Creating dictionaries
A dictionary holds standard words and their abbreviations. This page covers the match type, the fields of a word entry, the combination rules, and how a domain pack is attached.
Creating a dictionary asset
In Data dictionary management click New and choose Dictionary as the kind. Along with the name, locale and description, pick the match type.
Combination and exact match
| Match type | Behavior | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Combination | Reads the logical name word by word and joins the registered abbreviations into a physical name. | You follow a word-level naming standard, which covers most cases. |
| Exact | Uses an abbreviation only when the whole registered term matches exactly. Nothing is combined. | Only settled terms from a company-wide glossary may be used. |
An exact dictionary suggests registered terms while you type a logical name, and picking one settles the physical name and the domain together. When such a dictionary pins a domain pack, every word needs a domain: one registered term is the whole logical name, so an empty domain leaves nothing to decide the type from.
Fields of a word entry
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Word | The official term used in logical names. Required. |
| Abbreviation | What goes into the physical name. Required, and unique within one dictionary. |
| Domain | Attached to classifier words such as datetime, flag or number. Picked from the pinned domain pack. |
| Synonyms | Alternate spellings that read as the same abbreviation. Register one as a synonym of another word and both combine to the same code. |
| Forbidden words | Spellings you have decided not to use. They do not block anything: the standard word is substituted and you are told which part was replaced. |
| Related words | A reference relationship with another word in the same dictionary, shown as a hint on the column. |
| Antonyms | The paired word. Creating a start datetime column lets you add the matching end datetime column in one step. |
| Similar words | Tags that gather nearby meanings or spellings. |
| Description | Note what the word means. |
Combination rules
- The longest word wins. If a compound term is registered as a single word, it is not split into its parts.
- A synonym reads as the same abbreviation as the standard word.
- A forbidden word is substituted with the standard word, and the replaced range is reported.
- Latin letters and digits are preserved as they are, so an acronym inside a logical name is never split.
- A range the dictionary could not read is left out of the physical name and marked on those characters only, so the problem spot is obvious.
Attaching a domain pack
Pinning one pack under Domain pack in the dictionary detail lets the domain column of each word pick from that pack. The pin is optional. Attaching a domain to the word itself is the NeoSQL approach: reading that word out of a logical name settles the name and the type at once.
Replacing or removing the pack clears every existing domain reference on the words. Moving to another version of the same pack keeps the references.
- An account dictionary cannot point at a device-local pack, and a device-local dictionary cannot point at an account pack.
- A pack with no published version cannot be pinned. Publish the pack first.
- The cleanup is part of the draft, so it takes effect once saved and can be undone before that.
Good to know
- Word names may repeat, but abbreviations cannot collide.
- A word needed only on one connection can be added to that connection without touching the source dictionary.
- Edits take effect once saved, and must be published before a connection can use them.