7 Naming conventions
A naming convention describes what is known about how names are formulated. A naming convention may
be simply descriptive; e.g. where the Registration Authority has no control over the formulation of names
for a specific context and merely registers names that already exist. Alternatively, a naming convention
may be prescriptive, specifying how names shall be formulated, with the Registration Authority (or an
equivalent authority) expected to enforce compliance with the naming convention. The objectives of a
prescriptive naming convention may include name consistency, name appearance, and name semantics.
An effective naming convention can also enforce the exclusion of irrelevant facts about the designatable
item from the name. Though there are no facts that are irrelevant in every case, the input source of a data
element or its field position in a file might be if names are designed to convey meaning.
A naming convention may be specified in a reference document. A naming convention shall cover all
relevant documentation aspects. This includes, as applicable,
— the scope of the naming convention, e.g. established industry name;
— authority information, including the authority that establishes names, namespace membership,
sources such as term list or glossary;
— semantic rules governing the source and content of the terms used in a name, e.g. terms derived
from data models, terms commonly used in the discipline, etc.;
— syntactic rules covering required term order;
— lexical rules covering controlled term lists, name length, character set, language;
— a rule establishing whether or not names must be unique.
8 Classes in the metamodel
8.1 Namespace class
8.1.1 Relationship of scoped identifiers and names
In addition to the identifier assigned to identified items (Clause 5), the scoped identifier specified in
Edition 3 of ISO/IEC 11179-3 is assigned to items within the scope of a Namespace class. It serves
...