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cldf / cldf

CLDF: Cross-Linguistic Data Formats - the specification
https://cldf.clld.org
Apache License 2.0
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Do we need a "UnitTable" component? #103

Closed xrotwang closed 3 years ago

xrotwang commented 3 years ago

The clld data model distinguishes two kinds of "measurements" or "values":

The latter was introduced to cover cases like constructions, or paradigms. But it could also be used to model things like allophones (see https://github.com/cldf/cldf/issues/93#issuecomment-765235046). Now we already have components modeling particular units of language, namely FormTable and ExampleTable. So the question is: Would a generic UnitTable make sense - or should we add more specific components, modeling specific units, when the need arises?

xrotwang commented 3 years ago

Thinking a bit more, I'm retracting the proposal. One design principle of CLDF was to only add things that have clear use cases in analysis - rather than aiming at some sort of "completeness". Judging from the clld experience, "units" will probably end up as a catch-all category, making automated re-use almost impossible.