Long ago there was a col.class column in the template.csv file and it would make importing the curated metadata far easier in the R package if we brought it back. The col.class column would describe the type of variable represented in each row. For example:
col.name
col.class
uniqueness
requiredness
multiplevalues
allowedvalues
...
body_subsite
character
non-unique
optional
FALSE
anterior_nares|hard_palate|keratinized_gingiva
...
blood_platelet
double
non-unique
optional
FALSE
[0-9]+.?[0-9]*
...
formula_first_day
integer
non-unique
optional
FALSE
[0-9]+
...
The values of col.class should be one of character, double, integer, or logical and appropriate for the variable (as shown above).
There are a few other types that would be possible if we should need them in the future: date, datetime, factor, time, and skip; but I would hesitate to use these types for now.
paolinomanghi
commented
3 years ago
Long ago there was a
col.classcolumn in thetemplate.csvfile and it would make importing the curated metadata far easier in the R package if we brought it back. Thecol.classcolumn would describe the type of variable represented in each row. For example:The values of
col.classshould be one of character, double, integer, or logical and appropriate for the variable (as shown above).There are a few other types that would be possible if we should need them in the future: date, datetime, factor, time, and skip; but I would hesitate to use these types for now.