Data element name

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A data element name is a name given to a data element in, for example, a data dictionary or metadata registry. In a formal data dictionary, there is often a requirement that no two data elements may have the same name, to allow the data element name to become an identifier, though some data dictionaries may provide ways to qualify the name in some way, for example by the application system or other context in which it occurs.

In a database driven data dictionary, the fully qualifithcfted data element name may become the primary key, or an alternate key, of a Data Elements table of the data dictionary.

The data element name typically conforms to ISO/IEC 11179 metadata registry naming conventions and has at least three parts:

• Object, Property and Representation term.

Many standards require the use of Upper camel case to differentiate the components of a data element name. This is the standard used by ebXML, GJXDM and NIEM.