Slot: Value Data Type (value_data_type)

The data type of the stored exposure value.

Tier: core

Why this slot matters

Tells consumers how to parse and analyse the values — continuous numbers, categories, and flags need different statistics and storage. Omitting it forces guessing from the data, which fails on ambiguous cases like 0/1 columns (count, flag, or category?).

In plain terms

Says what kind of value to expect: a decimal number that can take any value (like a temperature), a yes/no flag, or a category. Software needs this to know how to read and summarise the data correctly.

URI: envar:slot/value_data_type

Applicable Classes

Name	Description	Modifies Slot
VariableIdentity	The identity and semantics of an environmental exposure variable — what physi...	yes

Properties

Type and Range

Property	Value
Range	DataTypeEnum
Domain Of	VariableIdentity

Cardinality and Requirements

Property	Value

Examples

Value
continuous_numeric

Identifier and Mapping Information

Annotations

property	value
tier	core
justification	Tells consumers how to parse and analyse the values — continuous numbers, categories, and flags need different statistics and storage. Omitting it forces guessing from the data, which fails on ambiguous cases like 0/1 columns (count, flag, or category?).
explanation	Says what kind of value to expect: a decimal number that can take any value (like a temperature), a yes/no flag, or a category. Software needs this to know how to read and summarise the data correctly.
covered_by	None

Schema Source

• from schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar

Mappings

Mapping Type	Mapped Value
self	envar:value_data_type
native	envar:value_data_type

LinkML Source

name: value_data_type
annotations:
  tier:
    tag: tier
    value: core
  justification:
    tag: justification
    value: Tells consumers how to parse and analyse the values — continuous numbers,
      categories, and flags need different statistics and storage. Omitting it forces
      guessing from the data, which fails on ambiguous cases like 0/1 columns (count,
      flag, or category?).
  explanation:
    tag: explanation
    value: 'Says what kind of value to expect: a decimal number that can take any
      value (like a temperature), a yes/no flag, or a category. Software needs this
      to know how to read and summarise the data correctly.'
  covered_by:
    tag: covered_by
    annotations:
      omop_gaia:
        tag: omop_gaia
        annotations:
          extent:
            tag: extent
            value: full
          status:
            tag: status
            value: verified
          where:
            tag: where
            value: gaia_catalog meta_etl_*.json qudt:dataType (numeric/float4)
          evidence:
            tag: evidence
            value: examples/scenarios/standards/omop_gaia_daymet_tmax.yaml (value_data_type)
          note:
            tag: note
            value: GAIA registers the attribute's numeric qudt:dataType at dataset-registration
              time; the EnVar translation carries it first-class as value_data_type.
      degauss:
        tag: degauss
        annotations:
          extent:
            tag: extent
            value: absent
          status:
            tag: status
            value: asserted
          where:
            tag: where
            value: no column
          note:
            tag: note
            value: DeGAUSS emits a numeric `tmax` column but declares no explicit
              value data type; the type is implicit in the data.
      amadeus:
        tag: amadeus
        annotations:
          extent:
            tag: extent
            value: absent
          status:
            tag: status
            value: asserted
          where:
            tag: where
            value: no column
          note:
            tag: note
            value: Amadeus emits numeric value_kelvin/value_celsius columns with no
              explicit value-data-type declaration.
      cher:
        tag: cher
        annotations:
          extent:
            tag: extent
            value: partial
          status:
            tag: status
            value: asserted
          where:
            tag: where
            value: table_column_dictionary.column_tag (Value) + column_unit (unit
              present ⇒ numeric)
          note:
            tag: note
            value: 'C-HER''s Value tag plus the presence/absence of a column_unit
              distinguishes numeric from free-text value columns, but not the full
              continuous/categorical/flag taxonomy. Conservative: partial.'
      codata:
        tag: codata
        annotations:
          extent:
            tag: extent
            value: partial
          status:
            tag: status
            value: asserted
          where:
            tag: where
            value: DDI-CDI RepresentedVariable value domain (numeric vs categorical
              value domain)
          note:
            tag: note
            value: A value domain is exactly what CDI's RepresentedVariable carries,
              so the numeric/categorical distinction lives at CODATA's represented
              layer.
description: The data type of the stored exposure value.
title: Value Data Type
examples:
- value: continuous_numeric
from_schema: https://w3id.org/linkml/microschemas/envar
rank: 1000
domain_of:
- VariableIdentity
range: DataTypeEnum